Until We Meet Again (Sirius x OFC)

Part 1 - Chapter 13: Reunion

Trembling and already near tears, I entered the small guesthouse. Everything was the same as in my memory and Rowan, who had noticed me coming in because of the noisy doorbell, was greeting me.

"What can I do for ya? Need a room?" he asked loudly. His glasses covered his blind eyes and he wore hearing-aids. Except for him, the house seemed deserted. I knew he rarely had guests and no employees besides a cleaner who only came every Thursday.

"I'm actually looking for someone," I explained and thought about it. "Uhm, I believe his name is Mr. Padfoot."

"Ah ya, he's here," said Rowan. "Upstairs, all the way down th' hall, room to the right. Told me I'd leave a woman through t'him, no other. Yer his girl, eh? Need somethin' just tell me."

"I... uh, thanks."

I quickly walked upstairs, memories flooding my mind. We had been here so many years ago, happy and in love. I couldn't believe all that had happened in the meantime. It felt surreal to be here now.

When I stood before the door that according to Rowan lead to Sirius's room, I was almost paralyzed with nervousness and my heart was near bursting. It took me a few minutes before I was able to lift my hand and knock, my knuckles hitting the rough wood of the surface.

I heard a faint 'Yes' and I immediately recognized his voice. It penetrated every atom of my body and I felt like I would explode if I just took one more step.

But I had to. Holding my breath, I slowly opened the door.

* * *

It had been three days. Three days since I last heard from Sirius. He was on a mission for the Order of the Phoenix and he couldn't tell me anything about it because it was secret, and they couldn't risk anyone knowing. He said it wouldn't take too long, a day at maximum, but that was over by far already. And the worst was, I had to go on a mission today as well – without knowing whether he'd be back... or whether I'd be back. Who knows what was going on? News about the death of people we knew had gotten frequent and everyone could be next. We weren't immune, on the contrary.

I left Sirius a note – saying I was on a mission, not more, because just like him, I couldn't tell any details. It bothered me, because what if he came back hurt and I couldn't help him? What if I missed any news of his whereabouts? And... what if I never saw him again?

But I had to go. So I did.

The mission was to spy on and get information about a group of Death Eaters. Those missions were amongst the most dangerous ones. But I needed to get access to some of their documents and since I was the language specialist and could translate runes the fastest – I needed to do it. Of course, two other members were with me to have my back, but the danger was still immeasurable.

After four days, I had collected a fair amount of information about dark artefacts, the hiding places of some Death Eaters and proof for a lot of nauseating crimes they had committed. We decided to leave then and bring back what he had – it was unnecessary to prolong the mission if it was unclear whether there was more or not.

It was mere survival instinct that I managed to function on this mission without knowing more about Sirius. When I got back – exhausted to my bones, starved, dirty – I felt like I would collapse any minute.

I opened the door to our apartment and what I saw made me stop in my tracks. Sirius and Remus were there, staring at me as though I was a ghost, and brooding over a bunch of maps and documents. Sirius was the first to move – he ran towards me and enveloped me in a bone-crushing hug, mumbling that he had been sure he had lost me.

I could have said the very same thing, but there was no air in my lungs. I started coughing and he let go of me, looking down at my worn-out form. I felt sick.

"Shit, come sit down. Remus get her water," Sirius commanded and maneuvered me to a chair. He squatted down in front of me and checked on me for any injuries. Since I had none and was generally okay, he just rid me of my cloak and the dirty robes I wore. When I had drunk enough, he helped me shower and then I just sunk into the pillows on our bed and fell asleep.

I awoke to Remus putting a towel to my forehead. "Hey," he mumbled and smiled tiredly.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"You had a fever, probably some kind of infection. We already fixed you," Remus explained. "But you needed a lot of sleep."

"When did Sirius get back?" I asked.

"Shortly after you had left for your mission. You had him worried sick, being gone for days."

"That's not so unusual, he was away just as long..."

"Yes, but he knew what your mission was," Remus said. "We overheard some other Death Eaters talking about how they killed a spy who was described just like you. When you came back, we were just brooding over a plan on how to find you."

"Oh shit," I exclaimed and sat up. My shirt was sweaty, and I quickly put it on a clean one.

Sirius then came from the kitchen, looking relieved to see I was awake. He handed me a mug that was filled with soup and sat down beside me while Remus told us he needed to leave. When he was gone, Sirius started talking resignedly. "We're living a nightmare."

I put the mug away and wrapped my arms around him, finally releasing what I had been bottling up over the last week. "I was so worried when you didn't come home," I said, my eyes waters. "Sirius, I can't lose you. I just can't, I couldn't survive it."

"And you won't lose me," he replied sternly.

"You can't promise that," I stated. "It's not in your power."

Sirius sighed but didn't argue. He just held me a little tighter and pressed a kiss to my lips. This was our life now. He was right, it was a nightmare.

* * *

When I entered the room, Sirius was sitting at a table, reading a newspaper that was spread out before him. As soon as he caught sight of me, he jumped up and without taking his eyes off me took a few steps towards me. His grey eyes never left mine when I closed the door behind me and cautiously approached him.

I started crying right then and there for seeing him in the flesh was far too much for me. The rest was a haze, I felt him fling his arms around me and I did the same, embracing him so tightly that I didn't know where my body ended and his started. I felt him tremble and I couldn't help but cry even harder. My emotions were not only overwhelming, they ate me up whole.

After a while, I was conscious enough to really notice him – his familiar smell, the feeling of his arms around me. Sirius loosened his embrace a little, but just enough so that he was able to look into my face. I saw he had cried as well, his eyes were wet, and he was pale and so much skinnier than I remembered him. I wanted to cry even harder when I saw how much he must have suffered, his sunken face betrayed it. For me, however, he was the most wonderful thing I had seen in twelve years.

"You're here," he muttered and again his voice made me shiver. I had missed it so much. "Merlin, you're here. You're real. And you're so beautiful. Alia."

My name on his tongue made me want to sob and I couldn't talk since the lump in my throat was preventing even the shortest syllable from leaving my mouth. We just stared at each other for an eternity and it was electrifying. Sirius pressed his lips to mine almost desperately and I gratefully kissed him back as if I had just been unknowingly waiting for it. He held me so tight as if his life depended on it, which might have been true for me at least. The kiss revived me, I felt as if I had awoken from a long slumber like Sleeping Beauty. Sirius moaned faintly, I nearly melted at the sounds but before long, we were both out of breath and had to break away. I was sure that there wasn't one atom of oxygen left in my lung.

"Sirius," I mumbled, completely wasted, my lips swollen and my heart racing.

And he smirked.

Oh, that smirk! It hit me completely unprepared and my heart suddenly warmed up. The tension left my body and I saw Sirius, maybe for the first time, for who he was: The boy I'd fallen in love with all those years ago.