A/N- I know that during this time of James and Lily's life, they were supposed to be in hiding, but for the purposes of the story, I'm changing that. Is that alright?
Disclaimer- I do not own any of this. Zip. Nada.
"Are you an idiot, Potter?" Lily hissed. Pure outrage and disbelief shone in her eyes. Other people were staring at them- they were in the middle of a Muggle grocery store, after all- but the arguing couple didn't seem to care.
"Maybe I am, but at least I actually have taste!" James's eyes reflected Lily's incredulity.
"Taste? James Potter, you obviously wouldn't know taste if it bit you in the arse!" Lily looked ready to throw something at her husband. Something heavy.
"Thinking about my arse, eh, Evans?" James smirked, shooting Lily a flirty wink.
"In your dreams, Potter", Lily spat back in disgust.
"Actually..." James trailed off, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.
"Jeez, James, I do not want to hear about your bloody wet dreams! Gross!" Lily exclaimed.
"So it's James again?" James smiled smugly. Lily realized her mistake and inwardly groaned.
"It'll be James again when you admit that Pepsi is stupid and that Coke is better." Lily stubbornly crossed her arms.
"Never", James whispered dramatically. A few onlookers were openly staring at them now.
"For Pete's sake, Potter, everyone knows that Coke is the best!" Lily yelled. A young child in a shopping cart gazed at them curiously, licking the sticky remnants of a chocolate bar off of her fingers.
"Oh, yeah? Prove it!" James shouted back. Their eyes met, and in that one brief second, they both reached the same unspoken conclusion- whoever could find the most people who agreed with them would be the official winner. And with that, they both dashed off, leaving their shopping cart full of groceries behind.
"Marlene!" Lily panted, exhausted. She had run all the way from the shop. "Marlene- Coke or Pepsi?" The pretty brunette was reasonably confused.
"Lily- what?"
"Just- answer- the- question-" Lily doubled over, wheezing.
"Err... I like Coke better", Marlene said uncertainly, seriously concerned for the welfare of her friend.
"YES! Take that, Potter!" Lily immediately perked up, pumping her fist into the air. "Thanks Marlene, bye!" Lily immediately ran off again, leaving behind a very confused Marlene McKinnon.
"Oi! Pads!" James grinned upon seeing his best friend. Surely he would side with him on this.
"What's up, Prongsie?" Sirius looked up from polishing his motorbike.
"Coke or Pepsi?" James asked, already sure of Sirius's answer. They were best friends, Sirius was practically James's twin!
"That's easy! Coke, of course!" Sirius snorted. James's smug grin slid off his face, and he was absolutely still.
"Um, James?" Sirius asked after a minute had passed without James so much as blinking. "James? Yoo-hoo..." Sirius got up and waved his hand in front of his best friend's face. "Anyone in there?"
"You", James's face was absolutely expressionless,"You have betrayed me in the worst way possible." James immediately ran off again, leaving behind a very confused Sirius Black.
"Oi, Alice! Frank!" Lily was pleased at having caught two of her friends at the same time. "Coke or Pepsi?"
"Pepsi", they replied in unison. They grinned at each other.
"You like Pepsi too?" Alice giggled.
"Yeah, ever since-" Frank was cut off by Lily's shrill scream of frustration.
"Dammit James! You brainwashed them, didn't you?" Lily immediately ran off again, leaving behind a very confused Frank and Alice Longbottom.
"Hey! Pete!" James called out.
"Yeah?" His friend turned around. "James? Why are you here?"
"Pete... I have something really important that I need to ask you. Super-duper important", James said urgently.
"What?" Peter asked nervously, afraid of messing up. James took a deep breath.
"Peter... Wormtail... Wormy... Coke or Pepsi?" Peter looked relieved that it hadn't been anything too difficult.
"Er... Pepsi?" Peter offered. James whooped.
"Yes! Thanks, Pete, I knew I could count on you!" James immediately took off again, leaving behind a very confused Peter Pettigrew.
Lily finally arrived- covered in sweat- at Remus's flat- it hadn't occurred to her to Apparate. (Although, Lily thought, that would've been cheating.)
"Remus! Coke or Pepsi?" Lily asked as soon as Remus opened the door. Remus simply raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, Marlene told me that this might happen. Coke, by the way", Remus answered calmly. Lily immediately ran off again, leaving behind a very calm and collected Remus Lupin.
James and Lily both decided to head back home- it was getting rather dark.
"Tie", Lily said sullenly upon seeing her husband again.
"Same", James replied glumly. They walked into their house.
"Bathilda! Thanks for watching Harry while we were out!" Lily gave their neighbor and babysitter a warm smile.
"It's no problem, dear", the old woman said, setting Harry down into his high chair. "It's my pleasure, really." She got up and headed towards the door.
"Wait!" James desperately called after her. "Coke or Pepsi?"
"Oh, I don't quite keep up with all these new drinks. A good old-fashioned Butterbeer for me is just fine!" James lowered his head in disappointment.
"Okay. Well, thanks!" James said, letting her leave. Harry cooed in his high chair just then, and James got an idea. "Wait! Harry! He can be our tie-breaker!"
"What? I am not going to feed my infant child soft drinks!" Lily exclaimed, horrified.
"They're not bad for him! Besides, if you forfeit, that means I win..." James argued. Lily sighed.
"Fine." She got up, getting a can of each beverage from the fridge and pouring them into small cups. "We'll give him a taste of each, and whichever one he likes better is the winner." Lily handed James the Pepsi cup.
"Come on, Harry", James urged his son before putting the paper cup to his mouth. "Remember- you would've been named Arnold if it wasn't for me. You owe me one, little guy."
"Hey!" Lily protested. "I still think Arnold is a perfectly fine name!" James ignored her, but snorted loudly. He then proceeded to dump the contents of the cup into his son's mouth.
James and Lily both waited in anticipation. For a moment, Harry was perfectly still- but then he spewed the soda out of his mouth, sticking out his tongue. Lily turned and gave her husband a smug look.
"He probably doesn't like soda", James said, defending his favourite soda. Lily smirked a little and gave Harry a sip of Coke. James watched, waiting for the same reaction, but Harry simply swallowed and gave a happy little gurgle.
"What?!" James exclaimed. "No! You rigged it, I know you did! You did something!" Lily just laughed and gave Harry a happy little pat on the head.
"Good boy, Harry", she crooned. "I knew you were a Mama's boy."
"You- You bribed him!" James accused, pointing a finger at Lily.
"He isn't even a year old yet", Lily rolled her eyes. "Face it, James, Coke is better than Pepsi. Even Harry knows it." James sank to his knees.
"NOOOOOO! I refuse to believe it!" he cried dramatically. He locked eyes with Harry. "But what's even worse- I've been betrayed by my own son!" Lily laughed and helped James up.
"Come on, James. We still have to go grocery shopping tomorrow- we completely forgot about that", she giggled. Realization dawned on James's face.
"Oh, yeah..." he remembered. "Oops."
"Don't worry", Lily smiled,"we'll get your Pepsi."