First of all: this is not a Jily story. This was done as a deal with my fanfiction-writting-friends, and as Blackinnon was the only shipping neither of us hated, it was decided we would write about it.
Second: 'Say AAAH' is coming. I'm finishing the next chapter, I swear I am.
Third: hope you enjoy and, if possible, send a review.
Fourth: I owe absolutely nothing.
Sirius knew where to find her. Even through his hazy, drunk mind, he knew exactly where she would be.
So he went for her.
Which, a small part of him considered while he snorted, was completely backwards. His brother had joined the Death Eaters. He should be the one hiding away on the little tower near the Astronomy's – the perfect place, as everybody else chose the Astronomy Tower.
To be fair, she had discovered the Drunk Tower when they were both 12. Of course it wasn't the Drunk Tower by then, but it was the place they always ran to when they needed an escape.
The smell of cigarettes made him smirk.
"Y'know, Marls," He said as he entered the tower, "Evans seems to thin' I'm a bad influence on you... If only she knew..."
Marlene barked a laugh and he followed both the sound and the smoke. As he sat down beside her, Marlene offered him a fag, and he passed her his bottle of Firewhiskey.
"Sorry, I've already drunk half of it." He apologised, although his voice didn't show any regret.
"It's alright," She replied quietly, "I've brought more." He saw then that there was a bottle of Firewhiskey between her crossed legs.
"Prongs gon' complain bou' the smell..." Sirius commented.
"Then don't smoke." Marlene said simply, taking a long drag and still not looking at him.
"If only he knew mor' th'n half o' the times t'was you!" Sirius barked a laugh, while he lighted up his own cigarette. Then he took a swig of his bottle.
And sighed.
"Y'know, should be you lookin' for me, not the other way."
"You didn't know you needed this yet," Marlene justified, "I was just preparing."
"Smart girl."
"I actually am."
They were silent for a couple minutes. This was why Sirius usually ended up here whenever some shit happened on his life. Because Marlene knew just what he wanted: to smoke, to drink and to speak only if he felt like it.
Not like with James; his best mate - his adopted brother - had a different approach on dealing with problems.
James liked to scream, vent and break stuff, to make the anger go. He liked to talk about what was bothering him.
Sirius didn't. Sirius liked to mourn, to be bitter about things. Sometimes he did the James way - but not with this. Not when Regulus had-
"'Ow did ya know?" He asked in a hoarse voice.
"Lily told me."
"'Ow the fuck did she know?" He asked, surprise on his voice. Marlene looked at him for the first time - a glare.
"How do you think?"
Sirius went quiet then rolled his eyes.
"Prongs's got to learn to keep his bloody mouth shut." Sirius grumbled.
"In his defence, Lily bugged him for a couple hours before he cracked. And only when he realised she could talk to me. Not because this means there's another Death Eater in here, just in the right place to hunt his girlfriend. The tosser hasn't even considered the implications yet."
Sirius sighed. He really wanted to hate James, but he couldn't. Sirius had wanted to take a trip to the kitchens. Sirius had convinced James to go after Regulus's voice.
It wasn't his best mate's fault that Regulus was showing off his new Dark Mark to younger Slytherin kids on a very public corridor. It wasn't his best mate's fault that Regulus had chosen this path.
Sure, James probably could've dragged Sirius out of that corridor as soon as he recognised the mark.
But that would've meant Sirius wouldn't have confronted Regulus, or punched him.
And he'd be damned if that hadn't felt good.
James hadn't even tried to get Sirius to talk. He had just stood there, completely unsure on how to proceed. He simply followed Sirius to their dorm, until Sirius smashed the door.
"Padfoot, I..." James's voice had cracked. "I honestly have got no idea how you're feeling, you're the only brother I've got." James paused. "I'll be here when- if you need me. The Map is on Moony's bed. You know where to find me."
But Sirius only wanted to get pissed. So he found his stashed bottle of Firewhiskey and started the process.
Only when he got to half he realised there was somewhere else he'd like to go. He wondered briefly if he should grab James's cloak, but he realised he didn't care.
Besides, the look on his face would surely keep people away.
And also the fact that the majority of school would be in the Great Hall, having their supper, probably helped too.
It'd be hard to explain why he was wearing a black leather jacket instead of his robes (the answer is: hidden Firewhiskey pocket).
"I dun'wanna talk 'bout it." Sirius mumbled. Marlene snorted.
"Of course you don't. You're on the 'I don't wanna talk about it' zone. If you wanted to talk it out, you'd be with James."
"He didn't try to make me talk." Sirius added, watching the stars through the smoke from his fag.
"Nice. Thank Lily for it. She sat and told him he should leave you alone to fume and wait for you sometimes."
Sirius rolled his eyes. He'd told James this for 7 years, and so had Pete and Remus. But of course stubborn James would listen to Lily.
"Brilliant. I'll actually have to do it." He replied, only slightly sarcastic. "She's good for 'im, after all. I 'ad my doubts."
"Well, they're good for each other." Marlene corrected. "We all had doubts."
"Y'know, you're good for me too, McKinnon." Sirius said, breaking a long silence. Marlene chuckled. "I mean it."
"C'mon, Sirius. Stop."
"You're a grea' friend," he continued a bit less drunkly, as if she hadn't scoffed at his words, "and you can respect my space. You know jus' wha' I need, and you're always there. 'Sides, we're both handsome." He added, smirking.
She turned to him, looking at his stormy blue eyes. He turned his smirk into his signature half smile, and raised a single eyebrow.
"Are you trying to seduce me, Black? Because you're doing a shitty job at it."
There was one more reason on why he liked to spend time with Marlene McKinnon - she spoke what was on her mind, just like him.
"Maybe I'm," he replied with a shrug. She shook her head.
"I am not shagging you because you want to forget about Reg. You know where to find the girls who would be willing to do that. I'm not."
"Who said anythin' 'bout shag?" Sirius asked instead.
"Whatever, Black. I'm a bit with James on this, tho. You can mourn and fume and get pissed and high all you want. But you'll need to talk about this with someone. Not necessarily me, you've got your boys for this, also."
"Marls-"
"I know this is hard for you. I can't fathom how much this hurts. You loved Reg despite everything. You still hoped. And it's gotta hurt so bloody much to not have it anymore..." She shook her head, taking one of his hand. "I'm your friend, Sirius. I can offer you comfort, and I will. But I refuse to be your one-night-stand because of this."
He went silent as she took another long drag, her curls framing her face. Sirius sighed.
"You're right. Sorry. I'm just a mess."
"You are. But don't worry. We can clean it up." She replied, offering him her bottle and getting up. "I'll head down and tell James you're ready for some talking, if, and only if, he promises to get sloshed too."
Sirius laughed hoarsely and nodded.
"Thanks, Marls."
"You know you can count on me, Sirius."
She ruffled his hair as she backed away from him, threw the rest of her fag on the floor and stepped on it.
"Hey, Marls..." Sirius called. She stopped with her hand on the doorknob. "You said you wouldn't be a one-night-stand because of this Reg shite..." he said, discreetly eyeing her body (or as discreetly as someone who had just had a bottle of Firewhiskey could) "Then after this is sorted wit' me, you s'pose you'd...?" He didn't finish his sentence, but it wasn't necessary. Marlene smirked.
"We'll see. Be yourself again. Then I'll think about putting some colours on the Black."