AN - This is the first chapter of this collection (a collection of unrelated Sirius/Marlene oneshots and drabbles)
This was written for MelodyPond77. I hope you liked it. Sorry it is not a fairytale AU I really wanted to write one for you but, I just didn't get the inspiration for it. =/
Disclaimer (And this applies to every since oneshot/drabble in this collection) I do not own Sirisu Black, Marlene McKinnon or any other character you may recognize.
A Tale of Two Stars
I Want To Know What Love Is.
All he wanted was to know what love felt like.
His friends could not understand why he would give up his opulent lifestyle. Peers couldn't fathom why he would want to walk away from a noble, pure family, a beautiful home, and more money than any one person really knew what to do with.
If they spent ten minutes in his shoes they would understand. They would know in an instant, really, but, he wouldn't wish that on his worst enemy, let alone any friend or random peer who had never done him wrong.
His cheek still stung from where his mother had slapped him. He shoved his clothes into his trunk, with his broomstick, wand, books and the few pictures he had not stuck to his walls. He slammed the lid shut, locked it and took one last look at his room before leaving, slamming the door in his wake.
-x-
He couldn't pester James's family anymore. The potters had become his family over the last two years but he felt guilty for being an extra burden on them. He and James had been friends since their first year at Hogwarts, both sorted into Gryffindor and both holding a deep loathing for the house his family had called home for so many years. He had marked his sorting, his friendship, his time with the Potters, as his freedom. But now it was time to move on.
He stuffed all of his belongings into his trunk: his books, his wand, his clothes and his broomstick. He grabbed a piece of parchment and quill and left a note, thanking the Potters for their hospitality and explaining his decision to leave. Then with one last look back at his sleeping friend and the place he called home, he left.
-x-
The room above the bar was small and damp and more than he could afford but it was all that he could find. So that is where he spent the next two weeks. He knew he would have a lot of explaining to do when he returned to Hogwarts and met James for the first time since he had walked out. They had corresponded by Owl but he was always careful not to mention where he was. He simply let his friend, and the couple who had been more like parents than his own, know that he was well and thankful for all that they had done for him.
-x-
It was a Thursday night when the blonde walked into the bar. She wore black shorts, a long white t-shirt topped with a short checkered vest and black boots. Her blond hair was long, straight and teased to a surprising volume. Her lips where blood red and her eyes rimmed with black liner and mascara. She smiled in his direction before taking a seat at the bar, crossing one long, tanned leg over the other.
"I haven't seen you around before," He said, taking a long swig of firewhiskey. It had been a bad day and he didn't feel much like company but, it would be downright rude (and stupid) to ignore the beautiful woman who had just sat down beside him.
"It's my first time here." She admitted, after ordering a glass of wine. "Do you come here often?"
He chuckled and nodded, "More than I should, if we're being honest."
"I think we should be honest. Lying gets people nowhere, doesn't it?"
"I suppose you are right." He nodded, smiling for the first time that day.
"So why are you here, Sirius?" She laughed at his startled expression. "Who doesn't know the infamous Sirius Black, best friend of James Potter. I'm Marlene, Marlene McKinnon., Ravenclaw."
"Wow. How have I not met you before, Miss McKinnon?"
She shrugged slightly, "I keep to myself, mostly. It is nice to see a friendly face though." She nursed her wine and tapped black and gold fingernails against the polished oak counter, "How about a dance?"
"I'm sorry Marlene. I'm not the best dancer."
She frowned but nodded. "That's alright. Maybe some other time." She finished her wine before getting up. "I'll see you around Sirius."
-x-
He felt the heat of the early morning sun on his skin as the light poured in through the open window. He opened his eyes and bolted up upright, tossing the plush, purple blanket that had covered him to the floor.
"It's alright. You're safe," the voice was familiar. He turned to stare at the blonde standing by the kitchen counter.
"Where am I?" He threw his legs over the side of the couch, turning his back to her. He rubbed at his tired eyes and flinched.
"Easy, you got into quite the fight last night." Marlene sat down beside him on the small couch and pressed some ice to the side of his face.
"A fight, with who?"
"Some stupid bloke. I guess you didn't like the way he disrespected me. Or at least that is what you said before you took a swing at him."
"He must've deserved it then if he disrespected you." Sirius blushed and thanked her for the ice.
"It's the least I could do. After you stood up for me like that. Are you okay?" She stood up and returned to the kitchen, where she flipped some pancakes and eggs on a griddle.
Sirius nodded. "Is this your place?" Sirius realized for the first time how hungry he was. It had been two days since he had had a real meal. He walked over to the counter and sat on one of the large stools she had at the breakfast nook.
"Yea, I moved out of my parent's house right after my seventeenth birthday. I have two younger siblings and things were kind of tight. It made things a little easier for them." She grabbed some plates out of the cupboard. "Do you like pancakes?"
"Yes I do." He nodded, trying not to sound too eager.
"Good." She made him a large plate and sat some butter and syrup on the counter. "Tuck in."
He smiled gratefully and, once she had her own plate, began to devour his own. He was halfway done with his own meal when he realized she had not even started her own. She had been watching him.
"Sorry." He mumbled and took another bite of pancake and egg.
"No worries," she picked up her own fork and took a bite. "So where are you staying?"
"Uhm," He hesitated, taking another bite of food. "Well, I was staying above the bar."
"But you're not now?"
He shrugged, "they threw me out last week. No big deal."
"Have you found another place yet?"
He thought about lying but one look into her eyes and he simply couldn't, "No but, I will, it's no big deal."
"Of course it is! You need a safe place to stay." She said after another bite of breakfast. "And you will stay here until you find somewhere else."
"No. I can't do that. I'm really grateful you took care of me last night and fed me and all but, I'll be alright."
She scoffed and for the first time since meeting her, he felt angry. "It isn't safe out there. You are better off here and you know it. Don't be the stubborn git everyone says you are."
He frowned. "I am not a stubborn git."
"Well you are certainly acting like one right now!"
He groaned, "I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself."
"I know. I just want to know that you have a safe, dry place to sleep and food to eat."
He sighed, "Fine but only until I find another place to stay."
-x-
The next two months seemed to fly by and before he knew it, it was the end of August. He had stopped trying to find a place and had settled into a comfortable routine with Marlene after two short weeks.
It was July 10th when he finally plucked enough courage to kiss her. They were doing dishes, Marlene was washing and he was drying, and they were talking about going into London to buy groceries. Or rather, she was talking and he was watching her intently. He had become so infatuated with the way her hair flew about her when she moved, and the way she crinkled her nose when he said something she disliked. Her laugh was hypnotizing and her smile was angelic and after he pulled her close and kissed her deeply, shattering a glass in the process, he told her so.
It was August 10st when they first shared the bed in the master. He held her close all night and kissed the top of her head when she fell asleep. He watched the rise and fall of her chest as she slept and ran his fingers through her hair. He decided then that if anyone hurt her in anyway, he would have no choice but to tear them apart limb from limb.
It was August 11th when she first said the three words that he had been dying to hear all of his life. They sounded like music, the most beautiful melody he had ever heard. He said them back and the words seemed so foreign, so complex, but he meant them. He knew he meant them.
It was that summer that he truly learned what love was. It was a continued mystery, a puzzle she helped him solve, and he learned more and more every step of the way. He had wanted to know and Marlene McKinnon showed him and continued to show him just what love was, every day.
Challenges:
Open Category 3 - Marauders Era
Broadway Inspiration Challenge - I Want to Know What Love Is.