This is my second time writing a triad and...please bear with me as I navigate through this. Warning for 1 swear word.

The tea was getting cold. When Lily touched the kettle, she drew her hands away, for the cold stung her fingers. James's eyes narrowed.

"I'm going to kill him!" he exploded, releasing all of his pent up frustration. "I told him not to go on this mission, but he ran off anyway! Ugh, when I get my hands on him —"

Lily, who rather agreed with this statement but wanted to remain calm, said, "We'll wait one more hour." Glancing at the clock, she added, "If he doesn't show up by then, we'll report to Dumbledore."

James looked like he wanted to protest, but he kept his mouth shut and simmered in silence. Lily folded her hands in her lap and appeared unworried, though her toe-tapping revealed her anxiety.

It was Christmas Eve and they celebrated this holiday together, year after year, but this year with the string of murders and the rise of Lord Voldemort, the three of them were constantly out on missions trying to derail and infiltrate. However, as callous as he was, Moody always gave them Christmas off, but this year, Voldemort was going on a spree and they needed someone to always be at headquarters, and someone else to man the base of the Order. Sirius, out of nowhere, had volunteered for the mission of manning Auror headquarters.

Rain and wind pounded the windows, and the door burst open. Both Lily and James leaped to their feet. "Sirius?!"

"Sorry I'm late," said the man himself. His wet hair was plastered to his forehead and his clothes were soaked through, but he was grinning broadly. "Happy holidays, bitches."

With a cry, Lily was the first into his arms, not caring about how damp her shirt was getting, and she half-dragged, half-supported him to the table. James, with a stormy expression to rival the tempest outside, closed the door behind them.

"Missed me?" Sirius asked breathlessly, planting a kiss on Lily's head and pulling her flush into his body. He held an arm out to James but he shied away.

"Where. Have. You. Been." James's voice was bleak and angry. "Actually, don't answer that. The real question is why."

"Ah, well, Frank was ill, and…" Sirius trailed off as Lily pulled away, fixing him with an identical glare as her relief receded. "Listen, Dumbledore asked me…"

"Why didn't you tell us?" asked Lily sternly. "If it's something important, then we need to know what's going on. You — these are dangerous times, and —" She broke off, trembling, and James kissed her sweetly to calm her nerves before returning his furious gaze to Sirius. Sirius vibrated; his first instinct too was to kiss her, but she wouldn't have let him.

"It's not a big deal —"

"Don't you dare!" The outburst came from Lily, not James, and she jabbed a finger in his direction. "You dare stand there and tell us that it's not a big deal — it is a big deal! You can't just keep...running off whenever you feel like it to play the hero!"

Guilt surged through him, which gave way to impatience. "You don't understand," he said, pinning her with a searching stare. "Listen to me. Dumbledore sent me on this mission tonight because he knows I'm the best damn Auror in the department, and there were rumors of an attack on the Ministry tonight, and that I need to be there as the first line of defense and to relay a message to Gideon, who was at Order headquarters and could alert everyone else. I wasn't going to play the hero, and to be frank, I'm slightly insulted that you would insinuate that about me because I could've died." He glared at his partners, who withered.

James and Lily were quiet for a moment, and Sirius saw regret on both of their faces. "Sorry," James murmured, and it was echoed by Lily.

"It's all right." He could never stay mad at his loves forever. "I understand, you were worried about me. Say, let's forget about this and you can…get me out of these wet clothes." He smirked.

James edged around Lily and the table and kissed him, his hands already unbuttoning Sirius's soggy shirt, while Lily fell to her knees and started undoing the belt on his trousers. "Sounds like a good idea," she murmured as she rolled down his trousers.

Stumbling into the bedroom, wrapped around each other, it was safe to say that their argument was long forgotten.

749 words

1000 - 610. Emotion: Furious

12 Days of Shipmas - Part of your ship is waiting for the other(s) to show up on Christmas Eve. (or the eve equivalent to another practice/religion)