Black as Night (Sirius Black)

Magic Man

So the picture above and the restaurant they'll visit in this chapter is a real place I stumbled upon on a road trip this past weekend and decided to stay for dinner. I was so excited— it's like Moony and Padfoot opened a pizza shop. I love when the universe does cool stuff like that. 🌙 🐺 Enjoy this chapter full of lemons. 🍋 🔥
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With the party magically cleaned up and the birthday boy off with his paternal grandmother (against Colleen's better judgment), Sirius excitedly led her down the street to a pizza shop he had discovered on a morning run. Apparently his conversation with Paula had gone a bit better than hers, because he was wholly convinced that it was good for Paula to be around Ben and teach him "special things about his father's family." All Colleen could think was that she didn't want Paula teaching Ben that his mother was a slut. She didn't tell Sirius Paula had said that, though, wanting to keep the evening more relaxed and upbeat. The thoughts she'd been inundated with during his magic show were pulsating wildly in her brain now and translating into a similar feeling within her dark blue bootcut jeans.

Maybe Paula wasn't too far off in her assessment, Colleen thought with a frown.

Sirius's hand laced with hers, they arrived at a white stone building flanked by statues of black dogs and labeled with a circular sign featuring another black dog howling while sitting atop a crescent moon. The place was called "Moon Dog Brick Oven," and delicious smells of fresh dough and marinara came wafting outside. She'd passed by the place several times but had never stopped in. Sirius, however, seemed positively giddy about it.

"Did you see the dogs out front? It's like Moony and I opened up a restaurant."

Colleen peered over her menu quizzically. Here was the canine talk again.

"May I get you something to drink?"

Sirius immediately ordered a pitcher of beer before Colleen could open her mouth, but she added a quick "water" in before the server departed. She actually wanted to keep her wits about her tonight and be fully present to enjoy what she was working up the courage to ask him for.

"What's with all the dog references?" she had to ask, once they had agreed on sausage, mushroom, and olives for their pizza toppings. "Even Tonks was saying stuff like that the other night."

"Just Hogwarts things, love. Nicknames, games, certain brands of magic."

Colleen made a face. "That sounds a bit..."

"Kinky?" Sirius supplied. "People like to think that sometimes, but it wasn't really like that. More like a pack. Not friendship, not family, not even sex. Something deeper than that. Bonds you can't break because your very instincts drive you to keep them together. The need to survive and to care for one another, because your own survival depends on your pack being the strongest it can be. Hard to explain, I suppose."

Colleen smiled and sipped her beer, catching herself doing the nervous hair twirl again as she gazed at him across the table. She had shyly suggested he not change his clothes after the party when he'd announced his intention to wear something more comfortable for the evening. She liked him in a bit of leather. Once he'd found that out, he was more than happy to oblige.

"Tonks told me I would have to find my canine instincts in order to be with you," she remarked slyly. "I'm not sure what that means exactly."

Sirius chuckled lowly and took a rather monstrous swig of his own beer, shaking his head. "Did she now? Well, I would say it simply means what you've already done, quite masterfully. Turning off that beautiful but persistent mind for a bit and giving in to something primal within you. Letting yourself bond to me in every possible way."