#ALSO I LOVE YOU EVAN HAPPY VALENTINES DAY EVAN I'M KISSING YOU

[rose-of-the-grave]

The Wait Was Worth It

Pairing: Lily x James

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! ❤️❤️❤️ I hope you enjoy and as always I'm the author (please don't repost).

Jily Gift Exchange 2024

@siriuslychessi

Masterlist Read on Ao3

Warnings: Friends to lovers, idiots in love, miscommunication, angst, fluff, secret admirer, pining, slow burn, happy ending, Valentine's day, love confessions, and kissing

Word Count: 3,374

Description: James is trying to move on. Lily thinks it's too late. With some help from their friends them might finally be on the same page.

Taglist: @sylveryfire

It was Lily Evans’ seventh year at Hogwarts and the infamous NEWTs were rapidly approaching. In an effort to do well she, along with some of her friends, had been studying together. Among these friends was James Potter. Over the course of the last year or so they had become tentative friends. At first it had been awkward considering Lily had spent years hating him but they had eventually reached a common ground in their mutual friend, Remus.

Lily, Marlene, Dorcas, James, Remus, and Sirius had all decided upon spending time at the library after classes to study. They were an odd group to be sure but surprisingly they got on fairly well. This was why Lily was preparing her notes to take with her to the library when an owl appeared at her dorm window.

She didn’t normally receive much mail, usually just letters from her parents. She had never gotten a letter from her sister, Petunia, except for holidays and even then it had become far scarcer as the years went on and the two of them grew further apart. It was for this reason that Lily was quite shocked to see that the letter was from her sister.

After spending a few minutes just staring blankly at the contents of the envelope she slid it into a drawer and left for the study session.

When she reached the common room she was surprised to see only James, Sirius, and Marlene.

“Hey, I’m ready to go. Where’s Remus and Dorcas?”

They turned towards her with guilty expressions.

“Remus was invited to study with some Ravenclaws and Dorcas,” James looked over at Marlene who turned to look at her and said, “She has detention.”

“Oh. So it’ll just be the four of us then?”

“Three. I also have detention.” Marlene said before hurrying out of the common room.

“Make that two.” James turned to look at Sirius who then continued, “Last minute Quidditch practice.”

And so Lily and James were left standing awkwardly in the Gryffindor common room while their friends ditched them.

“So…” Lily trailed off.

“Yeah.” He agreed, scratching at the back of his neck. Neither of them were quite sure why but it was evident that their friends had all collectively decided to do something else.

“How come you don’t have Quidditch but Sirius does?”

“I’m not exactly sure.” He laughed nervously. James had a feeling Sirius wasn’t actually going to play Quidditch, the same way Lily suspected that neither Marlene nor Dorcas had detention. If they had then they would have told her earlier. No, none of them had been telling the truth, that was clear.

What they couldn’t figure out was why their friends had done so. Determined to still study they soon decided to head to the library regardless of their friends’ plotting.

The two of them sat at one of the tables in the library and studied separately for about an hour before Lily could no longer focus. Sure James had at one point started to make paper airplanes and raced them against each other but she had somehow managed to remain mostly focused on her History of Magic notes. The words started to blur and all she could think about was her sister. She sighed. Eventually she would have to send a response but for now all she could think about was just how distant they were. She and Petunia used to be so close before Lily had gotten her Hogwarts letter.

Now they were strangers.

“What’s on your mind?” James asked.

Startled, she looked up at him, “What?”

“You just sighed again, what is it?”

“Oh. It’s nothing.”

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to but just know that I’m willing to listen if you do want to talk.”

“Thanks, I appreciate that.”

They both turned back to their respective studies, ignoring each other once more. How on earth could the history of magic be so boring? Lily had always thought that it was just the teacher but now she realized it was also the material. It listed everything matter of factly without really examining other perspectives. Out of all magic creatures one would think that there was no way dragons could ever be boring. They would be wrong.

Desperate for a distraction, she allowed her thoughts to wander. Inevitably she started to think of home. She missed her parents. This past Christmas she had been told that they would be too busy for her to come visit but she had still wanted to see them. They had been gone for most of the time and their minds had all seemed preoccupied whenever they did have some quiet time to simply catch up.

Lily sighed.

“Merlin’s sake Evans. Just tell me.”

Her cheeks flushed from embarrassment, James hadn’t exactly been quiet and now the whole library was staring at them. Once they all got bored everybody returned to what they had been doing previously.

“I got a letter from my sister.”

“Oh, what about?” They hadn’t been friends long but he did know a little about her rocky relationship with Petunia.

“It was actually a wedding invitation.”

“I gather you’re not happy about that?”

“Well, I’m happy that she’s getting married. Personally, I don’t really like her fiance, but if he makes her happy then fine.”

“So, what’s the issue?”

“That’s all that was sent. An invitation. No note, no letter, nothing. I guess I should count myself lucky that she even sent me an invitation. I know that we don’t get along that well anymore but I thought that she would at least send something more than just a piece of paper saying that I am cordially invited to her wedding.” As she ranted, she did her best to keep her voice low. With every word, she grew more upset.

He winced, “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I’m not even sure why I’m so surprised.” Lily shook her head and closed the book in front of her. “You know what, maybe I should go lie down and rest. I can study over the weekend.”

James stood up and gathered up his things. “I’ll go with you. I think I’m done for the day.”

They both put their books away and left the library in silence. It wasn’t that far of a walk from the library to the Gryffindor common room. There were still some people in the hall but Lily assumed most were outside. It was a fairly nice day out so most of the younger students were probably out there having fun. She remembered when that used to be them. Now it was hard to believe that there was a time when they weren’t stressed about tests.

The common room was mostly empty, their friends still missing. James walked her over to the bottom of the stairs before stopping. She turned around to face him.

“Thank you.”

“No problem.” He shrugged. “It’s what friends do.”

Friends. It was still a bit odd to think that she and James Potter were friends.

“Still, thanks.” She hesitated before asking, “Can I have a hug?”

He smiled. Merlin, why did she have to pick that moment to notice that he was attractive? She knew subconsciously that he wasn’t hard on the eyes, she had been well aware of that fact for two years now but she had always just ignored that fact. Now, it was staring her right in the face both literally and figuratively.

He wrapped her tightly in his arms, enveloping her in his scent, the same scent that she had struggled to recognize the year before in the Amortentia. Thanks to her being a bit shorter than him he was able to tuck her head underneath his chin. She had thought that hugging him might be weird but it simply seemed natural.

They stood there, hugging for a minute or two before she pulled away.

“See you at dinner.” She said, taking a step up the stairs without turning.

“See you Lily.”

----------------------------

It was a regular Friday morning. The great hall was full of hungry, exhausted students grabbing something to eat before heading to their classes. After a very long night of studying Lily could barely keep her eyes open. When she left the dorm Marlene had still been half asleep and extremely cranky.

Sitting at the Gryffindor table she watched as her friends all sat in various states of exhaustion. Dorcas was sitting on one side of her, James on the other. Remus and Sirius were sitting across from them. Lily had been surprised to see them all out of bed in time for breakfast, it wasn’t uncommon for one or two of them to get to the great hall late to grab a quick snack before running to class.

Remus sighed, “I wish you'd just admit when you've made a mistake.”

James, stirring his coffee serenely, replied, “I prefer it with salt.”

He raised his mug to his mouth and took a sip without flinching.

“Do you ever drink so much coffee that you feel kinda dizzy, then the world is moving in slow motion, and then you're drifting through space and time, and then you can see everything and nothing while being lost in the void?” Sirius mused.

James looked at him with an eyebrow raised, “...No?” while Remus nodded.

“Excuse me? Hi.”

They all turn around to see a Hufflepuff standing there. Lily was fairly certain they had Potions together.

“I was wondering if you wanted to go with me to Hogsmeade this weekend?”

James was facing away from Lily, and she heard him say, “Sure.”

He turned back towards his friends.

Dorcas was the first to say something, “Did you just say yes to a date this weekend?”

“Yeah, what’s the big deal?” He asked, looking around in bewilderment.

“It’s Valentine’s Day.” Remus said.

“Oh.” He turned pink.

Suddenly Lily’s food became very interesting.

After a few seconds the conversation resumed but Lily wasn’t focused on it.

Dorcas nudged her gently, “Hey, I’m going to take Marlene some food.”

“Okay, see you in Potions.”

“See ya.”

Dorcas got up and walked away, holding some food. Lily turned back to her food, making eye contact with Remus. She arched her eyebrow in question and he simply flicked his eyes over to her right where James sat in deep conversation with Sirius about penguins.

“I’m just saying, what’s the point if they can’t fly?”

She rolled her eyes but smiled.

The great hall had started to empty, students heading to their first class of the day. Standing up, she looked over at Remus and said, “Come on, don’t want to be late.”

--------------------------------

“So, you’re going out with that Hufflepuff tomorrow?” Sirius asked from where he lay on the ground of their dorm.

James sighed, “Yeah, guess so.”

“You don’t seem that enthusiastic.”

“I’m just tired.” He yawned before asking,”Did you think that Lily was ignoring me earlier?”

“Now that you mention it she was acting a little off.”

“I wonder what’s up with her.”

Remus snorted from where he sat on the bed.

James looked over at him, “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing.”

“You know something, don’t you?”

Remus shrugged. “Maybe.”

“Oh, come on Moony, tell us.” Sirius said. “Poor Prongs might go mad if he doesn’t know.” He joked.

James threw a pillow at him.

“Maybe if you’d been paying attention, you’d know.”

James tossed one of the other pillows at him.

Sirius retorted, “You know what? We're clever too, Moony.”

Remus laughed, “Oh yeah? What's the difference between a gamete and a zygote?”

James, narrowing his eyes, warned his friends, “Don't fall for it, Padfoot. He's just making up words.”

“Seriously, what is it?”

“Siriusly.” Sirius chimed in.

Remus groaned, “Not again.”

Sirius just grinned. That joke never got old.

“Fine, but you can’t tell her that I said anything okay?”

“Just tell me already.”

“So she didn’t actually say anything.” He started, “But when that Hufflepuff came over during breakfast this morning she started acting a little weird. At first I was sure it was nothing but maybe it was.”

“What are you saying?”

“Figure it out, that’s all I’m going to say.”

James pondered over what little his friend had said before coming to the conclusion that maybe Lily didn’t get along with this particular Hufflepuff.

“Does Lily not like her?” He asked.

Remus shook his head, “I give up.”

“What? Tell me.”

“Maybe she likes you.” Sirius suggested.

“Who, Lily? No. She doesn’t.”

“I’m right aren’t I?” Sirius asked Remus. “You think she was jealous.”

James turned, wide-eyed, to face him. “Wait, really?”

He tried his best to not get too hopeful, he and Lily were friends. He was fairly certain that that was all she would see him as and he didn’t plan to wait around any longer just to get his heart broken. He was trying to move on. But maybe, just maybe there was a chance after all. He couldn’t deny that being her friend had made him like her even more than he had before. She was easily one of the best people he knew.

“Like I said, I don't know for sure.” Remus warned.

---------------------

Lily spent her Saturday morning trying to be as productive as possible, not wanting to think about a certain fellow Gryffindor and his date. That didn’t last long though. Soon enough Marlene and Dorcas were telling her that they should go to Hogsmeade instead of spending their weekend sitting around in the castle. Reluctantly, Lily got dressed to go with them, abandoning her studies for the next day.

“Come on, it’s finally nice out!” Marlene said.

The flowers were starting to bloom and the sun was shining down on them. It was still a bit chilly but she was right, it was nice out.

The trio walked along the path to Hogsmeade, Lily hanging back a bit while her two best friends excitedly discussed their plans for later. Why did Valentine’s Day have to exist? All it did was give everybody the opportunity to rub their relationships in people’s faces. She loved her friends, but she just wished that she didn’t feel just a little bit jealous every time they went to hang out with their girlfriends or boyfriends.

Lily was happy for them, really she was but she couldn’t help but feel a bit bitter.

When they reached Hogsmeade they went to get some candy before going to get butterbeer. They were all seated in the corner when Lily spotted a few familiar faces.

“Hey, come join us!” She waved at Remus and Sirius. That’s when she saw James, who had previously been hidden behind them. All three of them joined and they all started to talk. When Marlene brought up the date. A few minutes later Lily excused herself, saying she felt tired and that she was going back to the castle.

She stood up, pulling her coat back on.

“See you guys later.”

“Wait, I’ll walk with you.” James offered.

“No, that’s fine. You wouldn’t want to miss your date, would you?” She smiled thinly, trying to seem like she was fine.

Soon after James said that he wasn’t feeling well and that he was going back up to the castle as well.

“What about your date?” Marlene asked.

“I’ll let her know that I couldn’t make it.” He shrugged. “It’s no big deal.”

Once he was gone, the four remaining friends all exchanged glances.

“Merlin, their idiots!” Dorcas exclaimed.

“Yeah. James isn’t even going on that date, he canceled last night.” Sirius informed them.

“Wait, really?” Marlene asked.

“Yeah.” Remus said. “At this point, I don’t think that they are ever going to realize that they both like each other.”

“I know, right. Marls and I are sick and tired of hearing about Potter this and Potter that. She’ll go on and on about him but the minute we imply that she likes him she starts getting defensive.”

He agreed, saying, “James isn’t much better. He keeps saying that he’s moved on but when I mentioned how weird Lily started acting after he got asked out he kept on asking if we thought she liked him.”

Marlene adds, “And have you seen the way they look at each other when they think the other isn’t looking? I swear they are so oblivious it's embarrassing.”

“Maybe we should lock them up in a room together and not let them out until they admit that they have a crush on each other.” Sirius said.

Remus relied, “Or we could just arrange for them to meet up with each other. I mean, it is Valentine’s. Maybe if we could make them each think that they have a secret admirer or something.”

“We could send them each a note telling them to meet them up at the Astronomy Tower or something.” Dorcas offers.

“That’s actually a great idea.” Marlene said. “Let’s do this.

---------------------------

When Lily and James got back to their respective dorms they were each surprised to see a red rose sitting next to a note on their beds. Both told them to meet them up on the Astronomy Tower and were signed “From your secret admirer”.

Grabbing their wands, they both headed there. Lily got there first and started to look around, wondering who had sent the note. After a few minutes she got bored and decided to sit down and wait to see who showed up. An eternity later she finally heard footsteps coming up the stairs. Keeping her wand out and ready she waited patiently for the person to reveal themselves.

“James?” She asked incredulously.

“Lily? What are you doing here?”

“Meeting someone. What are you doing here?”

“The same.” James admitted.

“Oh.”

There was a long and awkward silence before Lily remembered something.

“So, how was your date?”

There was a long pause before he replied, “I didn’t end up going.”

“Oh. Why not?” She asked, trying not to seem too curious.

He shrugged, “I liked someone else.”

She looked over at him. She knew it would hurt but she had to ask, had to know.

“Who?”

His eyes flicked up to hers. He looked like he was about to say something but then he didn’t. His jaw clenched. James sighed and looked away again.

“Doesn’t matter.”

“Is it someone I know?” She asked.

He hesitated before saying, “Yes.”

“I won’t tell anyone.”

“It’s just…I’m pretty sure that they don’t like me back.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. That sucks.” She said while wishing that she was that person.

“Yeah.”

“If it makes you feel better, I’m sort of in a similar situation.”

He looks at her, confused. “Who couldn’t love you? You’re beautiful and smart and kind. Whoever it is, they’re an idiot.”

“Thanks but it’s a little more complicated than that.”

Furrowing his brow, he walked closer to her, suddenly towering over her from where she sat on the ground. “Who is it?”

“You.” She muttered underneath her breath, far too quiet for him to hear.

“What?” He asked, sitting down next to her.

“You.” She looked down, not meeting his gaze. Did she really just say that out loud?

He said nothing. After a few beats she finally looked back up, wondering what he was thinking. Did he no longer want to be friends with her? Did he hate her?

He lifted a hand to her cheek, wiping a stray tear that was rolling down her face. Leaning in slowly, he brushed his lips against hers.

“I like you too.”

She smiled, pulling him back in for a kiss.

-----------------------------

The next morning when they awoke, they were surrounded by their friends. After spending some more time up in the Astronomy Tower they had walked back to the common room but decided to sleep on one of the couches, not wanting the night to be over.

“Morning.” Sirius said with a shit eating grin.

They both flushed, looking back at each other and smiling. James wrapped his arms around her and pressed a kiss to her forehead. It might have been seven years since they first met and James fell head over heels for Lily but they could both agree that the wait was worth it.

[sweeethinny]

Hi, Sweet! Ooh, thank you so much for sending me a prompt, I'm working on it! If you could please write "Just close your eyes. I will still be here when you open them again" for any ship, my only request is that it's in some kind of AU. I love your AUs!

Sorry for the delay Mah, hope you like this Jily Muggle AU <3

Ps: for those who don't know, Valentine's Day is celebrated on the 12th of June in Brazil, and in June we have what we call the 'June Party', where it's time to exalt Brazilian folklore, and - for those who are Catholics - is the month of June Saints, the saints who baptized Jesus.

This month, there are parties where people go dressed as hillbillies, there is a lot of food, depending on the party, drinks, a lot of dancing, and it is for many the best time of year.

Couples tend to go matching, always wearing plaid clothes, with lace, ruffles and patches, and usually women braid their hair, paint their cheeks pink and men - for those who don't - paint a fake beard on their faces. They also wear a straw hat, and everything is very colorful.

A typical outfit for you, you understand more or less how it is <3 - HERE and HERE

I hope you all like it, I always like to insert a little of my culture in the fanfics <3

read bellow the cut <3

"Just close your eyes. I will still be here when you open them again" He said, kneeling in front of her.

"Unfortunately," she said, but there was a smile on her face, a smile that James thought was adorable, and it matched her sun-rosy cheeks and the flaming strands of hair that fell over her face.

“I'll pretend to believe you.” He smiled, grimacing when she threw up again, what now felt like just water. "I'll never let you drink again."

"I never want to drink again," Lily laid her head on the toilet seat, her eyes almost closed and stared at James as if she was unable to focus her vision but was trying. The noise from the backyard party was still loud, but inside, the two of them on the bathroom floor, the silence was comforting.

"Famous last words." He shrugged, wanting to laugh but feeling sorry for her, who looked like she wanted to throw up some more. "Evans, you better pull yourself together, or I'll have to take you to the hospital, and I think it's the last place you want to go." James raised his eyebrows, wanting her to remember exactly where they were.

The idea at first was good; a weekend among friends at James' grandparents' farm, abusing every last drop of trust his parents had in him and Sirius. They promised they'd take care of the house, and it was going to be quiet, but now, when he looks out the window and sees Remus jumping off the roof into the pool, and Peter upside down trying to drink beer, he thinks things have lost a bit the control.

As long as nobody ended up in the hospital and nothing was broken, everything was perfect.

The nearest hospital was over two hours away, and none of them had the ability to drive for so long on a dirt road that it took a lot of concentration not to end up with a mired or overturned car.

"I'll be fine." She settled on the floor, leaning her back against the cool wall behind her and closing her eyes. It took James a lot of concentration to keep his eyes off her perfectly sculpted breasts, gorgeous in that black bikini. Her tanned skin made it difficult.

"Can you get up?" James asked, no longer able to stand being in such a small space with Lily so close to him, even though she had been vomiting less than a minute ago. She nodded and accepted his hand when he reached out.

James helped her wash her face and the back of her neck, trying not to think too much about how hot her skin was and how the scent of sunscreen and Lily blended together perfectly.

"Are you better, Evans?" Sirius appeared just as they walked out of the bathroom, cheeks rosy from the sun and alcohol, hair pulled back in a bun and bathing trunks falling over his hips. He had a smirk on his face, which James thought was the drinking's fault, but when Hestia walked out of the room Sirius had just left, her hair messier than before and her bikini smoothing, James understood what was happened. ‘Or do we need to call for help for you?'

"I'm great, Black." Lily tossed her hair back, as if she wanted to prove her point to him. “Dressing problems, Hess?” The girl was almost to the back door, ready to go unnoticed, but she stopped as soon as she heard her name.

Her cheeks caught fire, but her smile didn't waver.

"Yes, the knot was too tight." Hestia shrugged, pointing to the knot in her tanned back. "Sirius was helping me." James chuckled, noticing when Sirius nodded, trying to look as innocent as possible.

"I'm sure he helped." Lily looked at Sirius, then at Hestia, finally walking towards the door, her ass looking like the hottest thing in the world.

"Careful not to drool, Prongs." Sirius slapped the back of his head, looking like he wanted to wake him up from the perverted dream he was having, his drunken brain imagining everything he could do if Lily stopped looking at him just as a friend.

“You're imagining things, you idiot.” He defended himself, following the three of them outside.

The day was sunny, and even with a little wind, there was a mass of hot air that made them sweaty even when they were standing still. Everyone was sporting a tan/redness from their carelessness, and tomorrow probably wouldn't be so kind to them, but James knew that no one here was caring about tomorrow and the possible side effects of spending too much time in the sun.

It was Sirius who had come up with the idea, after looking tired of hearing complaints from Peter and Hestia about how hot it was and how they wanted to go swimming somewhere. James had blamed him for just organizing this because it was a reason for him to see Hestia in bikinis, because this wasn't the first summer Peter had complained about the heat, but it was the first that the girls had joined their group.

They had met in college, Lily was in the lab with Peter, and Marlene was in the same class as James, and when Remus asked Hestia to have lunch with them, somehow they had all become friends.

It was a unlikely group, James admitted that, but having Marlene, Lily and Hestia around always seemed to make their group much more alive and complete somehow, even though James had never thought they needed more members.

As he sat down on the lounge chair next to Lily, James wondered what she would do if he tried to flirt with her; would she repay or would she push him away and their group would break up? He'd seen how a little shocked she looked when he'd taken off his shirt, but maybe it was the tattoos that had caused it to her.

"I always thought you were too much of a mama's boy for that," she'd said, pointing to his chest, where a constellation was drawn.

Maybe that was just the shock, but James liked to think there was something else, and before she wanted to throw up her guts, he was thinking that Lily was returning the flirting start they were having, sitting by the pool while James gave her his seductive smile.

"Feeling better?" James looked over at her, lying on the lounger with her sunglasses on and her belly white with sunscreen.

"Yes now." Lily sighed. "Sorry I made you see me in that situation."

"Nothing." James shrugged. "I've gotten a lot worse, don't worry…" He took a deep breath, gathering his chest boldly and thanking that his mind was a little clouded by the beer. "Lily, are you going with anyone to Liz's party?"

Liz was a girl who studied with James, they were classmates in the Philosophy class, she was a Brazilian exchange student, and had said that she would have a party to celebrate Valentine's Day on the same date that was celebrated in Brazil, and that it was a party with the themed 'june party', which implied that they dressed in checkered clothes, or round and lace-filled dresses. She had also said that they should go as couples, but for singles, there would be something like a kissing chain or something, James hadn't quite understood.

From the photos she had shown, it looked interesting, and any opportunity to ask Lily out, James was taking it.

"I hadn't thought to go, until now." She turned her head toward him, and James cursed her sunglasses, preventing him from seeing those beautiful green eyes. ‘Are you asking me on a date?

"Could be if you want," He smiled, hoping it was seductive enough.

"Are you asking me on a date after you saw me throw up?" This time Lily lifted her glasses, and her green eyes glared at him, her eyebrow raised and an adorable little smile on her lips.

"I said I've been worse." James bit his cheek, a little anxiously. 'Then? Do you want to be my partner? I can wear a dress if you like, I look really cute in lace.” He winked, just to make her laugh—and she did.

"I want," Lily put her glasses back on, and lay back down. 'Just because I want to see you wearing lace and ruffles… I promise to be a good gentleman and court you.' It was he who laughed now, thinking it was alcohol that made him feel silly like that, laughing at anything she said and with all those butterflies in the stomach.

"Fine, can't wait." He grinned from ear to ear, he would probably have his face torn open if he continued like this, but he was too happy to care.

He was going on a date with Lily Evans.