Happy Traditions, lilydahlia! Title: Under the Mistletoe Author: ??? Gift For:lilydahlia Pairing(s): Lily/Remus Summary: Christmas is approaching...so too, is the Yule Ball. In order to celebrate this festive tradition, Lily must break with one. Rating: NC-17 Warnings: underage participants, oral sex, fluff Author's notes: By nature of the pairing involved, I would suggest this is, to some extent, AU.
Read it here or at Livejournal, and don't forget to leave feedback for all our lovely participants!
Lily gazed nervously into the mirror. She searched her face for the signs of any visible imperfection or, at least, any imperfection that he would notice. She leaned in, determined to present the best possible face she could.
"Phew," Lily sighed: she was sure that today, of all days, would be the day for an outbreak of pimples on her chin or forehead, but her fear had not, at this stage, been realised. Normally, of course, Lily would not worry about such things: pimples and boys and desperately trying to smooth her hair, but today...today was different.
Today she would ask Remus to the Yule Ball.
Traditionally, of course, it was boys who asked girls to things such as dances. Lily though, could not bear to wait: what if he never asked? No, the thought itself was too distressing. She would, for her own peace of mind, take the matter into her own hands: she would ask Remus.
She just hoped that he would say, "Yes."
Lily ran her fingers through her cherry-red hair once more. She fussed with her robes. Finally satisfied, she exited the girls' dormitory.
***
As Lily descended the stairs from the dormitory, she caught sight of Remus: he was sitting by the fire. The glow of the flames reflected magnificently off the coppery strands of his hair as they fell haphazardly across his eyes. Remus raised a hand to brush the hair away. Looking up as he did so, he was confronted with a smiling Lily.
"Hello, Remus." Lily tried to smile naturally. Effortlessly. Carelessly. But it was impossible. She was, quite simply, too nervous – and the sight of Remus' pale blue eyes peeking up at her from underneath his messy crop of hair did nothing to alleviate her anxiety.
"Hey Lily," Remus replied, closing the book that he had been reading. He rested it on his lap as he turned his attention to his friend.
Lily nodded. She looked down at her feet. "Wh-what are you reading there?" she asked, gesturing to the book in Remus' lap.
"Oh. It's just...some silly Muggle book, that's all," he replied with a dismissive wave of his hand.
"Don't be silly, Remus," Lily said. Still not quite able to meet Remus' eye, she stared intently at the embossed lettering on the book's cover. "Wuthering Heights" Lily read aloud, "Wuthering Heights, Remus? I never would have thought!"
"You've read it?" Remus asked, a little embarrassed to have been discovered with the book.
"Oh yes, but not for years. It was wonderfully romantic though, as I recall."
"Well, in its own way, I guess. It certainly is powerful. You know, the crazy things people will do for..."
"Love," Lily interrupted, concluding Remus' sentence. The two teenagers smiled at one another. Suddenly aware of the colour rising in her cheeks, Lily turned her face away from Remus, breaking their shared gaze.
"So. Remus," Lily began, plunging her hands into the pockets of her robes in an attempt to dry them – an anxious sweat had begun to seep from her pores – "I was wondering..."
"Yes?" Remus interjected.
"Would you, um, maybe, you don't have to if you don't want to, it's OK, I was just thinking that, maybe, you know, if you want to...we could go to the Yule Ball together."
"Oh."
Lily blushed furiously. "Oh. You don't want to. That's OK. Never mind..." she stammered weakly. As she made to leave Remus and his book by the fire and to return to the girls' dormitory nursing her hurt and humiliation, Lily felt a gentle tugging at her hand. It was Remus.
"Lily, it's fine. I'd...I'd love to go with you. I just didn't know you felt and..."
"You would?" Lily beamed, her hand still ensconced in Remus.'
"Yeah. Of course I would. There's no one else I'd rather go with."
"Oh, Remus!" Lily exclaimed as she threw her arms around Remus' neck, "We'll have the best time, you'll see."
"I'm sure we will," Remus said quietly: it was now his turn to be nervous as Lily embraced him, pressing her slender body to his.
"I can't wait," he managed to croak as Lily broke her hold and bounded up to her room, leaving Remus cheeks flushed with colour, and his pulse pounding in his neck.
***
Over the coming weeks, the buildings and grounds of Hogwarts came to be ever more elaborately and festively decorated: indeed, it seemed to the students that ever way they turned they could not help but be confronted with shimmering garlands and the refreshing scent of pine trees. It had even become difficult for the school's more genetically favoured students to avoid being assaulted under the mistletoe that seemed to be hanging from nearly every beam and doorway in the castle. Certainly, not a day passed when Sirius Black hadn't been forced to beat a hasty retreat from oncoming throngs of female students. Remus, though, was pleased to discover that he was not the subject of any such affection – there was but one person whom he wished to be kissing under the mistletoe, and she was most definitely not among those clamouring for Sirius' attentions.
***
"Oh, nothing I have I good enough!" Lily cried, throwing her arms into the air as she surveyed the dress robes splayed across her bed.
"Oh, come on Lil," Alice Longbottom said, placing an arm across her friend's shoulders, "What about this one?"
"That one? Are you mad, Alice? This is Remus we're talking about here – I can't show up for the Yule Ball in that! I want him to kiss me, not shrink away from me in horror!"
"Sheesh, sorry, Lil, just trying to help," Alice added, exasperated, though rather enjoying the drama of Lily's dilemma.
"Anyway," Alice continued, "Like you say, this is Remus – he's not exactly the sort of guy who's going to ditch you over something like dress robes, is he?"
"No...no I suppose not," Lily conceded as she ran the hem of one of the robes between her thumb and forefinger: "You're right. I think this one will do nicely." Alice rolled her eyes and smiled as Lily bounded off to the bathroom to shower and change.
***
Remus smoothed the front of his trousers. He assessed his reflection in the mirror, nervously biting his bottom lip.
He sighed, stroking the frayed hem of his dress robes: "Well, I suppose this will have to do." Disappointed with the shabbiness of his appearance, even for a formal event such as this one, Remus glanced at his watch. He really did have no choice in the matter now: he was due to meet Lily in the common room.
"Oh!" Remus cried smacking himself lightly on the forehead, "Her present!" He scooped up the tightly wrapped package and made for the common room.
***
"Remus!" Lily cried enthusiastically as her date for the evening stepped down from the last step of the staircase, "I thought maybe you'd changed your mind."
"No, of course not, Lily," Remus replied, extending a clammy hand towards Lily's, "Oh, I have a present for you. You know before I forget. Merry Christmas, Lil." Remus, who had been holding the gift behind his back with his free hand, now presented it to Lily.
"For me?" Lily smiled as she untied the string. The brown wrapping paper fell away from that which it concealed to reveal a book: "Wuthering Heights," Lily read.
"Yeah, I mean, I know you liked it, and you hadn't read it for a while it might be nice to...revisit, I guess..." Remus explained or, rather, tried to as he held his breath in anticipation of Lily's approval.
"Thank you, Remus. I love it."
Relieved that his modest gift had met with Lily's approval, Remus exhaled deeply and, as Remus extended a hand to help Lily through the portrait hole, he felt the tension that had lain within his chest since they had first made this date melt away.
***
"I'm exhausted!" Lily said, sinking into an empty seat by an empty table, "You're such a good dancer, Remus – I never even knew!"
Seating himself beside Lily, Remus answered: "Me either, actually. Must just be something you bring out in me, I guess." Feeling ever more confident as the evening had worn on, Remus now reached out and, taking Lily's hand, clasped it in his own. He lifted it slowly to his moistened lips, pressing them tenderly to the back of Lily's hand: the scent of her perfume mingled pleasantly with the soapy smell of her skin, and the light sweat that had since formed there. It was intoxicating.
"Lily?"
"Yes, Remus?" Lily asked hurriedly, anxious to hear what her partner for the evening was about to ask.
"Would you...like to come for a walk with me?"
"I'd love to Remus."
"Great. Shall we?" Remus rose from his chair, helping Lily to her feet as he did so. The two of them slipped unnoticed from the Great Hall and into cool darkness of the castle.
***
"Merlin's beard!" Lily gasped as she swung her leg over the ledge on which she and Remus had decided to sit, "It's so beautiful out here at night. Look at the stars! I don't think I've ever seen them quite so bright."
Remus followed Lily's gaze: "Hey, you're right. They are unusually bright this evening." Not, Remus said silently to himself, as bright, or anywhere near as lovely as your eyes. And as the thought struck him, Remus wished for the confidence to utter the words aloud: but, looking into Lily's pretty face, he found himself completely unable to express the sentiment.
"Brrr, it's getting a little cold out here, isn't it Remus" Lily said as a chill night wind gusted up suddenly. She shifted along the ledge on which she sat, pressing her thigh to Remus.' "For warmth," Lily explained, a mischievous smile playing across her full, pink lips.
Remus smiled again – he simply could not help it: "Ah. For warmth."
"Yes. And...you know what else we could do to warm ourselves up a little?"
"I, erm, think I can hazard a guess," Remus eventually managed to choke out and, as Lily puckered her lips and raised her face to meet his.
Closing his eyes, Remus parted his lips slightly. He gently pressed his dry, anxious mouth to Lily's eagerly waiting lips. They kissed slowly, tenderly at first, their tongues exploring the territory of each other's mouths. Instinctively, Remus placed his hands in the small of Lily's back, drawing her body closer to his: her small, pert breasts were now grazing his chest as their kissing intensified.
"Remus," Lily breathed, breaking the kiss, "I have wanted to do that for so long." She giggled as she swept her thumb across Remus' moistened lips. He grinned sheepishly in response.
"Me too, Lil. Me too."
"You know Remus, there are other things I've wanted to do for a long time as well." Lily smirked, her eyes glinting like the stars in the sky above. She traced her finger down along Remus' jaw and neck; over his torso and rested it on his stomach – and tantalisingly close to his crotch.
"Lily, I...I don't know, I mean..." Remus gasped as Lily slipped her hand underneath the skimming fabric of his robes.
"Lily, not here, yeah? We should go, I mean, you're shivering. It's not...you deserve better than this, OK? Come on, let's go," Remus smiled softly, assisting Lily in her descent from the stone ledge.
***
Remus grinned to himself in the darkness of the boys' dormitory: Peter, James and Sirius were still downstairs in the common room, passing around a bottle of Firewhiskey in an impromptu Yule Ball after-party. After bidding Lily a fond farewell at the foot of the stairs to the girls' dorm, an exhausted Remus made his excuses and tramped up the stairs to bed to re-live the preceding events of the night as he drifted off to sleep.
Remus was, in fact, hovering non-committally on the borders of sleep when the door of the dormitory opened a crack, admitting a sliver of amber light into the dark. Perhaps the boys had finished celebrating Christmas already? Remus thought nothing of it and rolled onto his side, tucking the covers up under his chin.
"Remus," a voice hissed at Remus' side, "Remus."
Remus grasped for his wand.
"Lumos," he uttered sleepily and, as the realisation of what was before him, he sat up quickly.
"Lily! What are you doing in here?"
"Well," Lily began as she sat down on the bed next to Remus, "I was about to slip into bed when I noticed a sprig of mistletoe on Alice's dresser and it occurred to me...it's Christmas and we never even got to have a kiss under the mistletoe."
"Oh," Remus said and, as Lily raised the sprig of greenery above their heads before the realisation of what she was saying occurred to him: "Oh."
As Lily held the mistletoe above her and Remus, she shuffled on the bed in order to position herself over Remus' legs. She leaned in; Remus approached Lily's oncoming lips with his own. Remus passionately pulled Lily to his chest, causing her to lose her grip on the mistletoe: it tumbled over the covers and to the floor. The friction of Lily pressed against Remus' groin suddenly overwhelmed him as his cock began to throb beneath his flannel pyjama bottoms.
"Lily," Remus breathed, reluctantly parting his lips from Lily's in order to speak, "I think we should stop."
"Remus," Lily whispered, "It's alright. I...I want to." Lily turned her gaze from Remus' searching blue eyes, embarrassed by her frank admission.
Collecting herself, Lily slid down the bed, unsheathing Remus from the cocoon of his bedclothes: even in the darkness it was apparent that his erection had caused his pyjamas to tent rather dramatically. Her head hovering above Remus' hips, Lily folded the waist of Remus' pants down, exposing his cock to the chill night air. Lily licked her lips, puckering them in anticipation. Her breath tickled Remus' cock: he gasped, and she hesitated, drawing back a little.
"Lily," Remus said reassuringly, as he buried his fingers in her long hair, "You don't have to."
"Ssh," Lily commanded softly before pressing her lips to the head of Remus' cock. She licked uncertainly at the swollen head, sliding her tongue along the ridged skin. She was not at all sure about what she was doing, but encouraged by Remus' stilted breathing and intermittent moans, Lily continued: she swirled her tongue around Remus' prick as she took him deeper into her mouth. Remus grasped hopelessly at the bedsheets as he tried to steady his breathing and the trembling of his abdomen: the warm, slippery engulfment of Lily's mouth and her inexpert but earnest tongue was too much.
"Lily," Remus grunted, losing control of his thrusting. Hearing her name, Lily released Remus' cock from her mouth, a strand of thick saliva connecting the pulsating head to Lily's full bottom lip.
"Remus?" Lily asked as Remus continued to buck against the air. He grasped desperately at his crotch and, wringing his erection in his fist he came.
"Nngh," Remus groaned as he reached climax, come spurting fiercely over his clenched fingers and stomach.
Grinning in the dark, Lily crawled towards Remus' head. She took his come-covered hand in hers and, inserting her fingers one by one into her mouth, licked them clean before pressing her lips to his once more in a tender kiss. Remus stroked Lily's hair; she nuzzled against his neck as he tried to regain his breath. Sighing, Remus' eyelids began to flicker closed, but not before he heard Lily's voice one last time as her hot breath tickled his neck: