prompt by @tree0932: jily date where they do the swap paintings every five minutes thing and have a laugh or muggle+college au lily is an art major and for her finals uses james as a model or vice versa, james is an art major (ooc? reaching? i know) and uses lily as his model
It was the day. He was nervous; how couldn’t he be nervous?! Ever since he’d laid eyes on her, he knew he’d end up here.
Well, he'd hoped, at least.
But Lily truly was the love of his life, and he was ready to take the next step.
When she suggested they should do a date that was trending, in which they would paint each other, he loved the idea. It’d be perfect!
She would paint him; he would write ‘will you marry me?’.
She’d be slightly pissed afterwards — this date clearly was supposed to have a winner, and if he didn’t actually try, the competitive side of her would not be happy for not being able to claim victory.
But that was okay. He had dealt with worse moods from her.
He had even made dinner for her. Well, not really made. But he had helped Remus with it, so it ought to count.
He was pacing like a maniac — convincig himself that he deserved merits for the dinner even if his help had been to add the salt — like it was their first date, not having his girlfriend of three years over.
He had a reason, sure but. Still.
James sighed and checked the table to see if everything was ready. It was.
Not anymore; the doorbell warned him of her arrival. He took a deep breath and took a few steps to the door.
“Where are your keys?” He asked as a greeting when he opened the door to reveal Lily. She wore a green dress (he loved when she wore green), and perhaps looked a bit paler than usual — but it was November, so he wouldn’t worry too much about it.
“Okay, don’t laugh but I lost them again,” she whined as she kissed his lips quickly and entered the place. “I swear they shrunk,” Lily added and James chuckled.
“It’s the third in the past month, love,” he said, holding her hand to pull her against him for a kiss not so quick. “You’re lucky you’re beautiful. I’ll forgive you.”
Lily rolled her eyes and kissed him again. It calmed him, as it always did, having her lips moving softly against his; feeling her smile through the kiss; her body flush against his; her fingers interspersed in the strands of his hair; her skin flushed under his hand; her heart beating in synchrony with his.
Her eyes were matching her grinning lips as they broke apart and she noticed the table.
“Oh, you really went all the way,” she complimented. Lily walked to the table and examined attentively what he had selected. “Ohh, I like the gold!”
“It’s so you can get the hazel,” James lied. Lily narrowed her eyes at the other colours, probably trying to find one that she wanted. Her eyes wandered and landed on blue.
Lily smiled at him and hung her purse on a chair before occupying it. She grabbed the nearer canvas, paints and set of brushes, then eyed James expectantly.
He chuckled but did not take his seat; instead, he went to the kitchen and brought a bottle of Lily's favourite wine and two wineglasses. Lily eyed the bottle and frowned as he sat down.
"Trying to get me drunk before we start because you know I'm about to beast you?" Lily challanged him. James raised an eyebrow and stopped his motions to open the bottle.
"My, my. Aren't we sure of ourselves?"
Lily shrugged and James set the bottle aside.
They'd be drinking it in a few moments.
"Can we begin now?" Lily asked.
"Bring it on. Ten minutes?"
Lily nodded and James set the alarm. The trend was to paint each other, and whoever had the better painting would be the winner.
As he grabbed the gold paint, he smirked. She would never see it coming, which, of course, was the whole point.
The gold band was easy to draw; the diamond was a bit harder, but he persevered. The little box on his pocket got heavier as his heart pounded faster.
He eyed the timer — just enough for the words. He had to be careful or she wouldn't be able to read his handwriting.
When his phone buzzed announcing the end of the time, he felt his stomach lurching.
When he turned his painting, he didn't look at hers; he watched her face. He wanted to see her eyes widening, her lips showing her shock then changing into happiness. He wanted to see her elation, to share it with her.
But she wasn't looking at his painting. She was watching him, her eyes also anxious, waiting for his reaction. The hand holding the velvet box got somewhat weaker.
He chanced a look at her painting.
His heart wasn't pounding anymore; it had stopped altogether.
Because her painting didn't resemble him at all. In fact, it wasn't even a person. It was more like a thing. An object. A white, rectangular object. Much longer than wider, and also thin. It had a small screen, hastily drawn with a light green and just a little bit of blue.
He wasn't the most knowledgeable on art, but this one he knew.
"You're—?" he started to babble, but it appeared Lily had finally read his words, because she gasped.
"Marry?! Now, you can't be serious," she cried out, indignant.
"Lils, baby, you're really pregnant? You're not screwing with him, are you?" James put the velvet box on his chair, dropped the painting on the table, and neared Lily, taking her hands from the canvas and carefully placing it besides them.
"Of bloody course I'm not screwing with you," she bit back, pulling her hands back from his. “Or d’you really think it’s normal for me to lose the keys three fucking times in a month?”
“Or that half a glass of wine would hinder me to the point of losing to you?” Lily’s eyebrows challenged him just as much as her voice. James remained speechless, unsure of what to say.
“It’s your ultimate plan, isn’t it? Just admit it,” she demanded, crossing her arms. “You got me pregnant so you could finally win something. Just off with it.”
“And then you try to up me! Ha! Did Marlene tell you?!”
“Tell me what? I’m confused,” James said. He was really confused.
“That I’m pregnant. That I’m expecting. We are, that is. Because the baby is yours, obviously.”
“Of course she didn’t tell me. I didn’t try to up you, how would I? This is—Lily, are we having a child? Me and you?” James started to smile, and he saw Lily’s demeanour subduing. “A whole baby, that’s half me and half you?”
“Yeah. Yeah, we are,” she said, a grin taking over her face as James’s eyes watered. “I’m sorry. I swear, these mood swings. I’m happy.”
“I’m happy, too,” he confessed in a whisper. Lily rummaged through her purse and presented him with the actual pregnancy test.
“And even with your low attempt, I win, because I actually have something,” she said pointing to the test, “you, on contrary, have too many words, and too few rings.”
James started to agree; she’d won. But—
As he tried to get up, drying his eyes, his back bumped the table, which bumped his chair, causing the box to fall down, close to where he was now on one knee. With a sigh, he took it, and turned to Lily.
She was already crying, and his tears fell freely too. He mumbled something about being the luckiest man on Earth, and she said a wet yes before pulling him to kiss her.
As they calmed down, he put on the ring — it fit perfectly because he had nicked one of her rings a few months before.
They were laughing, him telling her how he’d picked the ring, then she started crying again.
“We’re tied again!” She called out. James bit back a laugh (God help him if he did laugh) and looked around.
“No, love, look,” he said, picking his painting that had fallen face down and now looked almost nothing like a ring, and the words were mashed up, making it nearly impossible to read. “Mine is utter rubbish now. You win.”
Her triumphant grin started another mood swing, and he went back to the kitchen for two Cokes (then went back again because she wondered if she could drink it because of the caffeine), and they toasted with two glasses of the strawberry juice James had made her the previous morning, and all their friends and family on the videocalls agreed that surely Lily had won.
But whenever he looked at Lily’s grin, his ring at her finger and her hand at her belly, he knew he was the true winner in life.
