➪ BOTTICELLI ➪

"YOU'RE SO CUTE."

"Agreed," Marlene nodded at Lily. "Whoever this girl is, she's for sure lucky."

Lucy giggled, her head ticcing. "We're just going to be hanging out, don't make a big deal out of it, " the younger girl replied.

"Well, from the way you talk about this mystery lady, you like her a lot." Loki returned to the girls sitting in the Hufflepuff Common Room. She placed the tray of snacks down in the middle of the circle they'd created, immediately swiping a brownie. "And trust me, I know about this kind of thing. I was in your position once."

"You actually got them in the end, though, " Lucy responded. She picked up a chocolate chip cookie and frowned at it.

"And I'm sure you'll get her, too, Luc. I mean, you're my best friend, and I know you don't see me in that way, but if we did have a spark, Merlin, I would jump at you." The group let out laughter at Marlene's comment.

"Thanks, guys, " Lucy smiled.  "But I'm not the only one with a hot date this weekend." She and Marlene looked to Lily and Loki, and Lucy wiggled her eyebrows at them. "You two. What're your plans?"

"James has organised a picnic to celebrate how we're finally going into our seventh year." Lily's cheeks flushed red as she tucked her hair behind her ear. "I think I'm going to tell him I love him, too, finally."

The other three let out collective awws at Lily's statement. Marlene quipped how it had 'taken her long enough'.

"Oh, stop it, you three," Lily waved her hands. "Loki, your turn. What are Remus and Sirius planning for today? It must be something special."

"Uhh..." Loki averted her gaze.

➪

"IN THE FUTURE..."

"Yes?" Loki frowned at Sirius as he broke away from her. Her fingers tucked his loose curls behind his ear.

"No, you'd probably tell me we're not even adults yet," he shook his head. "Don't worry about it, Princess."

"No, hold on. Don't go back to kissing me just yet." Loki sat up, and Sirius moved his body backward. "What were you going to say, Sirius?"

"Well, I was going to ask if, in the future, if I proposed to you, what would you do? Because, and no, I'm not planning on doing it soon, it's just a hypothetical, but I'm sort of curious. So, like, what would you reply with?"

"Yes, of course," Loki responded without missing a beat, scrunching up her face as if it were the most obvious answer on the planet. Sirius blinked at her, not expecting it to be such a quick answer. "Sirius, how many times have I told you I loved you? How many moments have we been by each other's side? I would say the same thing to Remus if he asked because I love you both so much, and I'm starting to feel like you haven't actually realised it yet."

"Well, I kind of just thought that maybe it was a kind of casual thing, I guess. It was a weird sort o feeling for me, Princess. I mean, not to be cliche or cheesy or anything like that, but you make me feel different. In a really good way." Sirius ran a hand through his hair as Loki watched him ramble. "I've said I love you before, but it doesn't feel the same when I say it to you. It sort of feels more... real."

Loki smiled at him. He went to continue, but Loki halted him by grabbing him by the collar of his shirt, leaning forward as she pulled his lips to hers. Sirius melted into the kiss, his hand leaving the grass to cup the back of her neck. Loki let go of his shirt, one hand holding the side of his face, the other tangling her fingers into his dark curls. They broke away after another moment or two, panting as grins crept onto their faces, their eyes locking. Loki let out a soft breath of laughter as she pulled back once more, her hands falling again.

"You really know how to make a guy lose his breath, Princess," Sirius chuckled.

"Haven't interrupted something, have I?" The couple flicked their gaze to Remus, who was walking back to them after running a quick errand. "Merlin, please don't tell me anything else was going to happen." The bridge of his nose scrunched as he sat down beside Loki, who gently slapped his arm. "Ow."

"Nothing was happening," Loki replied. "Just the ending to a very heartfelt conversation." She glanced back to Sirius, unable to fight off her smile. "Anyway, did you do what you needed?"

"Yep," Remus smiled. "And now, we can relax. This year has been way too stressful."

"I feel like that is partially my fault, which I will take full responsibility for," Loki sighed, resting her head against Remus's arm. The scarred boy wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pressing a soft kiss to her head. "If I hadn't decided to appear out of nowhere, things would be a lot different."

"Things would be worse without you," Sirius replied. He stood up, stretching his arms above his head as Remus and Loki watched him with frowns. "I mean, we probably never would have apologised to one another so quickly if you hadn't been there for us. Remus would also never have been able to admit that he's been crushing on you since fourth-year Herbology, and I would never have been able to fall in love with you."

"You are such a cliche, Pads," Remus snorted, choosing to ignore Sirius exposing him to the girl he was hugging. "Why are you standing up?"

"Gotta practise getting down on one knee," Sirius retorted, shooting a wink Loki's way. The girl burned red at his words, glancing over to Remus, who frowned at him in question. "I hypothetically proposed to her, Remus, don't look so surprised. But for real, I was just going to go for a smoke after we were done exchanging our vows." The boy pulled out a box of cigarettes from the back pocket of his skinny jeans, strolling away without another word.

"What's he on?" Remus murmured, watching as his best friend left. His hazel eyes turned to Loki, who was already smiling at him. "What?"

"I was just admiring you," Loki hummed, bringing a hand up to cup the boy's cheek, her thumb tracing a scar from the previous full moon. "I know we made plans to hang out over the holidays, but I'm going to miss you when you're not with me. It's going to feel so weird. Same with Sirius."

"I guess you're lucky because of it, though. Two for the price of one means having him there when I'm not." Loki let out a gentle laugh. She moved, slightly startling the boy when she sat on his lap, facing him, her legs on either side of his, pressing a soft kiss to the tip of his nose. "What are you doing?" Remus queried, letting out a laugh as his hands rested on her waist.

"I already told you," Loki pressed a kiss to the scar she was tracing before, bringing a smile to Remus's face, "I'm admiring you."

Remus let out a low hum as she cupped his face. Her green eyes carefully examined his face, taking in each imperfection. At random moments, Loki would press a soft kiss to Remus's lips, humming to herself a simple tune. Remus rubbed circles into her waist with his thumb as she allowed her to do her thing, glancing over to Sirius when the scent of cigarette smoke hit his nose. The dark-haired male watched the girl's movements as well, a tender smirk on his lips.

"Remus."

The boy looked back at Loki. She paused, tucking a lock of Remus's overgrown hair behind his ear. Remus cocked his head at her.

"I love you."

"I know. I love you too."

"And I love Sirius."

"I know, sweetheart. I know. And he loves you, too."

"I know."

FIN.

➪ AUTHOR'S NOTE ➪

so, this is it. the final chapter. their epic love story is done.

i mean, they're going to have some extra chapters, I promised, but their main storyline is over. i just have to edit the epilogue is all. and they're going to be making appearances in other books (the reading list for the books in their au is on my page, but it's only this and hematite for now)

[edit: to all new readers and those returning, especially those cheering for nic + james, i'm happy to inform you that camellia and two of hearts are now on my page. camellia follows castor and pollux, but t.o.h is a story dedicated to nic and james. also, just as an added note, i will be returning to revise this story :)]

anyway, I love you all, and thank you for reading. see you later. bye! :)