"Lily, Alice, Mary," Sirius grinned, looking at James.

Lily's eyes snapped up from the floor where she had been so intently staring. James had a similar reaction, except he looked at Sirius. There was a tense moment where the boys stared each other down.

For the first time since the game started, James began to regret his decision to play Fuck, Marry, Kill. It was the last night before winter hols, so it seemed like a harmless idea. The Marauders had started playing first sometime right before curfew, and then Frank and Alice had shown up. Peter invited them to play, and they had both eagerly agreed. Alice, however, had made the condition of her playing that more girls had to join. Enter Lily, Mary, and Marlene. It had been a lighthearted game, until Sirius decided to ask the most awkward question he could.

James hesitated again, before swallowing heavily and pasting a grin to his face.

"Well I'd do Mary. Kill Alice-sorry, love you've got a boyfriend-" Frank laughed. James grinned back at him, but then lowered his voice to near whisper before finishing. "And I'd marry Lily."

She tried not to blush.

"Your turn, Evans: fuck, marry, kill-"

"You can't ask her, you just asked Prongs!" Peter cut Sirius off.

"Then you ask her, Wormtail."

"Fine, but that's not how the game works..." He huffed, rather pink. "Benjy Fenwick, Prongs, and... Snape."

"Peter," James and Remus muttered at the same time, shooting him the same look of irritation and scolding.

"It's fine," Lily promised, smiling. She thought about it for a minute. "I'd fuck Benjy, kill Snape, um, marry James, I guess."

James eyes yanked away from the murderous look he'd been shooting at Peter. Their eyes locked. Something jumped in James' stomach.

"Black," Lily began, without taking her eyes off of James. "Marlene, Dorcas, James?"

Sirius' barking laugh broke the tension, and everyone smiled. "Fuck Prongs, kill Dorcas, marry Marlene just because if I married anyone, they should at least be a good shag." Marlene winked.

"Aw, Padfoot, I didn't know you felt that way." James grinned throwing an arm around his best mate. Lily giggled.

"I've loved you from the start." Sirius slapped his hand against his heart.

"Not enough to marry me," James looked away dramatically.

"My love," Sirius reached for him, feigning dramatics.

"You never loved me," James sighed. "Moony loves me."

"'Fraid not, Prongs." Remus shook his head. "See Peter and I have had a long love affair, and I just couldn't bear to leave him."

"You wound me!" James turned to Marlene pleadingly.

"Sirius just called dibs." She laughed.

"Mary?" James bit back a grin.

Mary shrugged, giggling. "I'm all signed up to be a nun, sorry Potter."

Alice pointed to her promise ring when asked, and it seemed like James wasn't going to get anyone his side. He looked to Frank who laughed and shook his head. "Sorry, mate, but your bed curtains and I eloped last year."

James laughed too, finally turning to Lily.

"You love me, right Lils?" His tone implied joking. His smile implied joking. His whole demeanor implied joking, but again, those eyes of a hundred colors held an intensity that rocketed down her spine causing goose bumps to rise on her arms.

She almost denied him like all the others, but something physically stopped her. She just couldn't get the rejection out, joking or not. "I just said I'd marry you last round, didn't I?"

James' eyes flashed. He threw his arms around Lily, enveloping her in a hug. "Ah, I knew I could count on you, Evans." She giggled as he planted a kiss on her temple.

"Careful, Potter, or I may rethink the Benjy Fenwick prospect." The group laughed and moved on with the game. James kept one arm around Lily's shoulders the rest of the night.