FIC: "Words Over a Back Rub" for bryonyraven
Title: Words Over a Back Rub
Author/Artist: ???
Recipient's name: bryonyraven
Characters/Pairings: Alice Longbottom and Lily Potter (potential Alice/Lily, reference to Alice/Frank and Lily/James)
Rating: PG-13 at most
Summary: Since their regular partners are away on Order business, Alice and Lily are paired up in prenatal class and find they have more in common than their predicted delivery date.
Notes: Having never been and not planning to ever be pregnant myself, I apologize if my rendering of the condition is less than accurate. Same for the prenatal class. I apologize again, because I’ve never written either of these characters before and don’t know if they’re at all like what you hoped for. And on top of all that it’s angsty. In any case, I hope the story pleases.
“Welcome back, witches and gentlewizards, and thank you all for coming. If no one has any objections, I’d like us to begin today’s class by practicing the massage techniques we learned last week, just to ease us into a relaxed frame of mind before we move on to anything new.” The white-robed healer paused in the path she was slowly threading between the half-dozen couples rearranging themselves on cushions on the floor of the sun-lit room, and wafted a hand towards each of the two unaccompanied women present. “Lily, Alice, I see that your husbands were unable to attend today. Would you be comfortable working together on this exercise?”
Alice met the eyes of the redhead across the room, a women a few years younger than herself, whom she recognized from the secret councils of the Order of the Phoenix but with whom she had never spoken. Alice murmured assent to the instructor and saw Lily do the same, and the two women debated by hand gestures which of them should leave her own comfortable berth and cross the room to the other’s stack of pillows. Alice ended the battle of hospitality by wobbling to her feet and across the circle to arrange a perch behind the young Mrs. Potter, who shifted to make a place for her. Alice reached a hand around her shoulder, and Lily twisted around as best she could to take it. “Hello. I’m Alice Longbottom.”
“I remember. Lily Potter.” She squeezed Alice’s hand gently and turned away again, tugging her robes smooth over her back and pulling her auburn hair over one shoulder.
Alice began to massage Lily’s shoulders with her thumbs, beginning at the base of her neck, close to the spine and working her way out. “You sound like a newlywed.”
“How do you mean?”
“The way you say your last name.”
“What? How do I say it?”
“You say ’Potter’, like it’s some strange beautiful new thing you’ve just discovered.”
Lily laughed musically. “You know, you’re right. That’s so peculiar, I’ve been married to James for six months and it still feels like yesterday.”
“Married six months, and you’re how many weeks along?”
The thin crescent of cheek that Alice could see over Lily’s shoulder pinked, and she giggled her reply. “Twenty-nine.”
“Indeed.”
“I know, I know. My parents would have lost their heads when they heard, if they were alive to hear it. James’s would’ve disowned him.”
“Both of your parents are dead? I mean, both of yours and both of his?”
“Yup. Poor little Lumpy here won’t have any grandparents to spoil him.”
“Well. I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Thank you for saying so, though it’s hardly your fault.”
“I know. I don’t think anyone’s yet found what to say to something like that.”
They were silent for a few moments, with the exception of a small grunt on Lily’s part when Alice attacked a particularly tight knot at the lower border of her left scapula. “How many weeks is yours?” she asked eventually.
“Twenty-nine, same as yours.”
“Really?”
“You thought it was more?”
“I thought it was less. You hardly show at all compared to me.”
Alice chuckled. “Well, I have more padding to hide it in.”
“Don’t sound so reproving when you talk about yourself. You look so healthy and you carry it so well. I feel thin as a twig with this quaffle under my robes, I must look ridiculous.”
“Oh please. You look fine, and you’ll probably get your figure back an hour after the birth. Lucky scamp.”
“I hope I don’t. I hate my figure, I look like a boy. You, though. You’re perfectly proportioned. I wish I had hips like yours.”
Alice laughed. “Stop humoring me.”
“I’m not humoring,” Lily said, turning her head around. “I think you’re really beautiful.”
It was Alice’s turn to blush as she dropped her eyes from the intensity of Lily’s emerald green stare to the steady motion of her hands over the other woman’s back, down from the bottom of the rib cage to the lumbar region. “I’m flattered.”
Lily’s hair rustled as she turned to face forward again. “That feels incredible, by the way. What you’re doing. Of course being touched at all feels pretty incredible right now. Even when James is home, and that’s rare enough these days, he’s hardly laid a hand on me in weeks. I think he’s afraid he’ll break me.”
“Frank was like that for a while, afraid of hurting me or the baby. I eventually managed to convince him that we’re neither of us so fragile, but I know exactly what you mean about it being rare enough that he’s home.” Alice felt her eyes grow hot and tried to focus her attention on the work of her hands on Lily’s tense back. “I try to console myself by remembering that he’s doing good work, important work, trying to make sure this little kicker has a safe world to grow up in, but that doesn’t stop me from worrying about him. If anything, knowing what he’s really doing, knowing how dangerous it is, I worry more. I’m so scared of what might happen when I’m not there to protect him, but I don’t dare risk getting into a duel with this one in my belly. I can’t bear to think of what could happen. . .” Alice had reached Lily’s tailbone, and without any more vertebrae to attend to she found herself suddenly without words as well. They sat for long seconds, a minute, Alice tracing her fingers gently over Lily’s sacrum before Lily reached behind her to hold that hand and squeeze it again, pulling Alice back to awareness of her surroundings. She shook herself and dabbed the dots of moisture from the corners of her eyes. “So as I said, it doesn’t stop me from worrying, and it certainly doesn’t stop me from being lonely.”
“Insufferably lonely. So lonely it hurts.”
Alice raised her eyes to Lily’s hypnotically verdant gaze. She tried to formulate a reply but found that her mouth was not under her control and nodded instead. Lily released Alice’s hand and raised her palm to cup her cheek.
“I know exactly what you mean. Here, let’s switch places. It’s your turn.”
Author/Artist: ???
Recipient's name: bryonyraven
Characters/Pairings: Alice Longbottom and Lily Potter (potential Alice/Lily, reference to Alice/Frank and Lily/James)
Rating: PG-13 at most
Summary: Since their regular partners are away on Order business, Alice and Lily are paired up in prenatal class and find they have more in common than their predicted delivery date.
Notes: Having never been and not planning to ever be pregnant myself, I apologize if my rendering of the condition is less than accurate. Same for the prenatal class. I apologize again, because I’ve never written either of these characters before and don’t know if they’re at all like what you hoped for. And on top of all that it’s angsty. In any case, I hope the story pleases.
“Welcome back, witches and gentlewizards, and thank you all for coming. If no one has any objections, I’d like us to begin today’s class by practicing the massage techniques we learned last week, just to ease us into a relaxed frame of mind before we move on to anything new.” The white-robed healer paused in the path she was slowly threading between the half-dozen couples rearranging themselves on cushions on the floor of the sun-lit room, and wafted a hand towards each of the two unaccompanied women present. “Lily, Alice, I see that your husbands were unable to attend today. Would you be comfortable working together on this exercise?”
Alice met the eyes of the redhead across the room, a women a few years younger than herself, whom she recognized from the secret councils of the Order of the Phoenix but with whom she had never spoken. Alice murmured assent to the instructor and saw Lily do the same, and the two women debated by hand gestures which of them should leave her own comfortable berth and cross the room to the other’s stack of pillows. Alice ended the battle of hospitality by wobbling to her feet and across the circle to arrange a perch behind the young Mrs. Potter, who shifted to make a place for her. Alice reached a hand around her shoulder, and Lily twisted around as best she could to take it. “Hello. I’m Alice Longbottom.”
“I remember. Lily Potter.” She squeezed Alice’s hand gently and turned away again, tugging her robes smooth over her back and pulling her auburn hair over one shoulder.
Alice began to massage Lily’s shoulders with her thumbs, beginning at the base of her neck, close to the spine and working her way out. “You sound like a newlywed.”
“How do you mean?”
“The way you say your last name.”
“What? How do I say it?”
“You say ’Potter’, like it’s some strange beautiful new thing you’ve just discovered.”
Lily laughed musically. “You know, you’re right. That’s so peculiar, I’ve been married to James for six months and it still feels like yesterday.”
“Married six months, and you’re how many weeks along?”
The thin crescent of cheek that Alice could see over Lily’s shoulder pinked, and she giggled her reply. “Twenty-nine.”
“Indeed.”
“I know, I know. My parents would have lost their heads when they heard, if they were alive to hear it. James’s would’ve disowned him.”
“Both of your parents are dead? I mean, both of yours and both of his?”
“Yup. Poor little Lumpy here won’t have any grandparents to spoil him.”
“Well. I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Thank you for saying so, though it’s hardly your fault.”
“I know. I don’t think anyone’s yet found what to say to something like that.”
They were silent for a few moments, with the exception of a small grunt on Lily’s part when Alice attacked a particularly tight knot at the lower border of her left scapula. “How many weeks is yours?” she asked eventually.
“Twenty-nine, same as yours.”
“Really?”
“You thought it was more?”
“I thought it was less. You hardly show at all compared to me.”
Alice chuckled. “Well, I have more padding to hide it in.”
“Don’t sound so reproving when you talk about yourself. You look so healthy and you carry it so well. I feel thin as a twig with this quaffle under my robes, I must look ridiculous.”
“Oh please. You look fine, and you’ll probably get your figure back an hour after the birth. Lucky scamp.”
“I hope I don’t. I hate my figure, I look like a boy. You, though. You’re perfectly proportioned. I wish I had hips like yours.”
Alice laughed. “Stop humoring me.”
“I’m not humoring,” Lily said, turning her head around. “I think you’re really beautiful.”
It was Alice’s turn to blush as she dropped her eyes from the intensity of Lily’s emerald green stare to the steady motion of her hands over the other woman’s back, down from the bottom of the rib cage to the lumbar region. “I’m flattered.”
Lily’s hair rustled as she turned to face forward again. “That feels incredible, by the way. What you’re doing. Of course being touched at all feels pretty incredible right now. Even when James is home, and that’s rare enough these days, he’s hardly laid a hand on me in weeks. I think he’s afraid he’ll break me.”
“Frank was like that for a while, afraid of hurting me or the baby. I eventually managed to convince him that we’re neither of us so fragile, but I know exactly what you mean about it being rare enough that he’s home.” Alice felt her eyes grow hot and tried to focus her attention on the work of her hands on Lily’s tense back. “I try to console myself by remembering that he’s doing good work, important work, trying to make sure this little kicker has a safe world to grow up in, but that doesn’t stop me from worrying about him. If anything, knowing what he’s really doing, knowing how dangerous it is, I worry more. I’m so scared of what might happen when I’m not there to protect him, but I don’t dare risk getting into a duel with this one in my belly. I can’t bear to think of what could happen. . .” Alice had reached Lily’s tailbone, and without any more vertebrae to attend to she found herself suddenly without words as well. They sat for long seconds, a minute, Alice tracing her fingers gently over Lily’s sacrum before Lily reached behind her to hold that hand and squeeze it again, pulling Alice back to awareness of her surroundings. She shook herself and dabbed the dots of moisture from the corners of her eyes. “So as I said, it doesn’t stop me from worrying, and it certainly doesn’t stop me from being lonely.”
“Insufferably lonely. So lonely it hurts.”
Alice raised her eyes to Lily’s hypnotically verdant gaze. She tried to formulate a reply but found that her mouth was not under her control and nodded instead. Lily released Alice’s hand and raised her palm to cup her cheek.
“I know exactly what you mean. Here, let’s switch places. It’s your turn.”