A/N:
Many heartfelt thanks and much gratitude to the amazing fringeperson who once again helped me a great deal with this chapter.
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Sirius sighed heavily and tried to push back the absolute exhaustion that weighed on his mind and body. Even as tired as he was, he still grinned as he walked further into the house- sans his soiled boots- and had to dodge a small child, the exasperated forms of his Godson, Neville, and Cloud being just behind the grinning, naked, giggling toddler.
It had been three months since the altercation with the Manning-Lockharts and things had escalated quickly. Thankfully Claudia and Cloud had stayed the night with them as Claudia's house had 'mysteriously' caught fire the next time she had gone to use her hot water. Sirius- having accompanied the boys while Augusta went to have tea with Miriam Hester and the lady's other friends- had managed to put the small, visible portion out, but by then it had been in the wiring.
The boys hadn't batted an eyelash at the news that Claudia and Cloud would be staying with them for a while- that had been Augusta's firm proclamation, once she had been fetched, thankfully Miss Hester only lived a few streets over and a bit to the left. Claudia had protested, but all of the elderly women- they had all accompanied Augusta- had been absolutely firm about the matter, so the young woman had really stood no chance.
Sirius- and Regulus who had been alerted and had returned to the Black-Longbottom home to grab a few of the empty enchanted satchels- had braved the fire-trap to rescue as many of Claudia and Cloud's things as possible. Sirius had been doing his best to smother the fire with ice-natured spells, so they did manage to salvage most of the Strife's belongings, even if the house ended up being a total loss. Augusta and the other ladies, meanwhile, had rolled up their sleeves and had begun to transplant the Strife's garden and other yard decorations up to the Black-Longbottom greenhouses via wheelbarrows.
The kids had been a tremendous help.
During all of this the Manning-Lockharts had been prowling around the edges, but the presence so many other people had kept Claudia and Cloud insulated against most of their neighbors' condescension.
The Strifes had been set up on the second floor, right below the boys' rooms and the very next day Claudia had woken up bright and early to start earning her and Cloud's keep.
By the end of that week, Claudia would feel far less insecure about herself and be far too busy to be worried about what any of the gossips might be saying about her, her baby, or the family that had taken her in.
Having been denied the Strifes the Manning-Lockharts had gone after other members of Nibelheim who owed money to the Bank as a petty form of revenge or self-indulgence, Sirius still didn't entirely understand. Most of these people were already too poor to be able to afford to send their children to the Schoolhouse, being barely making the ends meet and needing every able body to work the fields or the livestock so they could keep themselves fed and clothed.
Abel Yearwood, the stooped patriarch of the Yearwood family had gone to the Apothecary shop with his head hung low and had gotten down on his knees and begged a shocked-to-stillness Regulus for help. Apparently the Yearwoods had been able to scrounge up the money that the Mannings had unexpectedly demanded from them, but the family could no longer afford the medicine the man's youngest granddaughter and his wife needed to last the winter.
Regulus had hauled the broken man off the floor and had asked to be taken to the Yearwood homestead, where he had been further incensed by what he'd seen.
By the end of that day the Black-Longbottom Manor had not only been hosting the Strifes, but the Yearwood and the Stanley families as well. These were families that ranged from grandparents to great-grandchildren soon the large Manor house had been positively full of people. Regulus had been incredibly busy brewing a variety of medicines and Augusta had been insistent that all of the children be looked over by Doc Julian, so then the good doctor and his wife had been in attendance as well, preferring to sleep in one of the guest rooms as the doctor had been unable to properly see to all of his patients.
The Introduction-slash-Housewarming Party that they had held roughly a week after the introduction of new members into their household had revealed even more people who needed aid.
"They're not even looking for a quick fix or a handout." Sirius had ranted in distressed exasperation to Augusta and Regulus down in the Potions Lab after the Party had ended, utterly incensed at what he'd witnessed. "These are proud, stubborn folks who have lived their entire lives on this mountain who have literally been bled dry because the 'upper management' has wholly lost touch with reality!" Sirius had nearly been in tears by the end, utterly aggrieved and disgusted. "It's bloody maddening!"
"So we'll change things. That is, if you boys are up to the challenge." Augusta had replied placidly from her primly perched position on one of the Lab's brewing stools but her eyes had been fierce and both Regulus and Sirius had grinned- Black family sharp and vicious- in response.
The very next night, Augusta, Regulus, and Sirius had sat in the boys' new room- the three of them having volunteered to all share Neville's original bedroom among the three of them when they saw all the people who needed a place to sleep; their respective parental figures had been so damn proud of them- with Claudia as their Secretary, plotting their next move.
(The Potions Lab had had a few delicate Potions brewing, so they had needed to improvise.)
Because it was obvious to them that Nibelheim needed fixing and they not only had the will, they also possessed a way. Monster hunting was quite lucrative, as not many had the fortitude to take out the biggest, meanest monsters- not to mention the gil they had made just from Sirius and Regulus' expedition into that nameless forest, so they hatched a new plan.
Sirius persisted in calling it the 'We Don't Like Your Shitty, Smarmy Malfoy Attitudes So We're Taking Over And Doing Things Our Way Plan', personally.
No matter how many times Augusta rapped her bony knuckles upside his skull.
For now- until they could finish work on the actual Bank building that they had purchased from Doc Julian's lovely sister-in-law - Regulus' Apothecary shop was also doubling as the business address for the newly-formed Longbottom Bank and Trust. The building they were going to use for the Longbottom Bank and Trust had been a bank once before during Nibelheim's Mako Reactor Rush, so while it was going to take a lot of work it wasn't going to be from the ground up.
The region's rules for founding a Bank were sketchy at best, and after their massive brain-storming session it had taken Sirius twelve days to get to Costa del Sol and back- he had positively spoiled the smug Emerald with affection for being so bloody amazing in cutting the expected travel time nearly in half- with their shiny new Certificate of Authentication as well as a letter proclaiming their entrance into the Banker's Guild- a Gaia-wide recognized guild of upstanding banks and bankers.
The Mannings- and most other small-town banks- were not on that list.
Sirius, however, had impressed the Guild's Council with his business acumen and intelligent, sharply worded answers. The fact that the Longbottom Bank and Trust were starting from solid capital that they had on hand had also endeared them to the Board Members. Sirius had explained that they were only interested in helping out a few local families and possibly providing a safe place for people to store money and or valuables, so they were classified as a 'Hometown' banking operation, which freed them from a lot of the restrictive regulations that other banks faced.
Sirius' Writ of Endorsement from a highly-acclaimed Carpenter and Regulus' Apothecary Certification accolades had gone quite a long way in establishing them as trustworthy, educated applicants, truth be told.
The Guild's Representatives would be coming by Nibelheim during the latter part of the next summer to inspect the bank itself, and then they would either earn a rating- Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum- or the Guild would drop them.
What this had meant was that barely two weeks after the initial incident near the town fountain, Longbottom Bank and Trust had been able to legally buy out the contracts that several families had held with the Mannings'- well, their Bank- and then turn around and have the people sign new contracts with the Longbottom Bank and Trust.
That wasn't to say that the Mannings were happy about such a thing- they weren't, at all- but Longbottom Bank and Trust had made sure to do everything precisely by the book, and as an accredited Bank with the Guild the Mannings had been forced accept defeat.
They did not do so gracefully. It made Sirius want to cackle every time he thought about some of the meetings.
In the midst of all this the coal that Regulus had ordered had arrived from Corel- Sirius had really liked that Dyne guy, he had been sarcastic and bloody hilarious and Regulus had learned that part of the reason why their order had been filled so quickly and so close to the beginning of Nibelheim's deep winter was that Barrett's wife- Myrna- needed medicine that was hard to come by in the Midlands and damn near worth its weight in solid gold in the cities.
Regulus- because Sirius' little brother was a bloody genius- knew how to make the higher-end version of the medicine that was not only more potent but lasted longer- both in the body and on the shelf- so the men had stayed an extra week in Nibelheim while Regulus made enough to last Barrett's wife the full, projected length of Nibelheim's deep winter.
Sirius had been incredibly grateful- as he had just arrived back from Costa del Sol; he'd actually helped guide the Corel folks up the mountain- as the Yearwoods and the Stanleys were staying with the Black-Longbottoms for the winter- Augusta had flat-out refused to allow any of them to go back to the pitiful shacks they called home, especially since three of the women were expecting and most of the elderly members of the family were in delicate-to-poor conditions of health- so the men had been busy trying to cobble together shelters for the animals, while most of the women were transplanting the gardens to the finished greenhouses.
They had had another small miracle in the form of Miriam Hester's childhood friend, Julia Bradford- Sherriff Bradford's mother- whose maternal grandparents had lived about three lots over and two lots down from the Black-Longbottom family. After seeing the work of art that they had turned Miriam's old family home into Julia had proposed that they house the animals on her family's property for the winter- and until proper shelters could be built the following spring and summer- if the Black-Longbottoms would assist her in restoring her parent's old home so that she and her husband could retire there. Apparently Sherriff Bradford's son- Julia and her husband's grandson- was getting married in the spring, and the woman would rather leave her home to her son and his wife, who could then leave their home to her grandson and his new bride then having the newly-wedded couple buy an all new house.
"I wouldn't have considered it as more than a pipe dream." Julia had confessed with a shimmering smile as she sipped at her tea. "But seeing how you all managed to fix this place up while keeping it true to its roots- well." She laughed a little and swiped daintily at her eyes. "I'd like to retire to a place that reminds me of the home I grew up in." She confessed with a soft smile. "There's so many memories I have of that house- almost all of them good!- and since you were able to do such wonderful things with this place- well, I'd like to take the chance."
Augusta, naturally, had preened for a few moments before committing Sirius and the rest to the cause.
Sirius was mostly amused. He'd already done one house, and with all the help he'd have from others who would want to log hours to help work off their debts- they had added a Canyon spin to their Bank contracts, but only to a certain point- to the bank or to learn more about the carpentry trade, it wouldn't take all that long.
When deep winter had hit, though, it had hit the mountain with a vengeance.
The children were being taught by Augusta when she was free or Claudia if Augusta was busy and everyone was doing their darndest to prepare for spring, when things would get really hectic. Among the tasks of minding the children, working in the greenhouses, and working with the animals everyone kept busy.
(It was pretty rewarding to watch the elderly begin to regain some of their vitality as the winter wore on and the medicines Regulus kept giving them began to take effect. It happened slowly, but their shoulders and backs began to unbend as the tautness and burdens they had been carrying for so long slowly bled out of their- previously- stooped, gnarled frames. To be able to watch as the people found a niche and began to learn- whether it was sewing or cooking or gardening or numbers- and their eyes regained the spark of life that had been absent when they had first arrived.
Cloud, Harry, and Neville were alone in their age group- there were either toddlers and babies or teenagers- but the boys were sources of joy for so many of the people who were staying with the Black-Longbottom family. The children's genuine kindness and enthusiasm in everything from helping give the younger children baths to sitting near the downstairs fireplace and raptly listening to stories from their elders- much like Harry and Neville had grown used to doing at the Canyon- added a warmth and aura of lightness that helped keep all of the occupants looking forward instead of back.
Sirius loved those kids. So very much he felt his heart would stop sometimes because it shouldn't be possible for one person to love this much.)
Regulus and Sirius especially so.
Regulus, ever the forward-thinker, had somewhat taken on a couple of apprentices. They were extremely far behind in terms of basic education, but both of them were quite sharp and eager to learn. There was the fourteen-year-old tom-boyish, sharp-witted Steph Yearwood and the nineteen-year-old shy, soft-spoken Ashley Stanley. Steph was a girl- for all of her tomboyish tendencies- but Ashley was a six-foot-two broad-shouldered male. Both of the teens suffered from being needed on the homestead instead of having time to go to the Schoolhouse, but they were both incredibly driven. Steph did better with ointments and salves while Ashley was a dab hand at just about anything Regulus put in front of him.
Regulus had high hopes for both of them.
There was also the twin Yearwoods- Shelly and Susan- who were married, but their husbands had taken their name due to some scandal that Sirius had never fully understood- mostly out of a lack of caring about such a thing. Regulus and Augusta had taken them to the greenhouses on the first morning after the Yearwoods had moved in and they had needed to be nearly physically pried out of there nearly every evening since then. The two women were quite adept at gardening and were absolutely awed by the idea of being able to grow things year-round.
Regulus was insufferably smug about it all, too.
Sirius, on the other hand, was busy with everything that Augusta or Regulus weren't doing, making him the jack-of-all-trades or the-guy-with-way-too-much-to-do-and-so-little-time-to-do-it-in.
Still. Sirius thought with a grin as he made it to the living room and saw that one of the teenagers had finally managed to wrangle the giggling, dripping, and naked toddler, swaddling the kid in a nearly comically large towel. Once we get all of this settled I'll be free to start my Materia Shard research and the boys will be able to help me search the caves because they'll be a little older. Sirius' smile warmed as he greeted the elderly couples who were sitting near the fireplace as he crossed the room, intent on arriving at the kitchen and finding some food.
This is my favorite part. Sirius thought with a dopey internal sigh and a fond smile curling his lips as he watched Claudia- her blonde hair up in a messy bun and her pale cheeks flushed from laughter and the heat of the stove- dance around the others who were helping her to press quick kisses to Cloud, Harry, and Neville's hair as she listened to them regale her with the story about how Joey hadn't wanted to take a bath again.
Watching her, standing in his kitchen in her cotton dress and apron Sirius was once again struck by just how much he had come to love the blonde woman. Especially as her hands fussed over all three pouting boys easily, as if she had been there from the beginning, had always had three boys instead of just one. Judging by the way Cloud was leaning easily against Harry with a friendly arm slung around Neville; the blond boy had no problems sharing his Ma with the other two. Her bright blue eyes were extraordinarily warm and when she glanced up and accidently met Sirius besotted stare all Sirius could see was a little girl with Claudia's coloring and his grin as he tried to school his expression into something far less….dopey.
"So." Sirius said cheerily, sweeping forward to scoop up the boys for hugs in order to regain some of his composure. "What's for dinner? Betsy got out of her pen and I had to chase her halfway down Mount Nibel. I swear she's part cat."
The boys all giggled before ganging up on Sirius to wrestle him to the floor. "Help me, Audi!" Sirius whined dramatically as Cloud snatched Sirius' hair tie and help it up to the other two hellions as proof of their victory.
"Hmm." Claudia drawled in amusement that turned into a full-out laugh when Cloud presented the broken hair-tie to her with a flourish bow. "I think you'll be fine." She said before she turned on her heel and went back towards the stove and her giggling helpers.
Sirius groaned dramatically and tried to hold back his grin. He had his eyes covered so he totally missed the way the three boys all shared secret grins as they glanced among Sirius, Claudia, and each other.
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Cloud grinned as he hopped over the last step on the right-hand staircase, hearing the soft thumps that signaled that Harry and Neville were right behind him, though Harry shot passed both Cloud and Neville the moment they were all on solid ground.
This past winter had been the best winter of his young life. Granted, it hadn't started off that way- what with being thrown out of the Café and then that scene at the Sherriff's Office and then he and his Ma's house catching fire.
No, not a great start at all.
However…
"Clooooooooooud!" Harry said, dragging out the 'o' in Cloud's name exaggeratedly. "We're gonna be late if you don't hurry, slow poke!"
"I'm coming!" Cloud called back as he finished lacing up his boots and headed out to the porch, sharing an amused glance with Neville as he did so.
Harry's always so impatient to get started. Cloud thought with a grin as he stepped onto the porch and was promptly pounced on by an energetic Harry. "We're going to start working on the Yearwoods' house today!" Harry all but yelled in the blond's ear, earning the dark-haired boy a few not-so-gentle pokes in the ribs, causing him to yelp and release Cloud.
Cloud felt a hand on his mass of blond spikes and grinned up at the equally grinning Sirius Black. "We'd better get moving before Harry spontaneously combusts." The elder man informed Cloud wryly.
"I'm not gonna explode!" Harry shot back indignantly from where he stood on the ground, rocking back onto the heels of his boots impatiently. "And even if I did I'm make sure not to do it anywhere near Nana's floors!"
The face Sirius made was beyond amusing, causing Cloud and Neville to laugh, but Sirius had taken off to chase Harry so they were free from retribution- for now.
As the group congregated and then began to make their way down the still-iced and snowy path Cloud returned to his thoughts.
Even though we've had so many people staying in the house it's still been a lot of fun. Cloud thoughts as he absently reached out an arm to help steady the lady just behind him, seeing Neville do the same a heartbeat later. The elder woman- the Stanley family matriarch who was fond of telling the children Nibel folk legends- gave both boys a gentle smile and accepted their help gratefully. Staying with Neville and Harry has been the best part, though. Cloud thought as he shared a long-suffering grin with his friend as the lady started chattering at one of the nearby men about how she wanted the house's porch to function.
Being friends with Neville and Harry was laughably easy for Cloud. They just all fit together, even when they got mad at each other- which happened occasionally, but always ended with them making a pillow fort and reading storybooks together by the light of the flashlight Sirius had given them. Cloud knew that there were some things that they couldn't tell him, but that was ok. Besides, the boys had been doing their best to try to get Sirius and his Ma together so they could be real brothers instead of just friends, and the other two had promised to tell Cloud everything after they accomplished that.
Now, Cloud wasn't dim-witted enough to try to press his Ma to be with someone she didn't actually like- he'd never even thought about it at all, actually- but even a kid like him could see that Sirius Black thought that Claudia hung the moon and hand painted the stars and, well, Cloud kind-of wanted a dad and the only man who was even somewhat worthy of his Ma was Sirius Black.
That wasn't to say that Cloud didn't like Regulus- because Cloud did, very much so. But Regulus was more of an uncle than a dad and Sirius would treat Ma like the goddess she was- hell, the man already did that.
Still. Cloud thought as Harry came bounding up to him, cheeks flushed with the cold and excitement, babbling animatedly about something that Cloud couldn't even begin to decipher, but he grinned at the other boy anyways. It'd be nice if we could all be a proper family.
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Fixing up the houses had gone quicker than Sirius had anticipated.
A lot of that had to do with how quickly most of his work force learned and how motivated they were, Sirius knew, but it still surprised him that it had only taken a month into almost-spring for all the major work to be done. It hadn't even finished snowing yet!
"Well." Sirius said from his seat on the Black-Longbottom family porch, gratefully accepting the cup of tea that Claudia handed him. "All of the homes are finished- I mean there is some inside cosmetic work that needs doing, but all the families are adamant about doing it themselves. They've also done enough carpentry work by now that they are planning on fixing up their barns and whatnot themselves. It would probably be a good idea to order up some lumber from the Midlands and resell it to them, though."
"Hmm. I suspected as much." Augusta murmured from over the rim of her own cup of tea.
It was just Augusta, Claudia, Regulus, and Sirius on the porch, watching the darkening twilight. The air was brisk, but they all had lap blankets so they could sit and enjoy the sounds of the rushing water- all of the streams and such were swelled with the excess water that came from the spring melt- and the awakening of the mountain's wildlife as the fireflies and the crickets began to emerge from their hiding places to embrace the warmer weather. The three boys had had a long day of moving the last of the Stanleys back into their newly-fixed-up home, so they were all passed out in a tangle of limbs on Neville's bed upstairs.
"We should probably go monster hunting a few times this summer to supplement our income." Regulus mused, pulling a face as he exchanged a long-suffering glance with Sirius. "That means retuning to-"
"Don't say it!" Sirius yelped, nearly sloshing the tea out of his teacup. "I know we'll have to go back so we can make enough money to keep the bank in good standing and ourselves fully secure until we start getting our money back, but that doesn't mean I want to hear that place mentioned, specifically."
Regulus smirked and drained his teacup, exchanging sly glances with Augusta, who did likewise before standing and reaching a hand out towards Regulus. "Escort an old woman to her rooms?" The elderly Longbottom Lady asked Regulus with a shrewd smile.
"Of course, Gran." Regulus replied with a grin, holding out his arm in a gentlemanly manner and ushering the Longbottom matriarch into the house, leaving Sirius and Claudia alone on the porch.
There were a few moments of not-quite-comfortable but not uncomfortable silence on the porch before Claudia rose to her feet and began to tidy up the teacups. "Cloud and I should probably start to look for a place soon as well, now that there aren't so many people here." Claudia mentioned lightly, her back turned to Sirius as she began to fold the lap blankets in preparation to take them back inside.
"What?" Sirius spluttered at her back, his eyes unable to truly appreciate the view as the thought of Cloud and Claudia leaving sank into his thick head. "Bu-why?" He asked in a voice that was dangerously close to a whine.
Claudia threw him a stern, confused look over her shoulder, her hands stilling in their motions. "We're not a charity case, Mr. Black." Her tone was far sharper than she intended, but the thought of this man thinking that she was someone to be pitied made her blood boil and her heartbeat echo in her ears.
Especially since…..
"No, why?" Sirius asked again, more firmly and with an edge to his voice that Claudia couldn't place as he crossed the porch and came to a stop just short of her, his arms twitching as if they wanted to move but then didn't.
I love you. I love Cloud. You can't leave. Not now.
"You've all been very kind to us." Claudia said, turning to face Sirius but not quite having the courage to meet his eyes. "But now there's not the need for us to be here-"
"'Need for you to be here'?" Sirius echoed hollowly. "I thought you understood-" He cut himself off and shook his head sharply, his newly trimmed shoulder length hair swirling with his movements. "I love you, Claudia." Sirius confessed rawly, the words coming from his soul as the thought of this woman leaving made the depths of his stomach turn to ice. "I love Cloud. I don't want you two to leave."
Claudia smiled sadly, her eyes shimmering with tears as she finally looked up at Sirius and side-stepped the arm he tried to reach out and touch her with. "No you don't." Claudia said brokenly. "You barely even know me. I'm just convenient. You've never even approached me in that way. You love the thought of me, but you'll figure out that I'm just Claudia Strife and you'll get tired of me and I can't do that to Cloud-"
Sirius' eyes darkened to pure grey as her words filtered into his mind. "You think so little of me?" Sirius asked tightly, crossing his arms to prevent himself from reaching out and kissing the ridiculous woman senseless. "Yes, it's been convenient to have you here, but that is not- dammit, Audi, I love you." Sirius ran a hand through his hair and turned away from her. "I love the way your hair curls up whenever it gets too humid in the house. I love the way your brow furrows in concentration when you work on the finance sheets. I love the way- the way you look at all three of the boys like there's always been three of them instead of just one." Sirius licked his lips and closed his eyes, determined to at least get it all out in the open. "I love the way your smile lights up your entire being, Angel. You can't- you can't just leave." Sirius clenched his hands into fists and bowed his head in defeat.
"How can you say that?" Claudia's voice was whisper-soft and the confusion in it made Sirius want to punch something.
"Because it's the truth." He replied simply, silent tears sliding down his nose and dripping down onto the porch. "I never wanted you to feel pressured- not even a little. But you've crawled under my skin and into my heart and taken over my mind and I don't want to wake up without you and Cloud here. Hell, I want to wake up beside you instead of a floor apart, but if you don't want that- don't want me- then I won't-"
A soft, but firm, hand was placed on Sirius shoulder and it invoked nearly a full body shudder in the man. "Sirius…." Claudia whispered gently.
"If you want to move out, I won't stop you." Sirius said, swiping at his eyes but keeping them closed and his head bowed. "But I'll still pursue you unless you tell me to shove off. I'll bring flowers and take you on dates and do whatever it takes to prove that I'm being brutally, terribly honest when I say that I love you and I want you and Cloud here."
With gentle nudges Claudia turned Sirius to face her and when he finally worked up the courage to look at her the fragile look in her eyes made him want to punch something.
Preferably a Manning, but he'd settle for a Lockhart.
"I don't understand." She said helplessly, letting her hands slide off his shoulders only for him to catch them and bring them to his lips.
"I can help you, if you'll let me." Sirius murmured before he pressed a tender kiss to her fingers and very reluctantly let them go.
"I-" Claudia's mouth snapped shut and her jaw tightened and Sirius' heart plummeted further than seemed humanly possible.
There was a long, drawn-out moment of expectant silence.
Then-
Claudia's shoulders straightened and her chin tilted upwards in defiance. "Kiss me." She ordered Sirius, snapping back to meet his gaze head-on, her bright blue eyes fairly blazing. "Kiss me and prove it."
Sirius grinned crookedly. "Gladly." He said bringing his arms up and gently caging her.
Claudia slipped her arms around him in response. Storm-grey met wild blue for a moment but then Claudia's eyes slipped closed as his lips gently covered hers and all the thoughts inside her mind seemed to simply vanish.
For a moment they simply stood like that, simply enjoyed standing so close to one another that they could feel each other's body heat and fairly drown in each other's scents, but then Claudia- always one to pick her own path- boldly pushed back against Sirius' mouth and the elder Black brother was more than happy to rise to the challenge.
By the time they needed to separate for some much needed oxygen Claudia found that her back was against the wall to the house and her hands had become tangled in the back of Sirius' shirt. Sirius found that one of his arms was braced against the house while the other had wrapped around Claudia's waist and was holding her flush against him.
Sirius gazed down at Claudia's flushed face and smiled gently, releasing her just enough that he could slide the hand from her waist up to cup her cheek. "I love you, Audi." Sirius told her warmly, gently catching her kiss-swollen lips in a gentle, languid kiss before he stepped back from her.
"Y-yeah." Claudia managed, blinking owlishly as she tried to get her brain working properly. She also was acutely aware of how disappointed she was that Sirius was no longer in her personal space.
"Just, think about it, yeah" Sirius told her with one last, somewhat wobbly grin before he slipped inside the house, the door closing softly behind him.
Claudia stayed out on the porch long into the night, trying to come to terms with everything, but by the time sunrise came around she was ready.
"Nothing ventured, nothing gained." She whispered to herself as she squared her shoulders and went to face her future.
After all, Claudia had always been a romantic at heart. Had always believed in happily-ever-afters and what kind of example would she set for Cloud if she was so scared of what those stupid people thought of her that she let this wonderful, deliciously appealing and talented with his tongue- Planet help her- man slip through her fingers?
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Please leave a review on your way out~!
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A/N:
Ohmygosh- I am so nervous about the Audi/Sirius part because I am totally a gen writer and active romance is new, uncharted territory for me.
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