Tenebrous ❆ Sirius Black [2]

Chapter Forty Three

"So what is the final count?" Sirius asked, a small chuckle escaping his lips as he and Nadia walked through the door of their flat. He found himself laughing even more as he heard the groan she let out after hearing his question.

"I honestly lost count. What is it with everyone? Why do they need to know?" She whined, although the smile on her face indicated that she didn't mind the situation as much as she let on.

"Maybe because they all know they're invited so they want to know when it is." Sirius suggested with a smile on his face as he stepped towards her, his arms wrapping around her shoulders and pulling her towards him as her own went around his waist. "And everyone's really looking forward to it, present company included." He added on.

With the holidays in full swing, they had been making rounds all over the place; visiting friends in all places and wherever they went, the same question was asked: When's the wedding? It was true that even though they had been engaged for a couple of months they haven't decided on a date, but with everything going on they didn't feel the need to rush it. However, as the New Year drew near, the time which had passed by them started to become much clearer.

"I am too." She whispered, craning her neck upwards and placing a small peck to his lips, a smile never leaving her face. "Should we just elope?" She asked in a joking tone, feeling the laughter rumble through Sirius' chest as he thought about her suggestion.

"Sure, we could even bet on who'd kill us first." He replied in an amused tone. Nadia's face took on a thoughtful expression, as if she were pondering who it would be. But soon their eyes met again, and the two knew the most probable answer.

"Your dad."
"My dad."

The two said in unison. Konstantin mentioned the wedding multiple times in every letter he sent them from Russia. He was excited as if it was him getting married to Sirius and not his daughter. If they deprived him of the experience, Nadia and Sirius were sure they wouldn't get to live another day once he found out the truth.

"But why is it taking us all this time to set a date?" Nadia pulled out of his arms so she could look up into his face as she asked the question. It wasn't like they had made the decision to wait. As Sirius took a moment to think, she pulled on his hand, leading the both of them over to the sofa so they could take a seat while they talked.

"I don't know, I guess with everything going on in our lives we just focused on other things." Sirius said with a thoughtful expression, trying to pin point the exact time when the thoughts of the wedding were put in the back of their minds. They had lost track of time and it just flew by. "But it shouldn't be like that. So Nadia Volkov, when do you want to get married?"

"We're deciding now?" She asked in surprise, not expecting the decision to be made right there and then, but it made her happy as she realized she'd finally have a date to look forward to, counting down the days until it came.

"Unless you've changed your mind and you don't want to marry me." Sirius spoke in a teasing tone, the suggestion making Nadia lightly hit his chest as she shook her head at him.

"Of course not, I want to marry you as soon as possible and you know that." She said, her tone gentle as her lips found his one more, Sirius kissing her back for a moment before he pulled away.

"So spring then? As soon as it comes?" Sirius had an excited smile on his face, and while Nadia found it adorable, she couldn't help but burst out laughing at the hidden meaning behind his words.

"Do you really hate winter that much that you can't get married during it?" She asked, her question broken up by her laughter so it took some time to get all the words out.

"Nadia, what if it snows?" He asked in such a serious voice that Nadia's laughter only increased. It took her a couple of moments to calm down and her laughter subsided as she looked up at him with a smile on her face her fingers brushing through his dark hair gently.

"But really, why do you hate winter so much?" She asked curiously. Nadia was aware that hating the snow and the cold wasn't that unusual, but she had never met someone who hated it as much as Sirius did.

"It reminds me of my old home." Sirius admitted after a couple of moments, his voice going quiet as he looked towards the floor. Hearing his words made the smile fall from Nadia's face, but she didn't say anything as Sirius continued. "All of 12 Grimmauld Place was always cold, not only because of the people in it but you could never get warm there. At least I couldn't. So whenever it's cold outside, when winter comes around, it's like a reminder of what it used to be like back there."

If there was one thing Nadia hated with a burning passion, it was Sirius' family. Of course, she hated people like them; those who stood for thing like maintaining blood purity and believed in the same things as the Blacks did. But Nadia's hatred for them didn't come from knowing their opinions, it came from knowing all the things they had put Sirius through.

While he didn't speak of his childhood often, whenever he did, whenever Sirius divulged a piece of information on what growing up for him was like, Nadia wished there was something she could do. Some way in which she could make him forget all that pain and sadness. Because if there was anyone who didn't deserve any of that it was him.

"We'll wait for spring then." She said after a couple of moments passed in silence. The tone of her voice, so understanding, patient and kind, made Sirius' eyes snap back to look at her face. In her eyes all he could see was love, there was no disappointment or any sign that she would try convincing him to let go of such thoughts that he himself knew didn't matter anymore. He was happy now, and he never had to go back there. He had a new home, a warm one, full of love and happiness and he never could have asked for a better person to share it with. The realization made his thoughts suddenly clear.

"No." He said suddenly, making Nadia give him a confused look.

"Do you want to wait longer? Because we can, I don't mind." She said confidently. For Nadia, just knowing that someday she would marry him was enough right now. She did want to be his wife, she did want to marry him and for them to have their special day, but she felt no need to rush it. Not if he wasn't ready.

"No, that's not what I mean. I don't want to wait. We've been waiting all this time. What I want is to marry you, as soon as I can." Sirius spoke with conviction. "We already said it wouldn't be a big wedding, a lot of it is already planned and whatever else we need, I'm pretty sure people will be jumping at the chance to help set it up. So why continue to put it off? Because it's winter? That's the stupidest reason if I've ever heard one." He said, both of them letting out laughs at the last sentence.

"Are you serious?" Nadia asked, her lips spreading out into a wide smile as she looked up into his grey eyes, excitement shining in them just as much as it was in hers she suspected.

"Love, we're getting married soon, you should really learn my name." Sirius teased, making laughter bubble past her lips once more as she threw her head back in amusement. But it died down rather quickly as his words registered in her head. Unlike all the other times it was mentioned, this time the words carried a tone of certainty and finality.

"We're getting married." She whispered, incapable of repeating it enough times for it to become irritating.

"As soon as possible. It's time winter has some good memories." He replied with a smile, the arm which remained wrapped around her waist all this time pulling her closer and soon Nadia found herself leaning over him as she straddled his lap.

"As soon as possible." She repeated, a smile, the widest one Sirius' had ever seen on her, spread over her face, and soon her lips found his again, the kiss passionate and full of love. They were getting married, and neither could wait for it. Not anymore.

Published: 03rd January, 2019

Soon... Hehehe!