Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling is a miracle who walks this planet for gifting us with these characters. I just make do with the plot.
We were still in a passionate embrace and yet a battling fight for dominance when a cleared throat interrupted our little scene. I looked up in shock to see Sirius grinning ear to ear in the door way. He held up a scarf.
"You forgot this and I saw it and grabbed it. Look's like you found another way to get warm however." he winked at me.
"Oh get out Sirius. Now." James said. His best friend winked again before bounding down the stairs. "Stupid git." he muttered.
"I heard that!" Sirius shouted from the common room.
"Leave now!" I yelled back. I waited until I heard the door slam before turning back towards James. "Uh, sorry." I said, and untangled my one hand from in his hair and the other from his warm stomach. I unwound my legs from around his waist and backed up slightly, but since I couldn't touch, I started to go under, forgetting to tread. James grabbed me lightly and set me on the side next to him. "thanks." I muttered.
"I think we have some more truth telling to do. Saying as that was rather unexpected for me, not that I didn't enjoy it." he added hastily.
"I'm sorry. I just couldn't think of any other way to tell you, so I showed you instead. Was that too forward of me?" I said quietly, fearing rejection.
"Why are you sorry? Just because it was unexpected doesn't mean that it was a bad thing. And tell me what Lily? I'm hangin' here." he said, looking at me intently.
"That I have feelings for you." I said, growing confident now. "Ever since that first kiss in the hallway, I just, I developed a sort of attraction towards you. Without even meaning to, I needed to be around you. I depend on you. And then when I saw you that night at the ball after everything, I just couldn't help but realize how kind and patient you've been with me, helping me through my parent's death, saving my life, protecting me all of this time. It wasn't until after Michael, I realized that I never even liked Michael. I was using him to hide my feelings for you. And that was a mistake. I just, I never thought that I could ever like you after everything. But somehow I did. I fell for you and now I just don't know what to do. Maybe I waited to long and you've moved on or something-" but I was interrupted by him pressing his lips to mine gently and ever so sweetly. I fell against him.
"Lily Grace Evans, you do not know how long I've waited to hear you say that." He pressed his lips against mine again and I responded enthusiastically.
"You mean, you haven't given up on me?" I said hopefully.
"How could I ever give up on you?" he brushed my hair back off my face and kissed my forehead. "Remus was right! He told me if I was just patient, all of your feelings were there, just buried deep. I need to thank him."
"Well we all did know Remus was always the smart one." I teased him and he snorted at me.
We sat there in the hot tub until my feet resembled prunes. We talked about our childhoods, our friends, our parents, and Hogwarts. We talked about memories and anything that ever sprang into our minds. It must have been hours that we sat in there talking, just getting to know each other better, but it felt like minutes. Finally I was yawning with my arms around his neck and my head resting against his shoulder.
"We need to get you to bed." he whispered into my hair. Grabbing me bridal style I put my head against his chest. He put me down gently to wrap a towel around me. He laid me on my bed and I just laid there staring up at him for a moment.
"I'll be right back. Get your pajamas on." he said to me and then left the room through the bathroom.
Sighing, I got up quickly and walked to my closet, where I pulled out a pair of flannel pants. Grabbing my wand, I uttered a quick summoning spell towards the direction of James room. I heard a satisfying yelp from inside. One of James' shirts was now in my grip. I slid it on and the fabric felt wonderful, not to mention smelled fantastically of James.
He came into my room a moment later, in a pair of flannel pants but no shirt. When he saw what I was wearing he rolled his eyes.
"That's the shirt I was putting on before it got yanked out of my hands." I smiled innocently up at him and he groaned. "Darn you and your charming good looks. It doesn't matter. It looks better on you anyway." he picked me up again which was completely unnecessary and while I was complaining he shut me up with a kiss, which I happily accepted.
He carried me to my bed, and with one hand held me, while the other pulled back the covers.
"As unnecessary as your being right now, I can't help but admire your muscle strength. I'm no light weight." I said.
"Pssh, I'm guessing you weight around 100 pounds right?" he said, flattering me greatly. I could tell he meant it too.
I laughed. "Try adding thirty pounds, then you got me." he looked shocked for a minute. And then he smiled.
"Well, I'd lo-like you at any size. And 130 pounds is still way too skinny. You barely look healthy most of the time." he teased.
"Oh shush." I said, and he pulled the covers all the way up to my chin. I cuddled into them getting warm.
"Goodnight Lily." James whispered. Before turning off the light, he said one more thing. "Oh, and I know you usually say no, so I'm setting myself up for failure here, but Lily Evans, will you go out with me? Like on a date?"
He sounded so nervous it made me laugh. "James Potter, you got yourself a date."
"Well it's about damn time." he said. And then turned off the light, walking out the door.
I woke up happier than I'd felt in ages. I rose with a smile on my face and sighed. I got up from my bed quickly and with a jolt I realized I had slept in to almost noon. Oh well. I took a quick shower and then brushed my teeth and hair. After magically drying and styling it, I changed into a pair of dark skinny jeans and a blue sweater. I checked James room but he wasn't in there, so I walked down to the Great Hall by myself.
When I walked in people wolf whistled and shouted their congratulations. Because it was Christmas Break, however, the number of people was dramatically different, so I wasn't too embarrassed. I was going to kill Sirius Black. But oh well. It would have gotten out eventually knowing Hogwarts. I walked quickly to the Gryffindor table with my head down and squeezed in between Remus and James, who grabbed my hand automatically underneath the table. He gave it a reassuring squeeze. "I guess Sirius spilled the beans to everyone in ear shot last night. Sorry." he muttered in my ear.
Before I had time to respond, someone else said, "And they're already muttering sweet nothings into each others ears. When's the wedding?" Sirius said matter-of-factly.
"Oh shove off, Sirius." I said, reaching for some food.
"Can I not express my happiness that the two people who were meant to be together since first glance are together at last! All because of me!" he said, piling food onto his plate.
"And pray tell, Sirius, how this is your doing?" said James, helping himself to some Pumpkin Juice.
"Because if it wasn't for me, well, ok I don't know. But something is because of me. So you're welcome." He grinned wolfishly and I laughed.
"Whatever you say Snuffles." I grinned and was very aware of the warmth of the hand that was holding mine. I couldn't help but realize how perfectly our hands fit together. His massive hand held my petit one like a puzzle piece, finally solved. The rest of lunch went by swiftly, and James and I went up to the common room to which we gathered many wolf whistles and suggested looks, which we ignored.
When we got there, James said, "So, I was wondering about that date." he paused. "I was thinking about tonight. Or is that too soon?"
I laughed lightly. "I don't care at all. That's fine, I have no plans obviously. But what are we doing?"
"Leave that part to me." he grinned deviously. "It's going to be a lot of fun."
"Well what am I suppose to wear?"
"Of course you're worried about clothing. Hmm, I have an idea. I'll pick out your outfit." he said. I raised my eyebrows at him.
"James, I better be wearing clothes. After all, this is a first date."
"I'm shocked you'd think I would do that. Don't worry, I'll get it all covered. And don't eat. You have to stay in your room however, because it's a surprise. So just hang out in your room and work on homework or something and the clothes shall appear around 8ish, which then you are suppose to put on and come downstairs. Agreed?"
"Ok, but I'm kind of concerned at what we're doing. But I guess I'll agree, sure." I said. "But why do I have to stay in my room?"
"Ah, that's the surprise Lily dear." he said, then "go on then. I have to prepare." and ushered me upstairs before I could protest. He closed the door and then locked it. "Don't worry," he said from the other side. "It will be unlocked at 8 sharp!"
"Don't I get a goodbye kiss?" I said smiling against the door. It unlocked very quickly and James threw himself onto me. His lips touched mine gently at first but then everything went up in smoke again. My back was to the door and his hands were on either side of my face, causing a barrier around me. We were kissing heavily until he pulled away, making me lean towards him with my eyes closed, wanting more. He looked satisfied by my slightly confused and 'hurt' expression.
Without another word, he strode from my room, locking the door on the way out. I sighed. Today was going to be a long one.
I decided to take a bath, so I filled the "pool" quickly and added bubbles with lavender. I hopped in quickly and the water felt wonderful. I swam a couple of laps, and then just floated on my back staring up at the ceiling for a while. Effectively wasting an hour, I got out and magically dried my hair and made it cascade with soft curls down my back. I then did the over-break homework from Flitwick, Slughorn, and McGonagall. That effectively wasted two hours. With three hours left to go, I laid on my bed for a while and then read a good book by Nicholas Sparks, which got me crying by the end of it, again. I then put on some music and danced around for a bit, painted my toenails, shaved my legs the normal way, and I was just beginning to draw a picture when clothes magically appeared at the end of my bed. I crawled down to the end and looked up at the clothes. Frowning, I picked them up.
What they were: Flannel pajama pants, and one of James t-shirts. What in the world? I thought quietly to myself. Shrugging, I pulled on the pants and then the t-shirt. I walked to the door and finding it was unlocked, pushed it open. The sight that waited for me practically blew my mind.
The common room had been transformed. There was a huge fort built from blankets and pillows and the couches in the middle of the room. It practically took up the whole room. And then there was James, standing in the middle of it, grinning up at me.
"I know what you're thinking. What in the name of Merlin is this. Well this is my idea of a great time. I know that you're different than the other girls, in a good way, and figured this would be a much easier way to talk and be comfortable than sit across from each other at a stuffy table, trying to make conversation about the lobster bisque. I even charmed a projector to make it work here in Hogwarts. I got some great movies!" he sounded so excited. But then he hurried on in a slightly panicked voice. "But if you don't like this, just tell me and we can go out someplace fancy! I don't care at all. Just whatever you want, I just thought this would be fun!"
"James, calm down. It's a great idea. I love it." I walked up to him and kissed his cheek. "And yet, was this outfit appropriate for comfort, or do you just like the way I look in your clothes?"
He winked at me. "Eh, little bit of both to tell you the truth. Come on!" He grabbed my hand and pulled me into the middle of the 'fort'. It was very comfortable on the inside, with multiple pillows and blankets, giving it quite a cozy effect. There was a soft breeze going through it however, so we wouldn't burn to death.
"This is really nice. How long did it take you to make?" I asked him, plopping down on a mass of pillows and blankets.
"Well, when I was a second or third year, all of the boys and I would come to my house for the summer, and we'd make up the most ridiculous forts ever, sometimes being two floors, and of course, I couldn't use magic then, so we came up with some crazy ways to fix it all together, and it always worked. So I didn't use magic for this. So kind of a while, but it looks amazing! I'm very proud of myself." he winked at me.
"Always the modest one I see." I said. But sitting down with him, I realized that he really did know me. I preferred this as a date over any fancy dinner because I was comfortable here with James. If we had went out to eat or something to over-the-top I would have felt the need to try harder and not act myself. So in a way, James was always knowing what I was thinking, just not in the complete literal sense. "So what movies did you get?" I asked him eagerly.
He laughed. "Well I got some muggle movies for us, saying as we don't really need that as entertainment. But I didn't know what you would like, so I kind of just grabbed a bunch, Remus' mom is a huge movie freak, and she collects them, so it was easy to get a lot." he turned around and grabbed a huge stack of movies.
"Wow, that is a lot. How are we suppose to choose?" I grabbed a movie at random and the cover had a huge toilet on it. I laughed and showed it to him.
"Well, you never know. That good be mankind's best movie ever made there. And you just insulted it." he raised an eyebrow at me and I rolled my eyes.
We ended up deciding on a scary, slasher movie about a teenage camping trip "gone wrong". We started the movies and he dimmed the lights, causing an eerie sort of glow to hush over us. I looked over at him and almost gasped. The way the candles were on his skin made him glow. He looked stunning with the halo of light around him. The light reflected off of his deep hazel eyes, making them dance in the darkness. His unruly hair had bits of light shining through, making him look little less than an angel.
He looked over at me once he noticed I was looking at him. His gaze was so intense, I struggled to keep looking in his eyes without looking away.
For a while we stayed like that, frozen in time, just staring at each other. I know describing it sounds really awkward and Mary thought so when I told her later, but in the moment, you can't even really describe it. It was like everything was James. Everything was him and he was everything. He was staring at me, taking in my whole face, and I was doing the same with him. I'd realized that in our year of friendship, I had never really analyzed him this deeply. If that sounds creepy though, it wasn't. His face searched mine with a hungered intensity and before I knew what was happening, I was staring at his lips, and he was staring at mine. I leaned slightly towards him and at the same time so did he. My eyes closed automatically and he reached out and stroked my face. Cupping my face in his hands, he brought me in closer. He hesitated however, right before our lips would touch. His warm sweet breath mingled with my own and we sat there, my eyes closed, and I think his were too, just breathing each other in. After a few moments however I couldn't take it. I reached my hand up and lightly traced his lips with my fingertips. He let out a soft moaning noise and then before I was even prepared, his lips smashed against mine. I let out a wild gasp and my hands automatically went to his hair, grabbing the dark locks and pulling him to me. My hands were buried deeply into his hair, and his were still around my face.
It's like we couldn't get enough of each other. My tongue explored every single inch of his mouth, searching it's deepest parts, and his did the same for me.
Slowly and gently, he pushed me down so I was laying against the soft blankets and pillows. The movie, forgotten, played in the background.
With his arms creating a barrier around each side of my head, he held himself up so to not put any weight on me, and continued kissing me. Wanting to feel him next to me however, I pulled him down on top of me, so our bodies were pressed together. I dragged him down next to me so we were laying on our sides, facing each other, obviously, and continued to fight for dominance.
I discovered that I enjoyed kissing James. If I could kiss him for most of the time, I probably would. It some how never got old and it was like a new discovery every time we moved differently.
Rolling him over so that he was on his back, I basically straddled him and continued kissing him. He seemed surprise by me taking control, but seemed to enjoy it because he continued kissing me with excited enthusiasm.
Merlin knows how long we would have continued, until, unfortunately, someone died.
A/N: you're welcome for this much fluff, i don't know if i can continue with this much though, i'm not that much of a fluffy person, but i thought you deserved it because i kept you all waiting so long. Trust me, it wasn't because of the comments. You guys graced me with 51 comments! that's so much and i appreciate every single one, even if they contain critisism. I unfortunately, have been very busy because of my state swim meet going on, and i have practices two times a day and i'm so exhausted i haven't found time to finish this chapter. I'm sorry for the cliff-hanger, but you'll be glad when you find out. Please comment, save me as a favorite, or just enjoy my writing. Please review, because i love them, they keep me going.
Sneek Peek: Things get a little...furry.