"If I said that I wanted to leave would you come with me?" Lily asked idly. James squinted at her over his glasses, saw her expression and put the Daily Prophet on the floor.

He scratched at his ear, "Would you tell me where we were going?"

"Nope."

"I'd have to trust on blind faith that you were taking me somewhere I wanted to go?"

Lily looked at the ceiling. "That about sums it up."

"How much warning would you give me?"

"Very little I imagine."

"Hmmmm." James stood and went to the kitchen cupboard and pulled down a mug, he poured some tea, and then added and finger of whiskey. He sat across from Lily at the table.

"Is this about what happened the other night?"

Lily shook her head, "I just want to know if you'd leave with me…"

"So this is about the other night, then."

"Argh! It's not." Lily turned red, and James laughed, marveling again at just how bad a liar Lily was.

"In my defense I had no idea that they were even-you know—talking about that…stuff."

"That's because whenever Alice and Frank show up you act they're the least interesting people on the planet."

"I most certainly do not!"

It was Lily's turn to laugh. "You do so!" she said between fits of giggles, "You just can't forgive them for winning."

"They didn't win anything you idiot. It was all made up—for laughs."

"Except you can't forgive them."

"Lily Evans Potter you know damn well that we are the cutest fucking couple in The Order! The very idea that the Longbottoms would usurp our place, our very title, is not only a gross miscarriage of justice, but—but—but—"

" 'An affront to the very merit of the witches and wizards in The Order'?"

James sucked in an angry breath and nodded.

Lily shook her head and reached for his mug, taking a long slow sip.

"You know why they won don't you?"

"Because Sirius knew it would drive me nuts?"

"No. It's because Alice was getting pretty concerned with the morale of everyone. We've taken some blows recently Potter."

James stood up and pulled an agitated hand through his hair.

"Yeah, I know."

"There's been a marked shift from friendly drinks, to well…"

"Funeral drinks."

"Alice thought a cutest couple, funniest wizard, most likely to kiss a death eater contest would cheer everyone up."

"I know."

"And you know she was right, especially when Pete called pulled for the Kiss a Death Eater. That was hilarious!"

"The look on his face was priceless." James admitted.

"And then Sirius trying to steal the trophy saying that he'd already kissed like a million death eaters."

"And we all told him cousins don't count." James laughed. "It was a good night."

"See—so of course Alice and Frank had to win something for all the trouble they went through."

James looked around their kitchen and felt his throat grow tight, everything that had lead up to the party at Order Head quarters crashing down around his shoulders.

"Lily…I'd go away with you if you asked."

She looked up surprised.

"But we'd couldn't be gone long. I can't leave everyone…you know?"

Lily nodded, because no matter how much she wished they could leave the war behind she knew that she couldn't turn her back on everyone either.

"We've got Dumbledore, right?"

"Yes."

"And the Prewitts."

"Yes." She said. "We have a lot of good fighters."

Suddenly their back door was blown open, James launched himself in front of Lily, cursing his stupidity for not having his wand.

"And Sirius Black!"

James's face was a dark as his hair, "You fucking idiot! Why in Godric's good name would you fucking break down our door!"

"Because I missed you mate." Sirius said, his tone both hurt and surprised by this unwelcoming reception. It became immediately clear that Sirius Black was seriously drunk.

Lily stood up and took Sirius by the arm, "Okay Padfoot, lets get you some water, all right?"

"Oh Lily…lily lily lily lily lily….I've got a present for you."

"Oh?" she said shouldering most of his weight on her own, while James charmed the door back into place.

"It's the trophy you get for snogging death eaters."

"Thanks Sirius, but I've never snogged a death eater, remember I'm muggle born….it's not something that they'd be into."

Sirius giggled, "I know one who is."

James and Lily looked at each other confused.

"What are you talking about Sirius?"

"Remus is at St. Mungos." He growled his mood suddenly rough and angry. "And the slimey git who put him there…"

"Snivellous?"

"Severus?"

"Ding ding!" And then Sirius threw Lily the trophy, it was shaped like a pair of lips and it made smacking noises. Lily dropped it as though it burned her hand.

"But what would this have to do with Lily?" James asked.

Sirius and Lily glared at one another.

James looked between the two, the two people he loved best in the world giving each other dagger eyes.

"No…" he said.

Lily broke her gaze with Sirius and turned to her husband. "James its—"

"It's exactly what you think."

"Shut up Sirius!" James and Lily roared together.

"You kissed Snivellous? How could you?"

"His name is Severus, and he was my best friend."

"Lily he's evil!"

"You should see what the bugger tried to do to Remus—" Sirius stopped talking under the combined weight of the Potter's stare.

"He didn't start out that way, and maybe if you hadn't bullied him so mercilessly—"

"Maybe if he'd left well enough alone, and not been so gods cursed creepy we wouldn't have gone after him like we did!"

"You know Potter the difference between what Severus said of you and what you said of him was nothing. Your bile and your hatred are just as disgusting as the things he says about muggle borns. It's the same thing!"

"How can you say that? How can you stand here in our kitchen and compare us? He's out there killing our friends Lily! He worships Voldermort! He's onboard with murder and enslaving muggles—LIKE YOUR PARENTS!"

"I know what he is now, Potter, but when I knew him he was a scared little boy with no friends. Can you imagine how hard it must have been to be denied everything you ever wanted, to be despised on sight for nothing more than your bad luck at being born where you were? Oh wait, no you can't. You're the golden boy! You grew up idolized by everyone and were spoiled by it!" Lily placed a hand on her own chest, "I know what prejudice in the Wizarding world feels like and I'm telling you what you did to Severus was no different than what Luscious tried to do to me."

"Too far Lily, too far." James said. And he walked out of the house slamming the newly fixed door in his wake.

"So…Snivellous…good kisser?"

Lily looked at Sirius for a moment torn between the desire to curse him into oblivion and cry. Crying won out. Sirius drunkenly stumbled over.

"Aww, Lils, he'll come around. He's just a jealous wanker."

"I don't know why you have to come here and start this sort of fight." Lily cried into his shoulder, "It's not very nice."

"I'm not a very nice man Lils." Lily cried harder, "Hey come on, it was a joke."

"But it's true." She wailed.

Sirius laughed, "yeah, suppose it is." He rubbed slow circles in her back, "I am sorry Lily, I don't know why I get like this…ever since Mr and Mrs P—"

"I know…I know."

"And then when they told me about Remus and who had done it…it just made me mad that you ever defended him—that I didn't kill him when I had the chance…"

Lily pulled out of his embrace. "You would have." She said in dawning realization, "If not for James…"

"He was right o' course, no use getting kicked out of school on Snivelly's account…"

"Fridge is full, blanket in their usual place." And Lily appriated out of her kitchen.

She found James just where she'd thought: at the Shrieking Shack. The site where he'd saved Severus, because all things considered, James Potter was not a murderer, and he didn't want Sirius or Remus to be murderers either.

"I'm not like him." He said not turning around as she popped into space ten feet behind him.

"I know."

"I can be an arrogant toe-rag, but…but I'm not like him Lily."

"I know."

"And yeah what you said about me growing up loved—that's all true—but that's not really my fault either."

Lily stifled a laugh, "You are so damn loveable."

James half turned and flashed her his devil may care grin, "Yeah…?"

"Yeah."

James opened his arms and Lily ran into his embrace. "I married you, James, I may have kissed Severus once upon a time but I married you."

"Yeah. Poor sod."