A/N: So bear with me, guys. It's been a long time since I wrote the Vivian/Sirius 'I hate you but I actually love you desperately' dynamic. Hope it doesn't seem too jarring.

Thanks for the reviews and hope you all enjoy. Will have another chapter up within the week and I'll likely have an actual updating schedule figured out by then, so make sure to read the next author's note for info on that.

Chapter Fifteen | Cave canem

[Beware of the dog]

Vivian's first day at her new job doesn't go entirely to plan. She's been so busy preparing her explanation to Adrian Mulciber that she hadn't really given much consideration to the rest of her job. In other words, the actual work. Not that she hasn't prepared at all, mind, but…well.

"You look tired," Sirius observes as the pair walk out of the front doors of the Ministry. Their cottage isn't connected to the floo network for security purposes, so Vivian will have to apparate home instead. Sirius had gruffly informed her that he'd pick her up when she'd left the house that morning, and here he is, walking with through the large doors.

Vivian grumbles, "I am," but doesn't saying anything else. She casts a surreptitious look in his direction as they make their way across the street. To be completely honest, she's surprised that Sirius had even said anything to begin with. Or offered to pick her up, for that matter.

Well, she shouldn't say that. It's just that things have been tense between them lately, and it's hardly any surprise as to why. But really, it isn't as if Vivian meant to keep him out of her plans. She's just bad at working with others. She's still getting used to it all. Sirius had taken that excuse in stride when she'd offered it up days before, but it hasn't made him any less tense towards her. She supposes she can't really be upset about his reaction seeing as she'd likely have the exact same one if their roles were reversed.

"How was your day?" he asks as they look for a good spot to apparate. The Ministry is located in the heart of London, so they'll have to be careful to avoid any observant muggles.

One more surreptitious look later and Vivian is belatedly responding, "Everything went well."

He looks distracted when he asks, "…And Mulciber?"

Vivian sees a good spot and takes his arm to drag him over to it. As she does, she responds, "Like I said, everything went well."

She half expects him to make some kind of snarky remark about the way she drags him into the alley, but he doesn't say a word and just hums under his breath to show that he'd heard her. It is the absence of this sarcastic little humor that has Vivian sighing and turning to look at him, hand still on his arm.

"Sirius," she begins, trying to catch his eye.

"We've got reservations, remember?" he cuts in, and offers her his arm. When she doesn't immediately take it, his jaw tenses just so and he reaches down to pull her hand into his elbow. "Hold on tight, Godric," he tells her, the corner of his mouth blazing up into one of his old smirks.

Vivian doesn't have time to narrow her eyes at his usage of her old and much hated nickname, nor indeed to attempt to call him out on his passive-aggressive behavior. She's grown somewhat accustomed to it these last few days and it's beginning to get on her nerves. Still, she hasn't the time to do much of anything before Sirius is encircling his arms around her waist and dragging her off into the void of apparition. She clenches her fingers into his sleeve and feels him pull her closer, and for a foggy moment she thinks that it's the first time in days that he's actually held her – but then that moment fades, and they are reappearing on a narrow side street in a small and nondescript muggle town, and Sirius is shuffling back just as Vivian is starting to enjoy the warmth of his touch.

A moment is spent straightening out his black denim jacket and then Sirius is tousling his hair back and gesturing towards the end of the street with a calm, "Let's go. It shouldn't be far."

Vivian stares at the back of his tousled head for a moment before rolling her eyes and saying, "Sirius," in a louder tone, hoping to get him to stop avoiding the conversation they are inevitably going to have yet again, seeing as he's still clearly annoyed at her.

It doesn't work. Sirius Black doesn't usually avoid his problems, mind you, but where it concerns matters of women and potential arguments to be had with them, it's quite a different story. In his mind, he probably figures that he'd already said his piece during the initial argument they'd had about her plan some nights before and that's that. What he's doing now – this conflicted attempt at remaining polite whilst maintaining a certain level of derisive annoyance – is only making Vivian all the more exhausted. To be honest, she'd prefer just having another argument with him and clearing the air with shouting some healthy insults around. Er…not that she means to insult him necessarily…it's just simply a tried and true method –

"Vivian," Sirius says back, lifting his eyebrows as he turns around to face her, walking backwards a few paces. "Do you have something to say that can't wait until we're sitting down at our table?"

She narrows her eyes at him.

"Yes, actually," she snaps, tired of his behavior.

Sirius quips her one of the passive-aggressive smiles he's been shooting her these last few days and gestures grandly to her. "Well then. Please say what's on your mind. Whatever it is, I'm sure it's far too important to wait."

Here, she pauses, not expecting him to go so far. Brow furrowing slightly, she tries, "Sirius, that's – look, would you just hold on a moment?"

"No, Viv, I know how responsible you are when it comes to promptly telling people important things," Sirius sarcastically cuts in, then says, "Such as the time you immediately told me that you spoke to my brother in Diagon Alley, or the time – you may remember – when you went off all by yourself to your family's estate and handed over a piece of paper that could have endangered the lives of everyone in the Order – "

"I thought we already went over this," Vivian sighs, reaching up to rub at her forehead.

Sirius barks out a laugh. "Oh, I'm sorry," he drawls sharply at her. "Please say whatever it was you wanted to say and then just go ahead and ignore me. It's something you seem to enjoy doing, after all."

At this, Vivian pauses and stares at him. She certainly hadn't expected him to imply any such thing. With a tentative disquiet, she studies him for a long moment before asking, "…Do you really think that?"

Her voice is hesitant enough to make him pause, too. Their eyes lock. A thinly veiled slice of awkwardness begins to tug at the spaces between them.

Then Sirius clears his throat and mutters, "No."

Vivian purses her mouth and rips her eyes from his.

Then Sirius amends, "I do a little bit, actually. Since you're asking."

She shoots him a look, clearly not sure what to say to that. So, for a moment, neither of them says anything at all.

"…I know I should have told you," Vivian tells him once that moment passes. Then she adds, "It's just that you probably would have stopped me, which would have ruined the entire plan."

Sirius shoots her a raised eyebrow and scorns, "Oh please. I wouldn't have tried to stop you – no really, I wouldn't have – "

"And besides," Vivian says, cutting in with an eyeroll, "it's all worked out, hasn't it? Even Dumbledore agrees that the plan is a good one. And I get to do something to help the Order now. And I have a proper job, which I'm actually rather pleased about."

Stuffing his hands into his pockets, Sirius nods shortly and says, "Yeah, which is great. But it could've all backfired on you spectacularly, and since you didn't tell me beforehand what you were doing, I wouldn't have been able to do anything about it."

Vivian turns to study the pavement, considering his words for a moment. Then, with a grunt, she shrugs, "Right, that's…true."

It takes quite a lot to admit that, by the by. It also takes quite a lot to admit the next bit.

"Going off of that logic…and considering your reaction to this first part of the plan, I suppose I should…tell you something else," Vivian haltingly says, trying and failing to look as nonchalant as she can.

Sirius stares at her. His expression looks increasingly frustrated, and it's only growing by the second. Their reservations at that restaurant are long forgotten.

Before he can speak, Vivian clears her throat and shrugs, "I was worried my father might not believe me, you see, so I told him that Regulus could back me up. And then I met with Regulus later that evening to see if he actually would – "

"You didn't think to mention this before?" Sirius asks. He's clearly trying to maintain his composure, but he's not doing too well so far. His voice is shaking just so with building anger.

Before it can burst, Vivian rushes to add, "Right, I was just trying to find a good time is all – the plan wouldn't have worked if not for him, Sirius, and he agreed to help me – "

"Of course he did," Sirius scoffs, running a hand through his hair. The movement is so irritated that it only tousles it all the more.

"I know your relationship with him isn't very good but – "

"You know what I find most amusing about this whole thing?" Sirius laughs, stuffing his hands back into his pockets. He catches her eye and says, "The fact that you told Regulus all of this before me – the man you're supposed to be in love with – and that I'm literally the last person to know!" Then, with a tense expression, Sirius turns on his heel and begins to march towards the end of the street. He gets only three steps, however, before he turns back to angrily add, "And we live together!"

Vivian watches him resume his march. She sighs and moves to catch up with him. All things considered, this is exactly how she figured her confession would go, so she supposes she can't be too surprised.

"You know it's not like that," she calls after him. "I'm using him for the benefit of my plan, that's all. He knows that and he's agreed to it."

"He's in love with you," Sirius scoffs over his shoulder.

Vivian rolls her eyes.

"So what? That only means he's easier to use," she drawls, rather mercilessly.

Sirius pauses at that, turns to eye her, and exhales, "Merlin, Vivian, that was absolutely ruthless of you."

She raises an eyebrow at him, crosses her arms, and then bluntly adds, "Since we're airing everything all at once, I should also tell you that the plan's changed slightly. I told Mulciber that I was going to turn you."

He sighs, tips his head back, and mumbles, "Has anyone ever told you that you're a lot to handle?"

Vivian tilts her head slightly at that and shrugs, "Not exactly in those words, no."

Head still tipped back, he pushes his hair off his forehead and sighs again.

"Right. Well you are," he informs her.

The exasperated way he says it makes it difficult for her tell whether he thinks this is a good thing or not, so she just shrugs again and asks, "Are you going to yell at me anymore? Just so I know."

His eyes flutter open and clash with hers, narrowing just so.

"I might," he hedges.

Vivian nods, "Can you save it for after the restaurant, then? We are still getting dinner, aren't we?"

Sirius closes his eyes again, takes a breath, and nods, "Yeah. We should celebrate your new job."

Vivian nods in agreement and takes his shoulder, turning him in the direction of the street corner. "You can yell at me about Regulus later, then. Dinner first?"

He sends her a look, knowing full well what she's doing, but ultimately doesn't complain about it and just mutters, "Dinner first."

Vivian's only response to this is to slip her arm around his waist and nod, pressing down the faint smile that threatens to come over her at his grumbled concession.

Dinner is a strange affair, least not because of the fact that Vivian is still very unaccustomed to being around muggles. She feels a bit uncomfortable to be in the presence of so many of them, but she reckons that Sirius had been right when he'd said this would be safer than going to Hogsmeade or Diagon Alley. Still, it's a bit unpleasant, and not only because of the copious number of muggles surrounding her on all sides.

"What happened with Mulciber?" Sirius asks as they wait for their food. He does look sincerely interested in hearing her response, but there's still an edge of tension in his voice that can't be ignored. He seems to be putting the matter of Regulus's involvement to the side for the time being, as agreed upon, but Vivian has no doubt that he'll be reintroducing it the first moment he's able.

Vivian shrugs, tracing patterns into the condensation of her water glass. "I think I was successful. He took the spell, and he looked interested in what I had to say."

Sirius huffs out a short, humorless laugh and wonders, "Did he believe you about why you moved in with me, then?"

Vivian shoots a quick glance at him before turning to study a group of muggles around their age, who are sitting on the other side of the dining room. As she eyes their colorful garb with a judgmental look, she replies, "Er…yeah, he did." Her mouth swings up into the tiniest of smirks, just barely discernible at all.

Sirius, though, sees it.

"What's that look for?" he asks, eyeing her cautiously. He glances over his shoulder at the group of muggles she's staring at, but doesn't see anything amiss that would garner such a look from Vivian Blair.

It rather reminds him of their Hogwarts days, to be honest, which is oddly jarring.

"You don't want to know," she tells him, still wearing that tiny smirk. "It's a bit insulting. It might make you yell at me again."

This time, Sirius narrows his eyes at her. For a long moment, they just sit across from each other and stare, and then…

Sirius leans back with a hum, crosses his arms over his chest, and says, "Right. Tell me."

Vivian shakes her head. "No."

He kicks the leg of her chair obnoxiously and demands, "Yes."

"You sound like a child," Vivian points out.

He scoffs, "You sounded like one first. Tell me."

Vivian rests her elbow on the back of her chair and drawls, "No, you'll be angry at me again."

Sirius raises his eyebrows at her and says, "You know, the fact that you're refusing is only making me that much more determined."

She hums and nods, "Alright, fine. Are you sure you want to know? It might hurt your masculinity."

The warning only makes Sirius scoff and stoutly reply, "Vivian, nothing can hurt my masculinity, trust me – "

"It was something along the lines of it being very difficult, letting you kiss me," she breezily interrupts.

Sirius pauses at that, inhales silently, then puts a hand on his heart and nods, "That did hurt my masculinity a bit, actually."

Vivian nods sympathetically and wonders, "Would you like me to ask the waitress for some ice?"

He purses his mouth at her for that. The small smirk makes a reappearance on her face.

"You know," Sirius muses, reaching up to scratch his cheek, "I can't decide whether I'd rather yell at you some more, or drag you home just to prove that you turn into a puddle whenever I kiss you senseless."

Vivian pauses at that, throws him an edged look, and sniffs, "I do not turn into a puddle."

This time, it's his turn to smirk. "Your denial is just adorable, Vivian."

Her eyes narrow a touch more. "I told you that you wouldn't want to know."

He rolls his eyes at her and drawls, "Please. It was so obvious how much you wanted to tell me. Insulting me has always been your favorite hobby."

She rolls her eyes, too, and quips back, "You just make it so easy, is all."

A moment later, he's kicking the leg of her chair again and her eyes narrow even more.

"Would you stop doing that?" she demands impatiently.

Sirius shrugs, "You asked for it, though."

"I swear to Merlin, Sirius, that I might actually start yelling at you in a moment," she warns.

"Oh no, what should I do? I'm so terrified," he drawls back without missing a beat.

Their eyes lock in an intense staring contest. Sirius looks like he's waiting for her to insult him again, and Vivian looks like she's contemplating whether she could get away with magically overturning his chair in a fit of revenge. For a moment, it's like they're back at Hogwarts, before they'd ever reached the conclusion that they happen to be desperately in love with each other.

The staring contest lasts about as long as it takes the waitress to bring their food to their table a minute or so later. Then, after giving them both cautious glances (for neither of them wants to be the one to break the stare and therefore hardly even acknowledge the poor woman), the waitress sketches a hasty retreat and leaves them to it.

After she disappears, the edge of Sirius's mouth quirks up slightly. The sight is enough to set off a small smirk of her own, for she can't quite stop her own mouth from pulling up in response.

Well, perhaps this is just the way of it, between them. There is a fine line between love and hate, after all, and they both enjoy walking on the very edge of it every once in a while.

"I'm still annoyed at you," Sirius informs her, and reaches for his fork.

Vivian hums, watches him take a bite, and pulls her plate closer.

"And yet you still want to kiss me senseless just to prove your point, right?" she drawls at him, sending him a look.

Their eyes lock again, and Sirius's mouth pulls up into a full-blown grin. He doesn't outright respond to that, but he doesn't really need to. The look he sends her is enough.

The next week passes in a flurry. Vivian's new schedule isn't difficult to get used to, but it is challenging to accustom herself to her new position. Having never actually cared much for the law or of generally adhering to rules in whatever form they come in, she finds it rather difficult to wrap her head around the finer details of her position. She can handle more general court work such as recording minutes and doing secretarial duties, but helping to prepare for cases is another story altogether.

She had no idea there was so much to it. Sure, she'd prepared for the job before applying, but actually doing the work in a hands-on manner is quite a bit different than reading about it. She finds herself grateful for Penelope Bernard, who has taken her under her wing and will be helping her out with all of her cases for the time being. If not for her, she'd have no idea how to handle the workload she is met with. By the end of her first week, she's already distributed several court orders, issued a handful of fines, and prepared a summons for a Mr. Clarence, who is expected to appear at court the Tuesday next to stand as a witness in one of Adrian's cases. In truth, Penelope had done most of the work, but she'd made Vivian take the lead so as to better learn.

Penelope Bernard actually works in the department of criminal law several floors above, but she often helps to train new clerks no matter what department they work in. The criminal law division is more heavily staffed and they can therefore handle Penelope's disappearance during the interim. Furthermore, though the woman still hasn't completely warmed up to Vivian, she'd confessed that she's actually quite pleased to take a break from her usual duties. She enjoys training people, especially within departments that aren't quite as hectic as her own.

Vivian herself is rather curious about the other departments, especially considering how the cases in the lower courts are a bit boring to her. Only a few days into her new job, she'd sat through a case involving an elderly woman who had accused her neighbor of turning her cat into a trash bin and was looking to sue her for a hefty sum of money. The case had sounded a bit amusing at first, but after several hours of listening to the scratchy old lady describing the exact shape, size, and location of said bin seven ways to Sunday, it had become a bit much to handle…and that had been before the lady started wildly describing the fluffy tail that had sprouted from the side of it once the magic began to wear off.

The only – and Vivian means only – good thing about that case was the fact that Adrian Mulciber was the attorney defending the old woman. To say that it had been hilarious watching him wrangle back his own impatience and attempt to maintain a level of cool professionalism is an understatement, especially when the lady had grown impatient with him. This small amusement had faded fast, though, the moment Mulciber had waltzed into her cramped office shortly after the hearing and dumped a tall stack of paperwork onto the edge of it, only adding to the mountain of papers that were already there.

"I expect you to finish this before you leave today," he'd told her with a smirk, looking annoyingly smug about the whole thing.

Yes, working under Adrian Mulciber is definitely not a pleasant experience, but Vivian hasn't had any problems with him beyond these little inconveniences. He hasn't made any mention of her spell yet, and neither has he said anything further about her reappearance into his life. Instead, he seems to be biding his time, watching and waiting to see if she trips up – and, of course, taking immense pleasure in handing off as much work as he possibly can. Vivian hasn't called him out on it yet (mainly because she's not completely sure whether it's actually a breech in their respective positions), but it's definitely been an annoyance for her.

And, for that matter, Sirius.

"I think we might need to buy you a desk since you seem to be working around the clock," he mutters to her one evening about two weeks into her new job.

Vivian glances up at him as he strides through the front door, but her eyes quickly return to the paperwork she's busily organizing. The coffee table is absolutely loaded with stacks of papers for various cases her department is currently working and since Mulciber had dropped off another tall stack earlier that day, she's gotten everything a bit mixed up as a result.

"I'm almost done," she tells Sirius, sounding a bit distracted. Not distracted enough, though, to ask, "How was the mission? Find anything useful?"

Sirius, James, and Peter had been tasked to investigate a recent Death Eater sighting just outside of London. Mad-Eye had accompanied them, saying something about how it would be good for James and Sirius to get the gist of being an Auror. They haven't actually been accepted into the program yet, but Moody seems convinced that they will once the paperwork and the red tape is dealt with. They've already handed in their applications, so it's just a matter of waiting for the results.

Across the room, Sirius grunts and shrugs out of his coat. "Not really. The Dark Mark's already faded and the Auror department's dealt with most of the…er, clean up."

By 'clean up', he means murder. Vivian lifts her head to share a look with him, but doesn't comment on his wording.

"There's been an article in the muggle paper about it, apparently. Something about an animal attack. It's not very believable," he tells her, coming around to sit down on the other end of the couch. He glances at the paperwork and shakes his head with a grumbled, "That prick is making you do all this? Can't he fill out his own paperwork?"

Vivian scoffs and mutters, "Apparently not."

Sirius looks over at her and raises an eyebrow. "Isn't this…I don't know, some sort of oversight?"

She sighs and clips a stack of papers together with a shrugged, "No. As a clerk, it's technically my job to help out the attorneys. Mulciber just likes to make my life as difficult as possible."

Sirius lets out another grunt but doesn't reply. If he appears a bit offended on Vivian's behalf, she doesn't point it out. And, if it makes her chest fill with warmth, well, she doesn't mention that either. She does, however, put the stack of papers down and edge closer to him, depositing a kiss onto his cheek a moment later. Sirius's response to this is to move his face closer to hers in a silent demand that she kiss him properly, which she does without complaint.

The first week of her employment had still been tense between them, but Sirius has gradually loosened up a bit about her new job. It isn't as if he's not pleased that she's working at the Ministry, mind you, just the way she had gone about doing it. Still, despite the fact that he is still a bit wary about the whole thing, he's since lost his passive-aggressive streak and is no longer angry. Well, for the most part.

"Has he tried anything on you?" he asks when Vivian pulls away to lean against the couch and his body. Then, before she can respond, he also asks, "And has my brother contacted you yet?"

Vivian is glad she'd told him about Regulus, but Sirius has grown a bit obsessive when it comes to asking that particular question. She humors him, though, and just responds, "No. And no. Adrian's been weirdly professional for the most part, and Regulus has gone silent."

She's not really surprised about either of these things. After all, it's not as if Mulciber can just throw curses at her in the hallways of the Ministry of Magic, and Vivian has been overly cautious about apparating home in the evenings, often making several stops to avoid being tracked. As for Regulus, she doesn't expect him to reach out to her any time soon. She doubts she'll hear from him much, if at all. He's already told her in no uncertain terms that he has no intention of helping her beyond ensuring that she stays alive, and she's not foolish enough to think that she could ever change his mind about where he places his allegiances. Nor does she want to, for that matter. Regulus is not her responsibility, and she's got more important things to think about despite wishing the best for him.

Sirius nods, "Good. You'll tell me if – "

"Yes."

"And if – "

"Sirius. Please be quiet," she murmurs, and turns his face back towards her to press her mouth to his again. The distraction works for a minute or so, until Vivian laughs against his lips and breathes, "I'm glad you're not angry at me anymore. This is much nicer."

His eyes flutter open. With a raised eyebrow, Sirius returns, "I'm still a bit angry."

She just hums and kisses him again, whispering, "Oh, right. So you are."

He huffs against her mouth. The next moment, he's dragging her closer and muttering, "I really am."

And Vivian – well, all she can do is hum again, a laugh edging through her voice until it gets lost in the way Sirius promptly tangles his fingers into her hair and pulls her ever closer.