Twenty-Four

Damon woke up with a raging hard on, which wouldn't have been a bad thing if he hadn't been firmly pressed against Lily's backside. She was still, blissfully asleep and quite unaware. He flexed his hands, one arm trapped between Lily and the bed, hand splayed across the top of her massive stomach, under her night gown, the other low on her hip. The slight movement caused her to moan softly in her sleep, arching back against him. It nearly undid him.

There was barely anything between them, just some thin scraps of cloth. He was still, afraid to move. His heart was pounding wildly, certain she was going to wake as she turned into him. Her arms circled him, her hand pressing into the small of his back, her finger tips barely breaching the elastic of his pants. Her body was pressed between them. Her stomach kept them from being too intimately close. She nuzzled her face against his neck, sighing. He reached between them, to adjust himself and brushed against her intimately again. She gasped slightly, her mouth moving against the sensitive skin at the base of his throat. He wanted to breach her trust to the point of pleasured pain.

"Shit," Damon swore as he moved his hands off of her, sliding soundlessly from her bed, stopping only to free her hand from his waist band as her finger tips raked over his exposed hip. He Stood at the edge of the bed, rock solid and ready. If possible, seeing her lying there on the bed, so untouched and vulnerable, made the need ache more. He only had one option, one that had him escaping to the couch with a box of tissues and a bottle of lotion. He was a grown man back to childish games, but he needed release. He was certain death would come from back up any other way.

He fell back to sleep for a little while, waking up to see her in the kitchen, making him breakfast. For a brief moment, he could imagine a life where Lily was his wife, making him eggs while he daydreamed about the fun they'd have between the sheets. She was humming, and Damon could picture how lovely she'd look pinned between him and the counter while the smells of bacon and eggs sizzled as hot as their kisses. He groaned loudly, willing his body to give him a break.

"Hey, sunshine!" Lily called brightly from the kitchen as she walked over, carrying a plate of eggs, bacon, and toast she'd made just for him.

"Hey yourself," Damon replied, forcing himself up into a sitting position.

"Sleep okay?" she teased.

"I didn't mean to fall asleep in your bed," Damon apologized.

"It's okay. I don't think you were there very long," Lily offered. Her cheeks flushed slightly. "I remember waking up from a dream and you weren't there." Damon wanted to ask what kind of dream, but the look on her face said it all. Obviously their closeness had invaded on her sleep, and he wondered if his dream-self had gone the distance. From the way she squirmed under his gaze, he suspected whatever had gone down in her dream had been spectacular. He turned away.

"You should go get ready. We'll be meeting Scorpius in a little bit and get you properly married," Damon said gruffly. Lily looked as if she wanted to say something more to him, but instead she rose and disappeared from the room. Damon leaned his head back against the back of the couch, looking up at the ceiling.

"Damon, can you help me before you go?" Lily called out from the bedroom. Damon groaned as if it was physically painful for him to climb from the couch and head into her room. She stood, her back to the door.

"What do you need?" he asked briskly. Lily shot him a look over her shoulder.

"What's wrong, Damon?" Lily asked. He wasn't listening. His eyes were following the long expanse of exposed back from the back of her neck all the way to where her knickers covered her bum.

"Nothing," he swallowed. Lily held the front of the dress against her body and turned.

"Damon, some is wrong," Lily challenged. "Last night, you were fine, happy even. This morning, you're cold, distant. Did I do something?"

"You?" Damon forced his hand through his hair roughly.

"Yeah, did I do something?" Lily asked him, taking a step forward. Damon swallowed. She looked so vulnerable again, clinging to the front of her dress, hiding herself away. He knew it wouldn't take much to remove it, to cover her with his mouth and body. He felt the need building in him. He turned away.

"No, of course not," Damon lied. "I just didn't get much sleep last night. Your sofa is terrible." Lily laughed, the sound of relief flooding the room.

"I'm sorry, Damon," Lily promised. "I should have told you to sleep in Theron's room."

"I should have thought of it, too," Damon forced a laugh. "Now turn around so I can zip you up before I go and get ready. We don't want to leave Scorpius thinking you've run out on him."

"You tease!" Lily giggled as she turned her back to him. Damon closed his eyes, breathing slowly and deeply, knowing this would be his last intimate moment with her. She stilled as he slowly zipped up the dress, his knuckles tracing up her spine.

"You're radiant," he whispered softly in her ear. Before he could stop himself, he pressed his a kiss to the side of her neck, causing her to stumble back into him. He wrapped his arms around her, the two of them positioned so that they could see each other in the reflection of the full length mirror of the room.

"Damon," Lily whispered, turning her head slightly to look at him. She kissed him what was supposed to be a light kiss on the lips. They both pulled away, eyes wide and breathing hard.

"I... I have to get dressed," Damon blurted out and he escaped from the room. His heart was pounding and he had never been more grateful that his apartment was empty when he burst in there, shedding his clothing and heading for a frigid shower. He couldn't believe he'd stooped so low.

Lily was sitting on the couch, her hands folded on her lap as she waited for him. Damon hadn't been expecting her there, so he pulled up short surprised. She looked up at him, biting her lip. He wanted to kiss her again, he felt the draw to her like nothing he could ever recall feeling. He sat down the on couch, taking both her hands in his, uncertain what he intended to do. They looked at each other for a long minute.

"Damon," Lily whispered quietly.

"Lily," he mimicked back. Damon smiled, it nearly killing him. "Let's go get you married."

"But-"

"You still want to, yes?" Damon asked her almost forcibly. She hesitated.

"Of course," she replied.

"Then let's go!" Damon cheered brightly.

"What about earlier?" Lily whispered again.

"We never speak of it," Damon's answer was so final that Lily nodded once and allowed him to help her to her feet.

Damon and Lily waited until the court clerk ushered them in front of the judge to fill out all of the forms. Scorpius was there, grinning as Lily walked up between the benches. Lily glanced to her only surviving brother, a warm smile on his face. Albus shuffled toward her.

"You sure about Malfoy? You can still back out," he teased. Lily glanced at Scorpius.

"I love him, Albus," Lily promised. Albus grinned.

"I dare say he loves you, too," Albus shared, kissing her cheek. Damon stood as Lily's witness, Albus as Scorpius', the judge looked over the forms.

"So, let's get started," the judge said with a kind smile. Lily held tight to Scopius' hand, her right clinging to his left. She pressed the back of her hand into her lower back, trying to ignore the ache that had taken up residence there. Damon reached out, before he could stop himself, and pressed his thumb into the palm of her hand.

"If anyone has any reason that these two should not be wed, speak now or forever hold your peace," the judge called out, Damon's head snapped up to look at him. He pulled his hand back, hiding them behind his back.

Damon watched as Lily and Scorpius exchanged vows, then by the power vested in the muggle judge, they were married. Lily closed her eyes as Scorpius kissed her, sealing their forever after. Damon looked at the expression on Lily's face when she pulled back, looking at Scorpius, and he knew he'd made the right choice, the unselfish choice. Lily may have been very attracted to Damon, but the love she held for Scorpius was unmatched. Albus hugged them both, followed by Damon. He kept it brief, knowing that the torture was his to bear.

The four dined together that night before Scorpius swept Lily off for a romantic honeymoon. Damon watched them leave, Albus standing beside him. Damon didn't say anything for a long time after the tail lights of Scorpius' car disappeared into red pin-pricks in the distance. Albus rested his hand on Damon's shoulder.

"That couldn't have been easy, bro," Albus offered.

"Excuse me?" Damon frowned at the man standing beside him.

"You love her, it's written all over your face," Albus murmured as he looked back down the street. "You love her in ways that only comes along once a life time, and yet, you let her go."

"He's like a brother to me," Damon confessed. "And I know he makes her happy. She loves him."

"Love's sometimes complicated, sometimes fucked up, huh?" Albus confessed. Damon nodded once.

"He'll take care of her, and they love each other," Damon explained quietly. "Who am I to get in the middle of that?"

"At the expense of your own happiness?" Albus challenged.

"You really, really must hate Malfoy," Damon laughed. Albus joined in the laughter.

"We were raised to believe Malfoys and Potters don't mix," Albus teased. "Leave it to my sister to go against the grain."

"You know, she really does love him, one of those all encompassing loves that spanned over a decade apart," Damon shared. "I can't nor would I try to compete with that."

"If he hadn't come back-"

"Let's not dwell on things that need not be answered," Damon interrupted. "How about a few rounds at The Leaky Cauldron? My treat."

"Sure, let's celebrate my sister's nuptials with a little shit-faced drinking!" Albus cheered and the two men were off with a crack, aparating unseen from one location to the other. They took a booth, ordering a half dozen rounds each between the two of them.

"To Lily and Scorpius!" Damon cheered, holding up the first of what would be many shots.

"May they be happy!" Albus added.

By the eighth round, their toasts made no sense and they'd end up erupting in rowdy laughter that had Tom the Bar Keep glaring at them. Kate was summoned to retrieve Albus, who floo'ed them home stumblingly through the fire. Tom sent for Draco to retrieve Damon, who was falling pathetically asleep at the table. Draco stared at Damon, who was trying to lick the last dregs of whatever he'd been celebrating with out of the bottom of the shot glass.

"Let's go," Draco hoisted him up by his arm, Damon unsteady.

"I wasn't quite done," Damon complained as Draco propelled him through the street.

"Oh, son, you're done," Draco helped him home.

"Not your son," Damon laughed too loudly. "Your son's on his honeymood."

"Honeymoon?"

"Yup, 'tis what I said," Damon fell onto the couch. "He married her."

"Scorpius married Lily?" Draco asked coolly. Damon nodded, his eyes closed.

"But, shhhh! You're not 'posed to know," Damon muttered. "Slept with her last night, kissed her good-bye, only didn't know it at the time."

"Oh, really?" Draco's voice went from ice-cold to downright arctic. "Does Scorpius know?"

"Love that girl," Damon's voice drifted off. "Should've been me."

"Does Scorpius know you slept with Lily last night?" Draco shook Damon's shoulders forcefully, his head flopping almost comically around. Damon replied with a snort and a deep snore. Disgusted, Draco pushed Damon back against the couch and stormed out of the apartment, barely stopping long enough to lock up behind him.