playing with fire

by Nox

A/N: I'm really trying to go towards fluff here, because angst makes me sad, and, up until recently, it was the only thing I was able to write. So here goes nothing…

Also, I apologize for not updating anything for about 2 months but school is crazy and I have been weighted down by butt loads of work lately, but summer is very soon as today was my last day of classes… YES!

Disclaimer: I own nothing whimpers… blah blah blah… oh by the way… this is not Garth Brooks's time period, I know… I'm off by about 10 years (I think his first album came out mid 80's… oh well… I could be very wrong, but I'm too lazy to go searching for dates in my Garth collection.

One-shot fluff

Sirius's POV

I remember like it was this morning, well… it was, but anyway…

It was a Hogsmeade weekend and you didn't want to go, so I stayed with you. You got up early, as usual, and dragged me out of bed to come outside for a walk. I was groggy and complained all the way to the main doors. I shut up when you took me outside, though. There was a light dew on the grass, the early morning light reflected off of the tiniest drop, making the ground sparkle and shimmer in a way that could not be rivaled by a soft dusting of diamonds. The breeze was warm on my cheek as you led me up the hill at a run, dragging me by the hand. Just peaking over the distant mountains was my first sunrise. I might have cried at the display. The first rays broke through the morning mist as crystal clear blues began to appear in the sky, and the light gray clouds reflected the yellow-orange of the half hidden sun. The birds awoke and began to twitter and whistle their own little tunes while Hogwarts awoke. What I saw and heard seemed as close to perfection as I would ever get in my lifetime.

Then I looked at you.

You stood with your eyes closed and a ghost of a smile on your thin, but welcoming lips as you let the light spill in your hair and warm your face. You were so at peace, breathing softly, and taking in the sweet air that revived every part of you. I stood still taking you in until you opened your eyes and the sunlight sparked a fire in their already golden depths.

Now, I am not one to lose my heart easily, nor am I one to play with fire. However, at that moment I was willing to admit that my heart is highly flammable. My heart had already caught fire, and, I discovered, I liked it.

By now the sunrise was over and they were left with the most beautiful morning in the history of Hogwarts.

"Come on, Pads," you said as you took off your cloak. We laid our cloaks on the ground where we stood at the top of the hill and lay down next to each other.

"What do you see?" I asked, looking at the clouds above us.

You smiled, "A candle," you said, pointing to it.

"I see a hat," I pointed to it. I was getting into the swing of our old game. One of us found something, and then the other tried to find something better. I somehow doubted that a hat beat a candle.

"I win," you paused, "let's see… ooh! A little bird."

I smiled, "A phoenix, right there. I win."

You growled jokingly and socked me in the shoulder. I laughed and rolled out of the way, grinning like a lunatic the whole time. I leapt back at you and we wrestled playfully. I felt happier than I had all year when I was close to you like that. After that we played the cloud game until the lunch bell rang for students who were still in the castle.

You were resting your head on my stomach half asleep as I played gently with your hair. It was a well known fact within the Marauders that you get very cuddly when you are tired. You also let down your guard, revealing things you otherwise would not have even hinted at.

"Should we go to lunch?" I asked quietly, "You haven't eaten all day."

You took my free arm and cradled it under your neck like a loved pillow or toy slash comfort blanket. "One more round?" You yawned, "I've got a good one."

You didn't see me, but I smiled like a kid at Christmas when you latched onto my arm like that. "Alright, shoot."

You chuckled softly, cuddling into me further so that your head was on my chest, still cradling my arm. You were close enough that I could smell your hair: fall leaves and cinnamon. You sighed, "I see a big, handsome, and extremely cuddly black dog." You did not point to where it was, as was the rule of the game. I knew what you were playing at.

"Do you know what I see with the big dog, Moony? I'm sure it could beat a handsome devil like that any day. I see a breathtakingly beautiful amber wolf." I saw the color rise to your cheeks, and you hid your face behind my arm. I continued stroking your hair.

After a few long moments, you turned your head to look me in the eyes. "Do you really mean that? That you think I'm beautiful?"

I could feel your breath on my lips. It made my stomach turn to jello. I still saw that fire in your eyes. My fire had not dimmed in the slightest but it grew even more at that sight. You were so close I barely needed to move and I would be kissing you. That ended up being just what I did.

I did not have any second thoughts, I just moved on instinct to bring our lips together. It had gotten to the point where I needed to kiss you. It was just like a spark that needs to be fanned in order to get to full blaze. Kissing you was like adding oxygen to a just kindled spark. As soon as our lips met, I had a raging inferno inside me. Not even the entire fire brigade could do a thing about it. I didn't want them to.

You sighed softly, reaching behind my neck and pulling me closer with your fingers laced in my hair. You shut your eyes and leaned into me. I moaned at the pure bliss I was in. I've kissed many people in my years at Hogwarts, but never had it felt so perfect, so right, so wonderful. For the first time, I truly felt like I belonged somewhere. I felt like I belonged with you. So this is what love feels like.

Love? Truly love? Well, I'll never know if I don't try it out.

That one kiss turned into two, turned into three, turned into half an hour of lazy kisses.

When we finally broke apart, we were both smiling. "How long?" you asked me.

"I don't know," I replied, "you?"

You smiled sadly and tucked your head under my chin. "Ages." That made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside (A/N: tee hee!)! "Pads…"

"Hmm?" I started stroking your hair again.

"You know that dance tonight after everyone comes back from Hogsmeade?"

"Yeah."

"Well…" you fidgeted slightly, "I was wondering if… you might want to… you know… dance with me…"

"Are you sure you want to? With everybody watching?"

"I don't care."

I felt like I could fly! "Then neither do I." I kissed you on the forehead, and held you closer.

We finally decided that we should go to lunch. It was almost over when we got there, and when we sat down at our table, Dumbledore gave us a highly amused look and winked. You turned bright red. I was too happy to care.

Later that afternoon while the whole school was in an uproar trying to find a last minute date, I was trying to find something to wear. You had left a while earlier saying you homework to do, but you had left your books on your bedside table. I assumed you had gone to beg Lily for help.

So, I was alone in the dorm and left to my own devices. I rummaged around in my trunk trying to find the perfect clothes. We were allowed to wear whatever we wanted to the dance, and I decided against dress robes. Most students did not wear dress robes except when they were required because they were awfully hot. They wore whatever they felt was most comfortable. I have always favored muggle clothes for the comfort factor.

After what seemed like an hour I finally chose a black long-sleeved polo and blue jeans. Then I took the fastest shower on record and towel dried my hair to give it the desired neat but messy effect. The dance was in 10 minutes.

I ran down to the Great Hall where the dance was to take place. The band that Dumbledore had hired was setting up and tuning. The dance hadn't officially started yet, but most people were there already, talking and drinking punch. In fact it seemed that everyone was already there. Except one.

You. I didn't see you anywhere.

I found a seat at a table by myself. I watched as the band welcomed everyone to the dance and they started on their first song. They were a muggle band. The lead singer was wearing jeans and a fringy type shirt thing. He had a weird hat on too, and he played the acoustic guitar. Apparently he was well known in the muggle world and he had sold more albums than any other individual artist or something like that I don't know. He had a weird name too: Garth something-or-other. Brooks I think. Yeah… Garth Brooks.

During the third or fourth song, when I was starting to like his music, James came over and sat down next to me. He looked a tad worried.

"Hey Pads… Have you seen Lily?"

"Nope, now that you mention it… Have you seen Moony anywhere? He said he was going to come tonight." I tried to make it sound casual.

"Nah, I haven't seen him either. Don't worry mate, this just means that she's helping him find something wear." James looked a lot happier now. He knew that's just the thing Lily would do, so it wasn't like she had ditched him or anything.

I felt better as well. I wasn't even sure that that's where you were, but I felt relieved.

No one seemed in any mood to ask either of us to dance, which was good, because we would have said no anyway. James and I occupied ourselves by charming the candles on the table to dance together.

Just then, Garth started up a song that seemed to make everyone want to clap and sing along. Ooooohhhh…. It was fun….. well, anyway…just then James got distracted and accidentally charmed the two candles to play the wax fiddle while putting each other's wicks in strange places. He fixed them quickly, though, because quite frankly it was scary. I listened closer to the song.

Standing outside the fire

Standing outside the fire

Life is not tried

It is merely survived if you're

Standing outside the fire

We call them strong

Those who can face this world alone

Who seem to get by on their own

Those who will never take the fall

We call them weak

Who are unable to resist

The slightest chance love might exist

And for that that forsake it all

They're so hell bent on giving, walking a wire

Convinced it's not living if you stand outside the fire…

I liked it. It was catchy and got you to tap your feet along with the beat. It seemed to stir something within me, but I couldn't figure out what. Then it got to the bridge…

There's this love that is burning

Deep in my soul

Constantly yearning to get out of control

Wanting to fly

Higher and higher

I can't abide standing outside the fire

Then everything was explained. It reminded me of you.

I listened to the song as it ended with a percussion break and then a little ad-libbing. When it ended, Garth and company got a huge round of applause. I mindlessly glanced at the entrance to the Great Hall.

I did a double take. There was Lily, in a strap-y, dark green dress. She was looking around for someone. I nudged James. He looked over and saw her; his face lit up as she waved to him and came to sit down.

Right next to her was you. You and your total perfection in the sexiest shirt in the history of shirt-making. Scarlet. It matched the gold in your eyes and your hair. It was a silk button-down with a collar, and you had left the top two or three buttons undone. You literally looked like you were on fire. I felt like I was going to explode with happiness, and desire. I was ecstatic that you had shown up, for I had had a fear that you might not have been coming. After all, you were over half an hour late.

That didn't matter anymore. You saw me grinning and followed Lily to where James and I were sitting. Lily sat down next to James and kissed him on the cheek. You sat down next to me and I held your hand underneath the table, making you blush uncontrollably.

"Sorry we're late," started Lily, taking a sip of James' punch, "but I just had to help Remus."

"I think you did an absolutely smashing job, dear," James piped in. "How did she manage to convince you to keep the buttons undone, Moony?"

"Excessive, over the top pouting," you said, "and a bribe."

"Oh," I said, "and what might that have been?"

"Chocolate," Lily smiled.

"What else?" you chuckled.

"Well, my dears," Lily said in a very matter-of-fact tone, "I hope you don't mind if I steal Jamesy, here, away for a bit? Good." She grabbed James' arm and dragged him to the dance floor.

You and I sat at our table for quite some time just chatting and laughing at the antics of James and Lily's dancing around like madmen, tangoing to all the wrong music and bumping into total strangers. We didn't let go of each other's hands the whole time.

Finally the dance was nearing the end and Garth announced that this would the last song and that it was dedicated to "all you lovers out there." I stood up and did a little bow to you.

"Would you care to dance, sir?"

"Yes, I believe I would." You stood and took my offered hand as the music started, and I led you to the dance floor.

When the rain's blowing in your face

And the whole world is on your case

I would offer you a warm embrace

To make you feel my love

When evening shadows and the stars appear

And there is no one there to dry your tears

I could hold you for a million years

To make you feel my love

I know you haven't made your mind up yet

But I would never do you wrong

I've known it from the moment that we met

There's no doubt in my mind where you belong

I'd go hungry; I'd go black and blue

I'd go crawling down the avenue

There isn't anything I wouldn't do

To make you feel my love

The storms are raging on a rolling sea

And down the highway of regret

The winds of change are blowing wild and free

But you ain't seen nothing like me yet

There ain't nothing that I wouldn't do

Go to the ends of the earth for you

Make you happy, make your dreams come true

To make you feel my love.

All throughout the song, you and I barely moved; we just held each other as close as we could and swayed. You rested your head on my shoulder and I rested my cheek on your head, inhaling your scent. No one bothered us as I thought they would. Lily winked at me once, but other than that it didn't seem like anyone had the guts to say anything even if they wanted to. Even Garth had a smile for us.

The next night, we lay in the spot where we had gone cloud gazing and watched the sunset. That night the sky was ablaze.

A/N: I know it's long and I'm evil, but please review as it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside… and sorry if it didn't come off as fluffy..