Let It Snow
Chapter Three: but the Fire's so Delightful
The louder he talked of his honor, the faster we counted our spoons. Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 – 1882)
A/N – I just want to say thank you to everyone who reviewed. Midnight goddess, blueskywillow555, crystalshards, uglinessrox55, Tina snape, Scarlett*eyes, Carolinus Took, Emerald Eyez, gnome girl, Liat86, whale girl, Kirbee
Lexi – yeah, I agree, I think so to. I've tried to have them get to know each other here and be more comfortable with each other
Everblue33 – I love your commentaries, they really help me a lot!
Lucinda Luna – Thank you so much for the correction! I thought that was odd, the spelling I mean and I'll be sure to fix it in the future!
I like this chapter a good deal better than the last and I hope you do too! Don't forget to review!
*****
Lily pried her eyes open and waited patiently as her blurry vision cleared. What had woken her? She looked across the room and saw James fast asleep in the other bed. She shook her head and turned over. Just as she shut her eyes and began to drift off again, there was a tapping at the window. She sighed, stretched and slowly got out of bed. The tapping grew louder and louder.
"I'm coming, I'm coming." She called softly and flung the window open.
A great tawny owl flew through the window, across the room and landed on James.
"What the hell?" James cried and threw the covers off. The owl was shoved off the bed and hovered in the air, beating his wings furiously.
Lily held her hand out and the owl soared through the air and landed gently on her hand.
"Hello there." Lily purred and tugged the envelope from the owl's talons. "James, toss me my change purse." Lily continued to stroke the owl's feathers.
James, who had already curled up in a ball and started to go a back to sleep, groped for the purse on night stand and threw it in her generally direction without even opening his eyes.
Lily got it deftly in her right hand, poured out its contexts onto the bed and counted out 5 sickles. The owl grasped the money and flew out the window as quickly as it had come. Lily found that she was shivering and went to the window. The second she reached for the window though, she stopped and stared. Snow swirled all around her. She stared out the window, despite the cold and just gazed at the mountains in the distance. The sun was rising behind them and the colors rose around the mountains.
James groaned from his bed and rolled over. He opened his eyes and was just about to tell Lily to close the goddamn window, when he saw her and his breath left him. She was shivering through her thin night gown against the back drop of the rising sun and the mountains. In the half light, she looked almost supernatural. Her auburn was blown behind her in the wind and the snow whirled around her small figure.
Lily turned back toward him and grinned. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"
James nodded. "Yeah," he said sincerely, never taking his eyes off her. "gorgeous."
Never mind that they were talking about two very different things.
******
"What did that owl want?" James asked later that morning as he buckled his ski boot.
Lily bit her lip as she pushed hard on her own boot buckle. "uh…" she said and then click as the boot buckled. She looked up. "I dunno, he just had an envelope. I didn't open it yet." She grabbed the envelope off the nightstand. "Here, why don't you open it while I buckle my other boot?" She tossed the envelope to him.
He caught it and nodded. He tore open the envelope and two pieces of parchment fell to the ground. James picked them up and scanned the quickly. "They're from Sirius and Adelle.
Lily grunted as she pushed one of the buckles down. "Read it." She said and pushed even harder.
He nodded and began to read.
Lily, (he read)
I hope that this owl will reach you, where ever you are. Adelle and I. I couldn't get through the pass because there was an avalanche. Adelle couldn't either. We didn't want to go back to England, so Adelle suggested we go somewhere else. Now don't freak out, but we're in Italy.
James paused at this and looked up to see what Lily thought of this. She had stopped messing her boot and was staring at the letter incredulously. She then shook her head and gave a little laugh. "Leave it to Sirius and Adelle. I guess that's what we get for leaving them alone." She giggled good-naturedly and turned back to her boot. James took that as his cue to continue.
If you couldn't make it to Zermatt either, than owl me and I let you know where we're staying and maybe you can come join us!
We haven't found a place to stay yet but its pretty cool here. I'll write you later.
Love,
"Aww." James said as he read the L-word. Lily blushed brilliantly but hid her red face by bending over her boot. "That's so cute." He smiled as he teased her, but inside, his guts wrenched as a feeling he reluctantly identified as jealousy, flooded him. Unbidden, a memory of that morning flew back to him, but he rid of it as quickly as it had come as he read the signature and was reminded precisely whom had written that L-word.
Sirius
No single word in all of history has ever been such a slap in the face to its reader.
P.S. Not that it matters, but is James with you?
"Someone's a little jealous, huh?" James said and folded up the parchment.
Lily's blush grew even deeper but this time she had nowhere to hide. "Let's not dissect his every word, k?" she asked and held her hand out to take the parchment.
He withheld it a moment more, though. "How long have you two been saying the l-word?" he asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.
"Why does it matter?" she whispered, her shyness returning.
"It doesn't, I was just wondering." He said, watching her closely.
She couldn't meet his gaze. "Well than let's just forget it."
"If it's not a big deal than why can't you tell me?" he asked firmly.
Lily gathered her courage, but still avoided the intenseness of his gaze. She took a deep breath. "Why do you care?" she asked and tore the parchment from his hands.
James was taken aback. "I don't." but whether he was convincing her or himself, neither knew.
Before James could say anything else, Lily had grabbed the letter from Adelle and began reading it.
James,
Hey sweetie! Greetings from Italy. It's beautiful here and only a little cold. Sirius and I couldn't get through the pass, you know with the Avalanche and all, so we thought we'd go somewhere else. You're not upset, are you sweetie? I knew you'd understand. Anyway, yesterday we took the train in from Spain, and we're having a great time. We haven't found a hotel yet but we will, don't worry.
Are you in Zermatt? Is Lily? If so, how's the skiing? Are you having fun? If you're not in Zermatt, owl me Jamsie and come on down to Italy. We'll have fun in the sun!! Anyway, If Lily's there, say hello for me and tell her that I'll owl her later.
Adelle
She folded it up and handed it to James. "Here you are." She said, stood up, zipped her coat and started for the door. "Ready?" she asked.
James nodded and grabbed his coat and lift ticket. "Yeah. Let's go."
*****
"Are you sure this is all we can afford?" Adelle asked staring skeptically and the dilapidated building in front of them.
Sirius, looking mildly put out at first at the sight of the hotel, nodded enthusiastically. "Yep!" he said and started towards the building. "That's what the man at the train station said when I told him our budget."
Adelle grabbed his arm and swung him back towards her. "You're positive?" she searched his face for some kind of amusement, hoping to god that it was a joke.
He nodded. "After that train ride, this is all we can afford." He said and once again started walking towards the hotel. He grabbed Adelle's arm. He grinned at her. "C'mon, it'll be an adventure!"
"Couldn't we go on a slightly less dirty adventure?" she asked with a wrinkled nose but allowed him to pull her through the front door.
"This was your idea, Einstein." He said and marched up to an old writing desk behind which an old man sat.
"How much for a room?" he asked in his rather limited Italian. The man replied and Adelle didn't even pretend to understand. He nodded and said something else, to which the man nodded, grinned widely and looked from Sirius to Adelle with raised eyebrows.
Adelle didn't speak any Italian but the implication was clear. Had she been easily embarrassed, she would have blushed, but as it was, she was rather angry. She was only made more so as she saw Sirius nod in the affirmative, and accept a single key with an infuriating grin.
She glared at him suspiciously. He shrugged sheepishly. "He asked if we were newly weds. What else could I say? We couldn't afford two rooms."
Adelle slapped him playfully. "How do I know that? For all I know, we could have afforded three or four rooms."
Sirius rolled his eyes. "If you're worried about me taking advantage of you, you shouldn't." he said and nearly stepped through one of the steps. He grasped the banister, which shook under his weight.
Adelle burst out laughing. "This place is well built, isn't it?" she giggled and side-stepped the hole, Sirius had made.
"Oh, yeah, it's a real palace." He grabbed Adelle by the waist as the wood beneath her feet creaked rather unnaturally.
"Uh huh, bet you're pretty glad we could only afford one room now." Adelle said and glanced pointedly at the hand on her waist.
Sirius snorted and quoted Adelle. "Don't flatter yourself, Lamoure. You're not my type."
Adelle grinned at him. "Touché."
He removed his hand from her waist to put the key in lock and open the door. The door swung open slowly with a creak. Sirius and Adelle looked inside and looked each other before bursting out in laughter.
"I guess this is the honey moon suite." Adelle giggled.
Sirius stared at the rather broken down queen bed at the center of the room and a very old couch in the corner nearest the window. He sighed. "I think I need to work on my Italian, I thought he said two beds."
Adelle shrugged. "It doesn't matter." She turned and smiled charmingly at Sirius. "You've always liked the couch, right buddy?"
*****
Lily made her way very slowly down the run. She wasn't a poor skier but this run was particularly difficult and while the view was breathtaking, the lack of trees made her feel very vulnerable. James had stopped at the top to adjust his boots. She took a deep breath as she skied the last stretch and skidded to stop at the bottom. She turned and faced the steep slope and waited for James to come on down. Sure enough, moments later, he began down rather quickly. Lily had to admire his form, if nothing else. He was an amazing skier. He skied down with quick sharp turns and very precise rhythm. His edges reached nearly ninety degrees as he shifted his weight. He was just about to ski to a stop next to Lily when he caught an edge. He tumbled to the ground and in a matter of seconds, had lost his skis and was sprawled, face down, on the ground at her feet.
He was lucky that this run was so empty because of the early hour so that none besides Lily witnessed his lovely fall.
"Oh my god!" she cried. "Are you okay?" she tried to bend down to help him but her skis prevented it.
He looked up at her, his face covered in snow, looking rather stunned, and nodded. Lily tried her best stifle a giggle, but it slipped out and was followed by a louder giggle and then outright laughter. She undid the bindings of her skis and leaned down, her hand outstretched to James.
James, a look if indignation in his face, took her hand, and a slow evil grin began to grow. Lily, in her glee, missed this tell-tale smile entirely. James grasped her hand tightly, and seconds later, Lily found herself spread out next to him, her mouth filled with snow.
She looked over at him, stunned. He tried his best keep a straight face, but as she looked at him some-what angrily, he couldn't help it and burst out laughing. She was mad at first, her pride a little hurt, but then, in a rare show of outgoingness, she grabbed a handful of snow and threw it playfully at it him.
"Oh, you want to go, do you?" he asked and made a snowball. She shrieked and got up, trying to run away but her ski boots were hardly good running shoes. She had not gone ten feet, when she had fallen flat on her face. She rolled onto her back and was about to get up when James had tackled her. Lily, giggling madly, could only watch as he put the snow ball on her face and pushed down, slowly spreading the freezing snow all over her face.
Their eyes locked.
Their faces moved closer.
Their lips almost touched and then…
two skiers whizzed passed them.
And the moment was broken.
Lily blushed fiercely and James stiffened.
Adelle
Sirius
James's eyes grew wide and he got off of her. Guilt overwhelming him. What are you doing, James? The altitude shouldn't be making your thinking thin as well as the air. Sirius is your best friend and Adelle is Lily's best friend. Get yourself together. You never even cared that she was alive until a few days ago.
Lily cleared her throat and went to put on her skis, ashamed. I'm away from Sirius for a few days and then suddenly I jump on not only the first guy I see, but his best friend. I'm an awful, awful person. How can you be so ungrateful? Sirius is the first guy who ever paid any attention to me, and now, the second another does, my affection switches. I'm a horrible girl.
*****
"Are you ready?" Adelle grinned, and raised her eyebrows suggestively.
Sirius looked up at her from his spot of the couch, paper in hand. "Where are we going?" he asked, noting her rather scanty clothing.
"Well I'm going out to have a good time and you're going out to pick up chicks."
Sirius raised his eyebrows doubtfully. "Am I really?"
Adelle smiled. "Yes, we're in Italy, don't you want to go out, have fun? A good looking guy like you." she said elbowing him playfully and gesturing out the window. "We'll go hit up a night club. C'mon," she prodded. "it'll be fun!"
"I'll go but I'm not going to 'pick up chicks'." He said rather firmly.
Adelle furrowed her eyebrows and began to pout. "Why not? I plan to dance the night away. Are you just going to sit and watch me?"
"What do you mean, why not?" Sirius growled, getting rather annoyed.
Adelle stared at him for a moment before her features gradually softened. "You really love her, don't you?" She asked softly, watching him.
He looked her dead in the eye and nodded. "More than anything."
*****
Lily looked down the slope and her breath caught in her throat. She suddenly felt very weak. She leaned against her pole for support and bit her lip.
She couldn't do this. It was too hard. The run was the steepest yet with large moguls covering it from top to bottom.
Next to her, James glanced down eagerly. He loved stuff like this. He looked at Lily excitedly only to see all the color drain out of her face.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
She nodded slowly, her eyes wide with fear and locked on the snow below.
"Are you sure?" he watched the horror on her face.
She turned her head very slowly and gulped but nodded, determined not to seem weak. He watched her carefully for a moment more before nodding himself.
"If you're sure…" he said reluctantly.
"Very sure." She said, though her voice was shaking.
His gaze lingered for a second more before he started quickly down the run. In matter of moments he was half way down and when Lily looked again, he had practically flown to the bottom with a graceful landing.
Lily gathered her courage and tipped her edges over the side of the slope. Before she even knew what was happening she was plummeting at full speed down the side. She tried desperately to regain control and did one quick turn. Suddenly, she hit a mogul wrong and flew through the air. Her body slammed hard against the packed snow her knee twisted strangely as the bindings came undone and the skis flew from their bindings.
She lay there for a second, hot tears flowing from her eyes, and her knee throbbing painfully. Once she got her breath back, she sat up slowly, shaking dangerously.
James watched from below in horror. "Lily!" he called. "Are you okay?"
"I hurt my knee!" she yelled back, her voice cracking slightly.
"Can you put your weight on it?" he asked, hiding his fear for her.
Lily stood up and put her weight on her knee gingerly. "Yes but it hurts!" she called down.
"Okay, you have to ski down Lily, but your nearly there." He called as soothingly as possible.
Lily shook her head, tears welling up again. "I can't do it, James. I can't!"
"Yes you can Lily, I promise. Just go as slowly as you can." He counted moguls silently. "Its only five turns or so."
Lily bit her lip, and her stomach wrenched.
"I'm right here Lily."
She took a deep breath and tipped her skis down the mountain and turned very slowly, one turn after another.
James watched with bated breath.
Two more turns, one more turn, and then there she was, next to him, shaking with silent sobs. Her pulled her into a hug and held her as she sobbed. "You're okay," he whispered. "I've got you, you're fine."
She let him hold her, grateful for the protectiveness of his arms.
A strange thing happened to James as he held her. He suddenly felt a desire to tear down the whole mountain and then…just then… a tingle went through his body that had nothing to do with the cold.
*****
Lily held the ice on her knee and giggled as James struggled with the fireplace. "I'm really sorry." She said after had finished and sat down opposite her. Lily fiddled with her fork on the table room service had brought up.
James looked at her strangely. "For what?" he asked and passed her the rolls.
She took one and placed it on her bread plate. "For making you sit in that hospital with me for so long, for falling, for being such a baby."
James held up his hand to silence her. "First of all, you didn't make me sit in the hospital with you, I wanted to. Second of all, you had every right to be upset and why are you apologizing for falling? That was hardly your fault."
She shrugged. "Well, thank you." She said after a moment and took the butter from his outstretched hand. "So, have you written Adelle back?" she asked.
He nodded. "Yeah, this morning. Have you written Sirius?"
She nodded. They chatted for the rest of dinner talking of nothing of consequence. Near ten o'clock Lily reached for her crutches and hobbled to bed. "Oh, and James," she said as she slid under the covers.
"Yeah?"
"Six months." She pulled the covers over her.
"What?" he asked.
"Six months, we've been saying 'I love you' for six months."
And the light was out.