IT FEELS A LOT LIKE, tag; Alice

[JAMES SIRIUS POTTER]

it's for you, only you.

I'LL NEVER LIE, I'LL NEVER TRY, I'LL NEVER CRY FOR YOU PEOPLE. I'LL PUSH YOU, I'LL PUSH YOU AWAY. AS YOU LONELY PEOPLE KEEP RUNNING AROUND MY DOOR YES, YOU LONELY PEOPLE KEEP ON BEGGING, BEG FOR MORE. -----------------------------------

Fucking Christmas. It bewildered James. All those years celebrating it at The Burrow, and James was strangely out of touch with the holiday. He had gone too many years ignoring its coming and going to remember how to treat it. If anything, the past few years, it had only served as a reminder for how much he'd lost, how lonely he was.

He hadn't spent his Christmases at home since Lily's death. He ignored his mother's pleas, her attempt to bribe him with his favorite meals. He told himself that it was better for his brother as well, but, really, it was just that James didn't have the nerve to face Albus. He didn't know how he'd react. Bitter? Remorseful? Guilty? Angry? They were all possibilities, and his brother deserved none of them.

This year, however, he couldn't hide in his hole, dig himself into the darkest, farthest corner of his house and pretend that it wasn't Christmas. Why? Because Alice Longbottom was sharing a house with him. It had been a part of the bargain they'd made: to share the holidays, to be each other's family when they didn't have the nerve to face their own.

It was a bizzare concept to him still. He'd gone months and months and months without seeing or hearing a word from Alice, and then she'd popped up again, and what had he done? He'd bribed her to move in with him. James couldn't say that he regretted it on most days. It was nice to have company, even if they spent more time arguing than getting along. Even if he'd been appalled to find tampons in the cabinet under his sink, and makeup in the cabinet.

Maybe the only thing that hadn't completely unnerved him had been when he'd found a pair of her underwear mixed up with his clothes in the wash. He had been surprised to find that they were lacey and sexy. He hadn't imagined that Alice was that daring, and he was slightly upset that he'd found out otherwise, because, for a week afterward, every time that he saw her, he kept picturing her naked save for that pair of lacey underwear.

The fact that he'd seen Alice naked once before would never stop plaguing him. In his weakest moments, he re-imagined her in the nude, and it was hard to keep his promise about keeping to roommate code. She was trying to kill him with that, he was certain. Roommate code? Bullshit. It was her way to keep him stringing along, her way to keep him from bringing home house guests.

Because he wanted to be on her good side again, didn't he? So that she'd kiss him again. It hadn't happened yet. Maybe he'd be blessed with a Christmas miracle.

"Should get more than that," James muttered to himself.

He'd gone out of his way to make it Christmas for Alice. He hadn't told her, but he'd talked to his mom a few days earlier. It was the first time he'd called her in weeks, but James had felt the need to at least assure her that he wasn't being a lone, miserable hermit for another Christmas. She'd been overly--almost annoyingly--pleased that he had invited Alice Longbottom to live with him, though he'd made it clear that it wasn't because they were in a relationship, but that he was helping her through a rough spot in her life.

His mother had offered what had sounded like a simple solution, Give her a nice Christmas.

James hadn't confessed to his mother that there was a side to him that wanted to please Alice. He wouldn't even confess it to himself. He just called himself a moron, went out, cut down a tree, and stuck it in his living room. He'd been lazy, and he'd strung the lights and ornaments with the help of magic, but it was a damn tree, wasn't it?

And then he'd really gone overboard, and he'd hung lights on the outside of the house. It made him remember the laugh of a friend, whom he'd recently told he'd allowed Alice to move in with him.

What the fuck, Potter? You getting married on us?

James had laughed it off, but Alice made him feel married, and it was frightening. He should have stopped while he was ahead, but maybe he needed Christmas too.

"Where the hell are you, Longbottom?" James growled, staring at the clock that hung above his fireplace.

She should have been home from St. Mungo's ten minutes ago. He hoped that she remembered what he'd told her before she'd left that morning. He'd instructed her to apparate onto the sidewalk in front of the house, though he hadn't told her why--he hadn't admitted that he'd decorated.

James didn't know how she'd feel about it, or the present he'd wrapped for her that he'd already placed under the tree, but they'd agreed to give each other the holidays, and, so, here he was.

Keeping his word for once.

He took a drink of the wine he'd poured for himself. Another glass set on the coffee table in front of him, next to the bottle itself. He had never been a wine drinker, but it seemed like the occasion.

He'd lit the fireplace too.

TAG: Alice WORDS: Don't matter NOTES: Did you want to bring a date into this? I just thought it would be amusing for Alice to show up with a guy. xD And then you know, they fight, yada yada, and then later the date can leave, and they can be <3. It's up to you. Just brainstorming..

TEMPLATE BY DANASAUR @ CAUTION

[ALICE AUGUSTA LONGBOTTOM]

Alice absolutely adored Christmas. If she could pinpoint one holiday where the whole day, she was in smiles, it would be this day. She liked the smell of cinnamon that somehow clung to the air and little Christmas trees that she put up as decoration in patients’ rooms. Alice wanted to make sure that everyone was happy on this day even when they were the grumpiest person in the world. Although she wasn’t really someone to believe in miracles, she believed in Christmas more than she did in anything else in the world.

Her mother had always wanted to celebrate Christmas in the muggle way and denounced putting up ornaments by magic and she had grown up preaching the same morals. She set up every little Christmas decoration on her floor and in individual rooms with care and a smile because it really didn’t bother her that it took a long time or that some healers rolled their eyes at her insistent muggle way of decoration. Well, it never really bothered her what anyone else thought anyway.

That was the thing that she missed the most about being with her family, the ability to celebrate the holidays together. Rather than getting drunk off eggnog, she liked the smell of gingerbread cookies and stories around the fireplace. Alice had been depressed and moody in the beginning of the week after she got off from St. Mungo’s at the prospect of celebrating Christmas with shots and maybe a drunken song to herself. Well, she knew it would be at least a little different this year because she lived with someone else. She lived with James Potter, a concept that still baffled her early in the morning when she walked around his house, well, their house.

Alice knew that he didn’t like the holiday as she did and knew that he would rather not celebrate it. She had been sad to know that she would be the only one loving the same enforced activities even as she forced a smile in front of him. It was a sacred ritual to Alice and it wasn’t quite the same when you had to drag a person into doing something with you as much as the other person genuinely wanting to be there with you.

However, she had already decided that she would beat the spirit of Christmas into James. When he told her to apparate to the sidewalk this morning, she frowned and accused him of having some date here. That would not be okay in any terms because Christmas was only for family and not some one night stand.

She got off work early, promising to take on night shifts for making the other person come in earlier on Christmas. She knew it was selfish but then again, there weren’t many of her actions that weren’t concentrated in her own benefit. Alice had apparated to Godric’s Hollow but she didn’t head straight for the house. She apparated to the middle of the square that contained the memorial of James Potter and Lily Potter. She cleaned the snow off the memorial with her bare hands, gently cursing the fact that she had left her gloves at home. She placed the flowers she brought around the gravestone and placed a Christmas wreath right in front of the gravestone and even placed some lights around the base of the memorial. She did it all without any use of magic with her cheeks growing red and her ears going a bit numb from the snow. Alice sniffled but smiled as she thought of James’s reaction to her masterpiece. She hoped that he would like it.

Alice started on the walk home and although she could have apparated, she preferred to walk along the muggle houses and see the Christmas decorations out front. She could see some children rolling around in the snow and stern parents telling them that they should come inside. It was easily lead back to the memories of her childhood where she always caught a cold the day after Christmas because she spent too long outside, playing with her siblings and parents. The corners of her lips turned down when she thought of the things that she could be doing with them right now and owls that begged her to come see them. Alice couldn’t and wouldn’t…at least until she felt at peace and made amends for the things that she did.

Passing the houses with decorations, she walked on but frowned when she realized that she had passed her house. What the hell? She turned and retraced her steps, looking at the numbers of the houses and finally, she saw her house. Yes, it was the one that she had lived in for weeks now but it had decorations on it with lights strung along the roof of the house. She stood astonished in front of the house, her mouth hanging open at the sight. It was beautiful. Her heart was panged with happiness as she realized that James did this for her. Even as he denounced Christmas and cursed her for her insistence of them spending it together, he had decorated the house. Even as she could tell that he had done it all with magic, she couldn’t shake the feeling of gratitude and happiness. She wore a deliriously wide smile on her face as she walked up the walkway to the house, knocking on the door.

Her cheeks and ears were red and she looked positively mental with the large smile on her face. But her heart pounded and she was inexplicably happy with what he had done for her…not to mention the fact that he had taken her in. She rubbed her bare hands together as she waited for James to open the door, still looking with awe at the decorations in front of the house. She would greet him with a huge hug and a grateful murmur of thanks because she couldn’t even say how touched she was with his gesture. All this time, she thought he hated Christmas. How silly.

If anything, his actions reinforced her belief in the power of Christmas.

THIS LITTLE POST IS TAGGED FOR JAMESY <3 WHO'S PLAYED BY MY LOVELY FRIEND WHITT. IT'S JUST ABOUT 123456789 WORDS LONG AND IS COMPLETE. MY CHARACTER IS WEARING THIS LITTLE OUTFIT; OH AND I WANTED TO SAY, SHE HASN’T EVEN SEEN THE TREE YET! hahahha james did good <3

THIS KICK-ASS TEMPLATE WAS MADE BY DANCE IN THE DARK OF CAUTION, ATF, AND SDS. BACKGROUND BY PARADIZE ART

[JAMES SIRIUS POTTER]

it's for you, only you.

I'LL NEVER LIE, I'LL NEVER TRY, I'LL NEVER CRY FOR YOU PEOPLE. I'LL PUSH YOU, I'LL PUSH YOU AWAY. AS YOU LONELY PEOPLE KEEP RUNNING AROUND MY DOOR YES, YOU LONELY PEOPLE KEEP ON BEGGING, BEG FOR MORE. -----------------------------------

James swirled the wine in his glass. He took a drink, made a face, and placed it on the table next to the one for Alice. He'd bought the sweetest wine that he could find, and still there was that bitter edge to it that made his mouth pucker. So he would wait for Alice, use the wine to toast to the idea of Christmas that she seemed so fond of, and then he'd limit himself to that one glass.

With his hands then free, James reached for a small, white box on the table. It was the size and shape of a necklace box, but there wasn't jewelry inside. It was an ornament--a flat piece of porcelain that was carved and painted like a green pine tree. Little circles of color had been added to mimic Christmas lights, like the ones he'd strung on his real tree.

The words, "1st Christmas" were painted in white. Underneath, in red, it said, "Alice & James". It was a joke of sorts, but he'd bought it to smooth out the bigger joke that he'd wrapped and placed underneath the Christmas tree. In the box under the tree was a pair of black, lace underwear. At the bottom of the box, underneath the underwear, was a pair of red ear muffs--the real present.

James looked up as someone knocked on the door. He got to his feet, tucking the ornament box into his back pocket, hoping that someone hadn't beaten Alice to the house--like another woman. He hadn't had a 'house guest' of that type since Alice had moved in, nor had he invited anyone over, but he couldn't imagine who else would be knocking.

He walked down the hall, opened the door preparing to ask the person there to leave--not to ruin his surprise for Alice--and found himself looking right at Alice.

"What are you doing out here, Longbottom? Did you lose your key and forget how to apparate?"

She had a very strange expression on her face that James hoped that he could interpret into enjoyment. Because, really, the entire display was for her. She needed it. He could see the way that his sister's ghost still plagued her every day, and he knew what it was like to live with it. Plus, he didn't blame her for Lily's death, and she needed to know that. The Revolution would have found some other way.

James cleared his throat, pushing the thought aside. And then something else occured to him. There was something crucial missing from the scene that he'd planned for her.

"Damn," he said, pulling out his wand. "It was supposed to start snowing on you when you got here."

Muttering under his breath, James flicked his wand, and a small shower of fat, white snowflakes began to fall on Alice. It would only last for a minute, but he'd thought that she needed snow to get the full effect, and it hadn't started snowing like he'd hoped it would. As if to taunt him, the forecast hadn't called for snow until later that night.

He had decided that they'd just have to stay awake until then so that Alice could watch real snow fall. That had always been James' favorite thing to do as a kid: watch the snow fall. It reminded him of how warm and safe and happy he was at home.

He swallowed. It brought back thoughts of his dad.

"Well, what do you think?"

He wondered if she'd noticed the plastic Santa he'd perched on the roof, as if he was preparing to go down the chimney, but he decided to point that out later. The lights and the Christmas tree were the things he wanted her to see first.

Even though, really, he thought that the Santa had been a stroke of genius on his behalf. His family had had a funny, wizard-looking one with a wand. James had went with classic muggle Santa.

"Come on, there's more to see."

He was sort of surprised that he was so anxious for her to see what he'd done for her. James took her hand, leading her into the house, down the hall, to the living room. He came to a stop in front of the tree.

It was almost better than opening up presents of his own. Though he had to wonder if Alice had gotten him a present, and what kind of present it would be.

"Sorry, I hung most of the ornaments without you. Except for one."

James pulled the white box out of his pocket and placed it into her hand. Then he gestured to the one under the tree.

"You can't open that one until later. I know that you liked baking cookies with your family. I bought the ingredients. I thought we could make them and then open presents."

Now unsure as to how to proceed, James offered an almost embarrassed smile and tucked his hands into his pockets.

"Oh, and there's wine if you feel like toasting to my greatness."

His smile turned to a grin, feeling, as usual, more himself when he teased her. It was unsettling being so eager to please her. He wouldn't let himself dwell on it, or else he might see how desperate he thought he must look.

Maybe he needed Christmas as much as she did, and his reasons were not all that different than hers.

TAG: Alice WORDS: Don't matter NOTES: James likes playing Santa. 8D

TEMPLATE BY DANASAUR @ CAUTION

[ALICE AUGUSTA LONGBOTTOM]

Alice stood outside, a bit stunned at the whole display. Even her family had never done such marvelous things for just her and the extent of spending holidays with her past relationships just consisted of a fancy dinner and a nice present. Never had anyone understood the extent of her love for Christmas save for some muggle friends whose families went all out for decorations like Alice wanted to.

When James opened the door, Alice opened her mouth, not able to utter a word either because of the cold or because there were so many things she wanted to say. At his greeting, Alice laughed happily even if he was teasing her. Her laughs sounded foreign and silly to her because it had been such a long time since she wanted to laugh like this. She realized her stupidity at knocking on the door like a muggle when she had a key and could apparate. She guessed that she was too shocked to remember her abilities.

“I guess I could have done that, huh.”

She said out loud, as if he had said something outrageous. She still couldn’t quite process that he had decorated for her despite all the complaints he raised about her hype for the holiday, even counting down to the day starting on first of December. Alice couldn’t really start talking but she silently gawked as James lifted his wand and made it snow on her. She smiled, putting her hand out to catch few snow flakes before it quickly melted as soon as it landed on her palm. Alice always thought that snow made everything look prettier like magical fairy dust that happened even without a flick of the wand. She wondered if it would snow tonight, silently wishing for a white Christmas. Alice turned her attention to him as he asked what she thought, and she smiled happily.

“Honestly, you surprised me. I thought you were going to bitch and moan the whole day and it looks beautiful. I passed the house because I didn’t even recognize it next to the muggle enthusiast Christmas houses and had to backtrack to find it. I really like the Santa Claus on the roof, I think that's one of the highlights. Tell me, is Santa coming to visit tonight?”

Alice chimed, happily even as she was giving him a compliment. It was a weird feeling especially with James. She felt special and loved the warm feeling at the pit of her stomach. Usually she would have followed the compliment with an insult as to keep the universal balance of interactions between James and Alice but she was still in a daze as he pulled her into their house by tugging on her hand.

She wondered what else could be in store. Alice couldn’t really imagine more surprises than decorating the house in spirit of Christmas…hadn’t he claimed decorating was stupid since you put it all away the next day? The trails of her thoughts came to a close as he brought her in front of a big decorated tree in their living room. It stood magnificently next to the fireplace, complete with the lights and ornaments. Her jaw went slack and she thought the tree looked bigger than the one she had at her house back home. Alice barely noticed as he pressed something into her hand, mumbling something about decorating the tree.

Alice frowned, out of curiosity at the small jewelry box. Did he get her a necklace? It seemed too much like a present you’d give to someone you had feelings for. Something a boyfriend would give to a girlfriend. Her eyes followed James’s fingers as he gestured to another box under the tree. Two presents? Alice thought of his present, stashed in a corner of her closet. She had knitted him a hat the muggle way and also bought him a box of condoms and toothpaste just for kicks. She had never expected presents from him though. She slowly opened the box, wondering if it would explode in her hand or something.

Her eyes stared at the ornament and at the words, “1st Christmas. Alice & James.” Alice looked up at him, not quite believing it with complete shock. She couldn’t even murmur a word of thanks yet because she didn’t know if a thank you would adequately express her feelings. She ran her fingers gently over the words on the ornament, caressing it. Alice smiled at him, gratefully.

“Thank you.” Alice said quietly, “Even if you do this for every girl you have over on Christmas, thank you. I can't even tell you how happy I am right now. This is almost as good as being at home.”

Alice smiled as she hung the ornament in a place where Mr. Darcy wouldn’t get to it but somewhere where she could see it every clearly. She used to have the same ornament on the tree at the Longbottom house that her mother hung on her very first Christmas after she was born.

“Does the first Christmas mean that we’re going to spend more together? I thought you were going to turn me out onto the streets by the look of your threats. Well, when I marry Albus I guess that’s possible. This reminds me of the ornament that my mother hung for me on the first Christmas of my life.”

She smiled, adding a bit of tease to her talk because she couldn’t just outright thank James. It was awkward and she would feel embarrassed. She thought of her family back home and what they must be doing right now. Same thing that she was doing, actually. She felt very thankful for that because Alice knew that usually this thought would sink her into depression and the smile she wore on her face was genuine, not one forced to keep from crying.

“Baking cookies, James? After having one of your french toasts, I’m not sure if I should let you near the kitchen. I feel like I’m going to find egg shells or some kind of poison poured into it.”

She teased, prodding his chest gently. Alice did have one of his french toasts, regretfully…which tasted more like burnt toast than anything resembling french toast. Drowning it in syrup did not help the taste, sadly but she tried to eat all of it with something resembling a smile.

“Wine? You never struck me as the wine type. Don’t you know that it’s harder to get girls drunk with wine than with firewhiskey? As to toasting to your greatness, I'll consider it just for today. Since today is a day to give to charity cases and you are certainly one of those.”

Alice teased, easing the atmosphere a little bit. She had never heard of James doing anything resembling this for another girl and she felt her cheeks grow warmer at the thought.

“Well we should get to work on the cookies. I have something for you later too. It's a surprise.”

THIS LITTLE POST IS TAGGED FOR JAMESY <3 WHO'S PLAYED BY MY LOVELY FRIEND WHITT. IT'S JUST ABOUT 123456789 WORDS LONG AND IS COMPLETE. MY CHARACTER IS WEARING THIS LITTLE OUTFIT; OH AND I WANTED TO SAY, they are so cute togetherrr. christmas rocks <3

THIS KICK-ASS TEMPLATE WAS MADE BY DANCE IN THE DARK OF CAUTION, ATF, AND SDS. BACKGROUND BY PARADIZE ART

[JAMES SIRIUS POTTER]

it's for you, only you.

I'LL NEVER LIE, I'LL NEVER TRY, I'LL NEVER CRY FOR YOU PEOPLE. I'LL PUSH YOU, I'LL PUSH YOU AWAY. AS YOU LONELY PEOPLE KEEP RUNNING AROUND MY DOOR YES, YOU LONELY PEOPLE KEEP ON BEGGING, BEG FOR MORE. -----------------------------------

James nodded. There was something about Alice standing in the little circle of snow that he'd created that made James almost feel like the type to celebrate holidays. When she lifted her hands to catch a few flakes, James was glad that he'd thought of creating the little snowfall.

He'd done a lot of personal belittling during the day, as he went over his plans for Alice, but it looked as if his plans had been worth it. She seemed almost pleased to be near him. It reminded him of the night he'd asked her to move in with him.

James shrugged. "There's probably still bitching and moaning to be had, but I thought you might take it easy on me if I decorated for you before all of that business ensues."

James grinned a bit, pleased that she was so surprised, amused when she confessed to having passed the house at first. He was glad that she'd noticed the Santa as well. He felt he'd gone the extra mile to get the fat man on the roof. Though it had been more of the finding the Santa than the getting him on the roof bit.

Of course, if Alice asked, James was fully prepared to lie and say that he'd strung everything by hand.

"Mmm... Santa might stop by, but I think your gifts arrived ahead of schedule. Apparently he wants to start vacation early this year."

James wasn't used to Alice doing as he asked so easily. When he pulled her into the house, she went without arguement. He supposed maybe he should try plying her with gifts more often. He'd have to figure out what else she liked other than just Christmas though, considering the holiday would be over soon. Though it might have been the holiday altogether that had convinced her to play nice.

In which case, everything would be back to normal soon. And then things would be safe again. He was going out of his comfort zone--doing this for her. He wanted to please her. It was almost annoying to him.

It probably would have been annoying if he wasn't being rewarded with her facial expressions as she took in the lights, the tree, and her present. James felt something swell up inside of his chest that felt a lot like completion, like making Alice happy filled some part of him that had been empty.

James watched her trace it with her finger.

"You're welcome," he said, "and, for the record, you're the first girl I've spent Christmas with outside of my family. I usually spend the holiday at the pub."

It wasn't something he was ashamed to admit to Alice, because he knew that she would understand the desire not to be alone in a house with his ghosts during the holidays. They shared that connection.

A connection that he was going to have to do something about after the holidays. Even though the information Alice had offered him hadn't been much, it was still more than enough to merit a reason for him to dig into it. James doubted his ghosts would ever let him rest if he didn't figure out who had taken his sister from him.

James blinked, drawing in a breath, as he watched Alice hang the ornament.

"You've become almost bearable, Longbottom, I sort of like spending Christmas with you. Depending on how the rest of the night goes, I might be buying another ornament next year that says second Christmas."He grinned, slowly. "That is unless we spend it together via Albus. And then you're probably just going to get some coal."

James snorted, rolling his eyes. Really, one little piece of an eggshell had slipped into his french toast, and Alice was never going to let him live it down. She'd survived, hadn't she? And it wasn't as if it'd happened again.

"That's why I'm taking the safe route. You bake, I watch, and then I help decorate. After all, we both know which one of us is the artistic one of the bunch."

James grinned again as she prodded him in the chest. He couldn't help himself when he reached up and took her hand before she could let it fall. He held it loosely in his own, looking down at it for a moment.

"I'm not trying to get you drunk." He looked back up at her. "I don't want a fire in the kitchen. My mother would kill me. She set the entire thing up when I moved into this place."

Teasing her was easier than confessing that he'd planned to spend the night sober with her, because, if something happened--like another kiss--it would mean more if Alice wasn't intoxicated.

James tilted his head to the side. "Oh? A surprise for me? We could skip the cookies..."

He sighed, letting her hand go.

"Too bad I already paid for them. Come along then."

He smiled slightly, heading to the kitchen ahead of her. The night was going much better than he'd expected already. Maybe a kiss was in store.

Though he couldn't decide if he should try to steal it or wait. Both methods were bound to be entertaining.

James stopped in front of the counter on which there was a tray of Gingerbread men. Next to them was an assortment of different colored icing.

"Well, look at that, looks like Santa already baked the cookies." James smiled fully now, thinking she should be most impressed by the fact that he'd already baked them. Decorating was the fun part, wasn't it? He wanted to get right to the fun part with Alice.

"What do you say, Longbottom? This one with the skirt is rather naked. Better color her up before I start oggling."

TAG: Alice WORDS: Don't matter NOTES: Sooo sorry I was gone so long. 8( I'm better now!

TEMPLATE BY DANASAUR @ CAUTION

[ALICE AUGUSTA LONGBOTTOM]

Alice shook her head at him as he told her that the bitching and moaning would still ensue despite of the fact that he had decorated for the holiday. No, not just decorated but put in as much effort as muggles did. There wasn't another holiday that muggles loved as much as Christmas and James resembled those crazy muggle breed. She pouted as he mentioned that Santa had already visited.

"What? I missed Santa? But I got all dressed up to see him…"

She said in mocked sadness as she unbuttoned her coat to give a quick preview to her little red dress underneath the bulky jacket. Alice knew that he would like the dress that hugged her curves in the right places and didn't consist of enough material to wear to a proper dinner party. She knew that it would tease him but she liked when his eyes stared at her as if she was the prettiest girl he had ever seen. Alice knew that he had his share of lovers and felt rather triumphant when James looked at her that way.

The ornament meant more to her than she could really say. It completed the idea that she belonged with someone and she could finally stop being alone. It wasn't that Alice didn't have countless invitations from friends and family but she didn't think she deserved their company. However, James seemed adequate. Maybe it was because she always thought he was a scumbag. She didn't protest to being with him and finally celebrate the holiday for him. Maybe this was a little duty she thought would make up for death of Lily.

Alice looked away, as she remembered how she had celebrated her past two Christmases. Although she loved the holiday…she couldn't allow herself to celebrate it. How could she celebrate a holiday made for family when she had destroyed one?

"Funny you say that….this is the first Christmas I've celebrated in two years. I didn't think I deserved the holiday so I spent it at St. Mungo's, working to make it the best Christmas for someone else."

She smiled weakly, wondering if she had succeeded the last few years. Alice had sung carols with patients, read books, and slept in rooms of patients that didn't have a visitor during the holiday season. She did her best but she knew that she wasn't a family to any of the patients. Alice couldn't make up for a family for the patients and neither could she, for James. Although that thought always dampened her mood, she never stopped trying. This was why she wanted to spend holidays with James…she wanted to make up to him for taking away a part of his family. At least he wasn't at the pub, right?

Alice smiled at his words, feeling grateful for his ability to get rid of her doubts even when she hadn't spoken them aloud. She usually hated that he could guess her every thought but tonight, Alice could relax because it was James and not another guy next to her.

"Some coals? Well, at least it isn't poison. Who knows, Potter. I might be married by next Christmas and you might be here hanging a first Christmas ornament with some other girl."

It was easier to think of this as a short-term thing. Otherwise, Alice could feel herself falling for this boy that she had always hated. She felt vulnerable and she shook away the feeling as quickly as it came. Alice rolled her eyes at his response. Of course, he was just a boy all the time. He expected the girl to do everything, typical.

"Of course. As the girl, I should be the one slaving over in the kitchen while you leisurely watch and check out my ass. Potter, I take it back that you surprise me. You're quite the typical male ego."

Alice narrowed her eyes and prodded him, accusing him of getting her drunk. It was really a common trend between them. She was surprised when he gingerly took her hand in his. Somehow, she didn't pull away immediately and sanitize her hand. She watched him with narrowed eyes, ready to knee him in the balls if he kissed her. Alice couldn't admit it to herself but she liked his gentle touches and the way he made her stomach flutter and her cheeks redden.

She secretly counted on the booze to blame for the next day so that she didn't have to explain anything. Now, she would have to be more careful. Alice didn't like making mistakes but always liked having something to cover her so that she didn't get in trouble. And getting feelings involved with James Potter would be a big gigantic enormous troll-like trouble.

Alice was relieved that he let go of her hand and gave space. She took a deep breath and removed her coat, putting it down on the couch. At least baking by herself for thirty minutes or so would help her calm down and stop getting so worked up about his little surprises. Mind over matter, Longbottom. Alice reminded herself as she followed James into the kitchen.

She heard him before seeing the cookies. Alice stared at him, not believing him. Her eyes traveled to the counter and saw the tray of cookies. Oh, he was good. He really did try his best. Alice could feel her jaw go slack but couldn't think of a quick retort. He had to be bribed so many times in order to get him to cook. The fact that he did it without any favors was simply stunning.

"They never told me that Santa made cookies. I feel cheated of all those years staying up and making cookies for him!"

Alice said, silently scolding herself for these stupid reply. It really wasn't her fault because she honestly didn't know how much she could handle Potter's best game. Isn't this what all the girls fell for? His charm? Well, Alice certainly wasn't any normal girl.

"Oh, is that how your sex life started? Jacking off to the gingerbread woman? I can see it now, little Potter alone with the cookie in his bedroom. How about you decorate that little lady, and I'll decorate the man? I'll get the cookie to look just like the devil. Oh, I mean you Potter."

Alice smiled, as she picked up the red icing.

"I'll make sure to draw herpes on your red lips, don't worry. I like to go for accuracy."

THIS LITTLE POST IS TAGGED FOR JAMESY <3 WHO'S PLAYED BY MY LOVELY FRIEND WHITT. IT'S JUST ABOUT 123456789 WORDS LONG AND IS COMPLETE. MY CHARACTER IS WEARING THIS LITTLE OUTFIT; OH AND I WANTED TO SAY, oh it's fine <333.

THIS KICK-ASS TEMPLATE WAS MADE BY DANCE IN THE DARK OF CAUTION, ATF, AND SDS. BACKGROUND BY PARADIZE ART

[JAMES SIRIUS POTTER]

it's for you, only you.

I'LL NEVER LIE, I'LL NEVER TRY, I'LL NEVER CRY FOR YOU PEOPLE. I'LL PUSH YOU, I'LL PUSH YOU AWAY. AS YOU LONELY PEOPLE KEEP RUNNING AROUND MY DOOR YES, YOU LONELY PEOPLE KEEP ON BEGGING, BEG FOR MORE. -----------------------------------

James nearly swallowed his tongue as Alice unbuttoned the top of her jacket. What he saw was an act of sabotage--sabotaging all of his neatly constrained needs and desires. How long had he gone now without touching anyone? Without even looking at anyone? Without really trying to make a single move on Alice? And she was going to flash him the red dress under her coat? As if she could have any other motive but to drive him mad with it.

She'd been at work, hadn't she? So the red dress was meant to torture him. All their time living together, and James had never seen her in a dress. He didn't know why the idea of seeing her in that dress was more maddening than the glimpse he'd gotten of her running naked from the bathroom to her room.

But it was.

"You got dressed up to see Santa?" he choked. "You're cheating, Longbottom. I'm trying to be a decent person here."

But she was practically begging him to be the James that he thought she didn't want around. This one night he'd promised himself to make the holiday magical for her, and she was trying to deter him from his plan by dressing sexy. It was just like a woman.

But James appreciated it, in some strange way that didn't make any sense. He liked that she was going out of her way to torment him, which really must have meant that he was definitely crazy. But it was nice--having something to focus on that drew his attention entirely away from the things he usually thought about during Christmas.

Like Lily. Like his dad.

"Would it make you more comfortable to play nurse for me? I can lie in my bed, and you can make it my best Christmas."

He could tell that the confession had been strained for her, and he knew why, so why not lighten it up with the type of humor that always took her from feeling vulnerable to having her guard up?

James frowned slightly, though he knew that she was teasing him. He didn't like picturing her married to someone else. Then everything that could be between them---it would effectively disappear. He would remain James Potter, the bachelor, for the rest of his life.

It didn't seem to do any good telling himself that being a bachelor was what he had already planned to be his lifelong goal. Now that Alice was back in the picture, it was hard to remember the things that he had promised himself before.

When she removed her coat and headed to the kitchen, James found it even more difficult to remember those promises. The full view of her in the red dress was even more life-altering than the glimpse he'd been given at first. He took a moment--probably too long--to admire her legs. He'd seen them before, but there was a different aspect to them when he was seeing them slide down from the hem of a sexy dress.

"I--" James swallowed. "I guess I should have warned you. You don't seem like you're in the proper cooking attire. Though I really can't complain..."

James watched her face as she found the cookies already baked, but it was hard to keep his gaze from sliding downward. Really, he wished he hadn't mentioned the cookies at all. They seemed insignificant in the grand scheme of things.

He had to remind himself that Alice didn't have the same hopes for the night, though. She wanted Christmas. He just wanted to touch her.

"Maybe I helped him a little," James said. "I didn't want to make you wait."

James cleared his throat, turning to the cookies as Alice thumped him with a smart-ass retort. It was what he loved--

Wait. Loved? No, that wasn't right.

James gripped the countertop as his world tilted at a precarious angle. Stupid. He'd told himself many things that he loved about Alice before. It didn't have to be in the context that he'd just associated it with. It wasn't, even. He didn't love anyone. Hell would freeze over before he fell in love.

"Sweet as always, Longbottom. Are you sure you know how to handle the male gingerbread properly? I've seen your skills so far. You're a bit rough."

James swallowed, falling back into stride as he picked up a packet of icing. He needed to lighten the mood for himself, so he squirted two circles of icing onto his cookie, side-by-side on her chest. He added dots in the middle.

"There you go. All done with this one."

He grinned at her, trying to seem careless.

"Sorry it's not my best representation of you, but, you know me, all I ever see is breasts, and what did you expect wearing this dress in front of me?"

He studied it again, wondering why she wanted so desperately to murder him with his own desire.

"I'd say it wasn't nice, you know, teasing me like this," he said, "but then I'm not sure that you did it on purpose. I still haven't decided whether or not you really know how to handle me."

He was lying, of course. Alice handled him all day long. Effortlessly.

"Who'd you wear that dress for, Alice?"

TAG: Alice WORDS: Don't matter NOTES: I missed them.

TEMPLATE BY DANASAUR @ CAUTION

[ALICE AUGUSTA LONGBOTTOM]

Alice smirked as he accused her of cheating. Was she? Maybe. She got a small satisfaction from seeing him choke at the sight of her. Alice felt powerful when she could create such a reaction from him by dressing up a little. She liked his attention and the way that he seemed to react to her presence. It sounds silly but Alice felt a bit cheated when he had slipped into the roommate code easier than she had expected. There hadn't been any slipping into the bedroom or peeping into the bathroom and for some sick reason, she had been disappointed.

"I don't know what you're talking about. This is what I wear every Christmas, Potter. Haven't you heard of wearing your best on Christmas? How will I weasel a present out of Santa if I don't look decent?"

Alice met his gaze as he stared at her, particularly at the little peep hole that she had created from her thick coat. How long had it been since she had been with a man? As much as she teased James, Alice missed the touches and kisses too. Hell, it didn't have to be from him but she wanted to feel passion again…with someone. Maybe that was the reason she had dressed up for the occasion. Maybe she was a bigger horn dog than James was.

It was hard when you lived with a guy. And that guy was James Potter. She really had to start going on dates or meet people at bars as she usually did. Yes, she would go out soon because it would be easier to be roommates with someone when you weren't so…sexually frustrated. Alice narrowed her eyes at him but she had expected this sort of reply. This was how James usually was when she was being anything other than a bitch. He couldn't handle her in any other form. He didn't believe a humane side existed in her.

"Really? It's too bad that you aren't checked in at St. Mungo's because I made it the best Christmas for multiple patients last few years,"

Alice winked at him, smirking. She would let him figure out if she was being serious or not. He always brought her back this way. He could do a million things that made her question her hatred but one little statement could spring her back into hatred that has existed for so many years. Could any other emotion trump hatred for James? She was doubtful.

She watched his gaze on her legs, staring as she approached. He was so predictable that she almost felt bad playing with him in this way. Well, all the men were. A girl was only three things: tits, legs, and ass. If you accentuated at least one of those three things, you were guaranteed at least a three second stare from anyone with a penis. Alice could do a science project on this if any of the male species wanted proof to ensure that they weren't quite as pathetic as she was making them out to seem. She would love to see some kind of excuse for this kind of behavior. Alice laughed as he stammered.

"Hey, Potter. Have you learned to get over your stammering, yet? You have no idea what kind of clothes are needed for baking, do you? Or….if any clothes are even needed at all."

Alice smiled, as she whisked by him. She would let him think about that while she baked those cookies. Normally, she wouldn't tease him this endlessly but she was on a roll and for some reason, she didn't want to stop. Alice looked at the baked cookies, still stunned that they existed for more than five seconds without exploding. She figured they could have a hidden bomb or something.

"Any explosions in here? Or eggshells? I don't know if my stomach can handle another eggshell, really. I figure Santa would make up for your flaws in baking."

She looked closely at the cookies, as if she was inspecting them and expecting to see some kind of poison in them. Perhaps like a skull appearing on top of them or something like that.

"What, baby. I thought you liked it rough. I didn't hear any complaints last time and I don't think he would really mind. Will you, James Potter the third?"

Alice asked the gingerbread man as she drew on a hair of lips with the icing. She was about to draw on his face when James announced that he was done. Her competitive nature burned as she turned to see his masterpiece. She immediately, pursed her lips and put her hand against her hips. Alice hated that he kept dwelling on her dress, honestly if he kept this up she didn't feel like showing him his surprise. It was annoying that all he could focus on for one second was her body. It was flattering, yes. But annoying.

"What do you want, Potter? What do you want me to say? That I wore this for you? I didn't. Maybe I didn't go to work and I had a hot date before I came here. Is that what you want, a confession? I'll put on a sweater if it will get you to shut up about the whole thing. I can't dress up pretty for a holiday? It always has to be for a purpose. That's how it is for you, isn't it? Is that what you did this whole display for? Just to get some ass? Is it just completely crazy to just want to dress nice and enjoy a holiday that I haven't gotten to for a long time? I'm sorry, Potter. I'm going to go change into sweats."

Alice turned angrily, upset that he had ruined her mood. She had been so happy to celebrate Christmas for first time in two years without feeling that burden over her. That's probably why she had chosen that dress. She bit her lip, unable to resist the last stab.

"You can get easier ass at the pub. Maybe it's better if you go now, I'm sure they're loaded with ladies waiting for you."

THIS LITTLE POST IS TAGGED FOR JAMESY <3 WHO'S PLAYED BY MY LOVELY FRIEND WHITT. IT'S JUST ABOUT 123456789 WORDS LONG AND IS COMPLETE. MY CHARACTER IS WEARING THIS LITTLE OUTFIT; OH AND I WANTED TO SAY, i think writing at night makes me bipolar. im sowwy D:

THIS KICK-ASS TEMPLATE WAS MADE BY DANCE IN THE DARK OF CAUTION, ATF, AND SDS. BACKGROUND BY PARADIZE ART

[JAMES SIRIUS POTTER]

it's for you, only you.

I'LL NEVER LIE, I'LL NEVER TRY, I'LL NEVER CRY FOR YOU PEOPLE. I'LL PUSH YOU, I'LL PUSH YOU AWAY. AS YOU LONELY PEOPLE KEEP RUNNING AROUND MY DOOR YES, YOU LONELY PEOPLE KEEP ON BEGGING, BEG FOR MORE. -----------------------------------

It was petty, but James really wanted to take his shirt off. He didn't have anything sexy enough to wear to pay Alice back for the cruel show she was giving him, but he thought he looked pretty nice undressed. He'd never heard a complaint about his chest or stomach or arms before.

James gritted his teeth. He'd keep that one in the arsenal for now. It would probably break Alice's form of roommate code. He was pretty sure that she'd mentioned something about him not stripping. Of all the times for him to start following rules...

He was too eager to please her. It was starting to piss him off.

"Really? What if looking my best is being naked? Still want to play that card then, Longbottom?" James asked.

James was pretty sure that Santa wouldn't appreciate the boner. He certainly didn't. Not that he had one. But it was probably a little too damn close. It was enough to be uncomfortable. Especially considering that he'd planned an entirely platonic evening of sharing space. And now he was picturing a pantry from long ago.

James scowled, cleared his throat, and looked away. For multiple patients, eh? He didn't like the idea. In fact, the longer Alice lived with him, the more spoiled James was becoming. All the time he'd went without her, James hadn't realized how much he craved being around her until she was back in his life.

And it was more than just her sweet ass, like he'd originally told himself. James liked everything about Alice. Maybe it was a strange and twisted and unhealthy affection, considering that he enjoyed it most when she was demeaning him, but he couldn't help it.

"You've been selling yourself slightly short, it seems."

Had he not been trying his hardest to play the nice guy--the tolerable guy, the one that Alice didn't seem to absolutely despise, he would have been cruder with his last statement. James had felt his initial response on the tip of his tongue before he pulled it back.

Could he be blamed? He felt like Alice was always baiting him. Like she really wanted him to be the guy she claimed to hate. Maybe she did. Here's to hoping.

James closed his mouth, swallowing as Alice laughed at him. He should have come up with a smart response. Really, he was blowing his cover all to hell here, acting too interested. That was how most guys failed. Of course, you had to be interested, but you couldn't come off as desperate. And he was coming off as desperate now.

"Well, I like to do everything naked, but I didn't figure you'd approve," James said, ignoring her taunt about his stammering. "That was before I knew that you thought it was appropriate to wear a dress."

He really needed to stop staring at her legs. It was obvious that she knew she had him, but he didn't have to keep adding fuel to the fire by ogling them some more. She was clearly already smug enough. James turned toward the cookies with her.

"No explosions. No eggshells. Fairly safe, I think."

Really, he couldn't guarantee anything. He must have been half out of his mind baking fucking cookies for a woman. Particularly Alice. The more he thought about it, the more ridiculous he felt for everything he'd done that night. It would be too easy for Alice to use it against him.

Hey, Potter, remember when you bent over backwards just to please me? And then I laughed when you tried to get undressed. Har har har.

James was probably exaggerating a little, but it was close enough to plenty of Alice's past taunts.

James frowned as she spoke to the gingerbread cookie.

"I wasn't complaining," he said. "I was trying to talk you out of touching other men, but you're already groping the cookie."

Alice's mood could change faster than he could keep up. James winced slightly as her temper went from playful to prickly. He wanted to slap a palm to his forehead, but he refrained and let her release her rant. It didn't matter what he did: she would keep coming back to the guy that he had always been. Why was he trying to be different?

"Let's get this straight--clear the air, won't we? If I wanted ass, I could get it easier, and, if that was all I was after, I wouldn't have risked my ego to do all of this." He waved his hand around. "If you'd like to change into sweats though, be my guest. I'll still think about taking them off you."

James had thought that he would yell, but he didn't. In fact, his voice was surprisingly level. He didn't know how he felt about that. So he tried again.

"Also, you can't kick me out of my own house and tell me to go to the pub."

James made a face at himself. What kind of comeback was that? He was usually better. Fire to fire with Alice, always.

"If I wanted to be at the pub, I'd be there. And if you wanted to be with some other idiot bloke, you'd be with him, wouldn't you? But you're with me, aren't you?"

Well, that was slightly better. And he'd managed to not look at her legs in the process. Mainly because he was looking at her neck, thinking about wringing it.

"And if you try to leave after all I've done, I will jinx you right to the floor, Longbottom. You think you're fast, but I've always gone easy on you."

James lifted his big-breasted cookie again, gesturing with his free hand toward it.

"Now, shall we get back to this, or do you want to do things the hard way?"

He wanted her to pick the hard way. Despite the pains he had gone to, the plans he still had, the fact that it was supposed to snow, and he wanted to be there with her, on the couch, in front of the fire, to watch it--James wanted to fight too. He felt more sane that way.

He wanted Alice to give him a reason to be the guy he enjoyed being.

TAG: Alice WORDS: Don't matter NOTES: Heheh.

TEMPLATE BY DANASAUR @ CAUTION

[ALICE AUGUSTA LONGBOTTOM]

Alice smirked as he admitted that his best was being naked. Figures, for a guy like James Potter...he probably didn't own a tux or anything classy like that. Why would he ever bother because he was always concerned about taking off the clothes rather than the image with the clothes. She was oddly glad that she would never see him wear anything out of the ordinary because Alice honestly didn't know if she could handle any more surprises from James. She liked to see all the cards played on the table without any secret power tool waiting to be unleashed.

"If being naked is your best, then I've seen it. Frankly, I've seen better. I figure years of bartending probably made you get a pretty nice gut too. I hear some girls are into that kinda thing. Sadly, those girls are not me, Potter."

Actually, from what she could remember and what she could see from living with him, James had a nice body. It wasn't those types of body that looks like a load of steroids also support the body shape but it was lean yet muscular. When he wrapped his arms around her...she felt safe. However, those urges would have to be controlled and replaced with someone else because she refused that kind of relationship with Potter. That kind of behavior would be classified as selling herself short.

"Selling myself short? On the contrary, my dear...I faired quite well. You don't even know what kind of patients I had. Most of them, aurors and the like. They always returned with gifts and took me out to lunch. See, I wouldn't say I sold myself short at all. You know me better than that."

This wasn't really a lie. See, Alice did date some of her patients and even let herself be showered with presents. However, she had to admit that it was a little bit of an exaggeration. See, St.Mungo's frowned upon relationships between healers and their patients and surely would have fired Alice if her words rang true. But James would never know what it was like inside of St. Mungo's and as usual, Alice used it to her advantage.

Alice was secretly adoring the fact that James stammered. It was something about the little speech impediment that made her giggle. Yes, partly she was laughing at him for being so weak. Another part of her giggled because she found his stammering somehow attractive. Seriously, it was living in this house that was driving her mad. Perhaps he had put a spell within its walls that compels every female to go absolutely nuts over him. It wouldn't be that surprising.

"Why would it be inappropriate to wear a dress? All of my privates are covered, aren't they? You've been staring at them long enough to know."

Alice challenged him, with a little smile playing at her lips. Yes, they were covered but they were also enhanced. The little red dress succeeded in making her boobs and her butt look bigger and her legs longer than reality. How people can be easily deceived, she didn't really understand. However, when it worked to her advantage, she adored it.

"I'll trust you, just this once."

She said as she poked a cookie, uncertainly. He wouldn't kill her after all he had done to keep her safe...would he? Well, it was a risk she would take. Alice never figured that he would have the guts to kill someone, really. He loved trouble but death hit too close to the deaths of his family members.

"Why do you want me to stop touching other men? It's not as if we're in a relationship or anything, Potter. I will grope whoever I like and whenever I like."

Alice spoke, pointing out the fact that she still had her freedom where boys are concerned. She didn't like when it felt like they were in a relationship. She couldn't see James in a different light than one of a douchebag who always wanted a girl's panties. She narrowed his eyes as he spoke, not liking that his words were quite valid. Why had he done this for her then? This kind of kindness did not exist between them. It couldn't exist between them.

"Then why did you do it? I don't know why you're confusing me this way. It's like living with a bipolar person. Why do you think about getting into my pants when you can get into ten people's pants at the same time that you try to get in mine?"

She looked at him, raising an eyebrow. It was an ultimate question. She wanted to know but she was also scared of the answer. She didn't want him to say the words that she dreamed about. No, they were mortal enemies.

"Wait, don't answer that. You're probably doing this to drive me mad. Doing things to foil my plans at having a Christmas of my dreams. Beneath all the nice things you do for me, you've hidden a secret agenda. You want to make sure that my Christmas turns out to be one that I've never expected...one that I don't want again."

Alice rambled, making up reasons for herself to explain his actions. Yes, she wasn't making sense but somehow, it was making more sense than what was really happening right now. Maybe he was trying to kick her out of the house by making her mad? Maybe he regretted his decision to let her move in in the first place.

"Is this a ploy to get me to move out? You regret your decision two months ago so you're trying to find a way to get me out of here without seeming like the bad guy? Clever, Potter. I can move out right now. Hell, I'll go on the Knight bus and go to Leaky Cauldron right now. Just say the words, Potter."

She didn't know where the anger was coming from. She was practically begging him to kick her out of the house. Maybe this was a reaction to the huge shock she had earlier from his little surprises. Maybe this was the only way she could be sane with him. Anger was an okay emotion, right?

[b] "Jinx me now, why don't you? I don't understand why you did this for me. Do something that I can understand. I can handle your jinxes but this, is on a whole another plane."

Alice demanded, standing with her legs pulled apart in shoulder length. Her eyes flashed at him, taunting him to act upon his words. She wanted to be hurt by him. She wanted more reasons to hate him.

"Do you know me, Potter? I always go the hard way...I don't take the easy way out like some people."

Alice jabbed, running a hand through her hair. She didn't know what the hard way intended but she knew that it was the only escape she could see in this baffling situation.

"Things like this," Alice said, snapping the head off the big boobed gingerbread girl, "Don't belong with us. These kinds of things die in our presence. You know that."

THIS LITTLE POST IS TAGGED FOR JAMESY <3 WHO'S PLAYED BY MY LOVELY FRIEND WHITT. IT'S JUST ABOUT 123456789 WORDS LONG AND IS COMPLETE. MY CHARACTER IS WEARING THIS LITTLE OUTFIT; OH AND I WANTED TO SAY, so umm.... i tried to convince alice to go talk to james but she wouldn't because she feels terrible. but i think im making her go walk to harry/james/lily's grave if james wants to find her or he could run after her...yeah xD

THIS KICK-ASS TEMPLATE WAS MADE BY DANCE IN THE DARK OF CAUTION, ATF, AND SDS. BACKGROUND BY PARADIZE ART

[JAMES SIRIUS POTTER]

it's for you, only you.

I'LL NEVER LIE, I'LL NEVER TRY, I'LL NEVER CRY FOR YOU PEOPLE. I'LL PUSH YOU, I'LL PUSH YOU AWAY. AS YOU LONELY PEOPLE KEEP RUNNING AROUND MY DOOR YES, YOU LONELY PEOPLE KEEP ON BEGGING, BEG FOR MORE. -----------------------------------

James lifted a brow, unsure as to why he'd even tried to make it a special night for the two of them at this point. It would always return to something like this. He would step a fraction out of line, and it would trigger that side of Alice that really must have hated him. James felt his own resentment rising to the surface, though he could pinpoint an exact reason why he would feel any.

He was blaming Alice. She brought the worst out of him when he was trying to be his best.

"You've seen my best? If you're referencing the night in the pantry, you don't have much room to talk, Longbottom. Sloppy drunk, just pressed up against the cabinets, making me do all the work."

He was lowering himself back to that place that she claimed to hate. So why was it that she tried to bring it out of him? Well, she was asking for it now either way, and he wasn't going to feel guilty for the things he said when she was egging him on about it.

If she wanted to lie about his body and his...physical efforts to hurt him, then he could play that game too. He wasn't going to let that sort of thing go without a fight. He tossed the cookie down, stepped forward, and caught Alice by the wrist.

"Does this feel like a beer gut to you?"

Really, he didn't need to prove that he was in good shape. He knew that Alice knew without needing any proof. He'd taken a few opportunities during their time living together to waltz around his house shirtless just so that she knew. Still, James pulled her forward and placed her hand on his chest, dragging it down to his stomach just above his belly button.

He grinned. "Really? If they were so great, then why aren't you shacked up with one of those aurors right now, Alice? You missed me, I bet."

He hoped. Because he had missed her. And it had made him feel like a bloody fool. Even more so now that she was living with him, and she still had yet to fall into his arms, confessing her love. Not that he wanted that. It would probably be creepy.

James let her hand fall back to her side. Though he didn't put it past her to apparate her way out of the conversation, he didn't want to make her touch him. Actually, he wasn't too keen on her touching him at all at the moment, considering where their conversation had gone, and what an ugly turn the night had taken.

"Sure I've been staring at them. I was just wondering how short your skirt had to be in order to qualify you as a prostitute."
He knew he shouldn't go there, but... "Since I know you were lying about being on a date with someone else before you got here, that's my second guess as to what you were doing."

It was mean, but James was feeling slightly mean. He was also certain that if Alice ever even considered being a prostitute, he'd murder all of her customers before they got their pants undone.

"Is that how it's going to be? Then I guess it leaves me no reason to keep my bed empty any longer. You tell me, Alice, do you like the idea of me groping other women? If you do, then forget that I said anything about you and other men. I've obviously misread you."

He was hitting too close to home--too close to the topic that they had thus far avoided fairly successfully. He should have shut his mouth, but he couldn't seem to. When Alice made him angry, everything came out with or without his approval.

But it seemed like Alice was trying to direct them in the same direction. At least, for a moment, until she took a wild swing to left field. James opened his mouth, closed it again, not sure what the hell she was blabbering about, considering she had stopped making sense five minutes ago.

"What the hell are you talking about? If I wanted to be mean to you, I wouldn't have gone through such a great effort to be nice to you. Do you know how hard it is to be nice to you?"

Extremely hard. Everything he did was thrown back into his face. There was no pleasing Alice, no matter what he did. It was not very fair, and it was very frustrating. He should have stopped. He should have let her sit around moping all Christmas. But he'd gone and baked her cookies like a moron.

"If I didn't want you to live here, I wouldn't have asked you. You want a better explanation than that? Then tell me why you agreed to move in here if you hate me so much."

James was far from wanting to be the first person to fess up about his feelings. Particularly now that he was starting to feel a lot like he'd misread Alice completely. Surely not. She was there, wasn't she? Living in his house? That meant something. Even if she insisted on being a hardass, he knew that there was another side to her that was too afraid to admit she liked him.

The queen of the anti-Potter club just couldn't let go of her old grudges.

"You understand me jinxing you? On the contrary, Longbottom, if I remember correctly, you were the one always jinxing me."

Not that he wasn't seriously considering laying her flat with a well aimed jinx. She was asking for it, after all, and she'd just gone to great lengths to ruin the night he'd planned for her.

"What easy way are you referring to? I don't remember anything from the last few years being particularly easy. Except how easy it was for you to disappear."

She was going to mock him about taking the easy way? Yeah, as if she wasn't sinking on that ship with him. He wanted to ask her who she thought she was fooling. It certainly wasn't the guy that knew and understood the choices she had made and why she'd made them.

James scowled as she broke his cookie, soiling another element of the evening. He half-expected her to trot back into the living room and smash the ornament he'd given her.

"And why does it have to be like that, Alice? I'm trying to be what you wanted here, and you're pushing me away, because I poorly worded what was supposed to be a compliment on your appearance."

James threw his hands up in defeat. That's what he felt like: defeated. He didn't like the feeling, especially since it was concerning Alice. He didn't want to be defeated. He'd planned to go to any length to keep her around this time.

So he wasn't all that great at sincere compliments, so what? He couldn't knock all of his bad habits off at once. He'd gone so long being this guy that it was hard to remember the other guy at all. If there even had been another guy. Maybe he was just trying to pretend there was in order to please Alice. And that was idiotic. He couldn't keep playing charades forever.

"Look, I get that you hate what I'm like, but if I wasn't like this, would you have ever had anything to do with me? I realize that you're afraid of me--afraid that I'll run off and screw half the population--but have you seen anyone else in this house?"

He wasn't asking her for commitment. No. He couldn't do commitment. It terrified him. James had convinced himself of it. All he was asking for was tolerance. The chance to crack one joke without being kicked in the ass for it.

"I don't know what you want from me here, Alice. You slapped my Christmas right in the face."

He scowled, dejected., annoyed that she had so easily gotten underneath his skin. Annoyed that he was still insanely attracted to her, that he couldn't stop noticing her stupid red dress. James looked away from her, towards a clock on the wall. He remembered the prediction for the weather.

"It should be snowing now. We were supposed to be finished with the cookies and watching it snow out the window with the fireplace lit. You probably didn't notice, but I hung some mistletoe above the couch. I suppose I'll toss it into the fire now." James' scowl deepened. "I think I'd rather stick my head into the fireplace than try to kiss you now, Scrooge. Enjoy the rest of your Christmas."

James brushed past her, making sure to bump her shoulder as he headed out of the kitchen. It was childish to go and pout, but it was better than sticking around in the kitchen and making a fool out of himself by begging her to enjoy Christmas with him.

He had Alice at his house. He was positive that she was safe. Did he need anything else other than that? No. He didn't owe Alice anything, and if trying to get her to be with him was going to be this difficult, this much like torture, then it couldn't be worth it. He could have anyone else he wanted.

Too bad he wanted Alice.

James cursed himself, retrieving the wine bottle from the coffee table as he went through the living room to his bedroom. He slammed the door--he knew that was childish too--to his room, crossed the carpet to the large window next to his bed, and threw back the curtains.

It was snowing outside in thick, pretty sheets. And that genuinely pissed him off. One more thing ruined. Standing in front of the window, James took a long drink from the neck of the wine bottle.

TAG: Alice WORDS: Don't matter NOTES: He's decided to pout in retaliation. xD

TEMPLATE BY DANASAUR @ CAUTION

[ALICE AUGUSTA LONGBOTTOM]

Alice felt his body as he forced her hand against it, and gulped as she tried to resist her urges. As much as she teased James, he teased her with his shirtless walks. She reinforced the being clothed rule after he had done it twice, filling her daydreams with his perfectly defined upper body. It's a wonder that a boy could have that nice of a body while being a bartender…didn't he consume firewhiskey every day? That was sure to bring up his calorie count.

"You didn't complain in the cabinet, did you? I don't think you could handle it if I put in more effort, after all you did mention I was pretty great in the closet. It feels like it's on the way to be a beer gut since it's not that well defined. I'll give it just a few more years."

She struggled to move her hand from James's grasp, wanting to move her hand immediately from his body before she got herself into a situation she couldn't control. Alice narrowed her eyes at him as he asked why she wasn't with one of her auroras now. Maybe it was because any kind of affection scared her now. Maybe it was because she thought she didn't deserve anything that warranted happiness. She would be more satisfied with a marriage without passion than any relationship that seemed almost like a fairytale.

"You wish I missed you, Potter. Well, see the thing about an auror is that they have a high mortality rate. I don't think I can handle a death of someone I love."

Alice commented, accidentally revealing one of her biggest fears. Well, James probably already knew that. She would rather protect her heart than fall in love with someone dangerous.

"You know, that's a fine idea. I'll definitely get my dress a bit shortened and get out on the corner. I hear you can make serious money out there and when I have enough, I can retire myself and my flabby diseased vagina. I bet I'll meet many desperate guys like you."

She fired, glaring at him. Alice always hated the prospective of a prostitute because there was no respect in those relationships. She thought way too highly of herself to bring herself to do such a degrading act such as hooking up with guys for money. Worse, having sex with guys for money. It meant that she didn't have any other talents than her body organ, vagina. She would rather be buried alive than be a prostitute.

Alice could feel her face change as he mentioned bringing other girls to bed. She averted her face, not wanting him to see her face expressions. She didn't want him to know that she cared. Merlin, she didn't want to care. He read her too well. Alice loved that he hadn't brought anyone else home and it made her think that he had changed. She felt more comfortable trusting him and that was just the problem.

"I love the idea of other women living in your bed, please just bring a truckload home. Grope away, Potter. It's what you've been itching for, isn't it? I'll go about my way groping other men. No strings, remember? We're not in a relationship."

She was begging him to hurt her and severe this feeling that she was beginning to develop for him. It scared her. She didn't want to imagine them as anything but mortal enemies because enemies were safe. Alice knew that if he shagged another girl while she lived in the same house, she would force herself to close all feelings to him and seriously despise him. Alice always hated being unfaithful and although she knew they weren't in a relationship, she still felt like James was her territory.

"Why did you put in that effort, anyways? I'm a bitch, I admit it. I'm hard and destined to be a cat lady for the rest of my life. Why do you think I got Mr. Darcy?"

Alice said, shrugging her shoulder. It was easier being this way. Her words hurt herself but she rather be hurting than happy. It's how she had changed for two years and it was hard to break her habit. Because James never gave Alice the real punishment, she had to pretend by punishing herself in these petty ways.

"I don't know, okay? I don't know. I must have been out of my mind to think that I felt safe here. How could I? I'd be better off at my flat. If I'm such a bitch, why don't you kick me out?"

She raised her voice from her own vulnerability of her reasons. Alice didn't know why she had stepped into the Potter lair. It was much more unsafe than her flat because not only was she worried about the killer but she was worried about falling for this fool in front of her. Falling in love was as dangerous as dying. Love made everyone into fools that can't think for oneself. Alice would be nothing without her mind.

"Everything has always been easy for you, that's at least the image you paint…isn't it? Rushing through girls and working at a dead end job, you always do things half-heartedly because you're afraid it will all end. It's pathetic, Potter because it's easy. I admit I was a coward to hide the truth from you. I didn't want to die. Scared as I am of death, I think I'd rather the murderer than stand one more minute in your presence."

Alice lied through her teeth because the thought of the mystery man still haunted her nightmares. At nights when she couldn't sleep, Alice would go sit on James's couch in the middle of the night and watch the fire burn in the fireplace. After she moved in, the place had transformed into somewhere that looked like people inhabited it. James spent more time home and sometimes, his sock would turn up in the living room. She found comfort in little things like that. Alice liked that if she were to scream at any moment, he would come out to be with her. It was like being home.

"It has to be like that because that's how it's always like between us. We can't be anything else. We were both created to be mortal enemies and nothing else can happen but that. No, I'm not afraid of you screwing the half of the population. I told you already, I'm waiting for you to do it."

She met his eyes, suddenly dignified in her response. Yes, she believed that they couldn't change. Rather, she hoped that they wouldn't change. It would be easier. They both liked things that were easy, right? Somehow, Alice always counted on James to be the guy that she always hated. The guy that would always anger her and let her forget about everything else. She couldn't predict him if he changed. She always did like having the upper hand.

Alice was quiet as he mentioned that she had ruined his Christmas. She could feel a weird pang in her heart. It was one thing that she hadn't wanted to do. Even if he was moping and nursing a bottle of firewhiskey, Alice had wanted to come home and show him the joy of Christmas. She could feel the disappointment and despair from a failure rise in her heart as she listened to his next words. Mistletoe and falling snow. Those were a few of Alice's favorite things when it came to Christmas. She lowered her gaze as she was rejected by him and stood there as he walked past her, slamming into her shoulder in the process. She wanted to stop him and apologize but didn't think she deserved to. Alice was Scrooge. She was the Grinch. She destroyed Christmas.

She flinched at the loud slam of the door, jumping a little. Her lips quivered but Alice bit her lip. She hadn't done anything right so she didn't deserve to cry or feel bad for herself. Most of all, she didn't deserve everything James had done for her. She should be blamed and hated. Alice looked down at the head of a gingerbread in her hand and carefully took a bite. It was delicious. James hadn't gotten any of the ingredients or the recipe wrong. That made her actions even worse. Her hands shook as she moved from the kitchen to the livingroom, grabbing her coat in the process. She removed the ornament from the tree, carefully.

Alice looked down at the ornament, running her hand over the words again. She looked up at the mistletoe, hanging above the couch. She looked at the fireplace, burning brightly. Then, Alice finally looked at the tree standing magnificently in the livingroom. She felt another pang in her heart. Alice put the ornament on the bedside table and scribbled a note next to it.

I'm sorry. I don't deserve this. I can't be the girl to celebrate the first Christmas with you.

She put the note down, and she put her coat on. Alice turned, making her way out of the house carefully. She tripped once over Mr. Darcy, catching herself on the wall. She hoped he hadn't heard. She petted Mr. Darcy and whispered that she would be back soon before opening the door and stepping into the snow.

Alice didn't know where she was going to go. She didn't understand why she had to act like that. Alice closed the door behind her and walked outside. She would walk for a bit until she could figure out a place to apparate to. However, she didn't want to ruin anyone else's Christmas.

THIS LITTLE POST IS TAGGED FOR JAMESY <3 WHO'S PLAYED BY MY LOVELY FRIEND WHITT. IT'S JUST ABOUT 123456789 WORDS LONG AND IS COMPLETE. MY CHARACTER IS WEARING THIS LITTLE OUTFIT; OH AND I WANTED TO SAY, so umm.... i tried to convince alice to go talk to james but she wouldn't because she feels terrible. but i think im making her go walk to harry/james/lily's grave if james wants to find her or he could run after her...yeah xD

THIS KICK-ASS TEMPLATE WAS MADE BY DANCE IN THE DARK OF CAUTION, ATF, AND SDS. BACKGROUND BY PARADIZE ART

[JAMES SIRIUS POTTER]

it's for you, only you.

I'LL NEVER LIE, I'LL NEVER TRY, I'LL NEVER CRY FOR YOU PEOPLE. I'LL PUSH YOU, I'LL PUSH YOU AWAY. AS YOU LONELY PEOPLE KEEP RUNNING AROUND MY DOOR YES, YOU LONELY PEOPLE KEEP ON BEGGING, BEG FOR MORE. -----------------------------------

James had really fooled himself this time--thinking that things could be different. He'd stepped outside of the boundaries he'd drawn for himself, and he'd been rightfully smacked down. This was who he was, who he'd always be. His father and sister were dead, and he had done nothing to prevent or avenge those deaths. He didn't deserve to live a happy, normal life when he'd done so little to earn it.

Alice was right. His life was all about taking the easy route, doing the things that took the least amount of effort or work. For Merlin's sake, he didn't even have a real career. His younger brother was a Ministry man, and he was a bartender--the bottom of the food chain. What the hell was wrong with him? His genetics had been poorly wired from the beginning.

He was the Potter that his dad had gone to great lengths to avoid being, and he had never felt bad about that. He'd never wondered what Harry had thought of him when he'd been alive. Now that he was dead, it was all that he could think about, and he still hadn't tried to change it. At least, not until Alice had come back into his life. And look how poorly it had turned out.

James took another drink of wine and then set it on his dresser, because, for once, he wasn't in the mood to drink. Well, he was, but he couldn't get drunk now, because the night was all off. He couldn't get drunk off the bottle of wine he was supposed to be sharing with Alice.

Instinct told him that he should quit while he was ahead, give up the ghost, stop chasing what he was never going to have. Alice was very obviously set against him, and he was James Potter--the guy that would never commit, never wanted to. Could he really even think about being in a relationship with Alice? He knew how he was around women. Could he really even be faithful?

James leaned forward, pressing his head against the glass of his window. It was bitterly cold, but the wine had made him hot, and so he barely flinched. At least, he didn't flinch until he heard something thud in the living room. It was followed directly afterward by the sound of the door opening and shutting, and then, a second later, James saw Alice on the sidewalk outside. He straightened.

"Where the hell is she going?"

He felt a moment of fear squeeze his heart as he watched her trudge along in the darkness, obscured by the fall of snow. Was she crazy? Just because it was the least likely place to look for her didn't mean that his house wasn't being watched. Anyone could be out there in the night. Anyone could be waiting for their chance.

Pushing away from the window, James hurried to go after her, pausing in the living room when he caught sight of her note. He scowled as he read it, wondering why Alice was so determined not to be that girl. Could this really all be that one-sided? Was he the only one feeling anything?

James didn't bother with a coat. He was outside before he even thought about it, following Alice's footprints in the snow, wondering if she hadn't noticed how dim and poor the streetlights were. He cursed her under his breath as the cold wind blew against him, blinging against the snowfall. It was surprising how far she'd gotten before he caught up with her. She'd gotten all the way to the cemetery. James felt himself slowing, hesitating, as he saw her standing near the gate that wrapped around all of the graves.

"Alice," he called, and then, louder, "Alice."

Just standing next to the cemetery, outside of the fence even, made James anxious. Too many memories were hovering around the spot where he caught up with Alice, catching her hand to make sure that she'd stopped walking.

"Look, I don't care about the grudges you have against me, or our past, or whatever it is that made you walk out here like a crazy person in the middle of the night," he said. "Come back to the house. When I told you that the Revolution didn't see me as a threat, it was speculation. I never said if they were watching me or not. And you could just--"

James stopped, biting his tongue on the rant, because it wasn't what he'd meant to say, and it really didn't matter at the moment. It wasn't the Revolution that he was afraid of.

"Alice, I want to spend Christmas with you. I didn't just buy that ornament as some sort of cruel joke," James said, though it was difficult for him to articulate his feelings without feeling stupid. "I'm not asking to be in a relationship with you. Hell, that seems like lunacy considering the pair of us, but I--I enjoy sharing my house with you. You keep me on my toes, Longbottom."

He squeezed her hand, barely feeling the cold, considering that his own face felt hot with embarrasment. He could barely believe that he was gushing to her like some idiot.

"Come back to the house, all right? I'll keep my distance and my mouth shut this time. I don't want to worry about you strolling around out here at this hour and in this weather."

He sounded like his mother. He could practically hear her laughing at him from the Burrow, which was surely where she was spending Christmas.

"Alice, I--"

James swallowed, changing his mind. He looked at the ground, and then back up at her.

"Will you just come back inside, please?"

TAG: Alice WORDS: Don't matter NOTES: James can't resist.

TEMPLATE BY DANASAUR @ CAUTION

[ALICE AUGUSTA LONGBOTTOM]

Alice wondered where she was going as she walked. She even thought about if this really was the safest thing for her to do at this time of hour. What would she do if someone killed her from behind? Well, she figured people would think that she gave a fight after all. Maybe people would think it was a suicide. She did leave behind a note…isn't that what people did?

The thought of a suicide brought her thoughts to Lily. Alice wondered if Lily put up a fight or she was attacked unfairly from behind when she had least expected it. She hoped that Lily could get at least a few hexes in before the green light took her life but there was no way to tell. That's how it would be if Alice died. No one would know if she died of her own accord or if she struggled for her life at all. Well, stepping into a dimly lit street at this time of night was probably asking for some kind of torture. However, it was better than being stuck in the house, knowing that she had ruined Christmas.

It really was beautiful when it snowed. Alice quietly marveled as she walked, putting a hand out to catch a few flakes. It made everything seem so pure and make all the bad things seem not so bad. What a disguise. It even lifted Alice from the horrible glum mood that she sank into. However, she didn't think she should even get her spirits lifted. Why bother? Everything was ruined anyways. She wanted to go to a place that made her forget that it was Christmas. Alice wanted to forget that she had ruined someone's holiday. Especially James's.

She couldn't say where she was going but before she knew it, Alice had reached the cemetery. She watched the graves inside, looking at each grave from outside of the fences. Yes, she didn't know what it was like to lose someone. Alice couldn't even imagine losing her family, nevertheless losing both her dad and Imogen. She was terrible for ruining James's holiday too.

Alice knew her dad grew up without his parents and she knew that it had tore him up in his childhood. She knew James was hurt too. She knew it but she made no move to let herself feel sympathy or do something nice for him. Well, she did do something nice for him today but she had ruined everything completely before she could even surprise him. Nearing the gate of the cemetery, she wondered if they let anyone sleep in the little shed nearby. Maybe she could offer galleons…she should have brought some muggle money but that had completely slipped her mind.

Suddenly, someone grabbed her hand. Alice's heart dropped and she spun around with her wand out. Thankfully before she could utter a hex, she recognized James. She stared at him as if he was mad as he lectured her on how stupid she had been when she walked out alone. As if she didn't know. What she was baffled about was that he was here. He was standing before her. Alice was sure that she lost everything with him and ruined their relationship forever. She was going to move out the next day but with him standing there before her, she didn't know what to think.

Alice listened to his confession, feeling her cheeks warm. She noticed that he wasn't wearing a coat. Was he absolutely mad? She felt him squeeze her hand and she felt herself smile. Her grin was goofy, stretching widely across her face as if she heard the happiest news in the world.

"James, you are absolutely mad. You're not wearing a coat and it's practically freezing outside. Are you drunk? You're going to catch the flu."

She chastised, a worried look replacing her silly grin. She couldn't help herself as she fussed about him because for some weird way, Alice cared that he was healthy. Why? Maybe it was for the pure pleasure she got out of driving him absolutely insane.

"Why did you run after me? Why do you want me to come back? I was such a bitch to you. I was horrible. I don't understand why I'm the girl you chose when there's so many others available."

Alice spoke, looking down from him as she wondered out loud. His words didn't make sense and she was more afraid of feeling any real emotion with James. Well, any other emotion than hatred. As a gust of wind blew, Alice remembered that he wasn't wearing a coat. She couldn't be any more selfish tonight since she had already been quite a heartless bitch tonight. Alice had to make sure that James wouldn't get sick first.

"Hold on, let's talk at the house."

Alice said as she apparated them to their house. Once they were standing inside the livingroom, she stared at him. She still thought that he was absolutely mad. After she was a complete bitch, James came running to her. Why? Could she trust him now?

"Are you okay? I'm surprised that you aren't an icicle. I was fine, James. It's okay. I'm not going to leave you like Lily and your dad unless you ask me to leave. I wasn't leaving...I just didn't think I deserved to be in your presence when I was such a bitch and you were so nice. I'll tell the murderer that I have to come home to James Potter and I simply can't die without your permission."

She smiled, rubbing his arms in an effort to warm him up. Alice met his eyes and winked, feeling instantly better in his presence.

"Did I really ruin your Christmas? I'm sorry, really. I'll do everything in your plan with you and play nice. I don't want to ruin your Christmas in any way. I still have a present for you and a surprise."

Alice smiled, stepping away and putting her hands behind her back. She felt bipolar whenever she was with him but these kinds of gestures always made Alice feel special. LIke one of those girls in a fairytale. It was absolutely crazy.

"Do you think Lily would be mad if I was happy for just one day?"

She asked, whispering the words as she gazed at her toes. Alice was scared to know the answer but she wondered about it the whole time. She wanted to know if Lily would be mad because it really mattered…Alice owed Lily big time.

THIS LITTLE POST IS TAGGED FOR JAMESY <3 WHO'S PLAYED BY MY LOVELY FRIEND WHITT. IT'S JUST ABOUT 123456789 WORDS LONG AND IS COMPLETE. MY CHARACTER IS WEARING THIS LITTLE OUTFIT; OH AND I WANTED TO SAY, alice is touched. <3

THIS KICK-ASS TEMPLATE WAS MADE BY DANCE IN THE DARK OF CAUTION, ATF, AND SDS. BACKGROUND BY PARADIZE ART