"Hey James," Lily said tiredly, dropping her backpack on the floor.
"Hey Sweetness," James said without looking up from what he was working on. Lily sat down next to him on the couch and sighed. "Long day?"
"You have no idea. What's that?"
"Essay for Charms. How was your day?"
"You're doing homework?" Lily asked, amazed. James never did homework.
"Yes," James said, reading over what was written.
"Don't mind me, then," Lily said, curling into his side. Merlin, she was so tired...
"I'll try," James said doubtfully. Lily was his most favorite person in the world, tied with Sirius. But he didn't want Sirius to cuddle with him.
"Hmm..." was all the response he got. With a sigh, he added another line to his essay.
He worked for several more minutes, then felt Lily slip.
"Whoa, there," he said, but to no avail. Lily was sound asleep. And, as if that wasn't awkward enough, her head was now in his lap.
"Oh well," he said to himself, and picked up the piece of parchment that he'd dropped trying to catch Lily. He leaned into the back of the couch and read over his essay one last time.
As he made corrections, he kept glancing down at Lily. There were dark smudges under each eye, which he knew were not makeup. 'She must be really tired,' he thought. James yawned hugely. 'I must be really tired.'
Putting the boring essay aside, James grabbed Lily's hand. She didn't wake up. Smiling, he leaned into the comfortable couch and sighed. He might as well nap, since he couldn't go anywhere. Lily would hex him if he woke her up.
When he closed his eyes, he saw them, as they were, in his mind's eye. The only differences were they were in a flat of their own, and there was a ring glinting on Lily's finger. James fell asleep, dreaming.