A/N: I'm way too excited about posting on February 29th, but it's the little wins that get us through the day to day. I hope you get some little wins today. Chapters 51 & 52 go up on March 6th.

Marlene:

Marlene wasn't positive when to expect Sirius exactly. Or if she should be waiting in the sitting room or her bedroom. Sirius had left dinner early and she hadn't had a chance to clarify things with him. Marlene did know that she didn't want to wake Lily, especially with what they were going to be discussing. She felt sure that Lily wouldn't be happy with the arrangement they were going to try and secure.

But at the same time, Marlene preferred the privacy her bedroom offered.

She listened at Lily's door a moment before quietly pushing it open. Her sister slept on, her body rising and falling with her breath. Marlene quietly closed the door and then locked it.

She nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard the door between her room and the sitting room open.

"Easy," Sirius grinned at her and Marlene was torn between being upset with him and wanting to run to him.

"Have you maybe heard of knocking?"

Sirius chuckled as he crossed the room in four large steps. "I'm familiar with the practice. But I didn't want to chance waking Lily."

Marlene chose to channel her adrenaline from the scare into kissing Sirius, seeing that yelling at him would be counterproductive.

"If you hadn't left before dinner was finished I would have known when and where to expect you." She grinned up at him when he pulled back.

"Someone wore me out with a bit of sparing this afternoon. I had to get a kip in before coming to see you. That or I would have just crawled into your bed and not discussed anything with you as I fell asleep."

Marlene laughed quietly when he took a step back towards her bed.

"We still need to figure out how to bind me to James, Sirius." Marlene stopped them a foot from her bed.

"Lay with me," Sirius kissed along her neck. "And we'll talk."

"You aren't capable of talking and laying." Marlene pulled back.

"One experience and you think you know the extent of my capabilities while in a bed?"

Marlene felt her breath catch.

"Sirius..."

She needed to be strong and tried to step towards her door but apparently Sirius' nap had restored the greater part of his strength. In one quick movement, he had her back pressed against her bed as he hovered above her, pinning her hands above her head.

"You were holding back this afternoon," she accused trying to put some substance behind her voice.

Sirius shook his head and smirked, "No, my nap gave me enough energy to take you by surprise and now I'm completely spent. I'm going to collapse and pass out."

Marlene laughed as he let himself down to press against her.

"You promised me, Sirius." She slipped her hands from his slackened grip and tangled them in his hair. "You promised we'd figured this out tonight."

Sirius kissed her cheek before groaning as he lifted himself up and off of her.

"Alright, the easiest option is to make it something that we work into James and Lily's wedding ceremony. We could even do it so Lily has no idea what's transpiring."

Marlene pushed back to rest against her pillows and patted the space beside her. Sirius winked at her but remained sprawled out near her knees.

"I'd like something a bit sooner than that if we can manage it." She eyed him, trying to determine his motive for not coming to sit next to her.

"Can you trick Lily into asking you to protect James?"

"I don't like doing those things unless I have too." She huffed.

"Well," Sirius moved his hand to rest on her knee, "then the other option is to ask her directly. If she says yes then you're set. If she says no…"

Marlene pushed her head back into her pillows and groaned. "If she says no then it makes it so we can't wrap it up into their marriage ceremony. She'll be suspecting every move we make if she tells me no."

"Exactly," Sirius' hand began to draw patterns against her thigh and Marlene sighed at his touch.

"We'll get you bound to James once Lily walks down that aisle." Sirius moved his hands and kissed where he'd been caressing.

"And what if they decide not to go through with it?"

Marlene tried to keep her attention centered, but she was losing focus and she wasn't sure how to feel about it since a large part of her no longer cared about anything but Sirius' touch.

"They're soulmates, Marls," Sirius moved his hand to run along her skin, "they'll figure it out. Worst case, we'll bring Elias and Ruth into it. They'll help us come up with a plan then."

Marlene looked down at Sirius as he smiled up at her. And she chose to believe him, believe that this would work out, that together they would figure it out. She chose to trust it, this feeling she felt, this love for him that had so claimed her.

"Ok, we'll wait and try your plan."

Sirius moved his hand further up her skin. "I'm taking notes that this makes you far more agreeable for when I need it."

Marlene laughed breathlessly, "You're ridiculous."

"Nah," Sirius stopped to smirk up at her, "I'm finding ways to maneuver the next hundred or so years of my life."

And then he ensured there wasn't much need for talking after that. At least not until he kissed her awake as the sun was just breaking over the horizon.

"I'll see you at breakfast."

And he slipped out of her bed, leaving it feeling quite a bit colder than it had before.