Hi all! This is a story that originally wrote for the IWSC, but I ended up rejecting it because it didn't fit the theme well enough. But, I am quite partial to what I wrote, so I still wanted to post it :). I hope you enjoy this little Jily AU!
[Theme] Preserving a reputation.
[Action] Skinny dipping
[Setting] Hotel
Bubbles
James is standing on the cold, wet concrete, wearing nothing but a towel, his clothes piled in a lump by his feet. He had not been expecting this.
"Make sure you turn on the bubbles."
Lily shivers next to him, also wrapped in a towel. His mind immediately pictures what's underneath, and as a result, he ties the cloth a little tighter around his hips as he conjures up a series of images to combat his body's natural reaction.
Padfoot eating a meat pie. Filch and Hagrid wrestling. Dumbledore doing a strip tease. Moaning Myrtle crying in the shower. Severus Snape in knee high boots…
"What are you waiting for?" asks Lily. "The bubbles?"
Right. The bubbles. James knows how to turn on the bubbles. Of course he does — any other Muggle in his mid twenties would know how to turn on hot tub bubbles.
Quick, make something up. "I think it's broken."
"No, it's not," she says with a chuckle.
"You try then."
Lily brushes past him and fiddles with the mechanical box thing. The hardware lights up and buzzes before the water erupts, creating foamy waves that dance in the moonlight.
"How'd you do that?"
"Magic."
James laughs, maybe a bit too enthusiastically. He could have used magic to get the bubbles going — too bad he's supposed to be a Muggle.
Lily steps forward into the hot tub and drops the towel at the very last second before disappearing under the bubbles. The fact that James sees nothing sends his imagination running wild.
Padfoot eating a meat pie.
"Well, come on in!" says Lily as she flashes her flirtatious smile.
"Close your eyes," demands James.
"Really?"
"It's only fair."
With a dramatic sigh, Lily claps a hand over her eyes. "Fine. My eyes are closed."
"No peeking," James warns before submerging a foot into the steaming, bubbling water, unraveling his towel, and plunking into the abyss.
"Can I open my eyes?"
"Yes."
Lily removes her hand and smiles at James sitting across from her. "Hi."
"Hi."
The reality of the situation hits James like the Hogwarts Express. Lily Evans is near perfect — her wet hair is plastered to her cheeks, its auburn color muted just enough to showcase her perfect smile and splattering of freckles. She's adventurous, hilarious, intelligent and fun — everything James has ever wanted.
But she's a Muggle.
"What do you think of the hotel?" asks Lily. She shifts her weight, which causes her chest to float above the surface for a split second before it's engulfed by bubbles again. "Nice, isn't it?"
Filch and Hagrid wrestling.
"Very nice," he says.
Her father owns the hotel chain, which explains why she has access to the grounds. James wasn't expecting her to invite him to the hot tub, and he wasn't prepared, having left his swimmers at home. It turned out okay though, because she wasn't prepared either. Skinny dipping it is.
"I'm surprised you didn't know how the key worked."
James narrows his eyes at Lily, playfully of course. "Well, I apologize. I'm used to regular keys."
"How long has it been since you've been to a hotel?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Because every hotel has key cards now."
Shit. It's a stupid Muggle thing he should have known about. He should have just hidden his wand inside his sleeve and used Alohomora to open the lock. She wouldn't have noticed, would she?
Why does the girl of his dreams have to be a Muggle?!
"Okay, you got me. It's been a while since I've been to a hotel."
"I'll just have to give you the full experience then." Without breaking eye contact, Lily floats into the center of the hot tub, now inches from James.
Dumbledore doing a strip tease.
"And what does that entail?"
"Oh, you know. A hot shower. A warm bed. Games."
"Games?
"Yes. Games."
"Like what?"
Without warning, Lily rises to her feet. She's standing waist deep in the water, her wet hair plastered strategically to the front of her body to preserve her modesty. "Like the game you've been playing on me all along."
"What—?"
Lily reaches behind James and scoops up his clothing and towel, before launching them both across the pool deck. In addition to the soft plop of his clothing hitting the pavement, there's a clack clack clack as his wand tumbles from his pile of clothing and rolls away.
"Hey!"
He didn't realize it was possible to feel even more naked now that his wand is out of reach.
Lily beams, clueless to his predicament.
"Lily—"
"What, you don't want to get out of the water?" Her eyebrows raise pointedly and James can't help but smile.
"Maybe you can go get my clothes for me. Since you chucked them."
She shakes her head. "Nah. I don't think I want to."
"Well, that's too bad. It's not like I have a magic wand to summon them back." The words slip out of his mouth unfiltered, but that's okay — she'll probably read it as sarcasm.
"You can use mine."
Lily's green eyes lock with his, challenging him to ask questions. He pauses, unsure if she's being serious or playing along.
James clears his throat and gulps before continuing. "You're a witch?"
Lily nods. "Ilvermorny. To answer your next question."
"How long have you known?"
Lily laughs and tosses her head back, her glossy hair shimmering in the glow of the patio lighting. "From the start."
"You've always known?"
"I've always known."
"Why didn't you say anything?"
"I wanted to see how far you'd take it."
James' cheeks light up a telling shade of pink, and not from the hot tub heat. He took it a lot further than he'd expected, and now Lily knows.
x
It all started at a Muggle restaurant. It was Sirius' birthday, and all he wanted was to get completely pissed at a bar where none of the employees would think to counteract refilling charms. As a result, their one pitcher of beer became bottomless, and their single purchased entrees turned into all-you-can-eat buffets. James had to admit it was a brilliant idea. Dishonest, but brilliant, made even more so by the beautiful Muggle girl making eyes at him from across the room.
"I bet you can't get a Muggle girl," Sirius had said as he watched James' gaze flit over to her table.
"Sure, I can," said James, feeling his shoulders stiffen by a rush of Gryffindor competitiveness.
"Without breaking the Statute of Secrecy, of course," added Remus.
James had a reputation to uphold — not only did he never back down from a challenge, he had a long running streak of luck when it came to the ladies, and he couldn't break it now. He rose to his feet, straightened out his jacket, and took a deep breath. "Watch me."
A tad tipsy, James stumbled to her table. Lily's table, he soon found out.
"I'm James."
"Lily," said the girl as she eyed him from head to toe. "And this is my sister, Petunia."
"Nice to meet you both," he said before turning his attention back on Lily. "You're pretty."
He'd be the first to admit it wasn't his smoothest line, but something about the girl caught him off guard. She wore a knowing smile that made him wonder if she saw through his little act.
"And you're drunk!" she piped back.
"That's a weird way to pronounce 'handsome'," said James as he held up his half-full glass of beer. "And I've only had this much."
"So you're a lightweight?"
"You could say that."
Uninvited, James plopped down into the third chair at the table. Lily looked at her sister and shrugged. "So, you're joining us?"
James glanced back at his friends watching him from their table. Sirius held up two thumbs. Of course he was joining them; his reputation was on the line. "Yep."
And that was that.
It didn't end that night. Everything about Lily captivated him, so from then on, James became a Muggle. Or at least he pretended to.
And Merlin, it was complicated being a Muggle. Over the few short weeks they'd been seeing each other, he learned how to play Muggle football, operate a television, ride a bicycle, and purchase cinema tickets. He discovered how ovens worked, how not to blow electric fuses, and how to use Muggle post. It was a lot.
But Lily was worth it.
It was worth it to watch her smile so wide that dimples formed on her cheeks, to feel every jolt and spark whenever their hands touched, to have the world melt away when she kissed him for the first time. Then the second, and the third.
It was definitely worth being naked together for the first time in a hot tub at a fancy hotel, bubbles and all.
x
Lily brushes a finger along James' arm, breaking him away from his reverie. She's inched even closer now, yet the bubbles still disrupt what would otherwise be a perfect view. "James."
Her whisper sends a cascade of shivers down his spine.
Moaning Myrtle crying in the shower.
"How did you know I was a wizard?"
Lily lets out a laugh. "Because you're a shit Muggle."
"I'm a shit Muggle?"
"You don't even know how hotel keys work!" she says, playfully shoving his shoulder.
"I was figuring it out!"
"Also, you were wearing a Quidditch jacket at the restaurant when we met."
"I was?"
"Yes."
"Oh."
Lily then closes the distance between them, pausing in front of him, moments away from sitting on his lap.
"How long do you think you would have kept it up?" she asks softly.
The silence that follows is laced with tension, the air tight enough to cut with a severing charm. Or scissors.
It's a big question, one that breaks a dam within James' mind, unleashing images of a future with Lily. Sure, he's thought about it — Muggle dates, training his parents how to act and what to say, an elaborate, magic-free wedding. He's imagined telling SIrius that yes, he did get a Muggle girl. Not just for a night either; he married her.
"I reckon… forever," he mumbles.
"Forever?" asks Lily with a raise of her eyebrow.
"Or at least until—" James pauses, a smile on his face as he imagines the destructive forces of childhood accidental magic, and the culprit responsible. Maybe he'd have scraggly black hair like James and jet green eyes like Lily. "Until it came up."
James tenses as he awaits Lily's response.
It's too soon, isn't it?
But then she smiles. "Until it came up, huh?"
Maybe it's not.
"Are you mad at me for lying?" he asks. Most girlfriends would be, after all.
"No," says Lily, reminding him once again, that she is not 'most girlfriends'. "I'm flattered."
The words hang in the hair for a moment, louder than expected now that the buzz of the bubbles has stopped. James' eyes float down to the water, which becomes clearer with each pop, revealing the blurry, distorted image of Lily's naked frame.
Severus Snape in knee-high—
Screw it.
He doesn't finish that thought, instead opting to tug a laughing Lily onto his lap, his self-consciousness dissipating as the final bubbles disappear.
As it turns out, it's quite nice to be seen.
