Disclaimer- I own nothing.
A/N This is a bit of the future story of Supposed Happiness. Bane and Lily happiness. Enjoy.
I knew he was watching me as I climbed out of bed and padded to the bathroom. My skin prickled pleasantly as I heard him shift beneath the covers, my steps ceased and I waited for him to speak. Silence continued so I shut the bathroom door behind me and grinned wildly at my reflection in the mirror.
When I came out he was laying on his back with his arms tucked behind his head, a ghost of a smile playing with his lips. I stood in the doorway and raised an eyebrow.
"What exactly are you staring at?" I asked with my arms crossed over my chest.
"You."
"Why would you be looking at me?"
"I'm enjoying how comfortable you are with me." He said and beckoned me to come to him.
I smiled at him and obeyed crawling up from the end of the bed to lay at his side.
"What do mean?"
He pulled me closer and tucked the blanket around us, "You walk around naked, unashamed and confident."
"You like that?" I asked kissing his jaw.
"I love you."
It always stunned me when he said this. Most of the time Bane was quiet, thoughtful and self contained. He weighed his choices carefully, took his time, and never did anything he hadn't thought completely through. Everything in his life was well ordered and his schedule ran like clockwork. The only thing he was ever passionate about was me.
"I love you too." I replied moving my kisses to his neck.
"I've been thinking."
I stopped and looked up at him curiously.
"About what?"
"You and I."
He met my gaze easily and I saw apprehension within.
"What about us?"
"After I finish school..." He stopped and seemed to be searching for words.
"What?"
"I thought you might consider moving in with me. Getting a flat of our own."
I laughed and kissed his mouth happily
"Of course."
He smiled his usual half smile and hugged me close.
"Though," I said laying my head against his chest, "I'll need to talk to my father about it."
"We're old enough. We don't need permission."
"I know but I'll feel better if I get his approval."
Bane was thoughtful for a while and I wrapped an arm across his torso, reminding him that I loved him. He had a tendency to get lost within himself, mulling over something that bothered him or working through a problem. If it went to long, he'd forget what was going on around him.
I scraped my nails across his hip to remind him I was there.
"What?" He asked confused.
"Just getting your attention." I let my fingers trace over his stomach.
"Well you have it."
"Good."
He watched me a moment longer, "What are you going to do with it?"
"I don't know. The plan really didn't go beyond that. Did you have something you wanted to do?" My tone was playful.
His movements were slow and deliberate, but he pulled me up to straddle his waist. I took his hands in my own and looked down at him with a smile.
"You know," I said leaning forward so our faces were only inches apart, "I'm going to miss you."
"Yes."
"Will you miss me?"
"Yes."
I liked that he always answered honestly. There was no pretense of testosterone to prove that he was a man, no grand production of denials, simply what he felt. While he did not parade his emotions for the world to see, there was no holding back with me.
Smiling openly now I sat up straight and placed his hands on my waist.
"Do you remember the first time I stayed over?" I whispered watching his face carefully.
The mention of that night earned me a rare smile that lit up every part of his face.
"Yes."
"Do you remember how shy I was?"
One of his hands slid down to my thigh.
"Yes."
"I'm not shy anymore."
I heard his breath catch in his throat as I leaned forward and kissed his chest.
"I've noticed."
I woke first. His arm was wrapped tightly around my waist and his face was buried between my shoulders, warm breath sending shivers down my spine. The sheet was hopelessly tangled round him, but somehow I had been left with room to move. Very carefully I slipped from his gasp and out of the bed. Digging about in his drawers for something to wear I pulled out a very large black t shirt and a pair of his pajama pants which I tied as tight as I could.
He murmured in his sleep and rolled over. I kissed his lips softly and went in search of breakfast. The smell of bacon cooking led me down the hall and into Draco's large kitchen. Pip the house elf was standing at the stove cooking eggs while humming to herself.
"Good morning, miss." She squeaked and I nodded to her.
"Morning Lily." Draco said smiling at me from the table in the corner.
"Morning." I answered smiling back happily.
"Did you sleep well?" He asked setting the Daily Prophet down on the table and giving me his full attention.
"Yeah."
"I assume my son is still sleeping?"
"Yeah, he was when I left."
"Glad to see one of you is an early riser."
"No I just smelled the bacon cooking, felt hungry."
For moment he stared at me thoughtfully, then smiled a little.
"What are you planning on doing now that you've graduated?"
"I'm going to be a Healer. Seemed appropriate all things considered." I held my palms up as if to show him.
"Yes," He answered somewhat sadly, "it's the right job for you."
There was a loud yawn from the doorway and we both turned to find Bane standing there rubbing his eyes sleepily. His sleep pants were twisted a little and there were red marks on his side and arms from the blankets. I grinned despite Draco being in the room.
"Rough night I take it." His father smirked.
"Huh?" He replied confused.
"At least you left him in one piece." Draco said to me with a smirk.
I blushed a little. Promptly the older man went back to reading his paper and Bane sat down beside me.
"You were gone when I got up." He whispered, frowning.
"Got hungry. Bacon smells good." I explained, trying to straighten his messy hair.
"You messed up the schedule though," He said taking hold of my hands, "we wake up and shower and then get dressed and come to breakfast."
I blinked at him in astonishment, "It'll be okay, I swear."
"No. Come on." He said and hauled me to my feet.
"What are we doing?" I queried as I was dragged out of the kitchen and down the halls to his room.
"Taking a shower." He announced as he shut and locked the bedroom door.
"But ... bacon..."
My plea for food was cut off by his lips pressed again mine. His breath was fresher than mine and I realized he'd brushed his teeth before wandering into the kitchen.
"No fair." I said when he pulled away.
"What?"
"You brushed your teeth."
He smiled, "Yeah."
"I still taste bad."
"I love the way you taste." His lips hovered centimeters above mine.
A laugh escaped me and I nipped at his collar bone playfully.
"Damn you." He whispered and buried his fingers in my tangled hair.
"What?"
"Damn you and your messy hair."
I looked at him quizzically.
"Just when I know what's going on, just when I think everything is under control, you come in and flip that knotted black hair at me and my whole life gets caught up in it."
I kissed him on the lips and pulled him into the bathroom with me.
"Did you talk to your father yet?" Bane asked me as we stood by the Hogwarts Express saying goodbye.
"Not yet. It's kind of a delicate issue." I answered looking back at my father who was trying to wrestle Aidan off the train while explaining that he would be going next year.
"Let me know soon. My father says he can get the paperwork taken care of quickly."
I nodded and leaned against him just a little, smiling when his arm went around me. It seemed he was always warm, despite how cold his blue eyes and silver hair made him look.
"You're coming over for Christmas and Easter right?" He whispered in my ear.
There was a worried tone to his voice.
"Yes."
"Good." And for a second his lips touched my neck.
"I'll write you often." I promised taking one of his hands in mine and squeezing.
"I know."
"And I swear I'll talk to my father."
"I love you." He said pulling away and looking me in the eyes.
I grinned back at him, "I love you too."
"You better get on board." Father called to us.
"Bye." Bane said and kissed me quickly on the lips.
"Bye." I managed.
My father laid a hand on my shoulder and pulled me further from the edge of the platform. It was no secret that Bane made him uncomfortable and that our relationship was not what he had in mind for me; I could feel the tension in his grip.
"You'll see him soon." He mumbled awkwardly.
I nodded and turned away as the train left, it was our first year apart and I thought my heart was going to break.
My father watched me over the top of his glass, sipping his water out of habit rather than thirst, waiting for me to explain myself. I ignored him and continued cutting my chicken into very small pieces, wishing there was an easy way to talk to him about this. The thud of his glass on the table startled me and finally I met his inquisitive gaze.
"Well," He asked, "What did you want to talk about?"
I sighed, "I've been thinking about what I'm going to do now. I mean, now that I've graduated."
He waited for me to continue and I went back to cutting my meat. His discomfort was contagious and I wondered at the insanity that brought me here.
"And?" He pushed.
"I'm going to be a Healer." I said clearly.
"Good profession. I wish your mother had kept with it, she was a natural. And with your talents, you'll be quite good at it."
Lifting a very minute piece of chicken to my mouth, I nodded. Our weekly lunches weren't usually this tense. Most of the time we'd tease each other and talk about what I'd been doing. He'd make some snide remark about Bane and I'd kick him under the table. Today was different. He knew I had something more to tell him and I knew he wasn't going to like it.
"And there was something else too." I admitted swallowing hard and looking up again.
"I thought so."
"I want to move out."
He frowned and leaned closer, "Why?"
"It's time. I'm old enough and I can take care of myself."
"If you want to go, I understand but I want you to know that you can always stay. Don't feel that you have to leave because you aren't in school anymore."
I took another bite of chicken and chewed it slowly while he watched my face intently.
"There's more." He stated and leaned back in his chair.
"I'm moving in with Bane."
A stillness came over him, the only movement was his chest rising and falling as he breathed. I could hear the other people in the restaurant talking and laughing, only we seemed to be frozen. My heart was beating loudly, but I managed to keep it under control.
"Well, I suppose he won't make a bad son-in-law." He answered finally and took another sip of his water.
"We're not getting married." I went on and jumped when he choked on his drink and spluttered it all over the table.
"Not married?" He managed after a moment.
I shook my head and tried not to smile at the drop of water hanging off his nose.
"I don't know how much I like that idea, Lily." He said seriously.
"I'm not asking for permission." I replied and reached over with my napkin to wipe the drop away.
He allowed me a moment to get settled again and shifted a little in his seat.
"Then why bother to tell me?"
"Because I love you. It wouldn't be right for me to just leave."
"Why go at all? This arrangement is working fine. You see him on holidays and when he graduates you'll see him more. You stay over there at least once a week. Surely that's enough."
I smiled a little, "You know how I feel about him. I've told you more than once. This is the right path for me. Has been since I was a little girl. But I need your blessing. A nod of approval at least."
A sigh escaped him and he took my hand in his gently.
"You're right. I do know how you feel about him. While I don't think I approve of you moving in with him, I can't stop you. You are an adult now, I'll respect whatever choice you make."
"I'm moving in with him."
"Then I'll just have to learn to live with it." He said smiling half heartedly.
We sat there in silence for a moment until I pulled my hand back and grinned at him.
"What?" He asked eyeing me warily.
"You can help me move into the flat. We should have it by the end of the month. I'm going to get it all set up so he just comes to live there after school." I explained becoming excited as I spoke.
"How did you get it so fast?"
"Draco's getting the paperwork finished. All I have to do is move in and get a job somewhere..."
"I don't have to spend holidays with Draco do I?" He asked making a pained face.
I kicked his leg under the table.
"That hurt." He said, rubbing his knee.
"Good." I said grinning.
