A kiss in the rain

Warning: Very fluffy.

James Potter and Sirius Black were walking in the grounds of Hogwarts, a strange thing to do, as it was overcast and looked as if it was about to rain. But, Lily thought to herself you're out to, so what does that say about your sanity?

She had liked James for a while, but she would never, never accept his request for a date. He could have any girl in the school except her, and she figured he was only in it for the chase. She refused to let herself be used by him… Even if he was the boy of her dreams. Lily got up quietly, not wanting to be noticed but attempting to walk back up to the castle, until she heard Sirius ask a question whose answer she had wanted to know herself.

"Hey Prongs, why did you turn Brooke down? She's hot, mate." Lily cast a quick disillusionment charm and snuck closer, just close enough to see anger cloud James' face.

"I don't want to date Brooke." James said with a sneer "You of all people should know that, mate."

Sirius sighed "I just don't get you sometimes. You could have any girl in the school. Why don't you date them?"

James replied calmly "I don't want them… You know the only girl I would date is Lily." A shiver went down Lily's spine as he said this. He wasn't just chasing her for the fun of it!

"Oh, c'mon, Prongs! Give them a chance! You know Lily will never have you. Yeah, she's nice-looking, but she's not half as hot as Brooke, anyways, so I don't understand. If you have to be blindly devoted to one girl, why not a hot one?"Lily smirked. She was well aware that she wasn't the prettiest girl in school, so she wasn't offended by his comment.

But it seemed that James was. He let out a strangled yelp of shock before shoving Sirius up against a tree. "YOU TAKE THAT BACK!" he yelled, pounding Sirius in the gut "YOU TAKE THAT BACK, YOU BASTARD!"

"Prongs! I'm sorry, alright?" Sirius gasped

"Dang right you're sorry! I would die for that girl a million times over, and you have the nerve to tell me that she's 'not half as hot as Brooke'? Who are you kidding? If you make me choose between you and Lily, I'll choose Lily and never look back, even if the only thing she ever says to me is 'James, you arrogant, bullying toerag!'!" tears welled up in Lily's eyes. She meant that much to this boy, and all she had ever done was be spiteful to him. Sirius looked almost as affected by James' speech as Lily.

"I- wow, Prongs, I didn't… I didn't realize."

"No, of course you didn't. You jump from one girl to about as often as you change your socks. You wouldn't realize." James said, walking in the direction of Lily. Sirius, apparently shell-shocked, stayed exactly where James had left him.

Lily ran after James for a moment before realizing she was invisible. She cursed, and then dashed into the bushes, reversing the charm, thinking about what James had said. He had obviously meant every word, which shocked her. How could she have never seen his devotion? She had been his for years, and now she realized that he was hers as well. She couldn't allow James to know that she had been eavesdropping, but she had to tell him she loved him.

Lily dashed out in the same direction James was going, but took a different route so as not to be seen, and to get to the lake before James did.

When James arrived at the lake, he didn't even notice a certain redhead sitting on the shore. He crouched down, and Lily ran over to him.

"James?" he looked up, startled, and nervously ran his hand through his hair. He wanted to ask him out, but Sirius' words rang through his head.

You know Lily will never have you. But, he realized, she had called him James for the first time. Not Potter. James.

"Lily?"

A tear spilled down her cheek, slowly making a path down her perfect face.

"Lily? What happened? What's wrong?" panic crept into his tone. Whoever had hurt his Lily would pay. Maybe, he thought wildly, it was something he had done. It was much worse to see Lily cry and not know the reason than to know that he had brought her to tear. Then, at least, he could apologize until he was hoarse and feel some control over the situation.

"Tell me what's wrong, Lily! Please!" in response, she put her small hands on either side of his face and kissed him fiercely. After James recovered from his shock, he responded to her touch, his hands going around her waist. They kissed for what seemed like eternity, but wasn't nearly long enough, and they didn't even realize when it started pouring. The soaked couple laughed when they came up for breath, looking into each others' eyes.

"I love you, Lily Evans"

"I know," She said, a smile creeping into her emerald green eyes "and you'll be surprised to hear that I love you too, James." James closed his eyes contentedly, and he smiled gently.

"You have no idea how long I've waited to hear you say that."

"You have no idea how long I've waited to say that." A shocked look came over James.

"What? You-you hated me!"Lily smiled ruefully. He had really believed that she hated him.

"No, James, that's where you're wrong. You thought I hated you… And I thought you were a player, so we both had mistaken impressions." James' brown eyes widened in surprise.

"You thought I was a player? I- but you don't think that anymore, right?"

In response, Lily stood on her toes so that she could kiss him again. A few moments later, Lily said,

"Umm, James? Do you think we should go inside? I mean, we should really get changed." James, seemingly not hearing her, continued staring at her in adoration.

"James!"

"Mmm?"

"It's pouring."Lily said gently, "We should go get changed before we catch a cold." This finally got through the raven-haired boy's stupor. He wrapped his arms possessively around Lily and said,

"What, and let you go? I only just got you after years of chasing you, do you honestly think I'll let you go now?" his tone was light, but Lily could see that it was a real and legitimate fear in his mind.

"Well, can we at least go inside?" she persisted. It was very romantic to kiss in the rain, but Lily would much rather kiss by the fireplace. "You don't have to let me go."

James smiled at this comment and nodded "Okey dokey, Lily-flower"

It was a very awkward walk back up to the common room, what with James' arms wrapped tightly around Lily, but Lily thought that she could get used to the feeling of his strong hands playing with her hair as they sat by the fireplace, still sopping wet.