Here's a little Jily oneself right after the get together- around Christmastime! I wrote this one from Lily's POV as I felt a little more inspiration from that end.

Disclaimer: I do not own James and Lily unfortunately. They belong JK Rowling, I just make up cute stories about them.

This is for Shefali, darknesshasdrains on tumblr. I hope you enjoy your Jily Secret Santa gift! Have an awesome holiday!

Merry Christmas, Darling

I walked the corridor, aware of James' presence next to me. We were patrolling the corridors, a mere formality given that it was Christmas Eve and many students were home for break. No one was out except for us. During the break we'd taken to patrolling in more comfortable clothes because no one was wearing their school robes at any point of the day. I snuck a glance at my boyfriend and smiled at the Christmas pajama bottoms he was sporting. Boyfriend. After about a year of avoiding the fact that I had obvious feelings for James it was really nice to finally be able to call him that. A wee nights ago we kind of got at it in the common room, yelling at each other and then confessing our feelings. The way James said that he was certain he's in love with me and that if I didn't feel the same way he probably couldn't be friends with me had taken me aback. It prompted me to finally confess my feelings and then the next thing I knew, James was grabbing me close to him and kissing me.

"Knut for your thoughts?" James asked, shaking me out of my thoughts. I smiled, blushing and looking down at the ground letting my hair cover my face. "Come on Lily, what are you thinking about?" James pushed.

I sighed and looked up at him. "Just thinking about us. Everything's kind of changed now," I noted. "I mean, it's just a different dynamic. I'm not just patrolling alone with my friend, it's my boyfriend. Once everyone finds out, who knows what will happen. Do you think Dumbledore or McGonagall would prohibit us from patrolling togethers. They might think that we'll get distracted or something and I wouldn't want that to happen. I don't want to even think about who I could end up patrolling with. No no, that would be bad to patrol with someone else. Unless it was Remus. Remus wouldn't be terrible. But then there's a higher chance of you having to patrol with someone from Slytherin or something and that would also be horrible and-"

"Lily! Whoa, slow down there. Nothing like that is going to happen. I think Dumbeldore and McGonagall trust us a little more than that. And anyways, we'd probably just switch around patrols with the other prefects so we're back to being partners. And who says anything has to change? We're still friends, now I can just say that I love you and kiss you. I'd call that a pretty positive change," James stated, smiling his crooked grin at me. I laughed and nodded. I was just overreacting, my imagination getting the better of me.

"You're right. God, sometimes I hate my imagination. It's so damn hyperactive! Probably because I read so much," I mused. James stopped and looked at me.

"Lily, you don't read too much and it would be weird if you stopped reading. It's just who you are and what you enjoy. You've always been creative and a little out there but then again, who isn't. We all have our own brand of crazy right?" James pointed out. I nodded, seeing his point. Everyone is crazy in their own way. James and his friends were crazy in the ways of being almost obsessed with quidditch and pranking. Sirius was crazy in his own right because of his family and how he got out of that. Dealing with his family while growing up and then being sorted into Gryffindor gave him a bit of a defensive humor and some rough edges. I started to calm down a little and we continued walking.

After a while, I started yawning. We may have gotten a late start to our patrol and were making sure that no one was out causing any mischief or sneaking under the mistletoe. Christmas Eve made some Hogwarts students do crazy things. I turned to James," I think it's safe to head back to the common room now. It's almost midnight, no one's going to be out," I noted. James nodded, suppressing a yawn. We turned around and headed for the stairs that would lead us to Gryffindor Tower.

"James, what made you realize that you loved me?" I asked suddenly, curious as to what made me stand out to him. James looked taken aback and a little more awake. He ran his hand through his raven hair and sighed.

"Uh, I don't know exactly. I mean, from the moment we met you kind of seemed special. You weren't afraid to stand up to anyone and challenged anyone who tried to speak down to you. Even though you were constantly reading and studying, you weren't shy or scared. Plus, it was really easy to make you mad. For some reason I found that really funny and that's why we pranked you. And then as we grew older, you stopped being the girl I could annoy to the girl who looked cute and then gorgeous. Your hair that looked like a carrot in first year became a deeper red and looked like fall leaves. You grew up and started to take a stand for what you believe in. You stood out to me because I wanted to be as brave as you. I mean, I knew that I didn't agree with what over half of the Slytherin's believe but you weren't afraid to call them out on being prejudiced and bigoted. It inspired me to maybe stand up for people as well," James explained.

"You think I'm gorgeous and inspiring?" I asked incredulously. No one ever saw me as gorgeous. I stood out because my hair was so different from everyone else's and I had a loud mouth. I was annoying, not gorgeous and inspiring. "James I'm the know-it-all who everyone else wants to shut up and stop being so smart. People find me annoying and sometimes, I've been called a waste of space because people think I'm too loud. I'd never been impressive, just annoying and loud," I admitted.

James stared at me, shocked. "Lily, you are not that loud. When you speak up, it's because you have something important to say not just because you want attention or want to be heard. Everything you say has a purpose. Plus, you stick out because you might be a little clumsy but there are times you move with a lot of grace. Lily, you can be full of opposites at times because of what you say and how you say it. You might mean what you say, but you say it softly at times. You're a bit of a paradox there love. And that makes you intriguing. You're inspiring because when you truly believe what you say, you say it with conviction. Lils, you're pretty amazing," James explained. I just stared at him with my mouth wide open. That did not sound like me at all. "And before you try and protest, remember that there are times when you've admitted that you never see yourself in the best light. You told me you have a tendency to put yourself down," he reminded me.

I blushed and looked down at the ground again. James took my hand and tugged me so we started walking again. I mulled over his words as we climbed the stairs to the seventh floor, really taking it in that James thought I was this amazing person. When we entered the common room, James lead me over to the big chair.

"Let's just sit a while, I don't want you to go yet," James said, pulling me into his lap. I snuggled up to him and laid my head on his shoulder.

"Mhmm, this is comfy. I could probably stay here all night," I mumbled, closing my eyes. Sitting by the fire, snuggled with James felt right. "You know, after ignoring my feelings about you for so long, this feels wonderful. Even better than I imagined," I admitted.

"How did you imagine it? And when did you realize that you liked me?" James asked. I sighed and thought for a moment.

"I imagined feeling a little awkward at first. I mean, this is my first serious relationship. I may have gone on a few dates but nothing like this," I started. "I thought I'd be bad at being your girlfriend and that you'd have to teach me more things. I guess I was wrong there. As for when I realized I liked you, well that was New Year's Eve of last year. You and the guys threw a party here because you had heard a girl talking about how she was missing her parents' party because they wanted to go on vacation without her. She sounded so dejected that you guys planned a party. I remember when she got the invitation she was so excited and then at the party, she thanked you guys. You told her it was no problem and that you would do anything to make a fellow Gryffindor feel better. Then I realized that you are a really good guy and not just some goofball who doesn't do any work or any good. At midnight, I found myself wishing it was me who got to kiss you and not some sixth year," I admitted. "After that, I just tried to ignore the pull of my heart whenever you were around," I finished.

James sort of stared at me, mystified. "Wow, you've liked me for that long?" he asked.

"Yup. I've probably liked you for longer but just passed it off as hate since I never knew why you pranked me all the time," I teased him, lightening the mood. James laughed and squeezed me, kissing the top of my head.

"You know, you just could have asked to kiss me after that," he stated. "But I guess it doesn't matter now because you can kiss me whenever you want," he finished, kissing my cheek.

"Yes I can." I turned a little and kissed James on the lips. "And I plan on taking full advantage of that tomorrow. I've always wanted a Christmas morning kiss and a kiss under the tree on Christmas. It's a tradition my parents have, either after we finish opening presents of before we open them they kiss under the tree," I explained.

"Well, then we will kiss under the tree on Christmas morning," James vowed, sealing it with a kiss.

I giggled and smiled at him. Our eyes met and I just looked into his hazel eyes, mesmerized by their color. Our trance was broken by a bell toll. I looked up at the clock and smiled.

"It's midnight. Merry Christmas James," I whispered, my face mirroring the love I felt for him in my heart.

"Merry Christmas Lily," he replied, his smile and eyes full of love. "Now, since it's midnight, which is considered morning, and Christmas, I think I owe you a Christmas morning kiss under the tree," James stated, a wicked grin forming on his face.

"That you do," I replied, my smile widening. James stood up, still holding me in his arms, and walked over to the tree in the corner of the common room. He put me down and stared into my eyes. Then, he lowered his face to mine and kissed me slowly, then deepened the kiss and pressed me closer to his body. After another moment he broke the kiss and looked into my eyes again.

"Merry Christmas Lily," he whispered. "I love you."

"Merry Christmas James, I love you too."