I dedicate this drabble to one of my best mates, Anket, and to another friend, Kayleigh, who I can't see on my Tumblr dash without saying "blaaarghaargh". They have made a wonderful ship, and I'm sailing with it. I do not own Sirius Black, he belongs to J.k. I do not own Soleil Bellerose, she belongs to Kayleigh.

Five years. It was hard to believe they'd been together for five years already, it had all gone so fast. Things had changed in the five years, of course. Everyone had. James and Lily were married, with a baby. The war was fully in action, more and more people dying every day. Friendships broken by mistrust. But at the end of every day, Soleil got to go home. Their home.

"Sirius? Are you home?" she shouted as she walked through the door. No answer. He must be out for the order, she thought a little sadly. It was a little selfish, but she often hated how little they saw of one another because of the war. Sirius was often out on missions, or sneaking off to try and meet up with James. That brought a smile to her face for a moment, even though James and Lily were hiding, Sirius and James were as mischievous as they'd been at school, despite the fact that both Soleil and Lily had told them off for it.

Soleil put her bag and coat away, and decided she might read a book in the living room. Just relax for a little bit before writing up the article that needed handing in tomorrow morning. If there was one thing the war gave rather than took, it was plenty of news. Working at The Daily Prophet was a nice enough job, she was doing what she enjoyed, and she was working alongside her best friend, Mary. She made a mental note to owl Mary later, and ask her if her and Marcus wanted to come over soon. Soleil missed their company.

As she walked into the living room, she saw roses. Dozens of them. She frowned a little in confusion, it wasn't her birthday, so why was there anything special in here? Her eyes scanned the room, finding a black dog with a rose in his mouth and wagging his tail. Soleil burst out laughing, unable to contain herself. Sirius Black was an odd character, he was never publicly so sweet, but behind closed doors he was so wonderful. She had that side of him all to herself.

"Might I ask what the occasion is?" she asked, taking the rose from the dog.

Sirius transformed back into his human self, stepping towards her. "Do I need a reason to surprise the woman I love?"

"You don't do anything without a reason, Mr Black." she smiled coyly, kissing his cheek.

He smirked at her, "Well, I suppose there is a reason.."

Soleil shook her head at him, still smiling. He might have once been considered a player, but he was a wonderful man. And he might always have reason behind his actions, but it was the best way to be. He was unpredictable, but reason served him well. Unpredictable without reason caused problems. She sat on her armchair, waiting for him to come out with his reason. He knelt down, standing on one knee. It dawned on her what was happening, and her eyes widened in shock.

"Soleil Isolde Bellerose.. Will you do me the honour of becoming my wife?"

Everything stopped. Breathing, her heart, time itself.. Sirius was asking her to marry him. Soleil couldn't say she hadn't thought about it, they had been together for five years after all. Getting married, however, was a huge thing. She remembered James and Lily's wedding, it had been beautiful. But every time she'd thought about the possibility of her own wedding, she'd been terrified, there was a huge war going on and Sirius was fighting in it. What if they got married and she lost him?

"Yes."

Because losing him now and losing him if they were married would hurt just the same. October 30th, 1981, Sirius Black and Soleil Bellerose got engaged.

Five years. It was hard to believe it had been five years already, it had gone so fast. Things had changed in the five years, of course. Everyone had. Mary and Marcus were married, with a baby. The war was over, no more deaths to deal with every day. Friendships being healed. But at the end of every day, she got to go home. Their home.

"Mary? Mary, I'm home!" Soleil shouted.

"Hey, we're in the kitchen!"

Soleil smiled to herself a little sadly. Mary had been off work for the past two months, since she'd had her baby. To help Soleil out, she'd been taking care of someone for her. She walked into the kitchen, finding an absolute mess. A small, young girl ran to her, and hugged her leg tightly. Soleil didn't even care that she got her robes messy.

"Mummy, we've been baking!" the little girl said gleefully.

"I can see that, mon cher." Soleil laughed.

Mary smiled at them, putting the baby into her car seat. Mary preferred to drive when she had the baby with her, something her and Marcus argued about often enough.

"Thank you, Mare." Soleil said, walking with her to the door.

"Oh it's no problem, she's a sweetheart." she smiled. "I'll be here at the same time tomorrow, I'll see you then."

"Thank you. Goodnight." she kissed the baby on the forehead. Her god-daughter was a beautiful baby, there was no denying. Soleil waved goodbye to them, waiting until they'd left before she went back into the house.

She went back into the kitchen, finding her four year old daughter eating cake mixture. Artemis looked up at her mother with a look on her face that said she'd been caught doing something naughty. They stared at each other for a moment, and the child, not breaking her stare, began to eat it again. Soleil laughed gently at her. It was a funny thing to see, but it saddened her so much. Artemis had the same mischievous streak as her father did. It just made Soleil miss him even more.

"Mummy.."

"Yes, mon cher?"

"When's daddy coming home?" Artemis looked down at the table, still playing with cake mixture. She knew that the topic of her father upset her mother, but every other child had a father. She didn't have hers because he was locked away for causing the death of his best friend. Artemis had always been told that her father could never do such a thing, he was a wonderful man, and one day he would be cleared. He would come home to them.

"I don't know." Soleil said, her voice almost breaking. The topic of Sirius was always a difficult one, especially with his daughter, whom he had yet to meet. Or be aware of for that matter. "One day, he will come home." she said, picking up her daughter and hugging her tightly. Artemis was the only part of Sirius that she had now.

"Will he love me?" the child asked quietly into her mother's hair.

Soleil almost burst into tears. She wanted to tell her daughter everything about Sirius. Everything about her and Sirius. How it had all began, ten years ago. How Sirius and James were inseparable. How Sirius had loved Harry, even though Harry was James' son and not his own. How Sirius would have adored Artemis with all his heart. How she'd have been the light of his life. But, her daughter was too young to understand everything. One day, she would understand. One day, her father would come home. One day, everything would make sense again.

"He has always loved you, even if he doesn't know it. He will always love you, mon cher. You will understand it, one day."