QLFC, Chaser 1, Round 6
Main Prompt- Lily & Remus
Additional Prompts- (trope) fake dating, (trait) cheerful, (object) blanket
Word Count- 1705
"We should still go without them."
Remus sighed, curling further into the blanket on Lily and James's sofa. "Why?" he grumbled.
"Because I still want to go and I don't want to go by myself," Lily explained from the opposite end of the couch. She poked Remus with her big toe. "Come on, it will be fun."
It would have been really fun if James and Sirius hadn't been called away on emergency hit wizard business right after supper.
"You know what else could be fun?" Remus countered "Staying right here while we worry about our boyfriends together."
"Umm… excuse me, but I think you mean fiancé," Lily corrected, waving her diamond ring in Remus's face because she knew it would make him laugh. "And you are wrong. That does not sound fun in the least, Remus Lupin," Lily groaned. "Please go with me. Please, please, please, please. Please, please. Pleeeeeeaaaassssseeee—"
"Oh my Gods, FINE!"
"Yessssss!" Lily hopped to her feet and pumped the air triumphantly. "Come on, hurry and get dressed. Oh, this is going to be amazing!" cheered Lily as she sprinted barefoot down the hall, disappearing into the bedroom she shared with James.
Remus rolled his eyes, but did as he was told, flopping over the side of the couch dramatically even though no one was there to witness it. He got to his feet and shrugged the blanket off his shoulders. "Goodbye blanket," he said, depositing the fluffy crimson thing back onto the couch. "We could have had a very nice evening together, but alas, it was not meant to be."
"ARE YOU TALKING TO YOURSELF OUT THERE?!"
Remus paused. Ummm…. "NO!" he called back.
"Liar," Lily retorted from just over his right shoulder.
Remus jumped and pressed a hand to his chest as if that might stop his heart from beating out of it. He then gaped at Lily's state of dress. Somehow, in the span of a mere thirty seconds, Lily had completely transformed from a normal twenty-year-old witch to a goddess clad in a shiny teal gown and silver heels. Her red hair was even curled at the ends.
"How…?"
"Magic, dummy," she said, smacking him lightly with her silver clutch. "Now it's your turn. Go," she demanded, physically steering the werewolf toward the guest room where Sirius and Remus had spent most of their nights even though they had a flat of their own one town over. Lily pushed him toward the cupboard in the corner and crossed her arms. "Pick something presentable. We are going to a muggle night club, so try not to stand out too much."
"Yeah, yeah," Remus grumbled. "I'm not Sirius, you know? I do understand that a massive pointed hat is not acceptable attire for a footie match."
Lily's pink lips pulled up into a smile as she recalled the memory. "Oh that was legendary. I've changed my mind. Please wear the pointed hat."
"Hardy-har," Remus deadpanned as he rifled through his meager selection of clothes. This was a fruitless pursuit if ever there was one. Nothing Remus owned would be acceptable enough to wear while standing next to Lily in that dress. He sighed. "Alright, so maybe dipping into Sirius's wardrobe would be best..."
"I don't care either way. You have five minutes or I'm making you go in your bedclothes," Lily threatened as she exited the room.
Remus could hear her in the kitchen spelling their dinner dishes clean as he pulled on a pair of tan trousers and a royal blue sweater that still smelled like Sirius's cologne. It would have to do, and in all honesty, he didn't look half bad. Perhaps he should steal his boyfriend's clothes more often. In fact, Remus wondered if Sirius would even notice if he kept the sweater for good. The dark-haired wizard had an extensive wardrobe. Surely Sirius wouldn't notice one missing jumper, even if said jumper was as soft as that blanket he'd been snuggling in ten minutes ago.
After a quick dip into Sirius's collection of hair products (which was also extensive— was Remus dating a model or something?) Remus headed out to the living room, arms spread as if to silently ask, "Is this presentable enough?" Lily motioned for Remus to do a little spin with a twirl of her fingers, and Remus, after rolling his eyes, did as he was told.
"Well?" he asked when he was facing Lily once more.
"Good. Very good. You look quite handsome, Mister Lupin."
"And you look like an angel, Miss Evans," Remus complimented in return, bowing his head and lifting the back of Lily's hand to press a gentlemanly kiss to her knuckles.
"Oh, you do know how to flatter me, good sir," Lily postured, fanning her face in an exaggerated fashion.
Remus could see a true flush to her cheeks, though. He smiled warmly as he asked, "We ready, then?"
Lily's answering grin was lethal. "We are."
The line into the club was longer than Remus had thought it would be. Apparently there was limited space in muggle night clubs… which made sense once he remembered that muggle buildings couldn't be magically expanded if it needed to accommodate more people at any given time.
Lily sighed beside Remus as they inched ever so slowly closer to the night club's entrance. Remus had an arm thrown over Lily's shoulder, occasionally rubbing the bare skin there comfortingly. Lily twirled the diamond ring on her finger in a nervous manner. Standing in line was not helping either of them escape the ever present worry of just where their significant others were right now.
It was excruciating, actually.
Remus missed his blanket.
"Oh what a beautiful ring," said a girl a few people ahead of them. She was leaning against the building's wall, a lit cigarette between her fingers. She looked Lily and Remus up and down once they acknowledged her comment, a demure smile settling on her lips. "When are you two getting married?"
Remus blinked. "Oh, no, we—"
"We haven't decided on a date yet, but we were thinking... October," interrupted Lily. She reached up a hand to intertwine with Remus's, her movements so natural and simple, people would assume the two of them had been holding hands like this every single day of their lives. "That's actually really soon, now that I think about it. Can you believe how soon that is, honey?"
Remus, who had always been good at going with the flow when it came to his friends' shenanigans, caught on quickly. He fell into the role of doting fiancé with ease. "I wish it was sooner."
"Awww…" cooed the girl in front of them. "You two are so sweet."
"Thank you so much," Lily said, giggling like a lovestruck schoolgirl. "We're just out celebrating actually. Our friends are already inside and we wanted to surprise them with the news." Lily erupted into another fit of giggles and Remus looked at the redhead with undisguised awe.
Remus was— not for the first time— absolutely bloody terrified of Lily's acting abilities. And she'd only gotten better over the years, to the point where Remus sometimes had a hard time telling what was an act and what wasn't. Lily Evans was scary and Remus was grateful every day that he got to witness her in action.
"Oh, you shouldn't have to stand in this line," gushed the girl with the cigarette. "Do you want to come ahead of me?" she prompted.
"Oh, I couldn't possibly—" Lily quickly responded, a false refusal.
"I insist," enthused the girl, waving the "happy couple" forward to stand in front of her. "Besides, you must tell me how you met while we wait."
"Oh, funny story," Lily began cheerfully. "I was on the train headed to…"
"So..." Remus mused once he and Lily had safely entered the club and were away from prying ears. "Fake dating to get into a night club a tiny bit sooner than we would have otherwise is something I didn't think I'd be doing today… or ever."
"Fake engagement," Lily corrected.
"Same difference."
"Oxymoron."
"What did you just call me?"
Lily smacked Remus playfully on the arm and he pretended that it actually hurt by cringing away with extreme exaggeration. "It. Was. Fun," she said, punctuating each word with another smack on his arm. "Admit it, Lupin."
Remus rolled his eyes, but did as he was told. "Well, I can't argue with you there, Evans."
Lily's smile was brighter than the sun. "Let's get drinks."
Four of whatever a whiskey sour was later, Lily and Remus were on the dance floor, the redhead curled up against Remus's chest as he swayed them to the beat of the upbeat dance music.
Lily sighed and looked up at Remus with a bleary grin. "Hey, Remus."
"What's up, Lily?"
Lily's smile brightened at the use of her first name. "I just wanted to say that I love you."
Remus pulled his friend closer, until they were basically hugging. He leaned down so she could hear him over the music pumping through the muggle devices. "I love you, too, Lils."
She buried her face into Remus's jumper (which he was definitely keeping), and sighed happily. "Hey, Remus," she said, pulling back a bit to see his face again.
"What's up, Lily?" Remus asked warmly.
Lily grinned. "I want to go home and cuddle under the blankets while we worry about our fiancés together."
Remus didn't correct her about his current relationship status. He just took her hand and led her out of the maze of people until they were able to safely apparate home.
James and Sirius returned to the house in Godric's Hollow to find their significant others curled up on the sofa together, a fluffy crimson blanket covering them both from head to toe, soft music playing on the radio in the kitchen.
The fireplace was roaring, casting a cheery, warm light over the room.
Lily and Remus both glanced up and grinned twin grins at the men they loved.
This time next year, Lily would be giving birth to the Chosen One and Remus would be in Europe spying on werewolves for the Order.
But right now… everything was perfect.