This was supposed to be a drabble, before it ran away with me. Thank you to MaraudingManaged for the excellent pairing and prompt and for pushing me out of my comfort zone!
Thank you to my beta, iwasbotwp, for her time and her excellent advice.
She was standing in the living room of his flat with both hands planted on her hips and the prettiest scowl on her face. She looked absolutely livid and Sirius was loving every second of it. He flopped back on the sofa and propped his feet up on the opposite arm, feeling like a prince in his castle.
"C'mon Marlene! Life is too short to be so... serious ," he teased her, winking.
She stamped her foot, threw her hands open and turned away with a huff. Sirius grinned. She was so sexy when she was mad at him; he loved getting her all riled up.
"How can you be so cavalier about all this! We're in the middle of a war!" she snarled at him, pacing like a caged animal.
"Breathe, witch! I only asked you to move in. It's not some grand gesture, s'just convenient since you're always here already."
Marlene stilled and fixed him with shining blue eyes, her arms coming down to dangle limply at her sides. She took a deep breath and studied him with an adorable pout on her lips, wrinkling her nose a little.
"That's your problem, you know," she said evenly. "Nothing is ever a big deal with you." She paused, tilting her head to one side. "What if I wanted to feel like I was a big deal to you for once, Sirius?" she asked in a small voice.
She sighed and bent over to pick up her jacket and handbag.
"Where are you going? It's late, already dark." Sirius quickly sat up on the sofa, surprised and concerned that she appeared to be leaving.
"Home. To see my parents. To sleep. Alone."
"Hey now, you don't mean that! You haven't slept there in a month!" He couldn't help the rise of panic in his chest at the thought of facing the night by himself. For all of his nonchalance, he was well aware of the kind of world they lived in.
"Well, I'm sleeping there tonight," she replied, turning for the door.
"Marlene!" he protested. "Don't go, love. I'll miss you too much. I'm sorry I teased you."
She turned to face him, an unreadable look on her face. "We can talk about this tomorrow, Sirius. I just need some time and space right now."
Sirius took a deep breath and swallowed loudly. He wondered briefly if he had pushed her too far; she had never tried to leave before. Perhaps he should have been a little more romantic about asking her to move in—she wasn't just some bird, after all. As much as he knew she could take care of herself, he still wanted her to be safe, home with him.
"If it's a commitment you want, I can give it to you. Honest. I love you, Marlie!" he pleaded.
"Tomorrow," she said again with more conviction, as she left, closing the door behind her gently.
"Yeah, okay. Tomorrow," Sirius said quietly to the closed door.
His flat felt empty without her in it and he found he really didn't like it at all. He'd grown used to her presence, to the way she rolled her eyes at his jokes or huffed at him when he was riling her up. She could also be a bit of a nag, constantly telling him to grow up a little and be more responsible. Sirius, in return, could be a bit of a git. No girl wanted to be told she was reminding her boyfriend of his mother. All told, Marlene put up with a lot and he had to admit she wasn't entirely wrong to nag him in the first place.
After he invariably apologized and made it up to her, she always fit right back into his arms and kissed him like she meant it. That mattered to him.
He resolved to make her the best bloody apology anyone had ever heard as soon as the sun was up, even if he had to grovel in front of her whole family. Merlin knew she deserved it. He really did love the witch, after all.
When he went to bed, he found the shirt Marlene had worn to sleep the previous night tucked neatly under her pillow. He laid it flat on his own pillow and fell asleep, surrounded by the smell of her perfume.
Sirius woke to the sound of his bedroom window rattling. Looking up through sleep-addled eyes, he noted it was still mostly dark and that an owl was pecking furiously at the glass, trying to get in.
"Alright, blasted bird, I'm coming," he muttered as he dragged himself to the window and pulled it open.
The impatient owl promptly swooped in and dropped a small roll of parchment onto the desk, leaving again before Sirius could even offer it a treat. He unrolled the missive to find a short note in Moody's familiar, untidy scrawl telling him he was needed at headquarters. He shook his head. Being unexpectedly summoned by the Order before the sun came up was never a good sign. He wondered to himself what unpleasant task they would have waiting for him this time. He supposed his apology would have to wait until after.
He dressed in silence, grabbed his wand, and Apparated with a sigh.
The Apparition point at headquarters was at one end of the wide, slightly dilapidated, back deck. He landed less than gracefully, almost putting his foot through a broken board, but caught himself and moved out of the way in a hurry, lest someone arriving after him should land directly on top of him. That wasn't an experience he cared to repeat.
He walked to the back door and pulled it open, stepping into the kitchen. Passing through it to the hallway that led to the front sitting room, he arrived where Moody expected everyone to report. A couple of older members were stepping out of the room as he approached and glanced at him on their way past, both looking a little stiff and tired. He nodded and made his way to the sitting room's last remaining occupant.
"There you are, lad. There's some cleanup to do this morning," Moody greeted him with a gruff nod.
"Another fire? One of us?" Sirius asked.
The Auror nodded. Sirius shook his head sadly. This was becoming routine, but it was already getting old. The Order was lucky to have a spy—it meant the enemy usually only burnt empty buildings. But cleanup duty after a magical fire was a right pain in the arse.
"Bloody Death Eaters. Whose house was it? Everyone get out in time?" Sirius sank into one of the worn chairs, expecting to wait for the others to arrive for the usual briefing that preceded a cleanup.
Mad-Eye cleared his throat before he answered. "The McKinnon's place."
"Marlie will be in a right state, that house has been in the family for generations. Better get moving to help soon or she'll have my head." Sirius chuckled.
He looked up to find his mentor staring at him strangely. Moody's whole body was tense and even his magical eye was fixed on Sirius, a departure from its usual near-paranoid spinning. His gut churned with sudden worry, telling him something had to be very wrong.
"We didn't get a warning this time." The man paused to put a heavy hand on his shoulder and Sirius felt like the wind had been knocked out of him. "Nobody made it out, lad. I'm sorry."