Written for QLFC Round 6
Team: Falmouth Falcons
Position: Beater 1
Main prompt: James/Hermione
Optional Prompts:
Trope: Fake dating
Colour: Lemon
(dialogue)"Is that really what you want?"
Words: 2,999
"Don't look now, but little Miss Rules just turned up," Sirius Black said, motioning towards the bar. The Beetle Club was packed, the music and noise from the patrons mixing together into an overwhelming roar that made conversation nearly impossible, even in their usual back corner booth. "Does she even drink?" James Potter craned his neck to see Hermione Granger stroll up to the bar. He spotted the mess of wild curls first, before his eyes dropped to the lemon yellow dress she was wearing. Like sunshine, a voice deep from the corner of his brain muttered greedily. He shook his head, startled at the thought.
"Ah, does that mean we get to see Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumb?" James joked, lifting out of his seat in the booth to look around for his younger brother, roommate, and coworker down at the station, Harry, and Harry's best friend, Ron Weasley.
"Which one is your brother in this scenario?" Remus asked.
"It depends on the day," James shrugged. When he couldn't spot them, he added, "She must be meeting them here."
"Or she's on a date," Remus said simply. James' stomach tightened at the suggestion and he put down his beer, wondering if maybe he'd overindulged and his body was telling him to slow down.
"No way," he replied, watching her standing in the crowd by the bar. "Hermione doesn't date."
"Definitely not a date. Any bloke who took her here instead of a library or something equally boring is not Granger material," Sirius joked, though his smile was fond. He was basically James' other brother, the Potter's adopting him when he and James were teenagers. He grew up looking out for Harry, and in turn, his two best friends.
"Should we invite her over?" Remus asked. Just when James began to nod a girl came up and gave Hermione a hug - Patil, James thought her name was. Harry had taken her or her sister to a school dance James had been roped into chaperoning.
As the night wore on, James found himself checking on Hermione, watching her chat with another woman around her age.
"Another round?" James asked as he stood, grabbing the empty glasses from their table.
"If you're paying, Prongs," Sirius smiled sweetly.
As he waited at the bar, James kept his gaze leveled at the shelves, willing himself not to look around for Hermione. She probably didn't want to have to make small talk with him. He'd often felt weird intruding on their little trio when they were growing up. After their parents passed away when Harry was eleven, James became his guardian.. With Harry, James often felt caught between the parent role and brother role, both and neither at the same time. He was thankful to Hermione, in a way, for stepping in to help Harry in ways he couldn't. Even though she was seven years younger than him, she acted more mature.
"James, thank Merlin!" a voice rang out next to him as a small hand landed on his bicep. His head shot up to see Hermione looking up at him with relief. He spotted her free hand tightly gripping a bright yellow drink that matched her dress.
"Well, hello to you too, Granger," James replied with a smile, angling himself towards her. "Didn't take you for a lemon drop girl. How are you?"
"Terribly sorry about this," she muttered before launching herself up towards him, grabbing his arm towards her.
"What -" was all he got out before her mouth muffled his words.
She brushed her lips to his, a short, chaste kiss that was over before James could even realize what was happening. Hermione broke apart from him with a soft smile while he stared at her, mind whirling. After a moment, he got over his shock and moved to kiss her again, eager for more after that taste, but she started to turn around.
"Marcus," she said to a man lurking over her shoulder. "This is my boyfriend I was telling you about," she said, snaking an arm around James' waist.
"Right," James drew out, looking down at her before glancing up at the man who wore a disappointed look. "Hello, mate," he said with a tight smile as he extended his hand. "James Potter." As the man grabbed his hand, he found himself squeezing harder than he meant to.
"Marcus Flint," he said, returning the too tight handshake.
The bartender sat the mugs of beer down on the bar with a heavy thud, and James saw their opportunity for a getaway.
"Right, nice to meet you, but me and my lady have to head back to our table," he said, picking up his drinks with a nod. "Come on, "Mione," he said lowly into her temple, delighting in the deep blush that bloomed on her cheeks. That's new.
"I'm so sorry about that, James," Hermione whispered as they wandered towards the booth. "I was trying to settle my tab to leave and that guy just wouldn't leave me alone! He's my coworker at the Ministry of Defense and I've been fending him off for months now."
"S'okay," he said with a shrug, unable to think of anything else to say.
"Let me buy you a drink to make up for it," Hermione said with a smile just before they got to the table.
"Aren't you supposed to be the one drinks are bought for?" Sirius asked. "Even if they are something as horrid as lemon drops." He wrinkled his nose. "Hello, Miss Rules."
"I can buy anyone a drink, just the same as anyone can accept one, Sirius!" she exclaimed, a crease forming between her brows. Sirius smirk grew wider.
"Okay, Kitten, retract the claws," he said with a laugh.
"Lovely to see you Hermione," Remus interrupted with a smile. "Will you be joining us?"
"Oh, er…" she trailed off as she looked towards the bar. James guided her into the booth.
"Move over boys, we're the knights in shining armor tonight. Hermione here has picked up a bit of a stalker."
After Hermione explained, Sirius continued the tale they'd interrupted: his latest takedown at work. As Sirius' partner, James had already heard it. He and the other detectives at the scene were just a few seconds too late to see Sirius tackle the drug trafficker. After a few minutes, Hermione relaxed into her seat next to him and James became aware as her thigh pressed against his. Is this on purpose? He snuck a glance at Hermione, but she was nodding, enraptured by Sirius' story. He let his leg stay there, keeping it as still as he possibly could, to avoid her moving away. She was close enough he could smell the vanilla of her shampoo, and it took everything in him to not shift closer. He accepted the consolation prize of staring at her out of the corner of his eye, taking in how the yellow dress hugged curves he'd never been conscious of before. Each time she smiled, he found himself thinking of sunshine, which was hard to come by in London in December.
As the conversation shifted and Hermione and Remus talked about the latest traveling exhibit at the Victoria & Albert, Sirius eyed him and pointedly glanced over at Hermione before waggling his eyebrows mischievously. James narrowed his eyes at him, only provoking more intense suggestive gestures. He kicked Sirius under the table, hard.
"Oof," Sirius moaned before giving James the two finger salute.
"Is it possible for you to behave?" Remus asked wearily. "It's not often I'm treated to this kind of discussion."
"I thought you liked it when I misbehaved, Moony," Sirius cajoled, putting his arm over his boyfriend's shoulders. James caught Hermione's eye, rolling his eyes dramatically. She smiled widely at him for just a moment before her cell phone beeped.
"Oh my, I've got an early morning tomorrow and I think the coast is clear now," Hermione said with a heavy sigh. "Sorry to crash boys night. Harry and Ron will be jealous I got to spend time with you three!"
"They should be jealous we got to spend time with you," Remus said. "Why don't you and I go to the street art tour next weekend by Waterloo Station?"
"I'd love that!" she replied as Sirius grumbled.
"Out of the two of us, I really expected me to be the one who flirted in front of you, not the other way around," Sirius complained, sticking out his bottom lip in a pout.
"Wait, where are you heading?" James asked when she stood.
"Just back to my flat. It's only a few blocks from here."
"I remember," he said, thinking of the day Harry forced him to help them move Hermione into her new flat. "Let me walk you. It's on the way."
"Don't do anything I wouldn't do," Sirius crowed.
"The bar is so low, darling," Remus sighed quietly.
As they walked away from the busy bar, the noise began to fade until it was just the sound of their feet crunching fall leaves. He wanted to talk to her, to keep hearing her voice, but possibly for the first time in his life, he couldn't think of anything to say. What is wrong with me? She's Harry's best friend, practically my little - ugh no. He grimaced at that line of thinking, surprised at how viscerally he disliked thinking of her as a little sibling. When did that change?
Hermione sighed, looking up towards the stars, concealed by the faint yellow glow of the street lamps.
"What's that infamous brain thinking, Granger?"
"I just don't understand why any of my reasons for saying no weren't good enough. He's only backed off now that I have a boyfriend." She tensed. "Or, you know, thinks that I do," she added quietly.
"Some people - creeps - will only respect someone's rejection if there is a simple answer." As he spoke, Hermione huffed. "Hey, don't shoot the messenger. That should be covered in my terms of service as a fake boyfriend."
"Well, I appreciate your fake boyfriend services," Hermione laughed and James was shocked that his heart flipped at the sound. "And do let me know if I can ever return the service and fight off all the girls who throw themselves at you." She gave him a small smile, more like a grimace than the joyful grin he liked so much.
"Actually, any chance you'd be up for a wedding next month?" James asked, the words tumbling out before he even thought them through. At her blank look he added, "Lily will be there and she's bringing her new girlfriend. I may have already said I'd be bringing a plus one, so you'd be doing me a real solid."
"And you'd want me to...pretend to be your girlfriend?" Hermione asked, stopping in the middle of the pavement.
"We don't have to do anything," James said quickly, holding up his hands. "Just dance."
She bit her lip as she stared at him, and he held his breath. It's just Hermione! Why are you nervous?
"Okay," she said finally, amber eyes watching him cautiously.
"Okay?" he echoed quietly, smiling widely at him.
"Okay," Hermione nodded as she said it again, rewarding him with that laugh that he thought sounded like honey, if it could have a sound, sweet and smooth.
He was treated to that sound throughout the day of the wedding, when he whispered commentary on the best man's speech and when he led her through an overly dramatic tango, only to send both of them to the floor with a misstep. James kept track of every shy smile and chuckle, counting them up as points in a game only he knew about. James didn't think about his ex, or anything remotely negative all night. When he asked Hermione to accompany him, he had no idea how much better she'd make the wedding simply by being there.
Following the wedding, Hermione asked James to be her date to her work holiday party. Then James asked Hermione to come to game night with his wider group of friends. They continued on like that for a few months, asking each other to act like their significant other for events. They started spending more time together, James dragging her to football games and Hermione bringing him to London's bevy of museums. Every once in a while they'd touch, legs pressed together when sitting next to each other, or Hermione grabbing his bicep to get his attention, and all his senses would come alive, trapping him in a storm of vanilla smells and honey laughs and sunshine smiles and his heart thudding so loudly he was certain she would hear.
James was tempted, on each fake date, during their not-dates, to intertwine their hands or grab her face and snog her senseless. But he was reminded of Harry, who, when James had told him about their fake dating favors, warned him not to hurt her. James had laughed then, saying "It's all fake, there are no feelings to hurt!"
"Are you sure you aren't actually dating Hermione?" Harry asked one summer morning, months after their fake dating began. He was leaning in the kitchen doorway, studying him as he slowly drank his coffee.
"What?" James sputtered, dropping his toast. "Of course not."
"It's just...you've been hanging out nearly every weekend," Harry drawled. "Like I said before, if you hurt her, I'll kill you."
"Oi, I'm your brother!" James argued.
"Yeah, so I know exactly how worried to be," Harry shot back. "Now hurry up, we'll be late for work."
Harry's words echoed in his mind for the next week, making him even more unproductive at work. He found himself walking up and down the corridor by reception several more times a day than he was used to. James sighed, wishing he wasn't so antsy.
"Hi James," Tina, the receptionist, drew out his name. "How are you?"
"Hi," he muttered, glancing at the petite blonde quickly. "I'm good, how are you?"
"Great! Say, I hope I'm not being too forward, but you've been coming by my desk a lot lately. I thought maybe, well - would you like to get a drink after work?" She smiled shyly at him, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear as she asked.
"Oh," he breathed. Hermione's face bubbled up to the front of his mind. "Well, I'm flattered, but I've got a girlfriend." As soon as he said it, Tina's face fell. "Thank you though."
"Well I hope she knows how lucky she is!" she called as James speed-walked towards Sirius' desk.
"Sirius!" James hissed, pulling his best friend into the stairwell.
"What's wrong? You look sweatier than Peter when he tried to ask a girl out," Sirius joked.
"Tina asked me out," James rushed out.
"Oh, good for you. She'd got the biggest -"
"I told her I had a girlfriend," James cut him off, eager to avoid a monologue about Tina's body that he was sure Hermione would detest. Why do I care if Hermione cares?
"You did what?" Sirius asked. "Been pretending so long that you forget that you don't have one?"
"I - well, no."
"Oh," Sirius breathed before he broke into a smile so wide it nearly split his face. "That's not it, is it?"
"Sirius..." James warned. "Look, I -"
"You keep pretending because you want Hermione to be your girlfriend!" Sirius clapped. "I knew it, I fucking knew it." The glee in his voice made James roll his eyes. "Goody-two-shoes really is your type, isn't it?"
"Oh shut up," he said, turning around. "I need to go talk to her."
"I bet you do! Sirius yelled as James stalked away. As he hit the elevator button, he could hear Sirius making kissing noises from far behind him. James arrived at the Ministry of Defense main building just as the work day finished. He paced outside her office, trying to figure out what to say to her. James wasn't sure how long had passed before he heard her voice.
"James?" Hermione asked. "Is everything okay? Did something happen?"
"No, I just wanted to talk to you," he said. Hermione relaxed, gesturing for him to continue. A woman asked me out at work today," James rushed out. Her eyebrows furrowed for a moment before she smoothed them out and smiled at him.
"Ah, of course. I guess our time as fake boyfriend and girlfriend is up?"
"It doesn't have to be," James answered. Her eyes widened a fraction and he stepped closer, ducking his head down. Just as his mouth crashed into her's, he was overwhelmed by his favorite scent: vanilla. When Hermione encircled his neck with her arms and kissed him back, the cool evening air was replaced by an inferno. He threaded his fingers into her curls and pulled her flush against him, their kissing becoming deeper and more desperate. After a few moments, Hermione broke apart from him and he rested his forehead on hers.
"Is this really what you want?" she asked, blinking up at him. "I'm who you want?"
"Are you joking?" James pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. "You're all I've wanted for months. You're everything to me, Hermione."
"Okay," she breathed, her breath hot on his cheek.
"Okay?" he asked, hoping he didn't sound too desperate.
Okay," she echoed before pushing herself up on her tiptoes to continue their kissing where they'd left off.
Locked in an embrace, neither of them noticed the pair approaching them.
"Is that your brother making out with Hermione?" Ron asked, incredulous.
"Oh finally," Harry said, rolling his eyes. "Come on, something tells me our plans for drinks with her have just fallen through."
"I thought it was fake!"
"Yeah, so did they. I had to ask a favor of the new girl in the department, Tina." Ron nodded. "Sometimes we need a little help to get where we need to be. They both taught me that."