Jily oneshots

Too Little, Too Late

done by Mo-Nighean-Donn on fanfiction.net

No matter how many promises are made before graduation, the cares of adult life have a way of creating separations between formerly fast friendships. Pacts of 'friends forever' and 'it won't happen to us,' while held to with dogged tenacity at first, are eventually, inevitably, considered less urgent than picking up that extra shift so you can maybe pay all your bills on time this month, or eat something without the word 'instant' in its name, You begin to prioritize the chance to have a nap or an early night because you've been picking up those extra shifts more nights than not. Or that deadline is coming up fast and there's more than a grade on the line if you don't have your presentation ready on time. Members of The Gang pursue opportunities in far-flung cities, getting together requires a lot more planning and effort, messages start going unanswered, and before you know it you're debating whether or not you really should get the time off for that wedding and is that the best use of your meagre vacation days? Five years ago you would have moved heaven and earth to be there, likely even would have been in the wedding party. Throw in an awkward breakup or two and the fracturing process accelerates.

So it was with great trepidation that James Potter trudged through a light rain to The Leaky Cauldron, a London pub of reputable standing with his mates, and chosen by the organizers as the venue for a Class Reunion.

When James first found himself added to a Facebook group for the event a month ago, he was elated. For about thirty seconds. Then his stomach hopped on a roller coaster that took him from the dizzying heights of Anticipation, straight to the depths of Anxiety, through the corkscrew of Fear and around the loop-the-loop of Nausea before depositing him squarely at the end of the ride: Trepidation Station. He had not managed to leave said station in the intervening weeks, despite his best efforts.

There was—a lot of history, with various members of his uni class. Most of it was good, he reflected. Much of it he was damn proud of. Getting a first while simultaneously executing a years-long series of elaborate pranks, for example, had been a feat of strategy unparalleled by wartime generals, and to date James' proudest accomplishment. Not to mention that he and his mates made it through all together and intact, which was his second proudest achievement. James never took for granted how lucky he was to have met his best friends early in life. By the time they reached uni, nothing could have separated them.

But James did have regrets, mostly from his first year. He'd entered school a cocky little shit, and knowing that a good majority of eighteen-year-olds are walking disasters didn't stop his utter embarrassment at the memories that had a tendency to haunt him at three o'clock in the morning, that most cursed of all hours. Sure, he had managed to sort himself out—mostly—before it was too late, but still! Maybe if he had tried harder, or started sooner, his other major regret wouldn't be a particular gorgeous redhead.

It felt like everything he had ever done regarding Lily Evans was too-little-too-late. Or perhaps too-much-too-soon. Either way, his timing had always been... off. He had especially misjudged his timing the night of Mary's 'let's get pissed to celebrate never having to take finals again' party. He'd been more than a little tipsy from whatever rum concoction Sirius had been pushing into his hands all night. James didn't like rum, but he had been morose about the prospect of uni being over forever and having no idea what to do next, so he'd been willing—and stupid—enough to drink whatever Sirius gave him. Rum was dangerous for James. It made him feel like a pirate, like his personal hero Captain Jack Sparrow, and invariably led to daring and foolish acts of bravery. Acts like kissing Lily Evans. He tried to blame the rum. And Sirius for making him drink it. And Mary for throwing the party in the first place. But in the end, James knew he only had himself to blame. Him and his shit timing.