nothingpersonal1234:

James is unusually quiet on their ride over. Lily keeps sneaking glances at him in between turns of the steering wheel, but he continues to stare out the windshield, fingers absentmindedly running over all the foreign knobs and buttons on the console. She finally reaches over to touch his hand and it closes over hers automatically.

“It’ll be alright,” she says.

“Yeah, well.” He looks at her for the first time since getting into the car. “This isn’t exactly how I imagined meeting them.”

She swallows a sigh. “Yeah. Me neither.”

The street is quiet, almost deserted. Lily pulls the key out of the ignition and sits for a moment. James does the same. Finally, she can’t take it any longer, so she pushes her door open. “Come on.”

The path up is well-kept, as always, and the grass perfectly trimmed. James’s hand is warm in hers and he doesn’t let go. Her skirt brushes against her knees.

“Here we are,” Lily murmurs, stopping rather abruptly.

“Mm.”

They stare at the gravestones in front of them. 

Surprisingly, he is the one to break the silence. He sinks to his knees in front of her parents, pulling her down with him. “Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Evans,” he says, voice steady. “I’ve come along with your daughter.”

Lily feels her chest rise and fall, perfectly even as her heart hammers away underneath.

“I’m afraid I’ve grown rather attached to her,” he continues. “Not surprising at all to you, I suppose; you know better than most that she’s a lovely girl. And I’m sure she’s complained about me enough in the past for you both to know that I don’t exactly deserve her now.” A strange laugh escapes her and his grip on her fingers tighten.

“I just want you to know - ” he clears his throat - “that despite all that, I’m here. For as long as she wants me around, that is. And I’d rather like - to ask for your blessing, I suppose. Because even though we’re only eighteen, I love your daughter with everything I’ve got, and I know that’s not going to change. I’m going to love your daughter for the rest of my life, Mr. and Mrs. Evans, and I’ll do anything for her. And I just… wanted to pass that by you both. Just in case." 

"I don’t think they mind,” Lily said after a moment, voice nearly a whisper. “They seem rather pleased, really.”

“And how would you know?” James replied, turning to her with a smile.

“Because,” she said simply, leaning her head against his shoulder. “Just because.”