Disclaimer: Phaerie claims no ownership to the Harry Potter characters. Unless of course she is under the influence of too much cough syrup. Then she's just delusional. She also doesn't own the wonderful song "The Way You Look Tonight" by Frank Sinatra.
The Way You Look Tonight
A Lily/James One-shot
By Phaerie
"James," Lily's lilting voice called from the bathroom as she cracked open the door, "Would you be so kind as to hand me my - "
James was standing just outside the door, holding out the black dress she had picked out earlier and left lying on the bed. "Here you go," he said and hung the dress over her arm when it shot through the crack.
"Thank you," she stated happily before slamming the door in his face. James ambled over to the dresser, pulling at his too-tight collar, and began sorting through the small pile of earrings that lay there. Picking up a pair of gold, dangly ones, he headed back over to the bathroom.
The door opened enough to let Lily's head through as she asked, "Are my - " James cut her off by holding up the earrings he'd picked out. He received a small smile this time before the door was quickly shut again. Turning around, he surveyed the bedroom. Various articles of clothing were strewn across the bed and the once-neatly organized closet was a mess. With a flick of his wand, order was restored.
He looked over at the bedside table and noticed a tube of lipstick on the verge of rolling off onto the floor. He quickly snatched it up and tossed it behind him towards the bathroom just as Lily opened the door again to demand, "Oy! Where's my - " With a startled yelp, she clumsily caught the lipstick, stuck her tongue out at a highly amused James, and shut the door with a resounding BANG.
James sat on the bed with sigh. Looking at the clock on the bedside table, he sighed again. A cry of anguish came from the bathroom, which also made James sigh.
"Lily?" he asked hesitantly as he made his way over to the bathroom again.
"I'm not going," she wailed in response.
"Sweetheart, darling, gumdrop, we've been over this already. We have to go," he called back while trying to restrain himself from bashing his head against the door.
"Why?" she asked sadly. He could tell she was biting her bottom lip, newly-applied lipstick be damned.
"Because we promised we would. Why don't you want to go Lily? There's going to be free food! All you can eat!" he told her persuasively.
He heard a sniffle and then, "I'm fat. The last place I need to be is somewhere with free food just staring at me, daring me to eat it."
"No, you're pregnant," he began reasonably, "And beautiful."
"You're lying through your teeth," she muttered pathetically.
James swung the door open and leaned against the frame casually. Lily had her back turned to him, but he could see her reflection in the mirror she was facing. "No I'm not. You're beautiful," he stated honestly, smiling slightly as she turned around. True, her belly was swollen - she was five months pregnant, after all - but the dress she'd picked out looked perfect on her.
Lily blushed and pushed past him muttering, "And whoever said that black was slimming was lying too."
James followed her into the living room before grabbing her hand and turning her to face him. Lacing his fingers through hers, he pulled her toward him with his other arm and started swaying.
"What are you doing?" Lily asked incredulously while trying to pull herself out of his arms.
Tightening his hold around her waist, he whispered in her ear, "Dancing."
"There's no music," Lily pointed out cynically. James gave her a look that asked, "Must you spoil my fun with your logic?"
He began to hum with an exaggerated sigh. When Lily still refused to sway with him, he sang, "Yes you're lovely, with your smile so warm and your cheeks so soft."
Lily's lips twitched upwards and she turned her head away to hide her smile. "I never should have gotten that record player for Sirius," she mumbled to herself.
"There is nothing for me but to love you," he continued as he let go of her waist to turn her head back toward him, "And the way you look tonight." He grinned as she blushed and tried to look away again. Before she could turn away, however, James' lips pressed sweetly against hers, demanding attention. With a light chuckle, Lily gladly let them take the spotlight in her mind.
"I love you, Lily," James breathed as he pulled away slowly.
"I love you, too," she whispered happily, her green eyes sparkling.
Lily gasped and grabbed her stomach, feeling the baby kick. She was torn between laughing that it had moved and admonishing it for kicking her. James bent down and, addressing her stomach, teased, "No need to get violent. We didn't forget about you, little guy. We love you, too, in all your human fetus glory." This earned him a painful smack to his head, but also an amused snort from Lily.
"Maybe we could skip the party. It's just an excuse for Ministry stiffs to pretend to be friendly anyway," James suggested as he stood back up.
"And do what exactly?" she asked exasperatedly.
James grinned wickedly and pulled her into his arms again. "We'll dance the night away," he proclaimed, pulling a pen from a pocket of his dress robes and transfiguring it into a red rose. Clasping the rose between his teeth, he grinned and lead her into the tango while she giggled madly at his antics. And so they danced the night away.
The way you look tonight...
Fin.
A/N: So, what did you think? I love that song. Ah, that was fun. Time to review (hint hint). And if you liked this one, look out for two other L/J one-shots that are in the works, Bittersweet and...well the other one is still untitled. Tootles! And oodles of noodles to all those who (should that be whom?) review!
-Phaerie