Monday June 8th, Jily Week Day Two

Prompt: Aesthetic

Canon, post-Hogwarts.

The callused fingers caressed the creamy skin peppered with freckles, and traced the shadows cast by the crackling fire. The thick dark red hair was a mess of lazy waves threatening to spill over to cover her peaceful face. He brushed it back gently, not wanting to wake her up.

It had been both endearing and exasperating to come home to find his wife asleep in the drawing room. As happy as it made him to know that she'd wanted to wait for him, she needed all the sleep she could get.

But in the end he had only shaken his head and plopped down onto the floor next to the sofa, allowing himself to rest his weary eyes on the sleeping form of his wife. Drinking in her beauty, finding her safe and peacefully asleep eased his mind and helped him to forget some of the terrors he had seen just earlier that night.

Unable to stop himself, he had wanted to touch her, to reassure himself that she really was there, lying before him.

She had always been beautiful to him, right from the moment they had met when they had been eleven. The years had passed and her beauty had grown with her. James' hand slid to rest on the rounded belly poking from underneath her white nightgown. Again, he felt the familiar rush of exhilaration and dread.

To him, she had never been as beautiful as she was now.

She, of course, didn't quite agree. Swollen ankles and backache were common complaints, together with increased clumsiness and the quick descent into what she called the "whale territory". Suffice to say, she had not been one of those serene and glowing mothers-to-be, not that he had really expected it to be any other way.

He felt the telling flutter against his hand, and his thin lips curved into a smile, his heart soared in his chest though as always the elation he felt was laced with worry.

"Shh, little one", he whispered softly, "quiet down, will you? Let your mum sleep."

But it was too late, the lashes fluttered and the green eyes opened, and even though they were still hazy with sleep they seemed to register someone was there. Her hand immediately flew to her wand in pure reflex but a second later she was fully awake.

"James", the name fell from her lips in a breathy gasp and she threw her arms around his neck, pressing herself close.

"You're back", she murmured into his travelling cloak, before pulling back, her relieved gaze quickly inspecting him from head to toe, reaffirming that he was really there.

"Everything went okay", he told her, reassuringly combing her hair with his fingers, trying to push back the memories of green flashes.

"You're hurt", she said, with the matter-of-fact voice of someone who had seen too much to be surprised by injuries.

"It's only a scratch", he said dismissively.

"And a rather handsome bruise", she said pointedly.

"Nothing life-threatening, I assure you", James insisted calmly, a small smile playing on his lips.

She shook her head and clicked her tongue, and promptly ordered him to stay put.

James obliged, fully aware that if the tables were turned and she was the one with scrapes, no matter how minor, he would have fussed over her with equal fervour.

Well, maybe that was not quite true, he ruefully admitted to himself. Likely he would be fretting over her a lot more than she currently was over him.

His hazel eyes flashed and he watched how Lily's face scrunched up in concentration as the healing spells rolled off her tongue with practised ease.

The throbbing pain he'd been feeling on his temple vanished, just as Lily lowered her wand.

"There, that's better", she whispered, her voice soft. Her hands rose to cup his cheeks and she pressed a tender kiss on his lips.

The 'thank you' hovered at the tip of his tongue, but he was sure the gratefulness shone in his eyes and was written on his face, judging by the small crooked smile twisting his wife's lips.

He rose from the floor and sank next to her on the sofa. She scooted over and he pulled her into his arms, threading his fingers through her hair as she contently hummed into his shoulder.

"I'm home", he murmured, placing a kiss on the top of her head and burying his nose in her hair.