James comes up behind Lily and grabs her by the waist, throwing her into the air only to capture her in his arms again. They fall to the ground in a clumsy crash, but none of it hurts. Lily rolls beneath her boyfriend and grabs his cheeks in her hands, delicately running her thumb over his lips. "I can hardly believe the man you've become, James Potter."
"I'd like to say I'm surprised about you too, but," James stops, looking into Lily's eyes, greener than the grass, greener than the seaweed and tree leaves, and he just grins from ear-to-ear. "We all knew you were going to be fantastic."
Lily pulls James into a kiss, short and sweet, but no less romantic and enthralling. Every exchange is further proof that these two are deeply in love, and Lily absolutely loves the way it tastes. When they pull apart, Lily winks.
The apparition restrictions do no extend to Hogsmeade, and, just to be certain, Lily lured James to the outskirts of town to a nearby meadow. She wants to take him somewhere special, somewhere that she can tell him just how true her love for him is – just how far she's ready to go with him.
James Potter – what a future she plans to have with him.
The crack of apparating rings through her head, and the grip James has on her is tight. When they land along the banks of the river near her home, Lily can feel the dried mud rubbing into the fabric of her plaid dress. She manages to slide away from James enough to sit up, her lips peeling away from her teeth.
"I should have warned you first, I think," Lily admits, laughter sliding over her tongue far too easily.
James pulls himself off of Lily and stands up to survey the area. All he's going to see is a late spring suburb, with kids playing in backyards in the distance. Maybe he'll see some fisherman up the way. What he won't see is her, getting up and putting her whole plan into motion. "Is this where you meant to land?"
"Absolutely," Lily answers, rushing across the stepping-stones in the river to get to the meadow on the other side. "Come along, James! I thought seekers had to be quick on the uptake?"
He follows in kind, though not quite as gracefully as Lily expects. He steps into the water on his last step and she has to cast a spell to dry his foot before she shows him the meadow that meant so much to her growing up. Once dry, Lily weaves her fingers in James' and pulls him to her favorite place in the whole world.
James doesn't say a word when he sees all of the flowers. He just gawks at them, as if Lily Evans herself doesn't even exist, and he smiles so big that her heart just about can't take it. "Isn't it beautiful?"
"I can think of no better place to be," James whispers, still looking around. He lets go of Lily's hands and stuffs them into his pockets instead. He seems to be fiddling with something. Even though she should be surprised or speechless, the redhead simply shrugs her shoulders. James was always a bit eager. Besides that, she's been banking on him having already bought one.
But, just this once, she's practically beaten him to the punch.
"Care to pick a bouquet of lilies for me?" Lily suggests in the form of a question, though it is only a tease to James' hands out of his pockets. He falls for it so easily that Lily nearly outs the whole plan for a challenge. Everything is going so smoothly! Of course, there's nothing she wants more than this one moment, so keeps her mouth shut for just a few moments more.
This is the one chance that she has to outdo James Potter's grand romantic gestures.
Silently, Lily summons the red leather box from his pocket. He notices straight away but it doesn't matter, not really. James straightens his back and brushes his hands lightly over his pockets. Looking him over, top to bottom and back up again, she settles her eyes on his lips. Lily gazes over him as he runs his tongue over his teeth in gutted complacency. "Well, I guess that can't be a surprise now, can it?"
Lily opens the box and puts the delicate gold ring over her finger. A small diamond, but not disappointingly so, and cut into a lovely square - a play on the fact that Lily follows every rule, she's sure of it. That's James' sort of humor. But - it fits perfectly.
"James Potter…"
"Yes?" he asks, saddling up to her with that cocky attitude that Lily used to hate so much. Swagger that was once appalling now leaves Lily weak in the knees. By the time he's on the ground, one knee planted in the dirt and the other resting under his folded hands, Lily just about can't breathe.
"We're going to get married."
"Blood hell," he choked, crying and laughing simultaneously. "I rather hoped we would."
James stands up, reaching out his arms to pull her into another intimate embrace.
But he's rubbed off on her a bit this past year. Just as he brushes her lips, she pushes him away playfully. "Want to go tell my parents?" It's not a question, though, because she quickly escapes his grasp and sprints back across the river towards her parents' house.
"Don't forget the bouquet for my mum!" Lily hollers over her shoulder. James will catch up eventually. Probably when she stops at the altar to say 'I do,' but he won't have to wait for that day very long.
Lily Evans-Potter.
She couldn't imagine being anyone else's lily now.
X X X
Author's Note: This was really fun writing and very different than what I've done in the past. I've written some Jily before but I've never considered myself a Jily shipper. Over the course of writing and planning this short piece, I've kind of fallen in love with this ship. I hope that you were pleased with my depictions of the characters and enjoyed the changes I made. I appreciate your readership - and hope that I have something that keeps you wanting to read more of my work!
I appreciate you and wish nothing but best for your future.
