Dedication: To tara, for forcing me to write this. Do you have any idea how many things wouldn't get written, if not for you? And for my lovely wife Kitten.
Author's Note: Life is hell, it's hard for me to update. But I am determined to finish all of my stories, come hell or high water.
Compromising Circumstances
Chapter Eleven
Harry was, to the say the least, surprised when Sirius knocked on his bedroom door around nine or so in the evening. He was stretched out on his bed, reading. He jumped up though, twisting to look over his shoulder and call Sirius in.
"Hey." His godfather, slipped in the room, looking rather nervous. Harry bit his lower lip. Remus must have talked to him. So this was it. He found he almost didn't want to know the outcome of the little talk. He swallowed, finding his mouth was suddenly dry. He could feel butterflies in his stomach, and he forced them to calm.
"Hi." He said, hoping he sounded more casual then he thought he did.
"Studying?" Sirius asked, just sort of standing in the doorway.
"Yeah." Harry nodded. "You can, you know, actually come in. If you want."
"Oh! Yeah." Sirius laughed a little, closing the door behind him. "So..."
"You don't have to do any big lead ins or anything." Harry said, sitting up and folding his legs. "I know Remus was going to talk to you tonight."
"Yeah." Sirius just nodded, and ran a hand through his hair. Harry waited, expecting something more then just 'yeah'.
"And...?" Harry prompted. They couldn't leave it at this.
"Honestly?" Sirius looked at him, almost shyly. "I don't know."
"Okay." Well, that wasn't too bad he supposed. It was better then 'not in a million years, kid' or 'I think you're sick'.
"I've never...I never thought of you like that." Sirius finally added.
"Okay." Harry didn't see what that had to do with anything. "Are you now?"
"Well, obviously." Sirius said, and his voice was a bit harsher then Harry had expected. "Sorry." He amended.
"It's okay." Harry said, with a small shrug. "You can sit down."
"I know, I should, huh?" Sirius sat on the edge of the bed, staring at his hands. There was this awkwardness that harry decided he really didn't like. He hadn't wanted this. He had just wanted Sirius...as more then just a guardian figure. But now it seemed things were rather messed up.
"Look...I don't...i don't want anything to be weird." Harry said, worrying at his lower lip.
"I know you don't." Sirius agreed. "And neither do I. But...I'm not good at this sort of stuff anymore. And it's a damn messed up situation."
"I know." Harry nodded. "I'm sorry."
"Oh, don't be sorry." Sirius waved his hand vaguely. "This...we can deal with this."
"Deal with it?" Harry raised an eyebrow.
"You know what I mean." Sirius said. "We can work through this."
"How do you want to?" Harry asked, scratching the back of his neck. There was a very severe lack of not looking at each other.
"I don't know." Sirius said, and Harry could tell he meant it.
"Well, do you...er...like me? At all?"
"Of course I like you Harry...but I know you mean in 'that' way." Sirius sighed. "I don't know."
"We should probably find that out, before we do anything else." Harry pointed out, logically. He was trying to remain calm, and not leap up and strange Sirius for making things so much harder then they were.
"And how do you suggest that, hmm?" Sirius asked, finally actually looking at Harry.
"The normal way is a date." Harry said, reaching up to tuck back a bit of Sirius' hair that had fallen in his face.
"You want to go out on a date?" Sirius looked at him as though he had two head.
"Well, that's usually how it's done, isn't it? Two people like each other-or think they might. They go out, to see if everything goes well."
"I just think you and me on a date would be really weird." Sirius said, shrugging.
"Why?"
"Because you're my godson, and you're just barely legal, and you're James' son." Sirius explained.
"Oh. Well, when you put it that way, yeah it's sort of weird." Harry sighed. It was an awful situation. "I'm sorry, I really am. I didn't *mean* to fall in like with you."
"I know you didn't. Did you just say 'fall in like'?" Sirius raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah. Because that's what happened." Harry blushed a little. "I really like you, and I really want to see if...you know. We can make anything of this."
"Where would we go?" Sirius asked.
"Dinner?" Harry suggested. "Movie...I don't know. Where do you usually take dates?"
"Honestly? To bed." Sirius shrugged. "Not much of a relationship guy."
"Oh, so you want to skip right to the sex then...I don't know, I don't usually put out on the first date..." Harry said, with a grin. He was teasing Sirius, flirting even.
"Oh no!" Sirius shook his head. "I am *not* having sex with you!"
"Then that makes a long term relationship sort of hard." Harry pointed out. He had been afraid of this. It was going to take a lot to get Sirius to look at him as dating material.
"Yeah." Sirius nodded. "I'm just not at the point where I can see myself sleeping with you. I've gotten to the point where I admit you're good looking."
"That's good." Harry said. "Look....we've already kissed. Let's try a date. If it goes horribly, I promise I'll drop it and look elsewhere."
"That sounds...reasonable." Sirius said, nodding. "I mean, what could it hurt, right?"
"Exactly." Harry nodded, a small shiver of triumph running through him. It had worked! Sirius was coming around, finally.
"Dinner?" Sirius asked.
"Dinner's great. And it won't look too weird...I mean, people know you're my godfather. They'll just think you're taking me out regular."
"Do you have any idea how sick that is?" Sirius asked, but Harry could see the small glimmer in his eyes, and the ghost of a smile playing about the corners of his mouth.
"Well, what they don't know wont hurt them. And Remus approves!" Harry pointed out. That had to mean something to Sirius.
"Yeah, merlin knows why." Sirius rolled his eyes.
"Because he's smart, and he knows what's good for you." Harry said, putting his hand on Sirius' thigh. He took a deep breath, watching his godfather's reaction.
"He likes to think that, yeah." Sirius laughed, and harry was a little surprised when he put his hand down over his. Sirius' hand was large and calloused, but it felt good over his own.
"Tomorrow?" Harry asked, hopefully.
"Yeah, tomorrow." Sirius agreed. "There's this pretty good burger joint not to far."
"That's fine." Harry said. He didn't care where they went, just as long as they actually went. He turned his and over under Sirius', twining their fingers together. His mouth was all dry again, and the butterflies were back in his stomach.
"So we'll do it tomorrow." Sirius said, rubbing his thumb over Harry's palm.
"Yeah." Harry nodded, licking his lips.
"Hey...hold off on the seductive shit until the actual date, huh?" Sirius said, chuckling and pulling his hand back..
"Sorry." Harry said, blushing.
"Don't be sorry, just save it for tomorrow." Sirius tousled his hair, and stood up. "I'll let you get back to your studying. I'm gonna have a beer and then go to sleep. You still letting Moony have your room?"
"Oh! Yeah..." Harry had nearly forgotten.
"Then I'm taking the couch, cause if we're going on a date then I'm not sleeping next to you."
"Aw...why not?" Harry grinned.
"Because I know how the mind of a sixteen year old works." Sirius said, returning the grin.
"Good night then." Harry said, trying to fight his nerves.
"Good night." And Sirius was gone, and Harry fell back on the bed not sure what he was feeling. Happy, certainly. Elated, quite possibly. They were going on a date. A real, honest to merlin date.
What was he going to wear?
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