Marching On

As Harry walked down the street--his destination being Lavin and Gen's apartment--he heard screams of delight and shouts of early celebration. He grinned, happily imagining the events that might unfold tonight.

Harry passed the deli that Lavin was known to frequent on quiet nights alone with Gen, it was closed now for New Year's. He stopped as he noticed his reflection.

His hands ran through his hair, the gel he put in earlier made his palm and inside of his fingers tacky. One more quick run of the hand and it was perfectly messy, just the way Lavin liked it.

Continuing on his way with an extra skip in his step he couldn't wait to see Lavin. He was excited to see her in person instead of just hearing her through a telephone.

To have her back in his city, their city was too fantastic for words.

His black leather shoes scraped on the metal steps as he jogged up them. And before he raised his hand to knock he remembered the bet he and William had, and he thought of the pair of earrings William bought for the occasion. He smirked, knowing that Lavin did not need material things to be romanced.

Knock! Knock! Knock! went his knuckles against the wooden front door.

There was some shuffling, music behind the door and then there was a vague yell from a voice he identified to be Gen's.

"I'll get it!" she shouted, her heels tapping on the floor and getting louder as they neared Harry and the door.

It swung open and there was Gen standing in a very long t-shirt and only one eye done up with make up.

"Am I early?" Was his greeting. He could see the clock hanging from the kitchen and it told him he wasn't.

"No! Lavin and I are just behind schedule," Gen exclaimed, kissing him on the check and letting him in.

She directed him to the living room that was looking tidy and uncluttered of textbooks and sketchbooks for once since the two cousins had occupied it. He saw Lavin's brothers and Peter.

"Hello, lads!" He exclaimed, a wide grin on his face.

"Finally!" Ben threw back his head dramatically. "We've been waiting ages for you to get here."

"What?" Harry wondered.

It was then that Harry noticed the water-stained coffee table had been replaced by a hardware store collapsible table. On it was cups that looked ready to play an infamous college game.

"We finally have enough people to play pong," Alex told him, mockingly taking the drastic tone of his older brother.

Harry made a funny face and pointed at Alex. "As long as you're my teammate."

"Fine by me, Ben is horrid."

Ben cried out: "The ultimate betrayal: brother and best friend."

Peter punched Ben in the shoulder. "You still have me, you twat. And if I can brag, I won the gold in the Beer Olympics back during uni."

"I guess that's a consolation," Ben muttered.

"Alright," Alex saying, throwing the ball to his brother. "Eye-to-eye."

Harry regretted entering into what turned out to be not just a game, but a marathon. It was a stalemate, three cups all. He checked the clock on the fireplace's mantle.

Not even a half hour had passed yet. He just wanted to see Lavin and was surprised that she wasn't finished getting ready yet.

"Who's winning?"

It was Gen, tossing a flimsy looking leather jacket onto the couch. She had traded her over-sized shirt for a pair of black jeans and a shirt that sparkled under the light.

"No one," Harry said, flashing pleading eyes at Gen.

She patted Harry on the back. "Why don't you let me take over for you? Lavin should be ready soon."

Harry smiled back gratefully and excused himself from the living room. He vaguely heard Alex's shouts of blasphemy.

The hallway was much dimmer than the living room, with light escaping from the kitchen and bathroom.

He knocked once on Lavin's door and heard her voice telling him it was okay to enter. Harry found her standing before her vanity, curling her hair and wearing only her underwear and stockings.

Nothing stopped him from staring. Her legs seemed to shine in the soft light and where the stockings ended only seemed to accentuate her waist.

"Hello, Harry," she said as if they hadn't been apart from each other for weeks.
_____

"Don't you look dashing," Lavin told Harry as she unraveled her hair from the curling iron. A smirk played on her lips, looking at him through the mirror.

He was in a pair of dark gray slacks and a blazer. There was no tie around the collar of his black button down, and his shoes reflected the dim lighting from the lamp in the corner of the room.

"I am nothing compared to you," Harry mumbled, sounding awestruck.

Lavin turned around to find Harry closer to her than she expected. He licked his lips, his eyes leaving her face for her torso. Harry traced his fingers of the faint rippling of her stomach muscles.

"Have you been working out?" he asked.

"Just a bit of running, and my brothers have me on a horse nearly everyday," she answered before running a warm finger against Harry's cheek. This brought his eyes back to hers.

"I've missed you," she said in a quiet voice.

Harry smiled. "I missed you more."

Lavin led his lips to hers, but it was Harry who was savage. His tongue was begging for permission. Lavin pulled away, smirking with her eyes.

"You're a little feisty tonight."

Harry wrapped his arms around her bare shoulders, pulling her closer. "What better night than tonight, especially since we haven't seen each other since my brother's engagement party."

"I suppose tonight is better than any night," she said, mulling it over. "Shall we start this night with a bang?"

"We shall," Harry barely got out before connecting their lips again.

_____

Harry arms snaked around her thighs, lifting her up. She instinctively wrapped her legs around him and her arms clasped around his neck, their lips still together.

"To the bed," Lavin managed to say between kisses. She even pointed for extra emphasis. As if Harry needed any direction to the bed.

It only took a few steps to get to the bed, but Harry, thinking it was farther, ran into the corner and fell onto the down-feather comforter.

Harry and Lavin broke away from each other only to laugh. A moment passed and he was trailing kisses along her collarbone.

Harry couldn't believe that this was going better than he planned it would. He would surely win the bet between he and his brother. If he could wager everything he owned in the world he knew William was not doing as well as he was.

Lavin began unbuttoning his black shirt while Harry simultaneously slipped off his blazer, tossing it to the floor.

Harry's hands flitted to Lavin's back, fumbling with the clasps of her bra.

"Need any help?" Lavin asked as Harry continued to struggle.

"No!"

Harry tried a new approach: pulling it off over her head. Lavin pushed his hands away, reaching her arms backwards to do it herself. She was about to undo it when someone started banging on Lavin's door.

Both let out sounds, one of shock and one of frustration.

"Quit shagging, you two! We have to leave in fifteen minutes!" It was Gen.

"Shagging!?" Now it was Ben. "Already!?"

Harry rolled off Lavin and laid beside her. The stayed there in silence for a minute, only the noise of their friends and family outside and gentle clinking of glasses and music.

"I guess I should get dressed," Lavin said, more to herself than to Harry.

Harry just nodded his head lamely, bouncing a little when Lavin moved off the bed. He turned to watch Lavin get dressed.

She unzipped the garment bag revealing a dark brown sequin dress with a low back and long sleeves. He watched as she stepped one leg in and then the other. She shimmied it passed her calves, her thighs where it became snug. Lastly, she slipped her arms into the sleeves and situated the collar.

Lavin turned around, "Will you zip me up?"

"Yeah," Harry said, getting off the bed. It took only a few seconds to zip her up and for her to put her shoes on.

"Ready?" Harry asked, pulling his blazer back on.

"Yeah," Lavin said, inspecting herself in the vanity mirror one last time.