Disclaimer: I own nothing. Not Brooklyn Nine-Nine and not Harry Potter's parents or anything associated with them.
It wasn't love at first sight. Perhaps it would have been had they met any other way, perhaps they would have been spending days in London on dates or in one of their beds cuddling after a hard day's work. They could have been spending their nights falling deeper in love rather than him having to watch her come into work after a horrible date or–the ones that tortured him more–lovely dates that had her smitten over someone else. Perhaps if they weren't Lily and James they could have a love story to rival that of Chandler and Monica or Shrek and Fiona, but he supposed they weren't meant to be, even if her eyes made his stomach a mess–torn between a feeling of euphoria and one of nerves that assured him that he'd rather fight off a fire-breathing dragon named Ignatius than have to undergo the process of so much as glancing at Lily and falling a little bit more in love with her.
They were partners, he reminded himself, and Lily didn't even date other detectives since her breakup with Adam Mumps (Adam fucking Mumps). She had sworn them off forever, she had told him a week after the breakup, unknowingly breaking his heart. It was fine, or so he had told Sirius who snorted and told him to "quit being a fucking coward," whatever that meant. But they were partners, and she was brilliant. Brilliant in shades of red and green that had captured his heart two years ago during a stakeout. He should have expected it. How did he not he not fall in love with her sooner when she made him laugh and smile with the smallest things. When she would look up at him and glare when he called her adorable after watching her make a nineteen-year-old piss himself when he had questioned whether a "babe" like her could actually handle putting said idiot in handcuffs (the answer way yes, she definitely could).
A part of him wished they had never gone on that stakeout together, but he couldn't find it in himself to care when she smiled at him like he was her favourite person. He should have cared, because nothing this good happened without a price, and the price in his case was falling hopelessly in love with her.
'Why don't you just get rid of your car?' She had asked him, her eyes still focused on the street below. 'It's not like you can't afford one that, you know, actually works.'
He couldn't help but look at her fondly before responding. 'Evans,' he sighed dramatically. 'Why would I spend my money on a fancy car when I can have Elvendork? She has character!'
'She?' Lily questioned, the edge of her mouth twitching upwards.
'It's unisex.' A blush coated his cheeks, 'I checked.'
A laugh escaped her lips. A pretty little laugh with her head thrown back that gave him the first of many wonderful, nerve-wrecking sensations as he witnessed the beauty that was Lily Evans. It was the first of many moments that would follow in which James would be tempted to kiss the vivacious redhead. But he didn't. Stupid Adam Mumps (Okay, she hadn't dated the tosser yet, but it was James' flashback, and if he wanted to blame Adam the-wanker-with-the-fancy-hair Mumps, he would).
Really it all started with that laugh. He thinks he would let her murder him over that laugh, or maybe just a smile, he's not picky.
'I will ask her to bloody murder you if you mention her eyes again,' Sirius threatened as he saw the look on James' face. 'I know they're green, Prongs, I've met Lily. I bloody work with Lily.'
'I mean, they're not just any green. They're emerald, Sirius. Emerald.' He supposed he deserved Sirius flicking him off before throwing the remote at him, but it didn't hurt any less.
But he liked being friends with Lily. He liked that she teased him and bantered with him and made him give her piggyback rides around the office (usually while making him race Padfoot). He loved her, and it was an all consuming kind of love that made him want to write her love letters on post-it notes accompanied with cute little doodles that would cause one of those soft smiles to illuminate her face, the soft smile that she only aimed at him once before and had caused him to literally walk into Captain McGonagall's closed door. Minnie hadn't been as amused as Lily had. Although Lily's cute little giggle had made it worth it, especially as she had bitten down on her lip to avoid McGonagall's wrath. (Also, was it normal to be jealous of teeth?)
It wasn't like he had never tried telling Lily of his feelings. It just usually ended with James doing something stupid and humiliating. (Did he mention her eyes were fucking emerald? How was he supposed to avoid walking into walls and getting his trousers caught in the elevator when she looked at him with emerald eyes? Really they should be banned for people like James who became a safety hazard when confronted with them.)
In the end, it was Lily who made the "first" move. It was Lily who took James' face in between her tiny hands after they solved a case and kissed him. A kiss that had him imagining dozens of ones and zeros in his head and had him on the edge of declaring himself as malfunctioning–how was he supposed to function as a human being when she was kissing him like that, when her lips were coaxing his into responding, when he could feel the softness of her mouth. His mind began to slow down as his heart continued racing at top speed, as if it would burst out of his chest if he didn't kiss her back.
With his back against the wall, he placed his hands on her hips, pulling her closer to him, his fingers dancing on her skin as she let out a desperate sigh. A smirk formed on his face as he pulled back and began placing kisses up her neck, chuckling as he heard a small whimper followed by a, 'Shut it, Potter.'
He pulled back from her, placing a final kiss on her lips (how could he resist?)
'You like me,' he said, moving one of his hands into her hair, resisting the urge to lean into her.
'I tolerate you,' she said with a hint of blush coating her adorable cheeks.
'Is that so,' he whispered into her ear. His teeth nipped at her ear playfully, unable to hold back another smirk. 'You don't kiss people you just tolerate.'
'Perhaps you're doing it wrong then.' He laughed, nuzzling into her neck in a way Lily would later describe as being 'adorable,' and James would argue was 'irresistible.'
'All right, Evans. Perhaps we can talk about that over lunch?' He looked into those death traps (see: emerald fucking eyes) and gave her one of his lopsided smiles, 'If you can tolerate me that is.'
'I suppose I can stand to be in your company for another hour.' She pushed back a strand of hair before taking a step closer and adjusting his glasses, 'As long as you don't bring Elvendork.'
'She has character, Evans!' He yelled after her as she turned to walk away from him, fighting off a smile. His last remaining thought before he chased after her was that he was more than just a little bit in love with her. He was madly, hopelessly, unregretfully in love with her.
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