AN: I can't believe it's over! We got here! Somehow!

I'm so grateful to everyone who's been reading and commenting and sharing their love for this fic on tumblr. I read all yoru comments and tags and I feed off them like a vampire!

Thank you all

I hope you enjoy the last chapter of this fic!

When James asked her to stay the night, she didn't have to think about her answer.

She was giddy from relief and snogging and she wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of the night using him as a pillow. And kissing him whenever she wanted without feeling like she couldn't. And reminding him that she wanted to date him and that she would never invite him to ice cream if she was planning to break up with him because she would never ruin ice cream for anyone.

"Watch out for when I invite you to get chocolate malts." She teased as they climbed into bed. "You've already ruined those for yourself, so that wouldn't be my fault."

"They aren't ruined for me, I'm just…"

"Superstitious, I know."

"I'm not superstitious, I'm just-"

"Do not." Lily interrupted, quirking a brow at him. "Do not say you're just a little-stitious."

He pressed his lips together and stretched out his arm for her to curl up next to him.

"I wasn't going to."

"No? What were you going to say?"

"Something else." He kissed her hairline.

"Sure, Potter."

She snuggled against his side and pulled the blanket up to her chin.

"You can say whatever you want. You're in my bed, using me as a pillow."

"You were in my bed first."

"I know!" James laughed, and she felt him move and then heard his glasses getting set on the bedside table, and then he turned off the lamp. "Does that mean that I can say anything I want?"

"No. You can't say little-stitious."

"Right." James turned his head toward her and she shifted so her forehead was resting on his. "But I can say anything else, right?"

"Sure." Lily grinned.

"Cool. Cause I wanna tell you why I chose to play for the Falcons."

Lily chuckled, "Alright. Do I get to hold your hand while you talk to me about football?"

"It's yours." He said, shuffling under the covers to find her hand. "You can hold it whenever you want."

"Cool." She pressed her lips together and squeezed his hand.

"So the leagues both have rules about how far from the training center you can live. Especially for junior players."

"Makes sense." She nodded. "But if you're trying to justify moving right now, you don't have to."

"That's not what I'm doing." He brushed his thumb over the back of her hand. "Both teams had pretty similar rules about where they wanted their players to live, at least during the season. Both teams had a lot in common actually," He bent the arm that her head was resting on, in an attempt to rake his fingers through his hair, but ended up bumping their noses together. "Sorry," He kissed the tip of her nose and she laughed.

"Why are you acting like you're nervous?"

Even in the dark room, she could see the gold flakes in his eyes as he looked at her. "I chose the Falcons because they're closer."

Lily blinked at him, understanding right away that he wasn't just giving her information about where he'd be, but he was telling her something else.

"James," She said quietly. "I know that I've spent a lot of time teasing you about how far away you'd be, but you don't have to make this decision based-"

"I had nothing else to help me make the decision. You were right when you said that I was going to have to flip a coin."

"I shouldn't have told you to flip a coin," Lily dropped her chin to her chest and James kissed her forehead.

"Both offers I had were nearly identical, except one of them had the advantage of being closer. I called my manager last week and asked him to see if he could find me a flat near the train that was close enough to the training center to meet the requirements. And when he found one right away, it felt like it was meant to be."

"You realize that this might be why you thought I was trying to break up with you. You're a big gestures kind of person and I've not- I mean first- the bookshelf-" She wasn't making any sense, but she tilted her face back toward his. "I really like you."

"I know. And if it helps, you're not the only one I'll be closer to. My parents live here too." Lily snorted at that and James smirked. "And my flat is about fifteen minutes from Sirius'."

"Oh!" Lily laughed. "Wait. How far away is your new place? Because Sirius has been here every day this week."

James grinned, "He doesn't have a job, so he's got a lot of free time. But by train, my new flat is thirty minutes away. Actually, it's thirty two minutes. If you drive, it's a bit longer-"

She kissed him. "You told me it was about an hour,"

He laughed against her lips. "That was when I was still considering the Canons. They would have been over an hour away, so I just split the difference. It's a good thing we live so close to London, otherwise I would have actually had to move away."

Lily laughed and kissed him again. "You're sure-"

"Yes."

"I didn't even-"

"I'm sure."

She let go of his hand so she could cup his cheek. She took a deep breath. "How?"

He shrugged a shoulder, and she was glad that he understood what she was asking, and what she wasn't asking. "Making decisions and accepting that things are going to change is hard, but it's also a lot of fun."

"It's stressful, is what it is." Lily countered.

"I'll live close to the city too." He said, twirling a lock of her hair around his finger. "I'm not going to pretend like I haven't tried to think of everything, which I know you'll have to tease me for, but that's fine. My flats a five minutes walk from the B train, which runs right into the center of the city, near that Bistro we went to actually. It's not even a twenty minute ride. I know that you don't know where you'll be working, but somewhere in London seems a good guess, yes?"

"I don't think so." She said, and she could see him raise his brow in the dark. She was feeling all warm and overwhelmed, because he really had looked into everything. He kept her in mind, choices she might make in the future even, as he decided which of his dream teams he wanted to play for. It meant a lot to her that he would do that.

"You don't think you'll end up in London? Isn't that where most of the- you're not considering-"

"No. I'm not moving to New York, take a beat," She grinned and shook her head. "You know that was a shit offer."

"It was." He nodded. "You deserve better."

"Yes, and I would be way too far away from Mary."

"Right. Of course." James shook his head.

"Yeah." She took a deep breath. "McGonagall and Sprout offered me a job at the library."

"They did? When? Yesterday?"

"Yes." Lily nodded.

"You had an interview today," James narrowed his brow, trying to figure everything out, but he wasn't going to since Lily hadn't figured everything out for herself yet.

"That was for a publishing house." Lily sighed. "I haven't accepted the job yet. I was worried that if I took it, people would come up with reasons why for me. But I really want to take it, I spent my entire interview today comparing everything they were telling me and offering me to what Sprout and McGonagall had said."

"Why do you think people would have thoughts about you working at the library?"

"Because. It's two minutes from my childhood home, it's where I spent a lot of time as a kid, because I'd still live with my mum, because it's not some big fancy job in London. Because I feel like I'm behind somehow, and like this would be seen as a step sideways instead of forward."

James chuckled, "Sideways?

"Yes. Everyone else is going off and doing big exciting things and I've never been someone who is behind, so taking a job in my hometown, a job that I hadn't planned to have, it doesn't seem like people would see it as a step forward."

"Weren't you considering getting a job at the diner?" James asked.

"I know." Lily huffed. "I don't want to think these things."

"Do you want to work at the library?"

"Of course I do! The library is one of my favorite places in the world and it smells like home and I'd get to do a lot of the things that I was excited to do at the Hollows, and then some new things that I'd never considered."

"So you're taking the job then?" His brows were raised again.

She made a screeching sound in the back of her throat and he started laughing. She swatted him on the shoulder. "Alright, yes! Yes, I'm taking the job." And as she said it, she felt herself starting to feel lighter and giddier. Making decisions sucked, but having already made a decision was a fine high.

"Can I congratulate you now?"

"I suppose."

He pulled her tight against his chest and wrapped both of his arms around her. "I'm so proud of you. And I know you walk into every situation feeling like you've got something to prove, and while that's not true, it does make you fierce competition."

"Thank you." She said quietly.

"You've had quite a couple of weeks, huh?" And she could hear the smile in his voice. Gone was the quiet boy who had been avoiding her gaze, and back was the boy who had casually declared that of course he wanted their outing in London to be a date.

"I have."

"I mean, first me, and now this job."

She shook his head, but didn't comment on his ridiculousness. She only tightened her arms around him. "I'm very lucky."

James' manager had scheduled his press conference for noon, so they had to get up earlier than Lily wanted to. Eight in the morning wasn't terribly early, but having not slept much the night before, it felt as though she was performing a feat of strength when she pried her eyes open at the sound of James' alarm.

She wanted to tell him to hit snooze and shuffle closer to him, though she couldn't get much closer than she already was.

He ran a hand through her hair and she tilted her face up toward his. "Morning." He said softly.

"Mm," She hummed. "I'm gonna need a very large coffee."

He chuckled and she smiled at the vibrations against her cheek.

"Do you want me to help you sneak out through the window? You can go back to bed at your house with no one the wiser."

Lily scoffed, "I'm not going back to bed. I'm going with you."

"You are?"

"Yes. Your parents' car is full, and your best friend owns a motorbike, how did you think you were getting to your flat?"

James laughed again. "I was going to smoosh myself in the backseat of my parent's car."

"Well, please don't do that. Then I'd be riding with only your winter jackets and shoes for company."

"When did they start putting my stuff in your car?" James asked.

"Your mum asked after she let me try some of her jam."

They were quiet for a minute. "And you said yes?"

"Yes." She nodded. Then she pushed herself up and rubbed her eyes. "I wasn't planning on letting you break up with me yesterday."

"Right, yes, of course." James sat up next to her. "But, I'd like to reiterate again, that I would never-"

"Yes, I know." She shook her head.

He leaned over and kissed her cheek. She smiled at him. "Do you want to sneak out anyway? Come in through the front door so my mum doesn't give you a look, or worse a talk."

"No," Lily shrugged. "I do need to go and change, but I'm not going to climb out your window. Besides, I'm sure your mum already knows that I'm here."

"How would she know?"

"Besides the fact that I never left yesterday?"

"Right."

"I think it's safe to assume that there's not much your mum doesn't know."

"She doesn't know that I spent the night at yours the other day."

"No, she didn't tell you that she knows. But if my mum knowns, then your mum-"

"Your mum knows!"

"Yeah." Lily shrugged and stood up. She straightened her t-shirt and James fell back onto his bed, covering his face with his hands. "I told her."

"Of course you did."

"Of course I did." Lily agreed. "So she probably told your mum, if your mum hadn't already known."

"Alright."

Lily grinned at him and then walked out of his room to use the restroom.

"I made breakfast!" Mia called up the stairs.

"It smells amazing!" Lily called out as she stepped into the bathroom.

"Thank you, Lily!"

"See?" Lily called back to James, who was still laying on his back with his arms covering his face.

James was leaning against the wall when she walked out, looking on his phone. Without looking up at her, he said, "Do you think that maybe you could, not lie to our mums, but maybe not tell them everything?"

Lily sucked in a breath through her teeth, "I don't want to lie to you, James."

"Lily," He dropped his hands to his sides and tilted his head.

"James. I don't know how to keep things from my mum. And my mum talks to your mum. Though, your mum also just knows everything without anyone telling her."

"I do," Mia was at the bottom of the stairs. "Though I did let your mum know where you were, Lily."

Lily pulled her phone out of her pocket. "I texted her."

"Of course you did."

Mia shrugged, which made Lily think that they might have chatted as soon as James had come up to his room last night. It didn't bother Lily. She knew that her mum would tell her everything that was said when they got a chance to talk about it.

"I know something you don't know," James said, following Lily down the stairs. "Lily got a job at the library."

"Oh, you took it!" Mia smiled brightly at her. "Minny told me that she was going to ask you. I'm so glad that you took it, those two have been floundering a bit and could use your help."

Lily smiled at James. "See, she knows everything.

After breakfast, Lily went over to her house to get a change of clothes and to brush her teeth. She grabbed her purse and her jacket that James had returned to her the day before, but hesitated at the doorway and ran back to her room to grab a few more things.

When she got back outside, James was leaning against her car.

"Hey," She grinned, "Need a ride?"

He ran a hand through his hair. "I might. Where you headed?"

"I have no idea," She grinned and stopped at his feet. He reached out and put his hands on her hips.

"What's in the bag?" He asked, pulling her closer.

"This bag?" She asked, hitching up her shoulder strap. "Well, I've got my wallet, a water bottle, my jacket… a change of clothes and a toothbrush."

"Are you moving in with me?" His eyes were crinkled, and she slid her hands up his chest.

"No. I'm just coming prepared. In case anyone wants to invite me to stay the night somewhere."

There was a honking coming from the road, and Lily looked over to see Monty and Mia in their car, waving at them. Lily waved back and James let go of her.

"You can stay with me as long as you want." James said.

"Let's not get carried away." Lily stood on her tip toes and kissed his cheek. "You're just happy because our mums won't be in the same building."

"I'm very happy about that, but that's not all I'm happy about." He chuckled and then opened her door for her and took her bag in the same go.

"Smooth."

"That's what I'm aiming for. It's nice when it works out for me." He winked and walked around to the other side of the car. Lily shook her head and slid into the driver's seat.

Her car was only slightly younger than Edith, which she had always assumed was the reason that James liked her car. When they were both seated and buckled in, Lily started the car and took a deep breath as she put her hands on the steering wheel.

"What are you thinking?" James asked, twisting around in his seat so he could put Lily's bag in the back.

"I'm thinking about how afraid I was that you and I would have nothing to talk about when we first got in your car to go to London."

James laughed. "And instead, we confessed our feelings to one another."

Lily rolled her eyes as she backed out of her driveway. "No, we didn't."

"I'm pretty sure we did."

"No, we confessed to having had feelings for one another back in secondary. And you got very embarrassed when I apologized for thinking that you asking me out back then was a mean joke."

James waved his hand at her. "No. I did not get embarrassed."

"Yes, you did. Your ears were so red."

"That just happens sometimes."

"Yes, when you're embarrassed. I have a picture of your red ears on my phone."

"Yeah, yeah,"

Lily grinned over at him and then followed his parent's car down the road. "I can't believe you let me think you were moving over an hour away."

"I might have been!"

"Right." Lily scoffed. "Sirius lives ten minutes from your new flat?"

"Fifteen minutes." James corrected, pushing his glasses up his nose. "And the place that I was originally going to live if I chose the Falcons was almost an hour away. I just found a place on the other side of the training center and that cut the time down."

"I'm really glad that you're not going to be too far away."

He looked over at her, and she glanced at him before looking back at the road. "Me too."

"I still would have agreed to drive you even if it was over an hour away."

"I know. Because you fancy me."

"No need to get smug about it," Lily laughed.

"I think there is every need to get smug about it. I mean, I was right. Everything worked out and here we are, figuring things out."

Lily snorted at that. "You're very good at wooing me." She'd wanted him to kiss her after they'd gone to dinner at the diner and then every time they'd hung out after that. She'd been too far gone the entire time, but she finally believed that James was right there with her. That he had been the entire time.

It was still scary to think about the big feelings that came along with being so sure about someone that she'd known her entire life, how much of the new relationship stuff they'd skipped and how it didn't feel like they were starting at the beginning.

It was comforting to know that he was in it with her though.

"Can I have your hand?" She asked once she'd pulled onto the motor way, James' parents still in front of them.

James slipped his hand into hers. "Course you can."

Lily smiled and squeezed.

For the first time since graduation, she felt like everything was finally falling into place.

"Right, because it's mine."

"For as long as you want it." James agreed.

"I think I'll keep it."