Author's Note: Enjoy!

Disclaimer: The following characters belong to J.K. Rowling, and this story derives from her original works, storylines, and world. Please do not sue me, I can barely pay tuition.

Warnings: NA

Bigger Than The Sky

With the baby finally down for his nap, Lily turned her attention to finding James. Harry was asleep, there were no other Marauders in the house, Dumbledore wasn't due for a visit, Marlene was off on some undercover mission for a few days… they had the cottage to themselves—or as much to themselves as they possibly could given the circumstances.

She closed the door of Harry's bedroom as quietly as she could to avoid spoiling her plan in its last few beats. Then, she crept down the stairs and peeked into the kitchen, looking for James. The bathroom was equally empty, so she poked her head into the living room before circling back to the study. She knocked on the door twice before pushing the door open. Sure enough, she found her husband sitting at the desk, hazel eyes focused on the broomstick positioned over his legs as he scrubbed at the handle with a rag. A can of wood polish was sitting on the desk, which James had covered up with old copies of The Daily Prophet to protect the furniture.

"Hey," Lily said softly.

"Oh," James said, looking up. He genuinely hadn't heard her coming—he got like this, sometimes, absolutely engrossed in a task and entirely focused. Especially when something related to Quidditch was concerned, or flying more generally.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt," Lily said. "I just thought we could watch a movie while Harry was sleeping…"

"Right," James said. "Yeah, that sounds good, let me just put this away."

"No, no," Lily said. "Finish what you're doing, take your time."

"No," James said. He sighed. "There's no real rush."

Lily shifted her weight from foot to foot.

"You miss it, don't you?" she asked. She tugged at her braid. "Flying?"

"Of course I do," James said. "Just like—well, we both miss… you know, not being housebound."

"Right," Lily said.

"Hey," James said, rising to his feet and wiping the broomstick polish off his hands as he came towards her. He put his hands on her hips and pulled her closer. "That's nothing compared to how much I would miss you and Harry if, Merlin forbid, something happened to you. Yeah?"

"Yeah," Lily repeated.

James leaned down and kissed her cheek. He pushed a stray lock of hair out of her face and cupped her cheek.

"I'm not going to let go of you until I'm a little more convinced that you're alright," James said.

"I'm alright," she promised.

"You have that look on your face, like there's something you're thinking about but you can't let it go and so it's getting bigger and bigger."

She put one of her hands over his.

"The sky's really big," Lily said quietly. "So is the world. I just… this is the part where I worry about whether you're getting everything that you need right now. Whether you're getting enough."

"Lily," James said quietly. His thumb ran in circles over her cheek. "Lily, do you realize how mad that sounds? You're asking me, James Potter, if you, Lily Evans, and our beautiful son are enough for me… Lily, you're more than I ever could have dared to dream about or ask for—even back in the days where my sense of self was even more ridiculously inflated."

Lily giggled and leaned into his touch.

"I…" Lily sighed. "I know. The worry, it's not rational, but it's still there."

"We're worrying all the time," James said. "That's just… that's just what our lives are for now, it's normal. But know that you don't have to worry about me, okay Evans?"

"Okay," she said. "Kiss me properly?"

"Okay," James said, leaning down and kissing her softly.

Stacked with: MC4A; Shipping Wars; Hogwarts

Individual Challenge(s): Gryffindor MC (x2); Brush; Seeds; Minerva's Migraine; Old Shoes; Themes & Things A (Love); Themes & Things B (Protection); Themes & Things D (Desk); Neurodivergent; Ethnic & Present; Rian-Russo Inversion; In a Flash

Word Count: 614

Shipping Wars

Ship (Team): James Potter/Lily Evans (Patronus Pair)

List (Prompt): Fall Micro 2 (Flight)