Vivid

A/N: Early update because anon on Tumblr asked. Also because I left my poor Hinny readers hanging from a cliff and I do have a heart.

A/N: Muggle AU based on this post on Tumblr, marlene - post / 158085981794 / marlene-and-sirius-at-hogwarts-circa-mid-to-late

A/N: And today, EnthusiasticSloth and I have started posting "A Twist of Fate," our third Blackinnon AU! Go check it out!

Sirius wasn't really concerned why the city was organizing a massive effort for everyone to throw paint-filled balloons at each other, just so long as he and the Marauders were there when it happened.

"I don't know Sirius," Peter shook his head. "I'm not crazy about scrubbing paint out of my ears and hair."

"Peter," Sirius groaned, "this will be epic! How can we miss it?"

"I wonder if Lily would do this too," James looked lost in thought and Sirius shared a long-suffering look with Remus.

"You're in, right Rems?"

Remus chuckled but nodded, "A chance to throw water balloons filled with paint at you? You don't have to twist my arm."

Sirius grinned.

"James?"

James looked pensive, "If you get Lily to come then I'm in."

Sirius' face fell, "What?"

"Look," James shifted uncomfortably, "I promised to help her that day with moving some of her furniture around. So if you can convince her to do this instead then I'm in."

"They're not even dating and they're insufferable." Sirius turned to the other two and groaned. James shoved him while Remus and Peter laughed.

For all his dramatics, Sirius wasn't too upset. Getting Lily on board meant recruiting her friends, and he rather liked the idea of a specific blonde coming along to this paint fight.

"Hey Marls," Sirius leaned against her door frame as she opened. He was treated to her dazzling, wicked grin.

"Hey Black, what's the occasion?"

"Not even going to invite me in?"

"Depends on why you're here," she pushed her hair off her shoulder and Sirius had to resist the urge to lean down and run his teeth along her neck.

Being friends with benefits was leaving him with a one-track mind when it came to Marlene, but at the same time, it wasn't. Because the woman was damn clever and could hold her own in everything Sirius had ever seen thrown at her and she was invading his thoughts lately, incessantly. Sirius was dismissing every part of himself that pointed out things were changing. Sirius didn't like change; change often meant good things left him, and Marlene was something amazing. He was becoming increasingly aware she couldn't leave without hurting him in the process. So obviously, things weren't changing.

"The city is throwing a paint fight," he shrugged, "and James won't come without Red."

Marlene raised her eyebrows at him, "And I work into this how?"

Sirius rolled his eyes, "You can't expect me to believe that the idea of throwing paint-filled balloons at me isn't the least bit appealing."

To anyone else, Marlene looked bored, but Sirius saw the way her eyes crinkled at the corners. He stepped closer, lowering his voice knowing he'd nearly won.

"Come on, Marls, you know how much you'd like to throw paint all over my body."

Marlene gave him the slightest upturn of her lips as she met his gaze, her fingers running along the zipper of his leather jacket. "That honestly doesn't sound like the worst idea you've ever had."

Sirius smirked, he'd won.

"So you'll make sure Lily's in?"

"Will you make it worth my while?" Her whisper sent his blood racing and his hands found her waist, pulling her into him as his lips seared hers with his kiss.

"Consider that your preview," he murmured against her. Then he winked at her and forced himself to step back.

"Consider it done," Marlene grinned and then stepped back into her flat and shut the door.

"Sirius!" James let himself in without knocking. "How exactly did you get Lily to want to go to this paint fight?"

Sirius looked up from his records, "With my good looks and charm. Did you happen to shut my door behind you?"

James nodded to the closed door but continued to stare down his brother, "You never even talked to her."

"That's how good I am, James," Sirius finished reorganizing his records before moving to the sofa and gesturing for James to follow.

James fell onto the sofa with a huff, "I'm going to figure out how you did this."

"Are you mad that Lily wants to go?" Sirius found James' hostility amusing.

Sirius and Marlene hadn't made a big deal about their arrangement to their friends. The Marauders never asked and so Sirius never shared. Marlene had hinted at roughly the same thing with her interactions with the girls. And so it appeared they were nothing more than part of the group to their friends. It had become something of a game for Sirius and Marlene, and Sirius wasn't going to be the one to out them.

"No," James brought Sirius out of his thoughts, "but it's not natural for her, and believe me, I know her."

"Intimately yet?" Sirius parried, which earned him a glare and James nearly kicking him. It pays to be quick.

"I know you won't tell me," James continued, "but I'm going to figure out how you did this."

"I told you, with my good looks and charm," Sirius felt rather smug. He knew Marls would get Lily and the girls there, but he didn't realize she'd do it so well. He'd have to make sure she knew how impressed he was.

The street had been completely blocked off for the event, and the area was packed full of people ready to pelt each other with paint. Sirius was glad Lily and James had agreed upon a place to meet where they could all walk in together because he was sure they'd never find anyone in the press of the crowd.

"Where are the balloons? When will they bring out the paint?" Emmeline asked as they tried to find space to move.

"The guy who counted us as we came in said that they'll have balloons in the center and all four sides of the closed-off street here. They'll let us at them at the top of the hour." Remus was scanning the crowd, dressed in white from head to toe having chosen to don an entire painters uniform for the occasion.

Sirius slowly moved around till he was standing behind Marlene. He waited until Mary was in the middle of recounting a story from her work to whisper in Marls' ear.

"James was completely floored that Lily wanted to do this. I have to say I'm very impressed."

Marlene was bumped and ended up with her back pressed up against his chest. She didn't seem to mind as she laid her head back against his shoulder. "Did you doubt me, Sirius?"

Sirius wasn't sure if it was the press of the crowd or months of fighting the urge to make their arrangement more public, but he deliberately placed his hands on her hips, pulling her closer. "Never McKinnon, you just exceeded my expectations."

Marlene melted against him, the crowd having pushed them slightly apart from their friends. Sirius reveled in the moment. It felt so freeing to hold her in public and the high made him brash against his own emotions

"A bet Marly," he whispered in her ear, "if I get a hit on each of our group before you, I take you to dinner."

Marlene froze but didn't pull out of his embrace. Sirius took that to be a good sign, maybe he was running through her mind as much as she through his.

"And if I get a hit on each of our group first?"

Reality chose that moment to rear its ugly head and Sirius nearly panicked as he realized he put this all on the line. He'd invited change into the equation and now he wasn't sure how to go back. He was trying to figure out how to talk his way out of it, to make it all into a joke. But the alarm sounded for everyone to move to the far sides so the balloons in the center could be brought in. Sirius dropped his arms from Marlene just before Lily appeared and grabbed her arm.

"We're doing girls vs the Marauders, Come on!"

Marlene turned and winked at Sirius as she followed Lily across the street. Sirius had all of thirty seconds after that before the alarm sounded again and someone over a megaphone began counting down from 10. Sirius pushed it all away and threw himself into pelting everyone within reach with balloons full of red, yellow, blue, green, orange, and purple paint. The balloons along the edge quickly ran out and Sirius pressed his way to the middle to be able to keep pelting both friends and total strangers with balloons. It was one of the best times he'd ever had watching paint explode on white shirts. Tie-dye had nothing in this.

The ammunition eventually ran dry and Sirius laughed. He had paint everywhere, his hair, his ears, dripping down his back, in his old tattered trainers, all down the front of him. He spotted James and Peter near one of the corners, but as he scanned to find Remus, his shoulder was hit by one last paint-filled balloon. He turned to find a determine looking Marlene McKinnon.

"I win," she smiled at him, and Sirius knew he was crazy but he would have sworn her smile was almost shy.

She closed the distance and pressed her hand into the wet paint on his shirt. Then she brought a blue hand up to cup his chin. "And since you didn't answer earlier, I'd like to pick my prize."

Sirius was frozen in place. Part of him couldn't trust what was happening. He must be reading this wrong. She couldn't want him, not out in the open like this.

"And I pick you," her voice was just a whisper as she pulled him down to her lips.

Sirius' body moved of its own accord, pulling her closer, one hand moving from her face into her hair while the other gripped her side. He poured all the adrenaline and emotion he felt into kissing her, into showing her that if she was willing to pick him, he'd pick her every damn time. But it didn't feel like enough, so he pulled back.

"You realize I'm not most people's first pick right?"

Marlene chuckled, "Neither am I."

"And I'll probably drive you round the bend."

"I'm banking on it.

"And I'm going to want to call you mine," Sirius felt like he had to say it because he honestly already felt it.

Marlene smiled and this time Sirius was sure it was a shy smile. "Sirius, I've been yours for a while now."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Well," Sirius rested his forehead against hers, "that's convenient because I've been yours for a while now too."

Marlene's smile lit up her face and she wrapped her arms around his waist. "So we're doing this?"

"If by this you mean I'm going to make sure every bloke here knows that I'm the only arse who gets to hold you," he pressed a soft kiss to her lips, "then yes, we're doing this every single day."

Marlene pushed up and pressed her lips to his. Sirius wasted no time in deepening the kiss, running his tongue along her lips in broad daylight, for anyone to see. It was liberating, empowering, right in every sense of the word.

"No fucking way!"

Sirius reluctantly pulled away from Marlene to look at James, but Marlene beat him to a response.

"Yes, James, in several fucking ways."

Sirius laughed, this woman was too perfect.

James gaped at them and Sirius decided he wasn't really concerned about having an audience, so he pulled Marlene back to him and picked up snogging her where he'd left off.