June 16th
"You are seriously not coming?" Harry asked.
"Sorry, Harry. I don't feel well, and I have to catch up on some paperwork. Send Lily my love, though," Teddy said for what felt like the tenth time. His knees were starting to hurt from crouching on the floor in front of the fireplace.
Harry sighed. "You know, I could talk to Ulrox. I'm not the Head Auror for nothing."
"Harry, please," Teddy begged.
Harry looked at him intently for a few seconds, and a slight frown crossed his forehead. He knew there was something else, but Teddy knew Harry was not one to push.
"Fine."
Teddy let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding until then.
"I can't believe you're missing Lily's birthday. You've never missed her birthday since she was born!"
"Yeah, well...there's a first for everything, isn't it?" Teddy said with a nervous shrug.
"I guess...But I never thought there'd be a first with this," he said, pressing his lips in a thin line.
"You're acting like I'm missing your birthday, Harry," Teddy joked to lighten the mood.
"You better not! I'm not starting to say goodbye to my fifties without all my children there."
Teddy smiled softly. It always made him feel loved when Harry referred to him too when he said "my children".
"I'll make sure to be the first one there then."
"Good," he said with a smile. "Vic is still-"
"-in Nigeria. Yeah. Extra credit."
"Well, hang in there, kiddo. Many of us would do anything for a two-months holiday from our wives- Ouch!"
"Hi, Ginny!" Teddy said laughing as Harry rubbed the top of his head.
"Hello, Teddy," she said with a sweet smile. "Are you alright? I heard you weren't feeling well-"
"Eavesdropping, Gin? Tsk, tsk," Harry said mockingly beside her.
"Don't interrupt me, Harry, when I'm taking to one of my boys," she chastised quickly. "Do you need me to bring you anything?"
"I'm okay, Ginny. Thank you. Nothing a hot cup of tea and some rest won't fix," he lied for the hundreth time that night.
"Alright. Make sure you do that. And if you need anything-"
"-you know where to find us," Harry finished. "C'mon, Gin. He's an adult, and Hermione needs your help in the kitchen. I rather not eat a burnt cake."
Ginny sighed. "Fine. Take care, Teddy! We'll miss you!"
"Have fun," Teddy faked a smile. "Bye."
Once the connection was cut, Teddy threw himself to the floor. Lying on his back, he stayed looking at the ceiling thinking. How could he explain to Harry and Ginny he didn't want to see Lily after that night where he had shagged her brains out? No, there was certainly no other option (seeing as he was the coward who had been avoiding her for the last month) other than lying to them.
"And the award for the idiot of the year goes to..."
July 26th
As soon as the door opened, Teddy made his way inside the apartment, not waiting for an invitation. He turned to look at Lily, who opened her mouth to say something.
"No," he silenced her with a finger over her lips. "Let me say this or I'll chicken out again and be a bloody coward who avoids you for the rest of his life."
She nodded and silently closed the door.
"I'm sorry, Lily. I'm sorry for avoiding you, for not dealing with this like a man, for taking advantage of you-"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Taking advantage of me?" Lily interrupted him. "Nobody took advantage of anybody, Teddy. It just happened," she said with a shrug.
"Still, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have. I'm married and you're in love with Christopher. I'm-I'm also sorry because I can't stop thinking about that night," he blurted out. "There! I said it."
From all the possible reactions he had imagined, he had never pictured one where Lily would give him a crooked smile with not a hint of anger, disgust or reproof.
"Done? Is it off of your chest, Mister Hufflepuff?"
He frowned. "Yeah?"
"Good. Now stop pacing and sit down. I rather you not burn a hole on my floor, if you don't mind."
He took a seat next to her. His frown still plastered on his face.
"I can't stop thinking of that night either, Teddy. And I'm glad you came to talk to me. When you want to avoid someone, you're harder to find than a sneaky gnome! In a good way, of course," she finished with a smile. "There's nothing to be sorry about. We needed it. I still need it. This doesn't mean I love you. You're my friend and always will be, but hell we know how to have a good time, right?"
"Yeah, we do," he agreed with a laugh.
"So... I've been thinking. Why not make a deal?"
"A deal?"
"Yes. You know, I still love Christopher-"
"And I still want to fix things with Victoire," he added.
"Exactly. But we both agree that what we did felt good. So...why not...why stop it if it can help us cope as we struggle with our own failing love lives?" she suggested.
"I don't know, Lily. Cheating on Vic? When I want to fix things with her?" Teddy knew infidelity always ended badly. Someone always ended up being hurt, and he cared too much for Lily and himself to let them suffer... again.
"Just... just think about it, alright? You know where to find me."
August 3rd
Teddy felt like hitting his head against the wall. "You just came back from Africa and you're telling me you're going to the other side of the world for another month?"
"Don't be selfish, Teddy! Malaysia is in the middle of a war; they need as much medical help as they can get. Besides, it's not on the other side of the world. Maybe you should look at a map every once in a while," she said, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Maybe you should too because I believe fucking Malaysia is not a few miles from here either. How are we supposed to keep this marriage alive if you always put others before us?"
"Others need me more than you do, Teddy. At least those poor people do."
"Fine. Do what you want," he said with a huff storming to the bedroom.
He hastily looked for a piece of parchment in the drawers of the small desk in the corner. Finding a small piece, he sat down and wrote a single line.
Let's do it. Your place in an hour?
Calling Cipnia, he attached the small note to her leg. "Be a good girl and take this to Lily?"
A/N: Thanks for faving those who have! I would love reviews too *wink wink*