r o u n d . t h e . c u r v e s

Round the Curves
[by victoria p.]

Summary: "I can't believe you're still a virgin." "I can't believe you're not!".

Rating: R

Notes: Thanks as always to Jen, Pete/Melissa, Dot, and Meg. Thanks also to Laura Smith for the beta. Written for McKay's "I Don't Want to Die a Virgin" Challenge.

Date: May 30, 2004

They were getting dressed when Remus mentioned it.

"You know, James," Remus said with a faint grin, as he tied Sirius's tie, "silencing charms are our friends."

James flushed, looking away. "I used one."

"Not last night you didn't, mate," Sirius said, his smile wider, more mischievous than Remus's. He closed his eyes and, in a passable imitation of James's voice, moaned, "'Lily. Oh, God, Lily, please.'"

James shoved him. "Stop it."

"I don't understand," Peter said, putting his comb in his pocket and moving to where the others stood around James's bed.

Sirius snickered. "He was wanking, you git."

Peter grunted. "I understand that. I just-- Lily's your girlfriend now. Why are you still wanking when she could be doing that for you? I mean, the whole point of having a girlfriend is so you don't have to spend your nights having it off by yourself, right?"

Remus bit his lip and looked away, while Sirius threw an arm around Peter's shoulders. "Wormtail has a point," he said, grinning at James. "Has the lovely and virtuous Miss Evans come to her senses and thrown you over, Prongs?"

James drew himself up to his full height, mentally cursing the fact that Sirius was still a good three inches taller, and said, "Lily and I are waiting for the right moment. We want our first time to be something special--" Remus choked at this and had to cling to Sirius to remain upright. "Oi! You all right there, Moony?"

"I-- Nothing," Remus managed as Sirius patted him on the back. "Never took you for the romantic type, is all."

"I can't believe you're still a virgin," Sirius said. "Especially after pulling Almeria Kimball last year. The girl's a bicycle, for Merlin's sake."

"Of course you would say that, Mr. Sirius 'I Stick My Prick in Anything That Moves' Black."

"Hey!" Remus and Sirius said at the same time.

"Sorry, Moony. But you know it's true." Though Remus still looked more amused than anything, Sirius glowered at James. "Or, it was true, before he started buggering you," he amended.

Sirius nodded, satisfied, but Remus said, "Excuse me? Who's buggering whom?"

James shook his head. "Actually, I don't want to know the answer to that. Anyway. I think the special moment is going to be tonight, because I can't take it anymore. Can you blokes stay out all night?"

Peter whooped and Sirius pounded James on the back in encouragement, but Remus just crossed his arms over his chest and raised an eyebrow.

James shifted uncomfortably under that scrutiny. "What?"

"I knew you weren't that romantic."

James had always found it true that the best defense was a good offense, so he went on the attack. "Oh, and you're the Casanova, are you? Wooing Sirius with flowers and chocolates and bad Muggle poetry?"

"Actually, Sirius is the one who writes bad poetry," Remus said, earning himself a thump on the shoulder from said poet.

"You promised you wouldn't tell!"

Remus shrugged, and James waited. Despite all outward appearances, Sirius would follow Remus's lead, and right now, James needed Remus to agree to stay out all night.

"Remus?"

"Yes, fine, okay. Good luck."

Sirius and Peter started pelting him with bits of advice he paid no attention to as he tied his tie and pulled on his robes, making sure his Head Boy badge was shiny and visible. When he was done, he looked over at Remus, who was sprawled in a chair, reading his Arithmancy textbook.

"Any advice from Casanova?" he said.

Remus froze for a moment, but recovered so quickly James thought he might have imagined it. "Just let her take the lead. She'll steer you round the curves." James frowned, and Remus continued, "I mean, girls seem to know more about this stuff -- from reading 'Witch Weekly' and 'Modern Witch' and all that."

"Ah yes," Peter said, grinning. "'Five steps to better blow jobs.' Best reading Sally Perkins ever did."

Sirius looked up, interested. "Really? Think she'd loan it out?"

"I doubt there's anything in there you don't already know," Remus said, smiling at him. Sirius leaned down to kiss him, and then pulled him up out of the chair.

"Okay, that's enough," James said, smacking the back of Sirius's head. "Or I won't be able to eat."

"It'd take more than a little snog to put you off your food," Sirius answered, sliding a hand down Remus's trousers.

Remus made a strangled noise and swatted him, muttering, "Not in front of the children."

Sirius happily ignored him. "We'd be happy to do an experiment to see what it would take--"

"Shut up, Sirius," James said. "I'd like to enjoy my sausage this morning without thinking of you and Moony and your unnatural perversions."

"So your perversions are better because they're natural?" Sirius shot back, smiling.

Always the peacemaker, Remus said, "Boys, boys, you're both perverted. You just express it differently." He pushed past them to the door. "Now, can we go to breakfast?"

***

That evening, as James walked Lily to the foot of the stairs to dormitories, he said, "I've been thinking --"

She stopped abruptly, placing a hand over her heart. "Oh, God, no."

"Lily--"

"Last time you said that, I ended up drenched and covered in mud, having to convince Peter he hadn't killed you, and that your head really was the best place for you to land, as it was the least likely place to be damaged, while Sirius and Remus carted you off to the hospital wing."

He pushed his glasses up his nose and winced at the memory. Not his best moment, certainly. "This isn't anything like that. I've been thinking about-- our relationship." There, he'd said it. He shifted slightly, and yes, he still had his balls.

She poked him in the stomach. "Are you feeling all right?"

"Yes, and ow. What was that for?"

"You've been thinking about our relationship?" she asked incredulously. And then horror dawned in her eyes and he felt a pang of worry. "Has my mother sent you any books? Please don't read them. She's a nutter. She gets these books from my aunt in America, all about living in communes and doing macramé--"

"Macramé?"

"It's like lace-making, only with yarn--"

He shook his head. Muggles. "Forget the macramé."

"I'm trying, but it's terribly difficult. You should see the horrid chartreuse pot holders Aunt Maggie sent last Christmas--"

"Chartreuse?" This conversation, as so many of his conversations with Lily tended to, was rapidly spinning out of his control.

"You know, it's that awful yellowish green nobody looks good in. Petunia says it's the in thing now, but--"

"Lily," he said sharply, removing his glasses and squeezing the bridge of his nose before putting them back. Really, she was flightier than Sirius sometimes, and he hadn't thought that was possible. Usually he just sat back and let her ramble, basking in her attention and the sweet sound of her voice, but today he had an actual point to discuss.

"Oh, right. Our relationship." She crossed her arms, eyes flashing dangerously. "If you think you're breaking up with me--"

"No! No. Merlin, no."

She smiled at that and he had no choice but to kiss her, which distracted both of them from the conversation for quite a while.

He made sure he was on the boys' stairs so he didn't trigger the alarm, sat down on the second-to-last step, and pulled her into his lap.

"So," he murmured against her ear, "I was thinking tonight we could--" He stopped and wondered where all the words had gone. He'd planned the speech during History of Magic, rehearsed it in front of the mirror after Quidditch practice. Peter had told him he'd have gone for it, if, you know, he was a shirt-lifter. Which he certainly wasn't.

She pulled back slightly and smiled at him encouragingly. "Yes?"

"We've been together for a few months now, and I really, really like you, Lily--" Her smile was so bright he had to kiss her again, "and I think it's time, I think we should--" The words tumbled out in a rush, all pretense at coolness gone. "I don't want to die a virgin, and I don't want you to, either."

She blinked. "That's a unique approach, but hardly necessary."

"I know it's safe here at Hogwarts, but the world is changing, Lily. And you're Muggle-born, which means you'd be a target--"

She kissed him gently. "I know, James. I meant, I'm not a virgin." She kept talking but he didn't hear anything after that. Blood was pounding in his ears and he was finding it hard to breathe.

He stood abruptly, almost tumbling her off his lap.

"What?" he roared. "Who was it?"

She stared at him in surprise. "James--"

"Please tell me it wasn't Sirius," he begged. Before discovering he preferred boys last summer, Sirius had pulled almost every girl at Hogwarts over the age of fourteen once; none of them would go out with him a second time. James had always been glad Lily was the exception. Now he wasn't certain she was.

Lily's face twisted in disgust. "Do you really think I'd let Sirius Black put his--"

James covered his ears with his hands. "Please, stop right there."

"--hands on my person?" she asked incredulously.

He let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding, until another, even more horrifying thought came to him. "It wasn't Snivellus, was it?" Because he'd have to kill him. With his bare hands. Which would be quite satisfying, actually.

Lily stared at him in shock. "Snape hates me almost as much as he hates you," she said finally. "Why would you think--"

"No, he doesn't. I've seen him watching you. He wants you."

"You think everybody wants me, James, but really, it's only you. You scared everyone else off ages ago."

"Everyone else except the bloke who--" he stopped, because he couldn't think of a way to say it that wouldn't make her angry.

She cupped his cheek, ran her thumb over his lower lip. "I can't believe you're still a virgin. I mean, the great James Potter, Quidditch star and Head Boy. It's unbelievable."

"I can't believe you're not!"

This really was not going according to plan, and James was not used to that, not used to that at all. But wasn't that just like Lily? Always throwing him for a loop, saying yes when he'd got used to her saying no, had only continued asking out of habit, really, and the desperate belief that she'd fancy him if she only gave him a chance. And she finally had.

But she'd given someone else a chance first.

"I wanted it to be special. I wanted it to be with you." He froze. He hadn't meant to say that. Secretly, he probably was a bit of a romantic, but none of his mates would ever let him live it down if they knew.

"Oh, James." She hugged him fiercely and he relaxed into her before remembering he was still angry.

"Who was he?"

"Does that really matter now? I'm with you, not him." She wiggled against him. "And I want to... be with you."

There was something she wasn't telling him, but his body responded to hers and he was having a hard time thinking straight now.

He gave a long-suffering sigh. "I reckon I'll live," he said, taking her hand and leading her up the staircase to the boys' dormitory. "I made sure my room would be empty tonight..." he trailed off, uncertain now that the moment was at hand. He'd never asked her up before, because she and Sirius barely tolerated each other and it was just easier not to force them together for too long. And Sirius and Remus were constantly buggering each other, which James was still getting accustomed to himself. He didn't know what Lily would make of it, and wasn't sure he wanted to find out just yet.

"As romantic invitations go, it's not up there with, "Come live with me and be my love,' but it'll do," she answered mischievously.

"Sodding poetry," he muttered and she laughed and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

"That's okay. I'm actually happier that you don't write me poetry."

"Why? I could write--" He was cut off by Lily's mouth covering his, her hands threading through his hair. He found the way she mussed it much more fun than the way he used to do it himself.

He pushed into the room, ready to bark out orders if any of the others had been there, but the room was empty, though a lamp shone dimly next to his bed.

She lay on his bed with a smug smile and tugged him down on top of her. He wondered if her eagerness was in part simply to distract him from their earlier conversation, but he decided he didn't care. It felt so good when she slid her tongue along his, her hands skimming over his face and chest; it was better than winning the Quidditch Cup, or mastering the Animagus transformation.

He never wanted to stop feeling like this, and right there, in Lily's arms, was the only place he ever felt it for more than a few moments.

It was a little odd to be in his own bed, which wasn't quite large enough for two people, but Lily didn't seem to mind. She was arching and gasping beneath him as he opened her shirt and unhooked her bra so he could kiss and lick at her breasts. He loved her breasts, firm and pale with taut and rosy nipples begging for his lips and tongue.

Soon they were both naked, clothes tossed carelessly to the floor, and the feel of her body rubbing and thrusting against his was almost too much.

"Lily--" he gasped. "Please."

Her knowing smile made him groan. "It's okay, James," she said huskily, shifting so he was cradled between her thighs. "I'll steer you round the curves." And with fingers that trembled only a little, she guided his cock inside her.

Wet. Hot. Tight. So, so good. Better than he ever imagined.

His hips jerked uncontrollably, and he came inside her, the world shattering into bursts of bright light behind his eyes.

When he opened his eyes again, he was aware of two things. He'd made an utter mess of this, and Lily was regarding him with something that looked like maniacal glee.

He took refuge, as he often did, in bluster. "If you say that it happens to all the boys, Lily, I swear, I will hex you into next week."

She raised herself up on her elbows, eyes never leaving his. "Are you implying that I've been with 'all the boys,' Potter?"

They stared at each other for a long moment. Lily's lips twitched, but her gaze held his, and beneath the mirth was something else, something that looked like hurt, and he wanted to make it disappear.

"I-- No. Of course not."

"Okay then." She lay back and reached for his hand, bringing it between them. "We have some unfinished business."

"Oh. Oh!" He was never, ever telling anyone about this, not even Sirius.

He was in more familiar territory now, and knew how to make her moan his name and thrust her hips against his hand, her body tensed and bowed before she shuddered and came, his lips against hers, his tongue in her mouth.

By that point, he was hard again.

"Lily. Lily?" Tenderly, he pushed her damp hair off her forehead and traced the curve of her lower lip with his thumb.

Her eyes fluttered open and she beamed at him. "Yes, James?"

He thrust against her hip. "Give me another shot?"

She giggled and his heart lifted. "Of course."

"I do love you," he murmured, promising himself he'd go slow this time, do it right.

"I know," she answered, opening beneath him, twining her hands in his hair and pulling him down for a kiss. "I know."

***

He was in the shower the next morning, unable to keep the huge grin off his face as he replayed every detail of the night in his head (minus his humiliating inaugural attempt), when he realized--

He tore out of the shower, not stopping for a towel in his righteous anger.

"Remus? REMUS! I'm going to kill you!"

end

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