stars | sirius black

23: Slow Burn

"I KEEP FINDING NEW ways to mess up, don't I?" Sirius said, sighing when he pulled away from the kiss.

"No." Arabella said, putting her fingers to her lips. "You didn't."

"I didn't what?" Sirius said shocked, looking at Arabella with wide eyes. Not believing what she had just said.

"You didn't mess up." Arabella said strenly, placing her hands on his shoulders and looking him directly in the eye. "Not even a little bit."

"You sure?" Sirius asked her, looking down and biting his lip in nervousness.

"I'm very sure." Arabella said, a small and nervous smile on her face. "As long as you don't regret doing it."

"I don't!" Sirius exclaimed a little too loudly, Arabella moved a little bit away from him due to the loudness of his voice.

"I'm sorry." Sirius said, laughing awkwardly and rubbing the back of his head.

"Don't worry about it." She smiled, a small laugh also escaping her lips.

An awkward silence filled the room. The two friends unsure of what to say next. They both knew they had to acknowledge what had just happened and both knew that things won't be the same for them.

"I like you."

"I need to tell you something."

The two said at the exact same time, catching the other off guard. They both shared a little laugh as they took in the situation. Neither of them thought that this would be a conversation that they would have, but they knew it had to happen.

"I like you, Belle. Maybe even so much more than like. And I don't mean as a friend. Merlin, it feels so good to say that out loud!" Sirius exclaimed loudly, sighing in relief afterwards. He felt a huge wait being lifted off his shoulders as he couldn't help the small laugh escaping from his lips.

"You do?" Arabella asked, still in slight disbelief over the entire thing.

"I do." Sirius admitted, his nervousness about the situation fading. "I always have, it just took me a while to realize."

"A while?" Arabella asked, a teasing look on her face.

"Okay, it took me a really long time." Sirius laughed. "But I'm glad that I did."

"I'm glad that you realized it too." Arabella said, giving Sirius a light nudge.

"What are saying?" Sirius asked, feigning shock. "Arabella Arroway, what are you trying to tell me?"

"Don't make me say it." Arabella groaned but a smile was on her face, shaking her head at Sirius.

"Come on, I said it! That's not fair!" Sirius pouted, crossing his arms, faking a sad expression.

"Okay, okay." Arabella laughed, holding her hands up in surrender. Sirius smiled and gestured for her to go on.

"I like you too." Arabella muttered softly.

"I'm sorry what?" Sirius teased. "I didn't quite catch that."

"I like you too, you dense prick!" Arabella said, hitting Sirius with a throw pillow.

"Ouch!" Sirius exclaimed once the pillow hit his chest. "Wasn't the confession that I was expecting but I guess it'll have to do."

"On a serious note, when did you realize that you liked me?" Sirius asked, genuine curiosity on his features and in his tone of voice.

"Realizing that I liked you was a slow burn for me." Arabella started, looking at Sirius shyly. "I was looking at you and I just got this really weird feeling and now that I think about it, it was an attraction to you. And over time that weird feeling grew and grew. I couldn't tell you the exact moment because it was a gradual process of realizing and accepting. I'm pretty sure at one point I convinced myself that I was going insane."

"Why would you convince yourself that?" Sirius asked.

"Maybe because I've always thought of you as a brother, thinking of you as something more seemed so unreal to me." Arabella said shrugging.

Sirius nodded, processing what Arabella had just said.

"Remus was right." Sirius laughed, shaking his head.

"Right about what?" She asked, tilting her head in confusion.

"We were looking at the goddamn ground." Sirius muttered, making a mental note to thank Remus later.

"I don't get it." Arabella said, her confusion just growing.

"Don't worry about it, Belle." Sirius winked. Arabella just shook her head, choosing to drop the subject.

Another silence filled and settled around the pair, but it wasn't even a little bit awkward. The two sat there, side by side as they took in what had just happened and what they had just talked about. Sirius closed his eyes as he sighed in contentment, moving his hand and placing it on top of Arabella's. She gave him a small smile in return and rested her head on his shoulder.

"In light of all that we've talked about," Arabella said a few moments into the comfortable silence. "What does this make us?"

Sirius shuffled away from her, causing Arabella to lift her head from his shoulder. Shaking his head at the thought that he hasn't even asked her yet.

"What are you doing?" Arabella asked, laughing when Sirius stood up from his space on the couch only to kneel down in front of her.

"Arabella Arroway," Sirius said, taking her hands in his.

"Sirius Black."

"You are literally the best, most amazing girl I know. I have no idea what I'd be without you. I have made some terrible mistakes in the past and for some reason you forgave me. You always see the best in me, which is pretty amazing because there is not a lot to see. My life would be terrible if you weren't in it. I am so grateful for you and I am mentally kicking myself for not realizing how much I needed you sooner. I want those extra days wherein you could've been mine, had I just realized it. So will you, best friend and potential love of my life, be my girlfriend?"

"Took you long enough, yes!"

_______

finally!

let me know what you think in the comments and give it a vote if you think it was worthy!

their story is far from over, bc i still have plans for them that starts from wizarding war 1 - harry p: order of the phoenix (though it'll only be like 15-ish chaps)

lots of love and i'll see ya when i see ya,
arielle