Authors note: I promise there'll be more to come on Are You Paying Attention, so don't worry about that. Patience is a virtue, even if it's not one of mine.
Either way, I've recently been getting active in the Marauders fandom (James Potter has always been my precious baby, ever since I was little, and Sirius Black means so much to me) so, of course, I've been writing some stuff for it. So here's a random, ridiculously short little Jily scene nobody asked for.
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters
James lay awake in bed at three in the morning, unable to turn off his brain.
He felt like he was going a bit crazy, if he was being totally honest. He couldn't remember ever feeling so useless. So helpless. If he could just get out of here and do something -
"Can't sleep?" Lily's quiet voice interrupted his thoughts, accompanied by a gentle hand on his shoulder. He rolled over to look at her and smiled softly.
"You're beautiful." He reached out to cup her cheek with his hand, thumb lightly brushing over her cheekbone. "I don't tell you that enough."
Lily laughed slightly. "You tell me that all the time, James. And you didn't really answer my question."
"No, I guess I didn't." James moved his hand down and wrapped his arm around her waist instead. "But isn't the fact that I'm awake in the first place answer enough?"
"Fair point." Lily scooted closer, resting her head on his chest, and James put his other arm around her too. He immediately felt the knot of tension inside him ease. There was something soothing about being able to just lie there holding each other.
"We should move." James said quietly after several minutes of uninterrupted, peaceful silence. "When all this is over."
Lily looked up at him, her green eyes almost seeming to glow in the dark room as they reflected the moonlight filtering in through the window. "I thought you said you liked this house."
"I did." James wished he could tell her that he still liked it, since he was pretty sure she did, but that would be an outright lie. "It's just, after being stuck in here like this… I can't stand the sight of it anymore."
"I guess that makes sense." Lily absentmindedly traced designs across his shirt with her finger as she spoke, her touch as light as a feather. "Where do you want to go?"
"I dunno. Just - somewhere with space. And lots of it. Room for Harry to run around and play. Room to breathe."
"So I guess that means London's off the table, then."
"Yeah, I guess it does." James laughed quietly. "Maybe we should go live by the sea."
Lily smiled. "We could get one of those cute little beach houses."
"Exactly. It'll be beautiful and open and perfect."
Lily raised her head to look at him, placing a hand on the back of his messy hair and bringing their lips together for a gentle, lingering kiss. "Okay, James. When all this is over, I'll go live by the sea with you."
Author's afterthought: I know it's ridiculously short, I know. But I just wanted to write this teeny baby little scene, so here it is. Please review!