A/N: a short update because I wanted to get something out to you guys and I needed to write off some steam in the form of angry Lily. the college process is a bitch.

"Are you fucking kidding me?"

James Potter knew he would be in some hot water as soon as he crossed the threshold of the cottage before him. His disheveled hair was now matched by his clothes and he was sure his wife would just love the way he absolutely reeked of firewhiskey. He lifted his hand and gingerly checked the time on his watch, 4:30 in the morning, before groaning and dragging a hand down his face.

After another couple moments of erroneous contemplation–escape plans, faked deaths, and the like–he sucked in a breath and slowly clicked open the front door.

The cottage was dimly lit and for a moment he thought he may have gotten away with it, but then the door shut ominously behind him and in the second he turned back to watch it latch, Lily had appeared before him wearing one her deepest scowls.

"Lil-"

"Are you fucking kidding me?"

"I-"

"No-no-no, you shut it." Lily's eyes shut and her hands flew to her temples. "What the actual fuck were you thinking?"

"Listen-"

"Excuse me, I will not listen to my toerag husband who's just shown up at our door at half four smelling of booze, with his tie loosened, and his hair looking even more like a fucking bird's nest than usual- No. I will not listen to that prat right now, especially not before I've had a chance to yell at him."

"Li-"

"Shush."

"But-"

"I said-"

"Ok."

A moment of silence passed before Lily exhaled and pushed the hair out of her face, stepping toward James. In his lingering state of intoxication, he almost didn't notice the tears running down her face as she stepped forward and collapsed into his arms. But alas the eternal James-ness of him took over and he saw the tear stained bags under her eyes. His breath caught in his throat, as it always did when she cried, and he stroked back the hair at the sides of her face.

"You're supposed to tell me when the boys are staying out after a mission. You're supposed to let me know. You're supposed to make sure I know you're not dead on the floor of some prick's house in Brighton… You're supposed to come home."

James was at a loss for words as she breathed soft cries into his shirt. He knew he'd fucked up here and he didn't know what to say to fix it at the moment. So he just stroked her head and clutched her to him, thinking how sorry he was (about his failure and his stench) and almost crying himself.

Before he could form a thought, Lily pulled away slightly. "Never, and I mean never, leave me out of the loop like that again, ok? If this happens one more time, I swear to Merlin I will toss Sirius to the dementors in front of you. You tell him-" Her soft words caught as she came back to his chest.

"I know… I'll never, ever leave you alone and cut off again."

"Damn straight Potter."

Her fingers trailed down his arm and curled into his palm as she began to drag him toward the staircase. "Let's just… go to bed."

A/n: thanks again for reading this slightly unresolved angry love jily. i imagine their love as the kind where even if they're "going to bed angry" they're not really keeping the anger with them or between them.