Lily Evans lay in bed at the dark of night, with only the dim glow of moonlight to illuminate the room. She often found herself in such a state in nights such as these, when the clocks seemed to tick a little louder and the blanket of darkness seemed blacker than its actuality. Closing her eyes for a moment, the redhead sighed softly before adjusting her position under the covers gently as to not wake up the sleeping man beside her. Lily gazed at his- James's- face, tracing the sweep of his nose and the outline of his lips with one gentle finger, thinking of how his face, careless in slumber, reminded her of the old James.
Carefree James.
Everything was different now, even when they were with friends. She and James would constantly be surrounded by Sirius, Remus, Peter, along with their other maters, yet there was always something in the air. Tension that one seemed to be able to cut with a knife, even when jokes were being passed around and laughter rang throughout the house. Lily would sometimes simply sit back and watch James as he interacted with their mates, and every time she would notice the subtle differences. The alertness in his posture, the way his eyes seemed to be in thought constantly, all the time. He was no longer the boy she had fallen for, but the man she was quite possibly in love with…
They had fought. Oh, they had fought- she would yell at him and he would run his fingers through his hair frustratedly, yelling right back at her. She would shout at him that he was ridiculous, that he was a Pureblood, that he should not be associating with her. And he would snarl at her that she was barmy, that he didn't care- that they were good together- until he got so frustrated that he would crush his lips against hers and the argument was delayed to another day, when they were not in a tangle of arms and limbs together.
Lily smiled softly when James's arms instinctively tightened around her waist, pulling her closer, until her thoughts took over once more. She could leave him and he would be safe. But she knew, some way or another, they would find their ways back to each other- or he would find her, being the insufferable prat he was. Burrowing her face into the familiar crook of James's neck, she sighed and closed her eyes, as the only thing she was sure of at the moment was the fact that she felt safe, exactly where she was.
With James.