One Step Ahead Part II | Sirius Black

Chapter 226

{{Mature--slightly more tame than usual because its about the love </3}}

"How was Peter?"

Someday, Sirius would ask her why she waited so long to say the things she knew to be true. He would ask her if she knew where exactly he and James and Peter had stood in the cool air under the blue midnight sky. If she knew this whole time that he had been the secret keeper, not Dumbledore like she had initially surmised. Someday, he would ask. Today, he can't resist a rueful smile. He kicks off his sand covered shoes, watching as they flop over next to a pair of discarded blue socks. She refused to wear shoes on the beach and ignored him when he made fun of her desire to wear socks in the sand. Her feet were cold. They usually were.

He peers around the corner and finds her sitting at her writing desk, green wrappers strewn about parchment and magazines. The exhaustion of the day slowly slips away as he walks over to where she's sitting. Sirius eyes the familiar gold charm hanging over the back of her chair, the chain swaying back and forth. When she'd revealed the time turner, he had pleaded with her that she not tell him more. It was alluring as is, the idea of moving backwards through time. But he could only go so far. He didn't want to think about what he would change if he could. Ultimately, he wasn't sure that he would change anything, and that was what saddened him and delighted him all at once. His fingers wrap around the back of her chair, her hair tickling his knuckles as he hunches down and eyes the maps she's studying.

Her head slowly turns, brow raising slightly in time with the descent of her smile. He can't resist leaning in to press him mouth to hers, feel that smile give him life. It turns to a grin, her voice muffled, "I hope you didn't greet him like this."

"No," Sirius grins too, amazed by her ability to wash away the dark, "I didn't, Inferi."

She leans back with a small sigh, her eyes tracing his face, "I wish I'd managed to see him the last time I was in London. There's apparently a muggle candy shop that he wants to try, but we weren't sure if it would draw too much attention."

Sirius' brows furrow slightly. Peter hadn't mentioned meeting up with Gwen. He brushes it aside, pressing his lips to her temple while mumbling, "Yes, it would draw too much attention. He's not in London anyhow."

Gwen reaches back behind her, her arms stretching as far as they can to rest on his back. He leans down more, hunching over her shoulder and wrapping his own arms around her front. She grins, squinting one eye up at him, "He'd like to be. He wants to leave his mothers for good. I'm surprised he didn't mention it."

Sirius shrugs slightly, "He's always been touchy about his house. I don't blame him for leaving," His nose wrinkles, picturing the sagging roof and dusty brown that seems to suffocate every inch of the interior, "His mum was a daft cow."

"Sirius!" Her voice is admonishing, but when he cranes his neck to see her eyes he sees a bubbling of mirth that kicks up his heart rate. He grins, "It's true. She was minging--"

"Stop!" She laughs, pinching him hard enough to earn a grunt. Sirius bares his teeth against her jaw, muttering, "Alright, alright. She was a lovely woman. Stunning. She might have even been Veela."

The look she sends his way could make Voldemort cry for mercy. It only makes him laugh, his arms tightening and teeth playfully tugging at her skin until she pinches him again. He slides his nose across her cheek until it bumps hers, his hand slipping up to turn her chin. He presses his lips to hers again, craving her touch. She smells like jasmine and tastes like acid pops and mischief. He pulls at her lower lip, biting down sharply and chuckling at the huff that sounds from her. He rounds the back of her chair, fighting some smugness at the way she leans her head up to keep their lips together. It's only when he plops down in her lap, straddling her waist that she rears her head back and laughs hysterically. He hides his face under her tilted up chin, laughing too for what felt like forever. It felt euphoric, laughing with her. She shakes her head, finally calming down enough to look at him. To look through him when she says, "I think something is bothering you, but I'm going to trust that you don't want me to know what it is."