prettypuddle & leogryffin
Author: prettypuddle
Title: Damage Done.
Pairing: James/Remus.
Challenge: 'Too deaf dumb and blind to see the damage I've done/Sweet lover you should've come over' - Jeff Buckley, Lover You Should've Come Over.
She wonders if he has any idea how much she knows. The small details he trails about the house - how does he imagine she would miss them? Their Harry balanced on one hip, she straightens the sheets he thrashed around in while he slept, and barely registers the sterile touch of his lips against her cheek.
He pulls on his cloak, muttering something about her not bothering to wait up tonight. Raids, he says. Could well go on until dawn. She nods and goes to make herself some breakfast, and finds three mugs still waiting to be washed.
He never noticed her notice, as they sipped cocoa around the kitchen table with their guest the night before, the way his eyes gleaned like they hadn’t for a while. She watches the water swirl into the sink and imagines his fingers tangling into sandy hair, and touches that push the blurred boundaries of appropriate with an arrogance that should have been left behind with youth.
With a smirk she leaves the mugs to drain, and wonders what it might take for him to notice.
Author: leogryffin
Title: The Secret
Rating: R
Word Count: 1531
Thanks to mcamy for the beta.
She wonders if he has any idea how much she knows. The small details he trails about the house - how does he imagine she would miss them? Their Harry balanced on one hip, she straightens the sheets he thrashed around in while he slept, and barely registers the sterile touch of his lips against her cheek.
He pulls on his cloak, muttering something about her not bothering to wait up tonight. Raids, he says. Could well go on until dawn. She nods and goes to make herself some breakfast, and finds three mugs still waiting to be washed.
He never noticed her notice, as they sipped cocoa around the kitchen table with their guest the night before, the way his eyes gleamed. She watches the water swirl into the sink and imagines his fingers tangling into sandy hair, and touches that push the blurred boundaries of appropriateness with an arrogance that should have been left behind with youth.
With a smirk she leaves the mugs to drain, and wonders what it might take for him to notice.
~*~*~
Lily might play the scorned wife if she hadn't been fully aware of the game all along. It had been a contest during the school years to possess her, to be the one to create the heir to their own brotherhood with her. Remus wouldn't play; Peter wasn't an option in her mind; and James wasn't one to lose once he realized Severus had an eye on her. Sirius gave up, and everyone else knew it was pointless to stand in front of James Potter when he was in hot pursuit. She married him out of self-preservation and sincere affection; very deep down in a place she never spoke of, she selfishly couldn't bear for them to find another woman worthy of their combined affections, so she clung to the first one that asked, even if it was the one she knew she'd never be able to keep.
She has always known that at some point his old habits and passions would creep back in. Marriage to a woman - even Lily - could never break James' first loyalty and need. It had amused her at first that he was so arrogant that he didn't know that she was aware. It hadn't mattered to her then. She wanted a baby, and she wanted a life with all of them, and any of them would have done.
Except Peter. He really bothers her a great deal, though the men seem to think the world of him. She can't put her finger on why he makes her feel so cold. She avoids him as much as possible, though it can be difficult. And he's been coming around a lot more lately. It seems he always has to touch the baby. She can't exactly deny it to him, but she always bathes Harry afterwards. There is something too creepy, too wrong. It's her maternal instinct gone haywire, perhaps.
Harry falls asleep on her shoulder as she moves through the house, musing, cleaning, and singing a soft lullaby. She puts him down in his cot with a kiss to his lovely smooth forehead. It has been worth it to have this precious boy. Worth having a largely sexless life, for now at least. Worth it to still be with them, all of them. She is considering talking to Sirius about an arrangement, to preserve the facade that is slowly being built to shield the baby's welfare from the storms of illicit passion brewing between his kindly uncle and father. She hasn't gotten around to it between the midnight feedings and the diapers and the laundry, but she's more than certain that Sirius would consider it his godfatherly duty to keep her satisfied.
She drifts off on the sofa next to Harry's cot, dreaming of Sirius' arms and Harry's promising future.
~*~*~
It is a very small noise that wakes her up. A soft moan from the bedroom, definitely Remus. She checks on a peaceful Harry, then creeps quietly to look through the door that has been carelessly left cracked. She can't help herself, even though she knows what she'll see.
Her husband is on his hands and knees, eyes squeezed shut, allowing Remus to ride him almost mercilessly. She watches, wide-eyed. She's never seen men make love before. She finds the scene both disturbing and arousing.
James moans as Remus' hand comes down hard on his bare arse, first one cheek, then the other. He leans down to nip James as he thrusts hard and pulls out, then thrusts again. He kisses the tender spot where he has nibbled, alternating his attentions between savagery and tenderness. James reaches under to grab Remus' balls. Remus puts a hand on James' cock and strokes it in time with his own rhythm. Lily is transfixed by the sight of two of her favorite people as they bring each other to climax. “Do you have any idea what you do to me,” James whispers, burying his head in the pillows in front of him.
They muffle their cries as best they can, but when James comes right before Remus, he is unable to keep from crying out. She shakes her head, a little sad and amazed that they did this in her bed, in their house. She can't bring herself to be angry, because she's known this would happen all along, but she is a little distraught just the same.
He's never made those kinds of noises that while making love to her. She stifles jealousy as she watches them in the wan light of the half-moon, holding each other, whispering, stroking each other's hair and bodies. She can barely make out the words they are saying, so she moves closer. If she is going to be a voyeur, she thinks, she might as well not do it halfway.
"I don't know what I'd do if I lost Harry and Lily," James is saying, "and Voldemort would like to end us. Albus mentioned the Fidelius, but don't you think that's drastic? We should get right out in the open and fight him. I don't like hiding. That isn't my style."
"I don't think it's drastic at all," Remus says softly, "I don't know what I'd do if I lost any of you. I think you should do it."
"You should be our Secret-Keeper, then," James whispers. "I couldn't bear it if you don't know where I..." He leans into Remus, capturing him in a slow kiss before Remus abruptly breaks it and rolls away, sitting up, almost facing Lily's hiding place.
Her eyes narrow as she blends back into the shadows to make sure she remains unseen. "No. It should be Sirius. I can't...we can't do this anymore. Lily is right in the next room with your son - haven't we pushed the boundaries a little too far this time? No. This is too dangerous. If she caught us everything would be ruined for her, and for you. Most importantly, for Harry. This is as good a time as any to make sure we're all safe." Lily can't help but be touched a little by the fact that Remus is trying to protect her and Harry. She'd be amused at the absurdity if she wasn't worried about what they were saying. Were they really that much of a target?
James runs a finger up Remus' spine, causing Lily to shiver in bodily sympathy. "You'd really give this up. What we've found together these past months. You'd give it up because Voldemort is in a pissing match with me?"
"If it would keep your family safe, I'd give up everything." Remus stood, reaching for his trousers. "If Harry wakes Lily up I won't be able to explain to her why I'm in her bedroom naked. I'm leaving."
"Don't," James says, but it sounds half-hearted. It occurs to Lily that they sound as if they are resigned to this fate, that they've known this was likely to happen all along.
"It won't be forever, Moony," James says, "only until we defeat him. We will win, Remus. We will, you know, we have to; we've never lost, have we? And then..."
"And then what? We'll be together? You'll divorce your wife and leave your son behind? No, you won't do that. I can't let it happen. You love her. We all do."
James is silent for a moment. "It's complicated."
"Yes," Remus whispers, touching James' lips. "Sirius will be the Secret-Keeper. I'll talk to him in the morning. Goodbye, Prongs."
James stands and captures Remus in a tender kiss, causing a tear to well in Lily's eye as she turns away and heads back to the sofa to close her eyes and pretend to sleep. She will have to tell James she knows, now that she's seen and heard everything. She can't bear to see either him or Remus in pain. She will release him. They can remain friends, raise Harry together as a family even if they aren't together as husband and wife. She has Harry, and that's what really matters.
After the Fidelius. After they are safe.
Title: Damage Done.
Pairing: James/Remus.
Challenge: 'Too deaf dumb and blind to see the damage I've done/Sweet lover you should've come over' - Jeff Buckley, Lover You Should've Come Over.
She wonders if he has any idea how much she knows. The small details he trails about the house - how does he imagine she would miss them? Their Harry balanced on one hip, she straightens the sheets he thrashed around in while he slept, and barely registers the sterile touch of his lips against her cheek.
He pulls on his cloak, muttering something about her not bothering to wait up tonight. Raids, he says. Could well go on until dawn. She nods and goes to make herself some breakfast, and finds three mugs still waiting to be washed.
He never noticed her notice, as they sipped cocoa around the kitchen table with their guest the night before, the way his eyes gleaned like they hadn’t for a while. She watches the water swirl into the sink and imagines his fingers tangling into sandy hair, and touches that push the blurred boundaries of appropriate with an arrogance that should have been left behind with youth.
With a smirk she leaves the mugs to drain, and wonders what it might take for him to notice.
Author: leogryffin
Title: The Secret
Rating: R
Word Count: 1531
Thanks to mcamy for the beta.
She wonders if he has any idea how much she knows. The small details he trails about the house - how does he imagine she would miss them? Their Harry balanced on one hip, she straightens the sheets he thrashed around in while he slept, and barely registers the sterile touch of his lips against her cheek.
He pulls on his cloak, muttering something about her not bothering to wait up tonight. Raids, he says. Could well go on until dawn. She nods and goes to make herself some breakfast, and finds three mugs still waiting to be washed.
He never noticed her notice, as they sipped cocoa around the kitchen table with their guest the night before, the way his eyes gleamed. She watches the water swirl into the sink and imagines his fingers tangling into sandy hair, and touches that push the blurred boundaries of appropriateness with an arrogance that should have been left behind with youth.
With a smirk she leaves the mugs to drain, and wonders what it might take for him to notice.
~*~*~
Lily might play the scorned wife if she hadn't been fully aware of the game all along. It had been a contest during the school years to possess her, to be the one to create the heir to their own brotherhood with her. Remus wouldn't play; Peter wasn't an option in her mind; and James wasn't one to lose once he realized Severus had an eye on her. Sirius gave up, and everyone else knew it was pointless to stand in front of James Potter when he was in hot pursuit. She married him out of self-preservation and sincere affection; very deep down in a place she never spoke of, she selfishly couldn't bear for them to find another woman worthy of their combined affections, so she clung to the first one that asked, even if it was the one she knew she'd never be able to keep.
She has always known that at some point his old habits and passions would creep back in. Marriage to a woman - even Lily - could never break James' first loyalty and need. It had amused her at first that he was so arrogant that he didn't know that she was aware. It hadn't mattered to her then. She wanted a baby, and she wanted a life with all of them, and any of them would have done.
Except Peter. He really bothers her a great deal, though the men seem to think the world of him. She can't put her finger on why he makes her feel so cold. She avoids him as much as possible, though it can be difficult. And he's been coming around a lot more lately. It seems he always has to touch the baby. She can't exactly deny it to him, but she always bathes Harry afterwards. There is something too creepy, too wrong. It's her maternal instinct gone haywire, perhaps.
Harry falls asleep on her shoulder as she moves through the house, musing, cleaning, and singing a soft lullaby. She puts him down in his cot with a kiss to his lovely smooth forehead. It has been worth it to have this precious boy. Worth having a largely sexless life, for now at least. Worth it to still be with them, all of them. She is considering talking to Sirius about an arrangement, to preserve the facade that is slowly being built to shield the baby's welfare from the storms of illicit passion brewing between his kindly uncle and father. She hasn't gotten around to it between the midnight feedings and the diapers and the laundry, but she's more than certain that Sirius would consider it his godfatherly duty to keep her satisfied.
She drifts off on the sofa next to Harry's cot, dreaming of Sirius' arms and Harry's promising future.
~*~*~
It is a very small noise that wakes her up. A soft moan from the bedroom, definitely Remus. She checks on a peaceful Harry, then creeps quietly to look through the door that has been carelessly left cracked. She can't help herself, even though she knows what she'll see.
Her husband is on his hands and knees, eyes squeezed shut, allowing Remus to ride him almost mercilessly. She watches, wide-eyed. She's never seen men make love before. She finds the scene both disturbing and arousing.
James moans as Remus' hand comes down hard on his bare arse, first one cheek, then the other. He leans down to nip James as he thrusts hard and pulls out, then thrusts again. He kisses the tender spot where he has nibbled, alternating his attentions between savagery and tenderness. James reaches under to grab Remus' balls. Remus puts a hand on James' cock and strokes it in time with his own rhythm. Lily is transfixed by the sight of two of her favorite people as they bring each other to climax. “Do you have any idea what you do to me,” James whispers, burying his head in the pillows in front of him.
They muffle their cries as best they can, but when James comes right before Remus, he is unable to keep from crying out. She shakes her head, a little sad and amazed that they did this in her bed, in their house. She can't bring herself to be angry, because she's known this would happen all along, but she is a little distraught just the same.
He's never made those kinds of noises that while making love to her. She stifles jealousy as she watches them in the wan light of the half-moon, holding each other, whispering, stroking each other's hair and bodies. She can barely make out the words they are saying, so she moves closer. If she is going to be a voyeur, she thinks, she might as well not do it halfway.
"I don't know what I'd do if I lost Harry and Lily," James is saying, "and Voldemort would like to end us. Albus mentioned the Fidelius, but don't you think that's drastic? We should get right out in the open and fight him. I don't like hiding. That isn't my style."
"I don't think it's drastic at all," Remus says softly, "I don't know what I'd do if I lost any of you. I think you should do it."
"You should be our Secret-Keeper, then," James whispers. "I couldn't bear it if you don't know where I..." He leans into Remus, capturing him in a slow kiss before Remus abruptly breaks it and rolls away, sitting up, almost facing Lily's hiding place.
Her eyes narrow as she blends back into the shadows to make sure she remains unseen. "No. It should be Sirius. I can't...we can't do this anymore. Lily is right in the next room with your son - haven't we pushed the boundaries a little too far this time? No. This is too dangerous. If she caught us everything would be ruined for her, and for you. Most importantly, for Harry. This is as good a time as any to make sure we're all safe." Lily can't help but be touched a little by the fact that Remus is trying to protect her and Harry. She'd be amused at the absurdity if she wasn't worried about what they were saying. Were they really that much of a target?
James runs a finger up Remus' spine, causing Lily to shiver in bodily sympathy. "You'd really give this up. What we've found together these past months. You'd give it up because Voldemort is in a pissing match with me?"
"If it would keep your family safe, I'd give up everything." Remus stood, reaching for his trousers. "If Harry wakes Lily up I won't be able to explain to her why I'm in her bedroom naked. I'm leaving."
"Don't," James says, but it sounds half-hearted. It occurs to Lily that they sound as if they are resigned to this fate, that they've known this was likely to happen all along.
"It won't be forever, Moony," James says, "only until we defeat him. We will win, Remus. We will, you know, we have to; we've never lost, have we? And then..."
"And then what? We'll be together? You'll divorce your wife and leave your son behind? No, you won't do that. I can't let it happen. You love her. We all do."
James is silent for a moment. "It's complicated."
"Yes," Remus whispers, touching James' lips. "Sirius will be the Secret-Keeper. I'll talk to him in the morning. Goodbye, Prongs."
James stands and captures Remus in a tender kiss, causing a tear to well in Lily's eye as she turns away and heads back to the sofa to close her eyes and pretend to sleep. She will have to tell James she knows, now that she's seen and heard everything. She can't bear to see either him or Remus in pain. She will release him. They can remain friends, raise Harry together as a family even if they aren't together as husband and wife. She has Harry, and that's what really matters.
After the Fidelius. After they are safe.