Thank you so much for all your reviews, hearts, and follows. You helped me write this all in less than 3 months :)

I also feel bad, because it seems like people want a sort of epilogue - and honestly, I normally hate those, but never say never. I would feel like I'm doing a disservice to this story writing it now (as my heart's already in my next Jily fic), but if I write it, I'll add it here. It won't be soon though.

Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns Harry Potter. Art work by the extremely talented Viktoria Ridzel (Instagram: viria94)

"I still can't believe we did that," Lily groaned into his pillow the next morning, hair crazy, long after last night's buzz had worn off.

Clothes were strewn all over the floor from their frenzied homecoming and James had stayed true to his word and more than made up for coming before Lily in the closet. When she closed her eyes, she swore she could still feel her clit tingling.

"Stupid, stupid Lily," she berated herself groggily.

He leaned in and kissed her shoulder, pushing some of her hair back so he could see at least half her face. "I'm sorry, I probably should have been the responsible one, huh?"

Lily huffed. "Not your fault. I blame the tux." There was a beat. "And Petunia's ability to get under my skin and make me into a spiteful person."

James grimaced nervously. "Did you have a little fun at least?"

Lily looked up at him surprised. "Of course I did, I thought that much was obvious. And dancing with you was magical." She smiled sweetly at the memory and he relaxed a bit. She continued, poking him, "Way to hold out on me that you've clearly taken lessons. I was referring to the rather bad sister move of getting caught having sex at her wedding."

James couldn't hide his little smirk as he looked to the ceiling. "I don't know, I think I'd be disappointed if I didn't catch Sirius shagging at ours." Lily's body subtly jerked at his casual slip up but James carried on as though he'd said nothing earth-shattering that would send Lily's mind into a tailspin. He must not have caught it himself. Play it cool Lily, play it cool. "Might think the whole thing was a bust."

Lily told herself she'd unpack his admission later when her clearly thinking about it wouldn't embarrass the shite out of him. "Ha, well, you're not Petunia. She'll probably never speak to me again." Lily pushed her face deeper into the down feathers — half in actual shame over what she was talking about, half because she knew she was still blushing over what he'd said.

James weighed his words carefully, being none the wiser about Lily's mental freak out. "And that's... a bad thing?"

Lily put an arm out to start pushing him towards the edge of the bed, but he held on to her. "You are the worst influence, Potter!" It was becoming an all out wrestling match. "You've ruined me! Ruined me, I say!" she sang, needing a good distraction.

They were a mess of limbs and giggles, tangling in the sheets until James ended up victorious and perched above her as she panted, arms pinned next to her head.

"Care to get ruined some more?" His voice was a low, husky velvet as he pushed his hips, and other bits, into her.

Her gaze lingered on his lips she loved so much for everything they did and said to her, then snapped up to his dreamy eyes, currently unobstructed by glasses. He looked so roguish with his hair falling onto his face as he waited impatiently for her answer. The corner of her mouth pulled up naughtily. Thoughts on marriage could wait. "Yes, please."

Lily entered her common room in a daze later, finding her best friends huddled around a desk. She sank into a chair next to them.

"How was the wedding?" Dorcas asked lazily, looking up briefly from her homework.

"It was fine," Lily responded. Truthfully it wasn't that wedding she was currently obsessing over.

Beth raised an eyebrow. "Really? That's all we get? You know, our other dorm mates have started noticing how often you don't sleep here anymore—"

"Yeah, we deserve some dirt for all the times we have to cover for your sorry arse," Dorcas finished.

Lily smiled. "Thank you guys. But, honestly,I was kinda preoccupied with what," she looked over her shoulders to make sure no one else was in eavesdropping distance, her friends leaned in closer, "James just said to me." She broke down what he'd just let slip during their pillow talk.

"He definitely did that on purpose!" Dorcas squealed while Beth's mouth remained open. "There's no way. He was trying to gauge your reaction."

"I don't know, I don't think so. I think it just kind of slipped out. Which makes it cuter because that means he was thinking about it like it was no big deal, or obvious, or…"

"Inevitable." Beth had finally found her voice.

"Yeah," Lily cooed as they shared an adorable my-heart-is-melting look.

Dorcas sighed. "I still think he did it on purpose. How could he not?"

"Dor, he's just like me, he blushes, a lot. Even if he was dropping a hint, he would have been embarrassed by it. We're a pair of blushing bandits."

"That's really sweet," Beth said, grabbing Lily's hand on the table. As if to prove her own point, Lily felt her face heat up.

"So would you?" Dorcas asked.

Lily startled. "Would I what?"

"Would you marry him?" Dorcas clarified like it was obvious.

"Yes," Lily replied in a knee-jerk reaction. A second later, a hand clapped over her mouth like she couldn't believe she'd just thought this, let alone admitted it out loud.

"Really?!" Dorcas said astonished.

"Oh my god." Lily panicked. "Oh my god. I don't— I didn't, I can't believe—"

"Oh no, you know she's losing it when she reverts to Muggle-speak," Dorcas said to Beth.

"I'm not losing—"

"It's okay, Lily, just breathe," Beth soothed, throwing Dorcas an admonishing look. "It's not like you have to sort anything out now. You're 18. You have your whole life ahead of you." She gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.

"You're right." Lily took a deep breath, calming down considerably.

"It's just nice to know how crazy in love with him you are. And to know he's right there with you." Lily's face hurt; she knew she was smiling too hard for it to be healthy. "And honestly, it's also kind of a relief."

"A relief?" Lily questioned.

"Yeah," Beth started timidly. "I mean, don't get me wrong, we love to see you this happy." She motioned to Dorcas, silently asking for backup. "But we can't say we weren't a little nervous for you."

Lily's face scrunched up confused. "I don't follow."

Beth gave Dorcas another look that she pointedly ignored. "I mean, don't get mad, but he is your professor, Lily. We were kind of scared that you'd fall a little harder than he would, and you'd end up really hurt. That's all."

"Yeah," Dorcas finally jumped in, "but we knew telling you this would only make you dive in face first sooner. Or at least that's what I'd do." She grinned.

Huh. It was strange, Lily had never thought of James using her, and his position of power, like that. It was a weird and uncomfortable thought, and she had no desire to linger on it. She knew this relationship had only blossomed because she had ruthlessly courted him. And Lily had absolutely zero regrets about any of it.

"What are you thinking about?" James asked her after the last day of classes while she lay in his arms in bed. The moonlight from his windows was bathing them in a subtle blue light, and the near darkness was making Lily give in to her nostalgic musings.

Lily grinned. "You." It was almost always James.

James nuzzled into her shoulder. "Good things?" She could feel him smiling. "Or since today was your last day of classes, and I'm technically no longer your professor, have you decided you're done with me?"

She knew he was joking, but she didn't like him saying such things either way. She turned to face him, drawing their naked bodies together under the thin sheet as she intertwined their legs. Lily traced her fingers behind his ear and caressed his lips against hers, lovingly parting them and flooding him with her affection. "I'll never be done with you James Potter."

James' gorgeous eyes flickered between hers as they lay on the same pillow. "Move in with me."

"W-what?" Lily let out a shaky breath, searching his face for anything other than the pure sincerity she found there.

"Move in with me," he repeated, this time with a cocky little grin that made her heart flutter. "I know you've been worried about finding a place, and you don't have to be."

"James." Lily looked to his lips as she outlined them with her pointer finger. "Need is not a good reason to ask someone to move in with you."

"Bullshit," James scoffed. "I need to see you every day. You think I can go from having easy access to you daily to needing to knock on a door that's not anywhere near me? Preposterous."

"Hey. Not that easy," Lily defended.

James' smile got so wide she saw all his pearly whites. "You're right. Not easy, it involved mind invasion, home invasion, and body morphing."

"Don't forget the hippogriff."

"I could never forget the best wingman of my life."

"You know, I should say no just because of that pun."

James wrapped his arms around her frame. "But you won't… will you?" He wanted this. He wanted this so damn bad.

Lily bit her lip, looking back into his earnest eyes. "I want to." How could she explain that she wasn't sure if she could ever feel at home in his gargantuan mansion instead of like a glorified houseguest? She didn't want to spit in the face of his hospitality, but that was just it: her living there would be at the mercy of his hospitality.

As if reading her thoughts, he continued, "I've been thinking of getting my own place, and it could be ours, if you want." His words were dripping vulnerability. "It's been a year, I think it's time I let the manor go. It just doesn't make sense anymore."

"What about Sirius?" she brought up.

"Ha. He'll be fine. Working with me all day and some nights will be more than enough to satisfy his Prongs cravings."

Lily smirked giving her boyfriend's collarbone a kiss. "So we only have to worry about my Prongs cravings, huh?"

"Yes. Precisely." He gave her a squeeze. "Damn you made that sound hot." She giggled. "We can pick a spot close to your apprenticeship if you'd like."

"James, you know I can't afford that," she said guiltily.

"Lily, you know I didn't earn any of it either. We can both live off of another genius potioneer's money while you work on your big break. You know, if this whole saving everyone from disease thing doesn't work out, you too can invent something superficial and lucrative. Maybe Lily's-this-is-how-I-look-so-luscious-every-goddamn-day-elixir."

"Oh wow, well, that really rolls off the tongue."

"Lily's-Luscious-Elixir, Lily's-Luscious-Elixir, Lily's-Luscious-Lickzer." James tilted his head to her. "See? Really not that hard."

Lily laughed. "In that case, I'll get right on it."

"And you know, if you really are uncomfortable, I can just charge you rent!" James joked. "I'd go from your professor to your landlord. A little less sexy, but it's still got a nice power dynamic to it, if it turns out you miss it."

Lily stuck out her tongue as she slapped his chest. "All this cheek. It's enough to drive a girl mad." James opened his mouth, causing Lily to roll her eyes and hurry on. "Yes James, mad for you."

James nodded satisfied.

She played with the hair falling over his forehead, continuing softly, "Do you really want to live together?"

Not breaking their devoted gaze at each other, he captured her hand and brought her wrist to his lips. "Yes."

Lily sucked in her lower lip. "Okay."

"Yeah?" James cried out way too loudly for how quietly they'd just been whispering to one another. "You mean it?" He'd rolled her so she was laying on top of him.

"Yes, James, I'd love to move in with you."

James eagerly tangled his hands in her hair, crashing his mouth into hers to absorb her hearty laugh. "You won't regret this, I promise."

"I know."

Still beneath her, his eyes glazed over. "Hey Lily?"

"Yes, James?"

" I love you."

"I fucking love you, too."

Fin.

If you have the time, please let me know what your favorite part/or scene was! (Or least favorite, we can all strive to improve!)

For anyone who's interested in more: I've been busy over the last month on a new, darker, sexy fic… where James is an asshole. (I had to counteract how PERFECT he is in this one, lol.) I won't start posting until I have more of a head start, but you can look out for What Are You Doing To Me? if you'd like. Cheers!