Of Lions and Lillies

James was in a particularly bad mood today. He overslept and missed breakfast, which also lost one of his chances to ask out his crush, Lily Evans. The Slytherins had been vengeful, playing a mean, nasty prank on the Marauders. Sirius' hair was now a bright, neon pink colour, and Peter had a used toothbrush shoved up his nostril; the part that cleans your teeth went in first.

Both boys had been blamed for it, -"Why would Peter want to shove a toothbrush up his nose? It was the Slytherins I tell you!"- and Malfoy came out clean.

James had to go to class with an empty stomach. He didn't ditch class, so to impress Lily. By the time lunch came around, James' stomach was rumbling loudly; almost everyone heard it, and no one stop teasing him about it.

-"Hungry, aren't you, Potter?"-

When the last class before lunch finished, James practically ran toward the Great Hall. He slid into the edge of the bench effortlessly; years of being a Seeker had trained him to be graceful, strong, and fast. He immediately loaded his plate with almost everything on the table, except the veggies. However, once he saw Lily carefully chew some salad at the other end of the table, he changed his mind.

'The things I do for her,' he thought, shaking his head slightly.

After classes, James spotted Lily exiting the Potions classroom. Not wanting to lose his chance, he sprinted after her. "Evans!" he called out, and she stiffened.

"No, Potter, I will not go out with you, you're an arrogant toe rag," she said in an over-practiced tone. She wished that James would stop bothering her. After all, he was a cocky, rude, bastard and he was going to break her heart. Or would he? She couldn't help from having a teensy little crush on him, he was quite handsome, yet she never dared give him the satisfaction of agreeing to his stupid date. She wasn't weak; she was stubborn and strong, as a Gryffindor should be.

Lily was shook out of her thoughts when she saw James tremble a little. Usually he would reply with a cocky, "You'll fall for me, Evans. You'll be mine within the month," but not this time. James bit his lip, ran his hand through his hair -which was absolutely adorable- and turned to hide his tears. James was crying. Lily felt guilty; it never seemed as if she had hurt him. It never crossed her mind that he might truly like her. She always thought it was some kind of prank, to see if he can break her heart. But now that his tears threatened to spill, she saw differently.

James started to walk away, fists clenched and eyes watering. He didn't care if anyone saw him; he just had to get away. This day was absolutely horrible, and he blamed himself. Lily hated him, so what was the point of trying to win her? She was impossible. Why hadn't he given up the chase? 'Because I love her,' he answered his own question. He was so heartbroken, he didn't hear Lily desperately calling out his name.

He stopped, wondering what the sound was. "James, wait!" He realized the wonderful sound was Lily's voice. James was tempted to stop, to let her catch up to him. He hated how he was so weak. Shaking his head, James looked for a certain statue. When it came into view, he rushed over to it and pulled out his wand. As he whispered the magic spell, the hump in the witch's back opened. Hesitating, James pulled himself in, and landed on the dirty ground face first. Cursing, he stood up and continued on his journey.

He relaxed a little as he heard a pair of lithe feet hit the ground behind him. He admired her bravery; not many girls would chase after a guy into an unknown, dark area.

Speaking of chasing, she was surprised she was doing it to him. The positions were usually switched. Why did she bother, anyways? In a very, very small part of her, she realized she knew the answer.

James decided to sit on top of a wooden picnic bench, deciding to let Lily catch up to him. Maybe she was going to shower him in pity and kisses. A little bubble of hope filled his chest as Lily approached him. She silently sat down beside him, not saying a word. After a moment of awkwardness, Lily slowly reached over and clasped her small, soft hand over James's big, rough ones. Lily found herself enjoying the feeling. It was almost like she had no control over her brain. She studied James's hands. Long, clever fingers and strong arms. It wasn't long until she slapped herself mentally.

'Why am I checking out his fingers? Have I gone mental?' her brain thought, but her heart said another.

Slowly, her head rose, and it seemed like forever until they met eyes. He stared into her brilliant green eyes, not fully believing that Lily Evans, his long time crush, was sitting beside him, holding his hand.

"You have no idea what you're doing to me, Lily," his voice was low and rough, and the girl shivered.

"Why, James? Why me? You never gave up," her sweet voice was innocent and enticing. James bit his lip; he was sure she knew already. He chased after her for years, ever since he laid eyes on her.

James loved Lily, he was sure of that. A mere crush would have lasted a few months, but he followed her like a love sick puppy for all these years. And when he thought he was done with her, Lily went and did something like this, made him love her again. This whole thing was stressful; bad for his health.

James let out a frustrated sigh and leaned forward towards Lily. He gently pressed his forehead to hers, even though she was a head shorter than him. Heat blazed his skin where he and Lily touched. It was either now or never. He gently shook her hand off of his, and she felt disappointed. Hadn't he wanted this? Instead, James slowly encircled her waist with his hands, gently nuzzling his face into the crook of Lily's neck. She was slightly surprised, but wrapped her arms around James.

"Because I love you, damn it!" he whispered angrily in her ear. Tears streamed down his handsome face as he remembered all the rejections. Leaning away, he buried his face in his hands. Lily was surprised. Her small mouth made an 'O' shape and eyes widened. She knew exactly what to say, "I...love you too, James."

James lifted his head. He was shocked that Lily felt the same way. "Then why did you keep running from me?" His puppy eyes were irresistible. Lily reached out and fixed the position of his crooked glasses. This brang a small smile to James's features.

Rain started dripping from the clouds, slowly washing away the dirt off of James's profile, and the regret about each other. James dipped his head down, meeting Lily's soft lips. The rain grew heavier, as did the kiss. James and Lily grew closer, molding their bodies together. He held her tightly in his arms, afraid of losing her. She was his. Finally, after almost seven years, he had gotten his prize. And he would never let go of her.

James trailed his kisses across Lily's jaw line. He then went back to her neck, kissing and sucking until he found her sweet spot. Once he found it, he left her a love bite. He left a teasing kiss on the corner of her mouth. One hand was wrapped around her waist, and the other was in her red hair. She tangled her dainty hands in his messy, black hair.

The kisses they shared were magical.

Both their brains had melted; they had no control over themselves. It felt like a firework show was hosted inside each of them, with millions of cheering fans clapping and screaming in delight. They broke apart, breathing heavily, staring into each others eyes. James then realized that Lily didn't take a jacket with her. He shrugged his off, and handed it to her. She nodded in thanks, pulling the over sized coat on herself. James couldn't help but admire the way her clothing stuck to her body.

Lily was immediately warmed, but not as warm as when she and James where kissing passionately. As she though about it, she felt the blood rushing to her cheeks. Never in a million years had she thought this would happen in real life, only in her dreams or daydreams. James was only wearing a thin white shirt under his leather jacket. Lily's eyes trailed down to his chest. Who knew had a six pack? Everyone but her, apparently. He was practically shirtless.

The pouring rain was noisy. It was raining so hard that Lily was barely able to see. Luckily, James had a charm placed on his glasses.

They turned to face each other, and smiled. The couple walked hand in hand to the castle, enjoying one another's company.

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***** IMPORTANT NOTE: THIS IS A ONE SHOT!! I WILL NOT BE CONTINUING THIS.

I apologize for any plot holes, grammar or spelling mistakes and things like that. I'm only human!

Hope you enjoy this. <3!