A/N: This was just a cute fluffy idea that popped into my head while I was listening to my Christmas CDs. I hope you enjoy(:
"James, you need to stay awake. You have to finish this by tomorrow." Lily said, for what must have been the fifth time that night. He was working on a rather difficult Potions essay, and after several long days of begging, Lily had agreed to help him. They had been at it for over three hours, the grandfather clock in their shared dormitory signaling that it was now one in the morning.
"But Lily, I'm so tired." James whined, to which Lily gave him a stern look that could rival even Minerva McGonagall's. "Fine," he said, exasperated.
"Come on now, you only have the conclusion left. That's the easiest part." She really didn't see what was so difficult about any of it. Then again, she had finished hers within an hour of starting the night it had been assigned. Two weeks ago. James, always the procrastinator, waited until the night before it was due to even get a start on it.
"It is not the easiest part. This is about as easy as you." he muttered under his breath, but when he felt Lily tense up beside him he knew he hadn't been as quiet as he had wanted.
Lily cocked her head to the side and stared at James curiously. "Was that supposed to be a compliment?"
James nodded his head, a guilty expression on his face. "I guess it didn't work very well."
"No, not really. Now get back to work." Lily said, trying her hardest to fight back a smile. She stood from the couch and walked around for a few moments, admiring the holiday decorations that the house elves had so graciously put up. She and James had their own personal Christmas tree, lights around the fireplace and on the stairwells, as well as many holiday scented candles scattered throughout the room. James had also decided to add his own personal touches, placing mistletoe above all three doors and several boughs hanging down from the ceiling, hoping to catch Lily under one and finally receive the kiss he had been after for so long. But, after a few days of them being hung up, Lily had learned ways to get around them and to make sure to never be too close to James near one.
"Mkay, I think I'm done now. Wanna read it?" He looked over his shoulder hopefully, and Lily rolled her eyes and reached for the paper. But just before she could grasp it, he pulled it away from her and raised it a little closer to himself. She reached for it again, and again he pulled it closer to himself.
He was smiling now, and in spite of herself, so was Lily. She reached for it one more time, putting forth a little more effort just before she could touch the paper. On the positive side, she had finally gotten the paper. Unfortunately, she had also put too much force behind her reach, and ended up tumbling over the couch. She would have gone all the way to the floor, had James not caught her mid-fall.
"You're beautiful, you know that?" James was staring at her with fascination and wonder in his eyes. She was hanging upside down with her legs dangling over the back of the couch and her head pressed against the cushions. Her shirt had risen a bit, exposing just a sliver of her creamy white stomach, a fact that James was painfully aware of. Her hair had fallen down messily around her face, causing it to look as though a ring of fire was surrounding her head, and her cheeks were a delicate shade of red that burned even brighter when he spoke. And yet, he meant every word. It truly amazed him that even when she looked as foolish as she did now, she still managed to be the most gorgeous being he had ever had the pleasure to lay his eyes on.
"You really are exhausted, aren't you?" Lily replied with a smirk on her face, and gracefully flipped herself so she was sitting upright beside him. He chuckled once, and nodded his head before leaning back against the couch, placing his hands behind his neck, and closing his eyes.
Lily shook her head and rolled her eyes playfully at him, a feeling of calm serenity passing through her. She crossed one leg over the other, grabbed a pen from the table beside her, and began to read.
She scanned through it several times, shocked by how fluid and descriptive the words were. Writing had never been James's strong suit, but if this had been the first of his papers she had read, she wouldn't have been able to tell. There wasn't a single thing she could find to cross out or replace, and the fact brought a smile to her face. She didn't think she would be, but she found that she was glad she had agreed to help him.
"James, this is really good." she said, but turned to find that he had fallen asleep. She smiled sympathetically, and watched as his chest rose and fell slowly, his face looking as peaceful as she had ever seen. She felt bad for it, but knew that she needed to wake him, for if he fell asleep that way, he would be in immense pain the next morning.
She sighed softly and put the paper and pen back on the table before turning back to him and whispering, "James, wake up." When he showed no signs of consciousness, she leaned over and poked him in the shoulder. "James," she said again, this time louder than before.
After a few minutes of being gentle, she gave up on that and began to push against his shoulder rather roughly. A little too roughly, in fact. James began to wobble back and forth until he found something to lean against – Lily. His weight being too much for her tiny frame to carry, she began to fall back and was soon pushed down so she was laying down with her feet still leaning over the edge of couch, and James on top of her. He was completely covering her upper body, his face buried in the cushions so close to her own that their cheeks were brushing.
It was then that Lily realized he was much too close for her to handle. She could smell him, a warm, musky scent that she found cleared her mind more than anything else. She could feel every contour of his body molding perfectly with hers, and the urge to wrap her arms around him nearly overwhelmed her.
Instead, with a shaky and breathless voice, she whispered, "James,"
She couldn't see it, but James smirked into the couch. He had gotten the reaction he had wanted out of her, finally. He snaked his arms around her waist and tilted slightly to the right so that they gently fell to the floor. He rolled them until they were lying directly in the center of the room, his body still on top of Lily's.
"Yes?" James asked, his lips dangerously close to her ear. She could hear the satisfied smirk in his voice, and for the first time, she didn't feel like wiping it from his face – she actually enjoyed hearing it.
"Never mind, you're awake now." She was barely able to get the words out, partly because she was so wrapped up by the feelings James was stirring up, and partly because he was pressing up against her chest. Seeming to sense this, he shifted so that he was able to kneel and hold himself up, his palms right beside her head, his nose mere centimeters from hers. His darkened hazel eyes locked on her worried and unsure emerald ones, and she found that she couldn't look away.
"Look up, Lily. What do you see?" It nearly tore her apart, but she dragged her eyes away from his to look at the ceiling above her, and was not so surprised to find that there was a new piece of mistletoe hanging down from it, this one much more beautiful than the rest.
"You planned this," she told him as she brought her eyes back to his face, her tone accusatory, but in a way that told James she was happy about it, even if she didn't want to be.
"That I did," he replied, and the smile slowly faded from his face until his expression was completely somber. He leaned back just a bit, and Lily thought he was getting up. Not happy with this, she lifted her arms up and wrapped them around his neck. The corners of his lips twitched and he leaned back down even closer to her, until all the she could smell, see, and feel was him. "Since you've shown no signs of wanting to move and spoil my fun, I'm going to kiss you now."
The breath hitched in Lily's throat, and her mind seemed to be cleared of all thought. Except for one. One brilliant, frightening, and crazy thought. "No, you're not." She stared at him with her lips turned up in a smile, knowing he wouldn't suspect a thing. She had to bite back a laugh when she saw the look of triumph all but disappear from his face.
"No?" he asked, with what little confidence he had left in him. She smiled even wider and shook her head. With her arms still wrapped around his neck, she pulled him back down and pressed her lips against his.
His shock kept him still for several seconds, but once he was able to comprehend what was happening, he responded with equal fervor. Their lips moved together at an even pace, keeping the kiss sweet and slow, and everything a first kiss between two people should be.
Meanwhile, Lily's mind was racing. She couldn't believe that after six years of denying him, she had finally given in and all it took was half a year of them being forced to live and cooperate together.
When they finally pulled apart, both without breath, James smiled and said, "Thank you for helping me with me essay."
Lily laughed, and with a smile that matched his, replied, "I'm glad I could help."