Keep Your Eyes Open
(Also on A03)
âSometimes I think Iâm broken.â
James leans back into the pads of his hands before he murmurs back to me, âyou canât be broken, Lily.â
I toss him a dejected look. âYou donât think war can break people?â
The sky overhead is a shimmering blue, a poor reflection of what is supposed to be the end of the summer. Most people expect clouds and wind in September, but all we have is yellowing grass and a hot sun beating overhead. I remember a time when September marked the start of a new year learning magic, studying with friends, and kissing behind tapestryâs.
I wish life was still that simple.
James shifts beside me, making it so that his right hip connects with my left. His hair is always a mess, but itâs absolutely horrific now that heâs just woken up from a nap. I admire the stubble on his face. It has grown over his soft face and turned him into a rugged man.
We are in the middle of the English countryside tracking a lead for our boss, and we had been staking out together for a week already. Iâd originally not wanted to go on any missions with James, but now they are the only missions that I take.
Not for any professional reason of course. It was only because I know I would never recover if James Fleamont Potter died without me at his side. I had loved him practically our whole lives, and I couldnât imagine a world without him.
âJames?â I say his name to break him from whatever trance heâs fallen into.
His hazel eyes blink lazily back to me, as if he was still pondering her original statement. âDo you really think youâre broken?â
I frown and look down at my jeans. Theyâre stained with grass and mud. I have been craving a shower, but we still have two hours left on our stake out. James scoots closer to me and places a finger under my chin. I allow him to draw my eyes up to his.
âWhat could possibly make you think that you are broken?â He repeats himself with more clarity, a hardness in his handsome face.
âI havenât cried in months.â I say, my voice steady despite my openness. âI didnât cry when I heard about Annika Jones. I didnât cry when we lost the Prewettâs. I didnât even cry when Sirius got hurt in the last mission. I meanâhow heartless is that? One of my best friends almost bled out and I didnât shed one tear for him.â
âThatâs okay,â James wipes my hair from my eyes, âSirius probably prefers that you didnât cry.â
âI used to cry all the time, James.â I huff to show my concern. âNow I feelâŚI feelâŚI just feel like Iâm broken.â
âBaby, no.â James places pressure on my chin between his finger and thumb, before he shakes my head slightly as if to scold me like a child.
I pout my lower lip before I add miserably, âI am so sad all the time, but I think Iâm out of tears.â
James wraps his arms around me immediately. His arms are long and he pulls me up and into his lap easily. We are both dirty, tired, and over our camping trip. I can tell that by the somber look on his usually jolly face.
âYou,â he whispers into my ear firmly, âyou are not broken.â
âBut donât you think itâs weird I havenât cried?â I ask him, âdonât you think I should cry for our friends and our family? I mean when the Prewttâs death was announced at the meeting everyone around me was sobbing and Iââ
âItâs because you arenât sad!â James grabs my cheeks with both his hands, which are still warm from his sleeping bag.
I am taken aback by his proclamation so it takes me a second to reply to his outburst . âOf course Iâm sad.â
âNo,â his hazel eyes are liquid fire, âyouâre past sad, Lily, and now youâre just angry. You are so furious that you donât want to cry, you want to scream.â
I tilt my head at him, blinking owlishly. I donât feel mad, at least I donât think that I do. I just feel exhausted and empty.
Iâm 18 years old, I shouldnât be fighting in a war. I shouldnât wake up in a tent alongside my boyfriend, nursing bruises and cuts. I should be going out to dinner with him. I should be adopting a cat, spending too much money on ice cream, and spending Saturdays at brunch with my girlfriends.
I am so tired of being a kid, fighting in an war. Iâve spent everyday since I was 15 trying to keep up. Iâd been in school practicing duels with my friends, spending late nights studying up on defense charms, and giving up parties for head girl duties.
I stutter to James, âIâm so tired.â
âMe too,â he promises, taking both my hands to kiss my fingertips, âI want nothing more than to be wrapped up in a bed with you that we donât get out of for a whole day.â
âYeah?â I look at him through my lashes.
âOf course!â His voice steadily rises, âI mean, can you believe our dates have turned into stake outs in the woods? I just want to take you to dinner. Wine and dine you like a normal boyfriend! Instead, weâre here and I hate it!â Jamesâ voice continues to rise as he monologues to me. âBaby, I canât even sleep next to you! I have to keep my eyes open whenever yours are closer to make sure youâre safe, because I feel like Iâm always just waiting for another attack where I could lose you forever.â
I squeeze his hands tightly, âyou have to sleep, James.â
âI do,â he winks, âafter I know youâre awake.â
I leaned forward to place my nose inches from his and stared deep into his eyes. As far as childhood sweethearts went, I had certainly picked the best. James would claim until the day he died that he loved me first, but he didnât. I loved him ever since my twelfth birthday when heâd wished me a happy birthday after everyone else forgot.
âI love you.â I tell him, touching my nose to his and half closing my eyes to initiate a kiss.
James rewards me with a soft touch of his lips to mine. We are both too tired and too dirty to get into the kiss. Still, when he pulls back, the butterflies in my stomach lift into flight. I flutter my eyes open to find him smiling at me with a glimmer in his eyes.
âWhat?â I ask him, bringing my left hand to caress his face.
âIâm mad,â he tells me, âIâm so frustrated that we arenât able to be like your muggle sister and her fiancĂŠ.â
I snort before I quip, âwhy do you want to be like them? Theyâre so boring!â
James rolled his eyes, âI donât want to be them, I just want the privileges they have. I mean, your sisterâs fiancĂŠ is allowed to take her anywhere he wants. Weekends to the shore. Nights at the theatre. Iâm so angry with the world sometimes, because I feel like it robbed us of that normalcy they get to have.â
I scoot closer to him so that I can lay my head on his shoulder, âwe donât belong in their world.â
James tilts his head so that it falls against mine and he sighs really loudly, âthe muggle world is a fairytale compared to ours.â
âI used to think our world was the fairytale.â I look down at my wand, which rests an arms length away for protection. âMy sister spent years hating me because I could do magic. She wanted to be me so badly and now I know how she felt. Iâd give anything to trade places with her for a day of peace.â
âPeace.â James scoffs, scraping his boot on the ground as if to show how pissed he was at the word. âMy parents fought against Grindelwald. Weâre fighting Voldemort. What will our kids be forced to fight?â
I turn my head a bit to press my lips to his skin. âKids?â
James chuckles when he hears the hesitation in my tone. âYou told me you want three kids. Two boys and one girl.â
âI donât think I want to bring any kids into this cruel world.â
âI know,â James sounds like he is growing angrier just at the thought of me having to give up my dream of raising a family. âBut itâs still nice to dream of a happy ending.â
I stare out at the moor, listening to the peaceful sounds of nature. The man theyâre tracking was likely dead since he hadnât shown up to his own safe spot yet. I knew that in a few more hours, James and I would have to re-trace his tracks back to The Leaky Cauldron.
At least weâd be able to stay at the inn. I couldnât imagine spending another night in a tent on the ground. My back could certainly use a nice feather bed. We both could use a decent shower.
Suddenly, beside me, James screams. I lunge for my wand, my heartbeat steady in my chest, I look wildly around only to find James grinning at me with the stupidest expression.
âWhat the hell?â I hiss at him, âwhy did you scream like that?â
âIt felt nice,â he said, âyou should try it next.â
âWeâre supposed to be quiet.â
âThe guy is clearly not showing, the closest town is an hour away, and itâll make you feel really good.â James grabbed the end of my wand and pointed it away from his chest as he demanded, âscream!â
âNo,â I roll my eyes as I stiff my wand into my bra strap, âitâs stupid.â
James grabs my shoulders and shakes me like a child, âscream!â
He was really annoying when he wanted something. I roll my shoulders to try and get him to let go but he just grips me tighter and shakes me more. I send him an annoyed expression over my shoulder, still pissed that he scared me.
âScream.â
âNo.â
âScream!!â
âI said no!â But my voice is rising into response to Jamesâ annoying pressure on my shoulders and pointed voice in my ears.
âScream!â He said, âjust try!â
âI said no, James,â I swipe my hand back at him but he dodges me, and instead, he pulls on a strand of my red hair.
âScream!â
âNo, dammit.â
âScream, scream screamââ
He is poking me, prodding me, and I am reaching my tipping point. I have always had a short temper, and James has long since learned how to ignite the fuse. After one particularly hard jab by James in the side, I swung around and snarled at him.
âFuck off, Potter!â
He only grins. I catch myself from continuing to scream at him. My voice had rebounded back to me thanks to the desolate moors around us. I realize that I sound so tired and bitter. I also realize that, surprisingly, I did feel better after shouting.
âScream,â James urges me one more time, âscream for real.â
I slowly stand up. Iâm no longer hiding behind tall grass. I throw open my arms and scream so loud that birds in the nearby trees fly off. My throat even tingles when I stop, begging me for water. I just suck in more of the humid air and scream again.
James stands up beside me and together, we scream our bloody heads off until we are both half laughing as we catch our breath. I lose track of how many times we scream, but I do know that it takes us several times before we give up our antics.
I fall back into the grass panting as if Iâd run around the moors and all the way to London. James falls back down at my side. We both grin like loons at each other, as if screaming has turned us punch drunk.
James chuckles happily into the skin at my throat. His beard tickles me as he litters kisses along my jaw. Our bodies relax under the blue skyline, as if the screaming had released all our pent up tension.
âWe should scream like that more often.â I joke as he brings his mouth up to mine so he can kiss me. âI kinda see why bansheeâs are into it.â
James laughed into my lips, his teeth catching at my chin as he drew back with shaking laughter. âI reckon we were louder than any banshee.â
I felt lightheaded, but in a good way. I trace his chin again with my fingertips. I always do that after I kiss him, just to spend some extra time marveling at his face. I suddenly feel a rush of all sorts of emotions for James.
He always knew exactly how to help me. He is my equal and partner in every way. I really donât know what to tell him, because âI love youâ seemed too simple.
As I process these feelings, I feel some tears start slip over my eyes. They were hot, and certainly had to be streaking my face considering how dirty I was. I try to wipe them away with my arm, but James stops me.
James catches one of the tears on my cheek and whispers to me, âsee, Lily? Youâre definitely not broken.â













