It was nearly three in the morning by the time Sirius stumbled through the front door, laughter still etched across his face. His boots clomped loudly along the wooden floor, and he allowed himself to fall against the wall for support.
He reached into his jacket pocket, fumbling for his wand so that he could light a path for himself through the darkness, but before he could find it every light in the apartment lit up- so brightly at first that Sirius had to shield his eyes with his forearm, so brightly that he was sure one of the little glass bulbs would blow out again. No wonder the landlord hated them. The power surge always meant the same thing: Marlene was pissed.
"Look who finally made it home," Her voice came from the open doorway leading to the bedroom; her silhouette stood stiffly against the frame, arms crossed and her fingers closed too-tightly around her wand, as if she was thinking of using it on him. She hadn't slept, he could tell, but she had tried; the dark bags forming under her eyes only served to make her anger more intimidating.
Marlene crossed the room slowly; a full head shorter than him, and yet she was a force to be reckoned with. Not one to usually be intimidated, Sirius automatically stepped away from her, pushing his back up against the wall as if that would save him. When she was within a few feet of him, she perceptively flinched; he knew she could smell the whiskey on him.
"You reek, Black," she said stonily, looking him up and down. Close enough so that he could count the freckles on her nose and make out the raised white snake that was a scar on her leg, she didn't seem so intimidating anymore. But it was her disappointment in him always seemed to sting deeper than a shouting match. She saved calling him by his last name for special occasions only.
"Wasn't aware I had a curfew, McKinnon," he shot back, lifting a hand and pinching the bridge of his nose where a headache was already starting to form. A year of living together and these arguments were still happening. "Dunno if you've noticed but I'm a grownup- I don't need a babysitter."
"You could have been anywhere," she snapped, her jawline stiffening in anger. "You could have been hurt, or been in a fight, or end-"
"Yeah, but I didn't," he cut across her, voice thick with annoyance. They'd always fought, but never about things like this; it was being cooped up together all day long that drove them to it. They were practically climbing the walls after weeks of trying to stay hidden; who could blame him for needing a night out? Sirius pulled himself off the wall and strode into the darkened bedroom, leaving her stewing angrily in his wake. He willed himself not to stumble on the way- the last thing he needed was to fuel her fire with proof. Once he'd gotten a moment of distance and quiet, his resolved crumbled. He turned and called back to her: "Are you coming to bed or what?"
Marlene appeared in the doorway, only a shadow lit from behind. She didn't answer his question, just continued to stare at him in that way she did: chest rising and falling evenly, eyes unblinking, lips pressed into a thin line. It was her go-sleep-on-the-couch face.
"Marlene," Sirius moaned, running both hands through his long hair in frustration. "What do you want me to say? I'm not sleeping on the fucking couch. I'm sorry I didn't call, will you lighten up?"
"I will not lighten up," she snapped before he had even finished speaking, dropping her arms to her sides and furrowing her brow at him. "I will not 'lighten up' just because you don't feel like talking-"
"Will you just shut up, please?" Sirius shouted, waving a hand at her in dismissal and sitting down on the edge of the bed. "You don't want to sleep with me, that's fine. You take the couch,"
"This isn't about the couch," Marlene matched his pitch, raising her voice for the first time all evening. Instinctively, he flinched. If she was abandoning her composure, this fight wouldn't be over anytime soon.
"Marlene, can you just save it for the morning?" he growled, putting his face in his hands, exhaling slowly until his lungs were empty. "I took a night off, get over it. What is your problem? God, you used to be fun."
Stunned silence from the doorway. She had folded her arms again, recoiled into herself like his words had delivered a physical blow. Did he think she liked being on edge all the time? Did he think she fancied stepping up as the adult in the relationship? Somebody had to. The tight composure she had been holding over her expression faltered; he lifted his head just in time to see her face crumble. From angry to sad, in one low blow.
"Mar, I didn't-" he started to apologize slowly, swallowing a lump in his throat that might have been pride.
"Remus got attacked tonight," she interrupted him, her voice thick and strangely unfamiliar. He was on his feet in a second, springing up from the bed and crossing the room to her in one swift, panicked motion.
"What?" he practically boomed, looking down at her with narrowed eyes, anger slapping the inside of his ribcage like contained waves. "When? Why the hell didn't you call me?"
"Because we DIDN'T KNOW WHERE TO REACH YOU," her voice was spiraling into hysterics now, the shouts she held in from earlier returned and doubled. She brought her arms up and shoved into him angrily, knocking him backwards, hands making furious contact with his chest every time she barked a broken phrase out at him. "Because- you- are- so- God- damn- SELFISH. I'm sorry- that you- needed a BREAK. The rest- of us- DON'T GET TO TAKE THOSE."
Marlene finished with her chest rising and falling quickly, throat aching, not stopping until the back of his knees made contact with the edge of the bed and he was knocked off balance, forced again to take a seat. She stood over him, sucking her bottom lip in tightly between her teeth. It wasn't until her shoulders starting to shake that he realized she was trying not to cry.
"You could have been anywhere," she echoed her sentiment from before, and this time he didn't mock her for it. Slowly, careful not to provoke her, he rose to his feet. He wrapped his arms around her and she melted into him, shaking quietly against his chest while he hugged her tightly, rocking her back and forth more for his sake than hers.
"I'm sorry," he whispered in a hoarse voice, eyes staring blankly ahead as he planted his lips into a series of drawn-out kisses on the top of her head. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry,"
"Don't scare me like that again," she said through a sniffle, after the two of them had been standing there, holding each other up for a few minutes in silence.
"I won't," he promised, pulling away from her with a smirk playing across his face. He leaned into her, pressing his lips against hers lightly, feeling his smile reflected as the corners of her mouth turned upwards. "I'll just have to focus on finding new ways to scare you."