HSWW, Asst 12 | Gryffindor | Survival Studies, Task 1 | Write about being figuratively 'thirsty' for someone.

Camp Hogwarts | Yoga | [au] soldier

IPC #220 - [dialogue] "And you wonder why you're still single."

365 #93 - Exit

Summer Seasonal Prompts:

Days of the Year - International Beer Day - [dialogue] "Do you want a beer?"

Unlucky Month for Weddings - 13. [dialogue] "I'm not the marrying type."

National Ice Cream Month - 11. Rum Raisin - Spice

Romance Awareness Month - SiriusMarlene

National Indoor Plant Month - 18. Cast Iron Plant - [word] alone

Colours - 15. Amber

Flowers - 4. Buttercup - [dialogue] "You look amazing!"

Locations - 10. Three Broomsticks Inn

Crystals & Gemstones - 9. Amethyst - [scenario] getting drunk

Gryffindor Characters - 2. Sirius Black

Gryffindor OTPs - 22. Anna - SiriusMarlene

Build-a-Fairytale - Stage 2: The hero… - 10. Is wondering how they're going to get out of this one - [character] Lily Evans

WC: 1082

o . o . o

Happily I'll Drown In You

"Do you want a beer?" Lily asked as soon as they pushed open the door of the dingy pub.

"I was thinking something a little harder tonight," Marlene replied, making a beeline for the bar and leaning her elbows on the wooden top so that her silky amber shirt billowed forward, providing the barkeep with an excellent view of her breasts. "Barkeep! Two shots of tequila please! And follow it up with two double rum and cokes."

Tom, the barkeep, wrenched his eyes away from Marlene's chest with great difficulty to fill her order.

"I know Mary said she wouldn't come, but is Dorcas meeting us here?" Marlene asked, turning her attention back to Lily for a brief moment.

"No, I don't think so," Lily answered. "She said she wanted to study a bit more."

"Nerds, the lot of you!" Marlene cried out.

"Oi, I'm here, not studying!" Lily protested.

"Yes, but everyone knows you're still a nerd at heart," Marlene teased, and Lily huffed in response, though she didn't deny it. "C'mon, let's get drunk. I'm determined that neither of us is going to go home alone tonight."

Eight drinks in and Lily was honestly a little shocked that Marlene still had her shirt on. The woman was positively sloshed, and drunk Marlene was about as forward as a human could possibly be. Just as Marlene was beginning to hit on the man sitting next to them - a terrified looking bloke named Frank - when the door of the Three Broomsticks swung open to admit four staggeringly drunk men in soldiers' fatigues. Marlene's head whipped around like she had smelled attractiveness on the gust of wind that accompanied them, and her mouth dropped open.

"My god he's hot," Marlene practically drooled, all thought of poor Frank gone.

Lily wasn't entirely sure which of the men her friend was talking about. Two of them were positively gorgeous, and looked like they could be brothers. Both with black hair (one's was curly, the other's was just a mess) and olive skin. The messy-haired one pushed a pair of glasses up his nose, laughing at something his friend said and slinging an arm around his shoulder. Behind them, the other two men in the group could probably be attractive in their own right. One of them was tall and slender, with something of a bookish air to him, and Lily was positive that if he weren't in uniform, he'd be wearing a sweater and slacks. The fourth was somewhat larger, and if he'd been pudgy as a child, he'd certainly filled out now with a fair amount of muscle, looking as solidly built as a rugby player.

"Oi!" Marlene called out loudly, staring down the curly-haired man with a predatory gaze. "You look amazing! Buy me a drink!"

"Soldier, luv, shouldn't you be buying me a drink?" the man called back, a confident smirk on his face. "I'm a hero after all!"

"Yeah, but I'm hot," Marlene replied, tossing her dark hair over her shoulder and fluttering her eyelashes at him. Lily snorted and she saw the bespectacled soldier do the same.

The group walked over to where Lily and Marlene stood at the bar, and while the bookish man proceeded to order a round (or two) of drinks for them, something akin to a mating ritual was beginning to unfold.

"Sirius," Marlene's target introduced himself, extending a hand. "You're not going to turn out to be some crazy, marriage-hungry psycho are you?"

"Marlene," she replied, brazenly looking him up and down, "and you don't have to worry. I'm not the marrying type. I'm more of a 'love-em-and-leave-em' kind of girl."

Sirius grinned wolfishly, and the entire bar knew at that point how the night was going to end for them, barring an absolute disaster. As Sirius and Marlene grabbed their drinks and drifted off into their own little world of sexual innuendos, Lily stood next to them, feeling slightly awkward as she sipped on her rum and coke.

"James," the other gorgeous man said suddenly, looking at Lily significantly as he indicated himself, followed by the bookish man and then the stout one. "Remus and Peter. We just got home from Afghanistan."

"Shouldn't your hair be shorter if you were just deployed?" Lily asked, her eyes roving over his messy locks.

"Ah, Sirius and I managed to get our commanding officer involved in a bet to see who's hair would grow the longest before coming home," James explained with a grin. "Didn't catch your name though…"

"Oh! Sorry, it's Lily," she replied, reaching out to shake his hand.

"Nice to meet you, Lily, can I buy you a drink?"

"I don't need anyone to buy my drinks for me," Lily stated, bristling at the invitation. She refused to live in a sexist world where women relied on men for everything.

"Oh good lord, and you wonder why you're still single!" Marlene sighed exasperatedly. "For christ's sake, Lily, let the hot man buy you a damn drink, it won't kill you!"

James couldn't help but burst out laughing at the outburst, sputtering slightly as he tried to keep it inside. Even Lily had trouble holding back the giggles long enough to fix her friend with a stern glare.

"At least I'm not salivating," she snapped back, but Marlene didn't seem to take it as the blow it was meant to be.

"At least he knows I'm interested," Marlene snarked.

Lily really had nothing to say to that. Sure, James was good looking, but she really needed to know him better before she could tell if she was attracted to him. She just wasn't like Marlene, she couldn't get there on looks alone, she needed something else from her partners, some other kind of connection.

Still, the look Marlene was giving her was so annoying.

And James was pretty hot.

Lily chugged the last of her drink, feeling the spice of the rum burning in her throat and giving her courage.

"James," she said boldly, turning her attention wholly to the handsome man in front of her, "would you like to get out of here?"

"I really would," he breathed, his hazel eyes lighting up at her words.

"Great," she answered, grabbing his hand and striding toward the exit, not looking back to see Marlene's jaw drop to the floor in surprise.

And if they were only going to get food somewhere a little more appetizing than the pub, well, Marlene didn't have to know that.