so, welcome to (what is currently only the prologue of) the love, rosie au, which if you follow me on tumblr you'll know a lot about already.

how this fic is going to work is that i'm writing it in long parts (how long i'm not sure yet but probably around 9000/10000 words each) and then breaking them down into smaller sections. whilst i'm not going to update this fic on here until i have an entire part done, i am uploading each individual section onto tumblr.

The playground is virtually empty by the time James is let out to play, the rain having driven most children back into their classrooms. Lily's waiting for him under the biggest part of the climbing frame, head burrowed deep into the hood of her bright pink parka. She doesn't say anything as he approaches, merely pulls half of a cheese and ham sandwich out from the depths of her pocket and offers it to him.

He takes it and stuffs most of it into his mouth at once, chewing furiously. Lily's lips twitch at the muffled "Thanks." but she still doesn't say anything.

Eventually he's able to form actual sentences, and he looks at her from under the brim of his hood. A drop of water falls from it, landing on his nose, and he rubs at it in annoyance. "Why are you out here?"

Lily slouches against the damp wood of the climbing frame. She's soaking, but she doesn't seem to notice the way her trousers are clinging to her twig-like legs, her knobbly knees poking out from under the hem of her coat. She takes a while to answer. Not because she has to think about what she's going to say, but because she enjoys annoying him, and there's a smile curling the corners of her mouth when he sighs.

"I wanted to play this." She says at last, pulling a box of cards out of the same pocket the sandwich had been in. She pushes her hood back enough to give him a disappointed glare. "Dunno if we'll have enough time now, though."

James is instantly defensive and he makes a noise of protest. "S'not my fault! The Witch has it in for me."

Lily shakes her head morosely and shuffles the box around in her palm. "You should do your homework on time, then, shouldn't you?"

"I did!" James huffs. He shoves the rest of the sandwich into his mouth to avoid continuing the conversation, and points at the box. "Let's play your stupid game, then."

.

Lily's a lot better at this game than James is, and it annoys him endlessly. "You're cheating." He proclaims when she wins her fifth round in a row. He huffs, wraps his arms around his thin chest and shakes his head. "Told you this game's stupid."

"Am not." She pouts, bottom lip poking out unhappily. She'd pushed her hood down a while ago, and now she swipes at the damp hair curling at her temples. "Not my fault you're bad at it."

"Only 'cause you didn't tell me how to play it right." James complains, slamming his card onto the ground and hanging his head in defeat.

Lily watches him, lips pursed. "I'll get you an extra present when I'm in Boston." She promises after a moment of silence.

James gives her a level look, a thoughtful crease appearing between his eyebrows. "Really?"

"Obviously, or I wouldn't've said it." Lily laughs when James shoves at her shoulder. She shoves back, puts slightly too much effort into it, and they topple to the floor. Lily's a gangly tangle of limbs, always has been, because she never seems to grow into her height. One of her bony elbows is digging into the spot just above his bladder and it's beginning to tickle.

James' laugh is verging on giggles, tears starting to form in the corners of his eyes, and he clamps a hand over his mouth. It doesn't help, so after a minute or so, he gives up trying, laughing so hard the tears start trickling down his cheeks.

Lily has him pinned, her skinny legs keeping him against the floor, and she pauses for a moment just so she can look at him. He frowns, but takes the opportunity to wipe at his eyes with the back of a fist.

"What?" He asks when she still doesn't say anything.

She shakes her head and shrugs. "Nothin'." She puts a hand on his chest, right where his heart is and her fingers tighten in the damp material of his school jumper. "We'll always be best friends, right?"

"Where did that come from?" James demands, kicking his legs slightly because they've started to go numb. "Course we will be!"

"Promise?" Lily's gone quiet, which is never a good sign, and James smiles.

"Yeah! You'll always be my bestest friend in the entire world, Evans !" He declares, his grin growing when Lily's lips twitch.

She holds out the hand that isn't resting on his chest and offers him her pinkie finger. "Me too." She promises.

.

"You won't be far behind me though, right?" Lily is saying, slim fingers curling around the handle of her suitcase. She scuffs her foot against the floor and squints up at him from behind her sunglasses.

Lying to Lily has never been fun and it has never been easy, but just this once, it is and James nods. "Yeah. There was just a bit of a hold-up with some of my paperwork." He flicks Lily gently in the centre of her forehead, smiling when she swats at him. "Cheer up. I'll be there in a few weeks. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were worried about missing me."

Lily scoffs, grabbing James' wrist when he moves to flick her again. "As if. It'll be a relief to get away from you. No more asking me if we have homework just before a lesson. No more bad jokes that are so shit only you find them funny. No more of your attempts at making me tea."

"Hey," James protests. "My tea's not that bad."

"Your tea is terrible." Lily counters, and then sniffs. She lets go of her suitcase and lunges forwards, her skinny arms like a vice around his neck with how hard she's holding on. "Okay, so maybe I will miss you." She whispers, punching his shoulder when he snorts at her.

"It's only two weeks." James says, but he hugs her back anyway. She head-butts his shoulder and sighs, before she steps backwards.

She doesn't say it's time for her to go, but it's what she means and James nods. She's taken a few steps towards the gate before he speaks again. "You're my bestest friend in the entire world, Evans."

She glances over her shoulder and smiles. "Same to you, Potter." She gives him one final wave and then she's gone, disappearing in the throng of people.

He doesn't stick around to watch the plane leave.