Until We Meet Again (Sirius x OFC)

Part 1 - Chapter 15: Catching Up

I lost all track of time, but I found myself lying in Sirius' arms a while later, tightly wrapped in his embrace while my head rested on his chest. I loved listening to the steady rhythm of his heart while his hand was drawing small circles on my shoulder, it felt familiar and safe. We were quiet, although we weren't asleep. There were no words needed at the moment for the warm feeling in our bodies was already expressing enough how happy we were to have each other again.

I wanted time to stop right then and there. My wounds were healing, I could feel it, and the pain was a lot easier to bear with Sirius by my side.

After a while, I lifted my head to meet his eyes again. Now, I could recognize a lot more familiarity in them than a few hours ago, just by the way they seemed to have gotten more alive. But there was also a sad smile on his face.

"I wish I could have been the man you deserved," he mumbled. "I wanted to marry you, give you a family, make you happy... and instead you had to suffer so much."

"Don't..." I said, shaking my head.

"You're an angel," he replied. "I wouldn't have been mad if you had found someone else who could have given to you what I couldn't. Of course, that thought often crossed my mind, it was one of the most painful ones... But your happiness is more important to me."

"We both lost so much... How could I have moved on so easily?" I looked at him sternly. "My heart is yours, Sirius, you've been carrying It with you ever since I gave it to you in sixth grade. And I don't have anything left to give someone else."

"And my heart is yours. At least what's left of it."

His unusually sentimental words left in me a sadness that was worse than any I had felt before. He was a broken man, of some sort, and even I couldn't make him whole again. But then, the same was true for me. Maybe we just had to find a way to live with it.

There was no discussion that Sirius was the only one for me, so I decided to change the subject, even though I couldn't think of anything better. "About what Severus said..."

Sirius rolled his eyes dramatically. "No, please... Don't ruin it."

"I just want you to know that there was nothing."

"Nothing? He said you two were close, whatever that means."

"We just had some conversations when I got to Hogwarts, really." I sighed a little annoyed. "Severus wanted to hurt you, that's why he said it. He tried to get to you."

"Yea, he did," said Sirius. "Just the thought makes me want to kill him."

"I know, I'm sorry."

"No, please. You did nothing wrong," he pointed out. "Snape, this sneaky little snake, on the other hand..."

"Sirius," I interrupted.

He frowned at me. "What? He took advantage of your loneliness and grief."

"He is just as lonely."

"Don't defend him, Ally. I want to throw up when I hear that."

I couldn't help the laughter that escaped my lips at his statement. Sirius looked at me as if I had gone mad, but I couldn't stop. This was just so typical. I felt as though we had been travelling back in time.

"Merlin, I love you," said Sirius and let out a chuckle himself. "When you laugh, everything's alright again."

"You're not mad?" I questioned, and he rolled us over so that he was on top of me again.

His lips found mine for a brief moment. "I could never be mad at you. I love you too much."

I lifted my hand and let my fingertips run over his bearded cheek, then through his hair. "You know... it's not too late for anything yet... If we find a way, we can still marry..."