Don't own Harry Potter, or his parents.

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Summary: After a horrible fight with her sister, Lily shows up on a stormy night at the first place she could think of - Potter Manor.
Pairing: J/L
Word Count: 2,228
Rating: K

It didn't occur to Lily that someone besides James might come to the door until she was standing at it, waiting for it to open. It was lashing rain, and though she'd Apparated there, she'd been drenched in seconds. It was probably better that way; if she was fortunate to have James answer the door, he would hardly notice her tears in such a downpour.

She bounced on the balls of her feet, clutching a bag of hastily packed possessions to her tightly so their contents wouldn't get wet, and started to shiver. Getting desperate, she raised her hand to knock again, and the door swung open, light spilling out and illuminating her dreary face, and the dark, wet night.

He stared at her in shock, his hair a mess and dressed in a t-shirt and pyjama pants. Was it that late already? It must have been, he looked tired and his hair looked bedraggled.

"Lily –" He started, reaching forward as if to usher her in out of the rain. She didn't move. She couldn't move. She'd frozen solid. She knew she had an explanation on the tip of her tongue – some garbled nonsense about why she was there – but it wouldn't come out. She couldn't even remember it. All she knew was that this had been the first place she had thought of to run to, the only place really.

"I –" she croaked, staring back at him with her shoulders heaving, squinting to see him through the rain, getting more and more panicked by the second as she searched for words. "I don't know why I'm here..." she said eventually, tears stinging her eyes so badly she couldn't see anymore, and had to rub them, looking away.

"Hey, it's okay," he murmured, and suddenly there was a pair of arms around her. Automatically, she attempted to pull away, knowing she'd probably already soaked his shirt through. "No, I'm all wet," she started to protest, but his arms proved persistent, wrapping all the way around her and holding her close to him until she was calm and quiet. She closed her eyes, letting it soothe her, even as they stood in the rain, James barefoot.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled eventually, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, letting his scent wash over her and calm her down. "I really don't know what I'm doing here; I didn't mean to bother you, I just..."

"You could never bother me," he told her firmly; Lily couldn't help but hear the worry in his tone, and notice the way her heart fluttered when she heard it. "Christ, you're soaking," he said then, when he made to touch her hair and found it sopping. "Come on, come inside."

He steered her into the house, though she protested about dripping all over the carpet. He just laughed at that. He called for a house elf to take her stuff, and another to bring her something clean and dry to wear. He made her a cup of tea himself – Lily wondered whether two house elves was all they had – and set the fire going for her, sitting her down in a comfy armchair right beside it, facing the window.

The warmth made her feel a little better, and it was always comforting to sit inside and watch the rain pelt away when she was safe and dry and warm, and it relaxed her eventually. He sat on the coffee table, close enough for her to know that he was there, but far away enough to give her space.

Eventually, when she was calm and relaxed, staring into the fire, he leaned forward. "Lily, what happened?" he said gently.

Lily felt tears prick her eyes immediately. "Oh...well," she bit her lip, lost for words again. "Things have been – really hard, you know," she mumbled, her throat closing up. "Since my dad died. And you see, Petunia, she was planning her wedding, with my mum. And we started bickering, and then I saw the seating plan, and... and my name wasn't there, and then we started yelling, and Mum started crying, and she said such awful things," she mumbled, her lip quivering and tears spilling over again. "And I just – I had to get out of there. I just grabbed a few things and ran. Here. It was the first place I thought of," she mumbled, staring into the fire, flickering the way her insides seemed to be.

"Oh, Lily," he murmured, shaking his head. "I – I'm sorry, that's awful. I don't even know what to say."

She shook her head, brushing her tears away impatiently. "I said some things I shouldn't have too. But, I never thought she wouldn't want me at her wedding. I'm the only sister she's got."

"Maybe your mum could talk to her," he said softly. Lily shook her head.

"No, she just cries every time one of us mentions that we don't get along. She'll ignore it, and then say something after it's over." She set the cup down and leaned forward, elbows on her knees, resting her head in her hands. "I can't go back there. I just can't, I panicked."

"You can stay here as long as you like," James told her. "One of the elves is already making you up a bed."

She looked up, and ridiculously, felt like bursting into tears again. "Oh – oh, James, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to barge in and – thank you, you didn't have to – I didn't presume that you'd just – James..."

He held up a hand to stop her, looking serene. "Don't mention it. I've told you a thousand times, I'd do anything for you." Lily sighed heavily and nodded, the tips of her ears going red at that. "But Lily, I have to ask," he continued, and she blinked at him, unable to stop herself from noticing his face in the flickering light of the fire, watching the light dance across his handsome features, his cheekbones thrown into sharp light and his eyelashes casting fine shadows across his cheeks. She stared, and didn't realize that he'd spoken for at least a minute. "Lily? You okay?" She jerked, and nodded hastily, sniffing.

"Yeah, sorry. What?"

"I asked you –er, why you came here," he muttered, his hand jumping to his hair. "Of all places. Marlene, Dorcas, Hannah, Cecily, any of them would have gladly put you up for the night. Why did you come . . . here?"

She sniffed, sitting back in her armchair and looking away hurriedly, fear paralyzing her. Eventually, she found words that she could actually bring herself to say. "James, you know the answer to that," she mumbled, risking a quick glance at him, though his expression was unreadable. "I told you. It was the first place I thought of. You were the first – I knew you could calm me down, and you'd be kind enough to – and you've always treated me so well, even when I didn't deserve it, and I... I wanted to see you," she finished lamely, swallowing a lump in her throat. "You always make me feel better. "I just knew you were who I needed, that's all." She was close now, close to telling him exactly why all that was, but she couldn't force the words out. He knew it all, anyway. She was sure of that.

She didn't have to go telling him that his smile made her breathe a little easier, or that when he hugged her, her worries seemed to melt away. Either he knew that already, or he was an idiot. No one makes me feel like you do. Words she'd been planning to say for weeks now, but she didn't. Maybe she'd never make herself say them.

He was watching her curiously, and it occurred to Lily that maybe he was studying her face in the same way that she'd studied his, stomach doing somersaults and heart hammering, unable to look away. He seemed to be waiting, and Lily was on the verge of opening her mouth to elaborate further – or maybe, she could ask even ask him if there was any chance he still felt the same – but he sighed and nodded, holding out his hand as he got to his feet.

"Come on. Time for you to get some sleep."

She nodded without question and took his hand, letting him pull her to her feet shakily and lead her up to one of the Potters' spare bedrooms. Even as upset as she was, her eyes still bulged when she saw the room, at least twice the size of her own. And this was only a guest bedroom.

James waited outside while she changed into warm, comfortable pyjamas that one of the house elves had brought her, and when he entered, he was carrying a mug of hot chocolate for her, which he set down on her nightstand.

"You sure you're alright?" he asked, sitting down on the side of the bed and looking at her with concern. She nodded, struggling to get her toes warm under the covers.

"Yes, I'm alright," she mumbled, smiling at him faintly over the mug, draining down the hot, comforting liquid. "James, thank you so much, for –"

"Don't worry about it. Just get some sleep, and you'll feel better in the morning." He patted her hand, nodding once, and got to his feet.

Panic rose up within her, sending a cold shiver along her skin. She sat up, quickly setting the mug down, and hugged her knees to her chest. "Wait," she blurted out, her voice sounding oddly strangled. He blinked, a look of mild worry on his face.

"What is it? Do you need something else?"

She bit her lip, and she must have looked pretty desperate, because his face softened. "Can you stay with me?" she croaked, gazing at him pleadingly. He went stock still for a minute, and Lily fretted internally that this was too high an ask, and worry and disappointment twisted knots in her stomach. But then he nodded, raking his fingers through his hair, and the knots eased as she took a deep breath in relief.

He lay on the bed beside her, a good bit away from her, until she curled into him and threw the covers over him too, resting her head on his chest. She was too exhausted to care that this was probably going too far, that she'd regret it in the morning, especially if he pushed her away, if he really was over her like Marlene and Sirius had insisted. She just wanted him to be near her. She needed him, and despite all her doubt, that one fact had never been clearer to her than it was in that moment. She needed him like air, and the reason that she had come here tonight over going to Marlene's house, or Hannah's, or anyone else's, was because he meant more to her than any of them, and he made everything seem right and complete.

He put his arm around her and held her a little closer to him, and for the thousandth time this evening, she felt like she was going to cry, only this time with relief and a strange sort of happiness. She couldn't resist; she leaned up wordlessly and pressed a kiss to his cheek, watching his face change and surprise flash across his face before he looked down at her, tenderness and compassion written all over his features.

"You sure you're okay?" he asked again, his eyes searching her face.

"Yeah," she mumbled, looking back at him unwaveringly. "Now I am. At least, I hope so."

"Lily..." he started, chewing on his lip. "I don't know how you –"

"Yes, you do," she cut across him, her face quiet with fatigue, but confident. "You do know. And you know why I came to you tonight, you do, you do know," she choked out, voice breaking in desperation.

"Hey, shhh, it's okay," he murmured, rubbing her arm comfortingly until she'd calmed, though he still looked troubled. She breathed him in deeply, still staring up at him.

"James," she said softly after a little while. He hadn't moved, save for pulling her a little closer to him. He hadn't spoken or even closed his eyes. "Do you not... If you don't, I get it..." she trailed off, helplessly. "You don't..."

"Of course I do," he whispered, not missing a beat. "Lily, I always have – I told you, I – I – yeah. I do."

Lily was quiet. He looked worried, troubled, even a little scared. He definitely looked confused, as if he wasn't really sure of what he'd just said, whether he'd really said it – without saying it. But even past that look of bewilderment and uncertainty, what she saw was truth.

"And you – you know? You've known for a while now."

He said nothing. Instead, he pulled her closer to him, pressing his lips to her forehead in a way that she could only, privately delightedly, describe as lovingly. "Go to sleep, okay?" he said gently. "There'll be time to talk about all that in the morning."

"And you'll stay with me?" she whispered, searching for his hand.

"Yeah," he told her softly, after a moment's silence. "I will."

She breathed him in deeply, letting it soothe her, and closed her eyes.

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