wise men say
it looks like rain today
it crackled on the speakers
and trickled down the sleepy subway trains
for heavy eyes could hardly hold us
aching legs that often told us
it's all worth it

We All Fall In Love Sometimes

Chapter Fourteen: Our Carelessness

Emotions, thoughts, and feelings ran along Lily's veins as he kissed her, conflicting and sending lightning bolts up and down the lines of her body. They pressed together, somehow now against the cold, stone wall, her hands entwined habitually in his hair.

It was like old times. A wave of nostalgia mixed with guilt spread across her conscience, and she broke away, panting a little.

"James, it's –" she didn't even know what she'd been planning to say, but apparently he didn't care, pressing his lips against hers again.

Years of pent-up confusion and frustration was poured out in front of them. What only lasted a few seconds seemed like an eternity.

He pulled back, his face tinted pink.

"Well, that went better than I thought it would," he admitted, envisioning himself being thrown off the roof of a Quidditch stadium or pummeled to death by a woman half a foot shorter than him.

"Did you bring me up here to snog?" she wondered quietly.

"Er, I'm not really sure," James replied. His hands were still against the wall on either side of her; hers were playing with the neckline of his T-shirt as she stared at his collarbone, but neither made a move to pull away.

After some thought the redhead decided, "You've significantly improved."

"Well, I did have six years to figure it all out," he said, moving in for another kiss. She rose to meet him, eyes slamming shut as they pressed closer. All the hostility had melted away, and now there were only a couple of Quidditch players with a great deal of sexual tension and the opportunity to let it play out.

She would regret it later. That was usually how Lily operated – everything on a whim. Details – excuses – systems – could be worked out later when there was more time for contemplation.

And right now, he wasn't Potter, a too-insistent man with crazy ideals and the personality of steel wool. He was James, and he was someone she could be with right then and there.

"You know," Lily said as they separated again, "I really miss dating you."

"The feeling's mutual," James replied, closing his eyes as he gently explored her collarbone. She made a short "meep" sound, and he laughed.

"And I don't even want to watch Quidditch that – that much," she stuttered.

"Oh." His eyes snapped open. "Oh."

"James?"

"Hm?"

"Are you awake?"

He didn't respond for a minute.

"James?"

"Yup, I'm awake."

"I have to say something…"

"Shoot."

"I never do things like this," she told him.

"I know."

"I mean, this isn't really what I had in mind when I agreed to spending the day with you," Lily admitted, clutching the sheets to her neck. "It was more like getting sweet, sweet revenge, so I hope you don't think I was planning to…"

He turned over and stretched out lazily, yawning. "Well, I certainly envisioned it." James grinned cheekily and ran a hand down one bare arm, noting that he'd lost his wristwatch somewhere in the process. It was probably under the bed, but he didn't feel like checking. "What time is it?"

"Six AM," Lily replied, blinking at the clock on the wall. "Do you have to go?"

"No, it's Sunday." He curled up under her blankets, wrapping an arm around her waist. She sighed and turned inward to face him. "I can stay as long as you'll let me."

"I really feel like sleeping in all day," she admitted.

"Do you have a roommate?"

"No. Even if I did, the bedroom door's locked," Lily replied sleepily, closing her eyes. "I just have a habit of waking up at the same time every morning, that's why…"

James smiled. "Then we'll sleep in."

"You sure?"

"If you're sure."

"I'm sure," she told him, smiling a bit.

Things were going rather beautifully for him, he thought as Lily curled against his bare chest. Swimmingly, in fact. Lily is such an astounding person. He puked inwardly. That was a really corny thought.

"Being an adult rocks," he murmured – not for the first time – before drifting off to sleep.

Author's Note: Oh, God, it's so horrible. It's short, it's quick, it's... pretty much everything I didn't want in this chapter, yet the only thing I could think of despite multiple attempts to rewrite this. This is the big "transition", so to speak, of the story. We finally go from thirteen pages of setting the scene to at least another fifteen of what I actually wanted to write. Hopefully I didn't fail TOO hard.

And I know what you're thinking - wtf, why did Lily just do that. Errr, because she can. Sometimes when you're in a situation you don't really think about the consequences, you're just like, "YEAH, LET'S GO!" :D :D :D Which can turn out very poorly. Especially if you're a character in a fanfic written by an insane author.

Review. (Be gentle, be gentle, be gentle please. x-x)