james and lily find themselves relegated to mundane chores around the safehouse until they can stand each other enough to not compromise a mission by calling each other "giant ninnys" or "arrogant pillocks"
August 29th, 1979
"That's it I'm done with these two, Albus they can't go on another mission together!" Mad-Eyes voice was ringing through the hall. He was also holding his left arm which was bleeding heavily, most likely the result of a hex from their last outing.
"Alastor calm down, I'll handle it. Poppy is working with Mrs. Prewett in the kitchen, go on and get patched up," Dumbledore spoke his voice quiet and his face smooth as glass. The only way you could tell that he was intrigued was the slight lift of his mouth on the left side, like he was trying not to smile or something. Grumbling Moody walked past him blood dripping on the floor as he moved through the house. "Miss Evans would you like to explain what happened to Mr. Moody tonight?"
"Apologies Headmaster, Potter started it. He got all bloody noble and tried to protect me from the death eaters." She pushed a strand behind her ear looking at their former headmaster.
"Excuse me for wanting to protect you considering you're my girlfriend," he grumbled crossing his arms looking at their headmaster annoyed.
"Right well then, I'm not your girlfriend problem solved. Just a regular woman who can fight her own battles, you're a nimrod," she snarled at him before turning to their old headmaster.
"I think I see the problem here, Lily you don't value James' efforts to protect you, and James you don't believe that Lily can handle herself." Albus was stroking his beard trying to decide a way to solve this problem. He couldn't reassign them considering that the other teams were working well and it wouldn't be fair to those teams to be broken apart because of a this rather silly issue. "Ah I have an idea, we have a safe house in Blackpool that we need maintained in case of emergencies, I am asking you two to maintain it and hopefully work on this issue together. You can leave in the morning after collecting your things."
Not one to wait to see that he was being listened to Dumbledore walked into the study of the Prewett home to work with McGonagall and some other adults on battle strategies. Lily looked at James who was looking like he'd been punched in the gut. Sighing she walked past him and up the stairs to her room. Packing her things, she thought over what had happened during the ambush that they'd walked into with Moody earlier that night. Lily was prideful and while she knew that James had been fair when she'd lost her wand, to prioritize her over the mission it made her furious that he had that little faith in her.
"Heard you and Potter are getting transferred to the Blackpool safehouse in the morning," the gentle voice of Alice Longbottom, her best friend broke through her thoughts.
"Yeah, we messed up on this last mission with Mad-Eye so Dumbledore is sentencing us to work our shite out in a place no one can get injured if we get into an argument.
"You know Frank and I used to have a horrible time when we were in training to be Aurors for the Ministry. We wanted to protect each other so much and in the end, we almost cost each other the job we loved." Alice sat down on the edge of Lily's cot and looked at her best friend.
"I was best in our year at defensive magic, and if the ministry hadn't enacted that ban on hiring Muggleborns for government positions I would be in Auror training right now," Lily threw herself onto the cot next to her best friend, "it just isn't fair that he is always trying to save me, it's going to cost him his life one of these days."
"Have you talked to him about how you feel?" Alice nudged her best friend gently and looked down at the fire-head, "maybe he would understand."
"Maybe, anyway we're going to have all the time in the world to talk considering we're going to be stuck with one another in Blackpool for the foreseeable future."
"How the hell did you manage to leave Moody's back uncovered during that ambush?" Sirius was looking at his best friend like he was an idiot.
"Lily dropped her wand and I went to have her back, I didn't know that Jackson had died, he was Mad-Eye's partner not the two of us," he said glaring at his best friend.
"You know Lily has every defensive wandless spell mastered, right?" Peter asked walking in handing Remus some letters from his parents.
"Actually, I didn't Peter, otherwise I wouldn't have been as frantic to protect her now would I," James growled out glaring at his best friends. Throwing his things into his trunks he continued packing as though they weren't there.
"Stop giving him a tough time guys, Peter you took a hex in the leg so Mary MacDonald wouldn't have too. Sirius, you tackled me when you thought we were being attacked and it was just fire crackers. Point being we all do stupid shite when want to protect the people we love," Remus spoke up looking at his three best friends who looked very sheepish.
"We're taking the portkey at 5 am from the yard, so I'm going to bed for the night lads," James wandlessly turned out his bedside lamp and pulled the blankets over himself.
"I hope you slept well, I've given Miss Evans the key to the safe house, the wards have been recharmed to allow you two to directly floo into the property," Dumbledore said smiling at his two ex-heads as he gestured to the old boot on the table. "Good luck!"
Lily hated flooing and since they both had their apparition license she was struggling to see the reason behind this considering that floor networks were just as monitored as apparition records. While James cleared his throat, his trunk handle tightly in his hand and the floo powder in his hand he looked around the room and nodded. "Blackpool Manor!" In a flash he was gone.
Sighing Lily shot Dumbledore her sincerest glare and copied James' movements readying herself for the feeling of being stretched through pipes and the soot that always got in her hair. Steading herself she glared at Sirius and Alice who were both making kissy faces before shouting, "Blackpool Manor."
The group standing around the fireplace all looked around, before Mad-Eye cleared his throat, "Black did you get a pool going on how long it takes them to kill each other or get engaged?" He asked his one eye twinkling with untold mischief. Sirius laughed and shook his head holding out a charmed paper.
"You're the only one not in it yet, Dumbledore and Minny are on the engagement track, while the rest of us think James is going to be dead in a months' time." He handed the spelled paper to the Auror head.
"You lot are right fools, they'll be shagging and engaged in less than two months, well that's my estimate," he huffed signing his bet before handing the paper back. Laughing the group broke up to go get ready for their own missions and responsibilities.
Coughing James had just stepped from the fireplace when Lily landed on her feet suitcases in hand. Reaching out his hand to take on of her bags he wasn't surprised when she waltzed past him and into the strange home. The house was decorated as though an old couple had just left in a hurry, down to the pot of tea and moldy scones on the dining table. At least James thought they were scones. Clearing his throat again he looked at the petite firebird standing by the window looking outside the living room window.
"We should start by cleaning the house, that way it's ready for guests and emergency stays," she said not looking at the goofball standing by the fireplace.
"You're probably right Red, this place is dustier than your parents' house," he muttered walking around the loveseat to the door to the kitchen. "You're going to have to go shopping the kitchen is barren."
Lily shook her head in acknowledgement, while taking her wand from her bun and charming her suitcases to a room upstairs. Turning to the living room she started to clear the dust and the moldy plates and cups left in the dining room. She could hear things moving in the kitchen as the house started to come alive as they cleaned each room. They went about the rest of the day getting the house ready for any eventual guests they might have in the future. It was half seven when they finished and Lily was famished.
"Potter I'm going out to the chipper, would you like anything?" she called as she grabbed her wool cardigan and her tartan scarf. James leaned over the banister and blinked she looked angelic standing there looking up at him her eyebrow raised.
"Wait Evans, I'll come with you. We should talk," he came flying down the stairs his glasses sliding down his noes as he slipped into his jean jacket and looked at her hair a mess. Lily had to mentally pinch herself for staring at him. Pushing his glasses up his nose he looked at her confused, "What?"
"Nothing let's go, I'm starving," she said opening the door and stepping out into the early fall air, holding the door for James she was itching to hold his hand.
"Did you mean it?" he started to ask looking down at her, "breaking up with me last night?"
"Can we just get our food first, I can't talk about this on an empty stomach," she asked throwing out her patented puppy dog pout.
"Sure, forget I brought it up," he shoved his hands into his pant pockets and started taking the lead through Blackpool towards the direction of town. Rolling her eyes Lily had to race to catch up. Sighing she looked at him hooked her arm through his. She just winked at him and then kept pace with him through the town till they got to the chipper.
"Alright Evans, we're home and you've been dodging this question all evening," James said taking her scarf from her as her hung up his jacket in the coat closet.
"Oh, quit being a dolt you ninny, of course we're still dating," she said while she wandlessly lit a fire in the fireplace.
"You sure could have fooled me last night though," he said wrapping his arms around her waist while tugging her back towards the loveseat.
"Well you were being a shit-for-brains last night," she murmured squirming to get out of his hold, "James I want to make tea let me up."
"Not until we talk about the mission last night and the fact that it landed us in this safehouse," he said his voice muffled by her hair.
"What's to talk about you were being a massive dolt and not watching our team members remember Jackson died because you were so focused on me," shifting around to look at him, her eyes hard and glaring at him. "We can't be partners if you're going to keep forgetting the mission to keep me safe."
"Lils, you're the love of my life," he pulled his hands back to slide a few inches over on the loveseat, "what is so wrong about wanting to keep you safe?"
"We're in a war James. Our lives are on the line every day and I need to know that when it comes down to it you'll trust that I know my shit and let me protect myself," she stood to have few inches on him.
"Lily I know you can, but I don't want you to have too," he said crossing his arms over his chest.
"Remember back in school when you told me that you knew there was no sense in talking me out of joining the order because you knew why I had to fight. Where did that James go?" she asked arms crossed and her voice shaking.
"That James was fucking dolt, it was before Marlene and Dearborn were murdered, we've lost friends in and out of the order," he had stood himself he didn't look angry at her though, his face was tired and stressed. "I can't bury you Lily, I would lose my fucking mind if you died, and if that means that you're my top priority during a mission so be it."
She gasped as he said what she'd been thinking and then she started to laugh, she was mad because he was being reckless trying to protect her and they were doing it for the same reasons.
"Have you thought about what your death would do to me?" she asked gently placing a hand on his shoulder to try and get him to turn towards her. "I would go out of my mind if I had to bury you next to your parents at Godrics Hollow."
His arms wrapped around her and held her tight as he took three shaky breaths trying to keep from crying. Placing a kiss to the top of her head he chuckled himself and pulled her with him back onto the loveseat. "So what do we do?" he sounded so pitiful and terrified as though the answer generally terrified him.
"We have each other's back, and we trust each other to protect us without being reckless," she said smoothing his hair and pushing his glasses up.
"I love you Potter."
"Good, I love you too Evans."