A/N: I love James/Lily, period.

Written for:

- Cheeky Slytherin Lass' All Sorts of Love Competition: prompt OTP (James/Lily is mine!)

- Sweet Bitter Life's The Flower Language Challenge: prompt Lily - Write about Lily Evans

- maybewesorttoosoon's The Jetsetter Challenge. Location: England

- faraways' The Ravishing Romance Competition: level Easy.

Please do enjoy the story and drop a review!

'James, hey, can I have a word with you?'

She was out of breath and dishevelled, with robes askew and hair all over the place.

James, along with Sirius and Remus had been lazing around by the waters of the Black Lake, enjoying their Tuesday afternoon without lessons. The seventh-years were done with their NEWTS and had just a few days to go before they left the castle for good this time.

James stared openly at Lily, taking in her unconventionally messy appearance with an open mouth without responding while Lily seemed to grow more and more conscious.

'James!' she called out to him again, wishing she could smack him out of his stupor.

Remus elbowed James sharply in the ribs, causing him to yelp.

'Ouch! Moony, what was that for?'

'Lily's been calling you, dreamer. Get up!'

James stood up with a start. 'Er. Right. Sorry there Lils, you just happen to look especially ravishing today; I really dig that sexy, rumpled look you have going on there.' He grinned, running his hand through his own messy hair in the process.

Lily blushed a deep, flaming red that matched the halo of her hair. 'Come with me for a minute, okay?'

Her failure to admonish him for his open flirty teasing got James a little worried. Under normal circumstances, such a response from James would have had Lily hexing him till he begged for forgiveness.

'Okay. I'm all yours, Lily.'

The pair waved to Sirius and Remus and walked off towards the castle, Lily dragging James along till he couldn't bear the suspense anymore.

On a lonely corridor on the third floor, James suddenly came to a stop and turned around, grabbing Lil by the waist and pulling her closer to him. She lost her balance and tripped slightly, causing James to secure his hold on her pull her even closer to him. He watched in slight delight as her breath hitched up in her throat and her pupils visibly dilated, swallowing the green until he was staring into a dark abyss.

'Lily, he whispered, his face a mere millimetre from hers. 'Talk to me.'

Lily steadied herself and moved slightly away from James, careful not to loosen his hold on her. His hands were warm on her waist and helped steady her as she prepared herself to ask him something she'd been wanting to for a few weeks now.

'James, umm, I was thinking…wouldyougoforaholidaywithme?'

'What?' He placed his palm on her cheek and gently rubbed circles with his thumb in an attempt to calm her down.

'Lil. It's just me. What's up?'

She inhaled rather shakily before continuing.

'James, umm, I was wondering if you, er, would like to spend two weeks of the summer touring England with me?'

For six years, it had been James who was the first to make a move towards Lily, so to speak. The boy had blatantly declared his 'unending love' for the redhead, often following her and teasing her about how she would be his one day. When both of them had grown up, James more so, and they'd actually ended up dating (resulting in a huge sigh of relief throughout the school), James secretly harboured the feeling that he was somehow not enough for Lily, what with her soaring grades and the ability to be liked and accepted by just about anyone.

Overwhelmed, James cupped Lily's face within his palms and kissed her impulsively.

'James!' she giggled, swatting him away. 'I'll take that as a yes, then?'

He simply kissed her again and this time she gave in, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him deeply. James emitted a tiny sigh of happiness as they pulled apart. 'Yes. Lily, Yes, yes, yes, yes, YES!'

Lily peered into her checklist again, waving items off her list as she packed them into the little suitcase she had charmed with an Undetectable Extension Charm; there was no way she was lugging an enormous suitcase all over London. Her packing done, she went over their travel documents again; having made reservations for the pair at Canterbury, Oxford Street and Cornwall and knowing James' scatter-brained nature, she wanted to make sure that they didn't leave without their reservations at hand and then spend a night or two atop a park bench.

The thought of her and James cuddling up on a park bench on a bitter London evening made her grin, and she wondered how James would cope with such a situation if it were to arise. What a jolt that would give him, she thought, smiling at the mental image.

Finally, the bags were packed. Her four-poster bed was stripped clean of the gold-and-maroon jumpers and scarves that usually hung about, and she's packed the photo of her parents with her as she liked to believe their blessings accompanied her no matter where she went.

With one last look around, Lily walked out of her dormitory with suitcase in tow and moved towards the entrance of the boys' dorms.

'JAMES! Are you ready yet?'

It was one thing to laze by the edge of the Black Pool, sheltered beneath the leafy shade of the weeping willows and trying to get as close to the lake as possible without being grabbed by its resident giant squid. However, being swept away by the violently playful waves that crashed over and over again on the beach at Cornwall was an absolutely different experience; one that the pair were unused to and that Lily absolutely embraced.

'James, James!' she gasped, laughing at herself as she emerged from beneath the foamy waves that had crashed over her, dragging the sandy floor from beneath her and sending her head first into the waves.

'Oh, this is the best feeling in the world!'

And James revelled in seeing her so alive, so uninhibited and so carefree. He nodded his assent to her just as another wave dragged them both down and he caught her waist, pulling them both up.

'Breathe, Lils, you've swallowed nearly half the ocean!' And she giggled at him, coughing up great streams of water in the process and then pouncing on him, laughing hard as he lost balance and the two crashed like the waves of the ocean.

'James, this is the last store I'm hitting, I absolutely promise, it's an honest promise this time!'

Her eyes were permanently wide open in awe and uncontainable joy as she squealed like a little child, endlessly devouring the items sold in every store.

'Look, this little charm bracelet would be perfect for Mary; she so adores butterflies! And look, James; don't you think Alice would have a scream with this hilarious photo frame? Oh, look at this bookmark; wouldn't Sirius love it? I mean, I know he isn't overly fond of his books, but this…'

And on and on and on she went. She's hardly picked up a scarf or two and yet another sweatshirt to feed her winter clothes obsession, but the rest of her swollen shopping bags were filled with the little trinkets she'd bought with love for her closest friends. There were also several novels for Remus that she was positively sure he'd love, another bookmark for Frank (James couldn't understand what this bookmark was or what it even did, but he'd decided to humour Lily) and a pair of matching woollen socks for Gemma and Lysa, the Ravenclaw twins she often studied with.

Soon, she was exhausted and looked imploringly into James' eyes. Until now she had absolutely insisted on carrying the bags herself; now that they were nearly spilling over and heavier than they were when the two began their walk down Oxford Street, Lily was finding it difficult to balance herself and the bags without dropping something.

'Give them to me, you silly girl,' James whispered into her ears as he swiped the bags from her in one deft movement and grabbed her waist with another. 'Now,' he growled, sending delicious shivers down her spine.

'What do I get for tramping along the entire day while you did nothing but shop?'

And amidst the hustle and bustle of the busy street, with the sun melting into golden and magenta streaks above their heads, Lily threw her arms around James' neck and kissed him resoundingly on the lips, only stopping when she heard catcalls come their way. She winked at James, who only stared at her with his jaw dropped.

'That's what you get,' she whispered back and proceeded to drag him down the street and to the reminder of the shops the pair hadn't covered yet.

'This. Is. Heaven. Seriously, I had no idea that little old England had so much to offer!'

James and Lily were cuddled up on a blanket at Hyde Park after a scintillating firework display and Lily didn't know what she'd enjoyed more; the fiery, multi-coloured fireworks that formed all sorts of shapes from flowers and fountains to lions and tigers, or the look of pure wonder on James' face as he'd screamed and cheered like a child as each firework burst into the night sky.

'I seriously suspect that magic is involved, you know? I mean, how else could mere sparks of fire fashion itself into so many shapes? And the music. Remember the music that was played with each burst? It came from the skies, Lil!'

For perhaps the first time in his life, James was absolutely spellbound and unable to articulate his thoughts quite clearly. He felt dazzled all over; by the gorgeous girl he was with and the ways in which she'd opened up with him these two weeks, by the most stunning display of pyrotechnics he'd seen in years and by the sheer force of love he felt for Lily right then and there.

'You know,' she whispered to him, unwilling to speak loudly and break the magic of the moment they were enveloped in. 'This trip, I called you along with me because…James, I've fallen in love with you, hard and fast.' She put a finger over his lips just as he was prepared to respond. 'And while I've cheered you on in every single Quidditch match and taken many a trip into the belly of the Forbidden Forest with you…you haven't really been in my world, James, and I wanted so much for you to see this with me.'

Her tone was simple and held no trace of an accusation; still, James hung his head low in shame. 'I don't expect you to study in the library with me, silly,' she added, tousling his head and bringing his face back up to level with hers. 'I can't live without constantly travelling around and seeing the world, James; I live in perpetual wanderlust.'

James was unable to respond adequately. He was lost; lost in her words, in her eyes, in the beauty of her soul, and in that instant he knew that he loved her not just for who she was but for all she loved, too.

'I love you, Lily Evans,' he breathed, caressing her cheek with his warm palm and kissing her other cheek.

'Will you marry me?'

Do tell me what you thought of it. Hugs and cookies to all reviewers!