James did not kiss Lily right then.

And Sirius Black was to blame.

James loved Sirius. Truly, he adored him. That went without saying. The man was his best friend, his partner-in-crime, the platonic love of his life. There were few people in the world who could rival Sirius in terms of James' esteem.

That said, at this particular moment, James was mentally running through a list of the most irritating hexes and jinxes he could think of, and he was seriously considering using one on the man he called brother.

Because Lily had been standing there, looking at James with just a hint of a dare in her eyes, and James had been ready to do it. He was going to kiss her. On purpose this time. Like he meant it, because Merlin knows he did.

And then Sirius had run up, shoved himself between them, and thrown an arm over each of their shoulders.

"Fucking brilliant!" he'd crowed. "I wish nothing but the best for Reg in general, of course, but his face when Jones grabbed the Snitch from behind Rookwood's back? Priceless!" He burst into barking laughter.

James had been too shocked to laugh with him. Lily managed a giggle, but her cheeks were red and she didn't meet James' eyes as she extracted herself from under Sirius' arm.

"Brilliant," she echoed mechanically, and the smile she gave Sirius looked frozen, awkward. She glanced back at James and waved half-heartedly as she turned to join Dorcas and Marlene. "See you around, Potter."

James made a strangled sound in response and raised his hand in a feeble wave of his own. He watched Lily walk over to her girlfriends, and he imagined this is what it felt like to find yourself close enough to touch a unicorn only to startle it before you got a chance to pet its silky mane.

He leveled his most menacing glare at Sirius. Conjunctivitus curse? he pondered, before quickly shaking his head. Nah, too harsh. Tripping Jinx? Hardly effective when he's standing still. Bat-bogey hex? That might work…

Sirius didn't seem to notice he'd interrupted anything at all, nor that James was contemplating the propriety of hexing one's best friend in the middle of an open field for all to see. "Prongs, this calls for a party!" he declared, giving James' shoulders a shake. "Let's get to Hogsmeade! We need provisions!"

James sighed. "Sure," he said grumpily. "Not like there's anything else I'd rather be doing right now."

….

James had to admit – the party was epic, even by Gryffindor standards.

Students of all ages ate and sang and danced until they nearly passed out where they stood. Peter led the crowd in a few more choruses of the fight song. Mary and Remus taught their fellow seventh-years some mash-up of wizarding and Muggle drinking games that involved tossing gobstones into another person's firewhiskey. Sirius played Queen's newest single, We Are the Champions, over and over (or was it on, and on, and on, and on?). James, ever the mother hen, made sure no one under sixteen drank anything stronger than butterbeer and sent the first- and second-years to bed at midnight.

And still the party raged on.

Right up until Professor McGonagall stumbled through the portrait hole in her tartan dressing gown, looking ready to commit murder.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" she roared, in a decent approximation of their house's signature lion. "I'VE TRIED TO BE TOLERANT, BUT YOU LOT'VE FOUND THE LIMITS OF MY PATIENCE!"

James had never thought the Professor particularly patient to begin with, but he suspected now was not the time to say so.

Sirius hastily lifted the needle from the Queen record before the song could start again. Astraeus, the Seeker who'd won them the match, flinched and fumbled the bottle of butterbeer he'd been holding. It shattered as it hit the ground.

McGonagall shot him a scathing look. "I'm as happy with today's win as any of you," she declared, letting her dark eyes dart across the huddled students before they came to rest on Lily and James. "But this? This is absurd! And led by my Head Students, no less!"

"We're sorry, Professor!" Lily said quickly, and she looked it. She hated disappointing authority figures. "The time just got away from us!"

"We didn't mean to wake you," James added earnestly, hoping he could smooth things over with a spot of charm. "We're just so proud of how well we played today. First step in bringing home the House Cup for Gryffindor, eh?"

Sirius and a few other brave students let out a quick cheer, but cut it short when McGonagall narrowed her eyes.

But James thought he saw her lips curve up just slightly before she pressed them into a hard line.

"Potter, Evans. I expect you two to clean this up immediately," she said curtly. "And the rest of you, go straight to bed. Now!"

Students scurried towards their respective staircases in nearly single file lines, some grabbing a biscuit or two on their way, giving them the appearance of ants marching back to their hills after raiding a picnic. McGonagall gave the stragglers a withering stare, then turned on her heel in a swirl of her dressing gown. With one final "Hmph!" she climbed out of the portrait hole and slammed it behind her.

James cringed as she left, bracing himself for another scolding – but it never came. After a second, he relaxed his shoulders and chanced a look at Lily.

She was looking back at him, with a mixture of amusement and…hope? in her expression. But as soon as his eyes caught hers, she looked away.

"Let's get to this. Shouldn't take us long," she said, gesturing to the evidence of the night's celebration.

"Right," James agreed, wondering what she'd been thinking moments before. He ruffled his hair. "Do you want to gather the bottles and any leftover biscuits, and I'll start vanishing the rubbish?"

"Sounds good," Lily said, still not meeting his gaze. She nodded firmly, as if confirming something, and set to work.

They worked in silence, James cleaning up the spilled butterbeer after he finished vanishing the rubbish, and Lily returning the furniture to its rightful place after she finished with the biscuits. They were done in no time at all, and as James absently dusted his hands against his jeans, Lily plopped on the couch with a sigh.

"Whew!" she said, giving James a warm smile. "That wasn't so bad, right, Head Boy?"

"No, it wasn't," he said, drifting forward as if her smile were a flame and he was a stupid, helpless, moth. He reached the couch and slowly lowered himself next to her, hoping he was not about to get burnt.

She glanced up at him, eyes wide, and bit her bottom lip. James wanted to run his thumb across that lip, and stroke her jaw, and take her lips between his own, and…

He took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair, turning his face away from hers, his eyes away from her mouth. When he felt more composed, he looked back at her with a crooked smile. "You're not upset, though?"

She cocked her head and her brow furrowed slightly before her expression eased into a half-smile. "About being told off by McGonagall, you mean? Nah."

She was looking at him strangely, like she was holding something back.

It was that look that prompted him to ask, "Then are you upset about something else?"

Lily blushed fiercely, like she'd been caught in a little white lie. "No," she said quickly. Then she shrugged. "Not upset, anyway."

James scooted closer to her and put a hand on her knee. She shivered and looked up at him, her pupils darkening her green eyes. "Tell me what's wrong," James said.

"I'm not upset," she said seriously. "I'm not sure what I'm thinking, honestly. I just…was remembering how we got interrupted before. And now…" she trailed off.

"Before? After the match?"

"Yeah." Lily nodded, still blushing. She looked down at James' hand resting on her knee and gently placed her hand on top of his.

James swallowed hard. "When you told me to kiss you like I meant it?"

"Yeah."

"And now…" James moved his hand from under hers to cup her cheek as he echoed her unfinished sentence. "And now," he repeated, holding her gaze, "is it too late?"

Her cheek curved under James' hand as she grinned. "No," she whispered.

"Good," James whispered back, as he lowered his mouth to hers.

She was still smiling, so his first kiss landed on her teeth as much as her lips, but they adjusted quickly. She sighed and closed her eyes, tilting her head slightly so their mouths fit together like pieces of a puzzle. James opened his mouth to her and she took the invitation, letting her tongue sweep across his. He moaned slightly and she slid her hands around his waist, then under his jumper, up his back, and then—

She pulled away. "Wait, what are we doing?" she asked breathlessly.

"I—what?" James was panting, too. "Do you want to stop?"

"No. I mean, I don't know." She shook her head. "I just—we're friends now. We work together."

"We do. And we do it so well, don't we?" He gave her a playful smile and leaned in for another kiss, but she just bit her bottom lip and looked up with him at worried eyes. With a sigh, James shifted farther away from her and tugged on his hair, trying to keep the frustration out of his voice. "Evans, I thought we—I thought you—you started this, you know."

"I know!" She sounded just as frustrated as he did. "I'm just confused."

James spread his hands helplessly. "About?"

Lily stared at him. Then she inched forward, slowly, tentatively, until she was practically in his lap. She traced feather-light fingertips along his cheekbone, and James took a deep breath.

And she leaned forward and kissed his cheek, where her fingers had been. She began working her way down, pressing her lips to his cheekbone, then his jaw, and James grabbed her hips, pulling her the rest of the way into his lap. She giggled and nuzzled against his ear before lightly grazing her teeth along his throat.

James groaned and leaned back, when all he really wanted to do is melt under her pretty mouth. "Evans," he said hoarsely. "I need to know. What are you confused about?"

She hmmed softly, then ducked her head to kiss his neck one more time. He closed his eyes, mind blurry. And then, as she pulled back, Lily murmured a quiet sentence against jaw: "I think I fancy you."

James' eyes flew open and his eyebrows shot up. His brought his hands gently to her thighs, scared to move too quickly and shatter this fragile moment. He tried to keep his voice even as he asked, "You think?"

"Mmhmm." She blushed and nodded, her eyes searching his nervously. Whatever she found must have satisfied her, because suddenly, she smiled. "More than think, I suppose. I do."

"You do?" James squeezed her thighs before remembering he was trying to remain calm. But he couldn't stop the smile spreading across his face.

Lily nodded, and James grabbed her face and kissed her, hard, then again, then a third time.

He was beaming when he pulled his mouth from hers. Lily laced their fingers together and squeezed his hand, smiling up at him with an expression of pure pleasure. She looked so beautiful – her pupils still wide, her cheeks flushed, and her lips red and slightly parted – and she was here kissing him. For a second, James wondered whether this was all the best dream he'd ever had.

"Will you say it again, Evans?" he asked softly, and he hoped he didn't sound like he was begging. She looked up at him, puzzled, and he brushed a kiss across her forehead, and then another over those red lips.

"Tell me again how you fancy me. Like you mean it this time."

...

AN: That's it! Hope you enjoyed the ride and I have resolved the sexual tension to your satisfaction :-) Sorry there's not more, but it started as a drabble and it already grew more than I expected, and it's time to move on. Lol. Thanks for reading! I'd love to hear your reviews. xo, MagicGirl