Shout-outs to my latest reviewers: thanks NeverQuitDreaming and BuckKitty06; I'm really glad people are still reading!This moment was inspired by a verse from "Samson" by Regina Spektor. I don't want to post the lyrics because I don't know how strict FFnet is these days, so if you're curious just look it up :)
"Your hair is so red," James said, tugging strands of Lily's long locks, tangling his hands in it.
Lily rolled her eyes and swatted his hands away. "How astute of you, James."
"Seriously, Lil. It's incredibly, unbelievably red," James insisted, walking to Lily's dresser. He rummaged through the drawers and found one of her oversized shirts to pull over his head.
Lily got into bed and wrapped a blanket around herself. "Come to bed, love," Lily said, patting her floral sheets. "It's cold."
James whirled around and looked at her with a sad look on his face. "I thought you were going to cut my hair!" he whined.
Lily giggled. "Don't be a baby! I'll cut it here! We can just banish the mess away later."
James looked at her skeptically. "But don't you need a mirror or something?"
Lily shook her head, smiling.
"Well what about better lighting?" James asked persistently.
Lily looked at the lamp on her bedside table. The new lampshade she purchased just the other day gave the room a nice yellow glow. "I think this lighting is fine, James. Unless you're just looking for an excuse for me not to cut your—"
"It's fine," James interrupted. He ran a hand through his unruly hair. "Merlin knows I can't go another day without a haircut." He loped over to the bed and crawled under the covers with Lily.
"Accio scissors," she summoned, laughing loudly when James yelped in fear and threw himself face down on the pillows.
"Bloody hell, Lily!" James exclaimed. "You could have taken our eyes out!"
"No more talking," Lily said firmly, pulling James to an upright position. "It's hair-cutting time."
Sometime later, James held Lily as she cried into his shoulder, one hand glued in his freshly cut hair.
"Oh god, James, I am so sorry," she wailed, pulling back to glance up at his hair.
James laughed and cupped his hands around her face, brushing away a fresh wave of tears with his thumbs. "It's alright, Lil," he said soothingly.
"No it's not!" Lily cried. "I knew my scissors were too dull. And maybe if we weren't in bed… Oh Merlin, I did an awful job. I'm so, so, so sorry, James," she said, rubbing her already red nose.
"Are you saying I look ugly?" James teased.
"No," she sniffed, "you could never look ugly."
"To you?"
"To me. And to everyone else. But you have a botched haircut and it's all my fault," she said sadly, running a hand through his hair.
"If you don't care, then I don't care. You're the only one that matters," James said, pressing his lips against hers.