Disclaimer: I don't own the characters you see mentioned here. I just decided to play with them. The characters and setting belong to J.K. Rowling.
Song to listen to while reading this: What Made You Say That by Shania Twain.
Together
As the chimes began ringing that night, James sat down on the stairs. He had known it was too good to be true; she would never really mean it if she ever said yes. He had asked Lily a while back, when they were just getting reacquainted as heads; the look she had given him had made his heart skip a beat.
It was now mid December. They had just finished their mid-term exams, which left James and Lily with three days before Christmas. They had both decided to stay at Hogwarts during this time, because going home was too full of painful memories.
James had approached Lily at dinner, asking her if she could come and hang out with him. It must have been the look in his eyes that convinced her that she was really needed, because she said yes. Yeah, that was what it was. She had agreed because of the way he looked.
Because James had his head in his hands, he didn't notice the flash of red hair. Lily saw him though. Her heart squeezed at the sight of the tears slipping down his cheeks. He rarely ever cried. Not even when he had received notice of his parents' deaths.
Thinking of the recent revelation that she liked him, Lily felt the tears at the corners of her own eyes. She knew James didn't like her anymore; it was the look in his eyes that had alerted her. He had looked so distant since school had started up again for their last year.
"James?"
The quiet voice cut through his pain, and James looked up. He found himself staring into emerald green eyes. Mesmerized, he thought he had fallen asleep on the stairs, his dream girl coming toward him.
"James," the voice said again, and he realized with a shock that it was his dream girl. Only what was happening was real and not a dream.
He stood up, dusting off imaginary dust, and looked down at the girl he had been in love with since fourth year. "Lily," he said, oddly formal. It was the only way that he found he could hold his tongue with her.
She giggled, and his expression changed. It held incredulity and delight. "James, the formal act won't work," she said, stifling her laughter against her hand. He looked at her questioningly. She shook her head. "Come on, let's go for a walk."
He was more than willing, which obviously didn't say much, since he would have done that anyway.
The sky was clear, clearer than normal for late December. Lily found herself looking up at the stars in wonder. After a little while, they found themselves sitting next to the lake. Lily took a deep breath. Looking at James, her heart did a quick somersault and stuttered as he smiled. "James?" she asked softly, and he looked at her. "I- I have something I need to get off my chest," she mumbled, and her cheeks turned to a bright red.
He looked at her curiously, and before she knew it, the words tumbled out of her mouth. "James, I- I think I'm in love with you. I can understand if you don't feel the same way about me," she said, her voice trailing off into a slight sob. She couldn't look at him, afraid that she would cry in front of him. He was silent for so long that she was terrified she'd ruined the relationship that they had built in less than three months.
"Lily, look at me," he said quietly, eventually, and Lily let her breath out, not having realized that she was holding it. She looked over her shoulder at him, her breath catching again in her throat at the beauty of his eyes.
"Lily, what took you so long?" he asked, his eyes lighting up as what she said sank in. She shook her head, unable to speak.
"Come here," he demanded, widening his arms so that she could slip in between them, resting her head on his broad shoulder.
"Seriously, Lils, what took you so long? I've loved you for ages. How could you believe differently?" he asked, a gentle rumble in his throat when he felt the tears on his collar bone. She sobbed, wrapping her slender arms around him, not wanting to ever let him go.
He rocked back and forth, letting her cry it out, surprised that he even could. What he really wanted to do was plant kisses all over her face until her tears dried.
As her tears finally ebbed, Lily found that she wanted more than what he was giving her. As she looked up at him, a playful smile formed on her face. He was in a perfect position for her to take advantage of him. A look of surprise just barely registered on James's face before he was knocked backward, with Lily lying on top of him.
She planted on kiss on his mouth, and then turned to lie on her side, with him behind her. They had a perfect view of the black lake, the moon shining on them. His arm snaked around her waist, a comfortable weight on her hip. "What if it rains?" he murmured into her ear, and she smiled as she felt his warm breath.
"What if it does?" she whispered back. "I have you, so it doesn't matter."
And she was right; it really didn't matter if it rained, because they were together. The way Fate had intended them to be.
A/N: YAY! I have once again managed to write a fic with no bad language OR sex. I don't remember when I was recently able to do that. Must be all the music I'm listening to right now. Anyway, thanks so much for reading this. Now please be nice and leave a review as you leave!
Serindraxx