Written For:
- Hillstar for reaching a milestone in a HPFC Challenge
- Day 17 of 366 Days of Writing Challenge: Craving
- February Event: Teamwork Exercise: (lyric) "I'll drown my beliefs to have your babies." - Radiohead, (title) Beauty and the Beast
- Gringotts Prompt Bank/Pairings: Remus/Narcissa
- Gringotts Prompt Bank/Secret Diary: (plot/action) Being kissed unexpectedly, mid-sentence, (plot/action) Trying to move comfortably in a particularly tight dress, (dialogue) "I couldn't bear it if my parents found out."
- Gringotts Prompt Bank/Poems Porn: "I feel like a part of my soul has loved you since the beginning of everything. Maybe we're from the same star."
- Word Prompt Express: Dress
Pairings/Characters: Remus/Narcissa
Word Count: 669
Beauty and the Beast
Between two lungs it was released, the breath that passed from you to me.
Remus watched, slightly bemused, as his girlfriend crouched in the lower half of the refrigerator and actively searched through the cooling box. He could tell that she was struggling to breathe properly in the ridiculously tight blue dress that she was wearing, but he knew without asking that she wouldn't even consider taking it off to wear something more comfortable. When she stood up, clutching a tub of vanilla ice cream, she walked awkwardly over to the kitchen table, and Remus observed the way that the blue material was stretched to it's limit over her hips.
"Are you okay, Cissy?" he asked as she sat down, raising his eyebrow as she dug her spoon viciously into the ice cream and began devouring it. "You're eating ice cream? You hate ice cream." He had the tub of ice cream in the freezer for when he was out of chocolate, and needed a pick-me-up after the events of each full moon.
Narcissa shrugged. "I don't know, Remus. I just had a craving for it, okay?" she shot him a snippy look, and Remus sat back in his chair. He knew better than to argue with Narcissa, but something she said lingered in his mind. A craving.
The same thought seemed to pass through Narcissa's mind, as she froze, with the spoon midway towards her mouth. She replaced it in the tub slowly, and her pale blue eyes met with Remus's. "Narcissa," he spoke slowly, drawing out her name with deliberate care. "Are you...?"
Narcissa pushed away the tub of ice cream hurriedly and stood up from the table, rushing away suddenly. The seams of the dress split as she moved so quickly, and moments later Remus heard her vomiting into the toilet. He stood up and followed her, finding her crouched over the toilet, clutching the seat with a white-knuckle grip. He leaned over and combed her hair back with his fingers, holding it away from her face.
"Get it out, Cissy," he soothed, rubbing her back with his free hand. She wretched a few more times, and then sat back against the wall. Remus reached for a cup on the side of the sink and filled it with tap water, handing it to her. She took a long, grateful drink.
"What have we done?" she whispered in a dry voice once she had drained the cup. "Oh, Merlin."
"Narcissa, you need to know," Remus started, soothingly brushing back her hair with his fingers. "I'll support you, whatever decision you make."
"I'm not getting rid of it!" she snapped, shooting Remus a glare. "How can you even suggest..." her voice tailed off, and her eyes filled with tears. "Remus, I couldn't bear it if my parents found out...we can't tell anyone."
"I know," Remus replied quietly. "I know." He took a long pause, his lip shuddering. "Cissy...what if...what if the baby is like me? What if your parents do find out? It's bad enough that I'm already not a desirable suitor for you, but to consider the thought of having a baby with a werewolf...they will abjure you from the family for—" he was cut off as Narcissa leaned forwards and pressed her lips against his suddenly, preventing him from continuing. Her tears spilled from her eyes and mingled with his; tears he hadn't realised he'd been crying.
"Shh, baby," she said softly, taking his hands within hers. "I'll drown my beliefs to have your babies. They don't have to find out. No one has to find out. We'll run away. We'll start a new life, somewhere else."
"Oh, Narcissa," Remus replied, pulling her into his chest. "I love you. I feel like a part of my soul has loved you since the beginning of everything."
Narcissa wound her arms around his torso, nestling her face into the crook of his neck. "I love you too. Maybe we're made from the same star."
