nekare

We studied poetry today in narrative class, and my teacher had the great idea of inviting an actual poet and have kind of a little party (tertulia, in spanish), with entrees, pastries, cake, and wine. It was real fun, the poet, Raul Bañuelos is quite good, and we were eating and drinking while he read his poems. I had a great time, and I ate half the tray of the way too delicious mooshrooms filled with bacon and creme cheese.

So I was in an amazing mood to finally be creative, albeit the fic ended up kind of short. Still, I like it a lot, and it had been ages since I'd done a drabble-y fic. So, for iulia_linnea's fic fest and also for hp500 2nd promt, difficult questions; since it matched too.

Author: nekare
Title: Comfort
Pairing(s)/Character(s): James/Lily
Rating: G
Word Count: 561
Meme Promt: Promt 5 of thistlerose's Twenty Random Facts About James and Lily
Summary: Lily corners James after Charms, a few days after the funeral of James' parents.
Disclaimer: None of this characters is mine. All credit goes to JK Rowling.
Warnings: None.

Lily asks him whether he’s all right when he’s trying to escape her prying looks in the empty Charms classroom, with a home colored thread of worry lacing her voice. His shields and defenses go suddenly down to lay broken at her feet, and when he least expects it, tears are escaping his eyes (the prison he had thought they had been sent to for life); and Lily (Evans, he should remind himself, but he’s not in the mood to think how the girl of his dreams wants nothing to do with him) bites her lower lip even harder than she had been before such a difficult question.

James’ hands are flat against a table, dark hair falling into his eyes from his bent head; tears splashing on the wood with the deafening sound of the shame of breaking down so utterly and completely in front of her, absently, though; at the thought of his parents funeral four days ago. Fresh in his mind, and dreams and in the tears he hadn’t allowed himself to shed before. A shaky hand weighs on top of his, and as he sobs he remembers the time his mother had touched him like that, light and sweet, when he had had nightmares.

He isn’t very sure how, but when he’s conscious of his acts once more, his arms have wound up around the mildly scared girl, one hand deep in the red hair that reminds him of sunsets even when he would never admit it, the other fisted and laying on her back. He can’t seem to stop crying, and a few hesitant moments later Lily holds him back, still looking alarmed at his unsuspected reaction but with some compassion swimming in those wonderful eyes of hers. James holds on tightly, eternally grateful of the silent comfort he hasn’t gotten out of his friends, too messed up on their own to be able to make him feel better. He knows they care, but their too honest words of condolence wouldn’t come near to the human contact he’s always craved, the one thing right now that can help him get over the nightmares with his father’s unmarked but cold face that plague him.

Somehow, the clock ticks an hour away and the sounds of dinner from the Great Hall finds them curled up against each other, laying halfway on the floor and halfway on the wall, Lily’s hand moving the hair out of his forehead with her cold fingertips; looking as if she didn’t believe she was actually doing this. James has calmed down fifteen minutes ago, but he stays where he is, arms still around Lily and his mind trying desperately to shut down. He murmurs Thanks into her ear, red eyes, runny nose and reputation in shreds.

She whispers back, No problem, in the same quiet voice that sounds too loud in his head when he hears the sweetness wrapped around the words; and that’s the moment he realizes he truly loves her.

Her hand slips a handkerchief into his, still looking at him, and James discovers that his life still holds a meaning, even at loss. He accepts it (and keeps it), and the next week, when he sits wordlessly next to her in the very same classroom, to the wonder of the entire class, she smiles at him instead of taunt him.