Decima woke up sore, tired, and wondering where she was. There was a pair of strong arms holding her and she turned her head slightly to see the sweet face of Sirius sleeping peacefully next to her. If it was possible, he looked even more beautiful asleep than he did awake. She set her head down and nuzzled into his chest, remembering last night's events and grateful that she had him in her life.

As she touched his shoulder tenderly, he shifted a little and his face was inches from hers. If she just leaned forward slightly…

"Oi!" cried the voice of James Potter. "What the hell are you doing, Padfoot? That's my parents' couch!"

Sirius woke with a start and looked up at James sheepishly.

"Sorry, Prongs, I probably should have moved us before we fell asleep."

"Or maybe you shouldn't have shagged your brother's girlfriend on my parent's couch," James said, annoyed. "Get her out of the open before my parents wake up and find you like this!"

At the mention of Regulus, Sirius's arms tightened around her, but he sighed, wrapping the blanket tightly around her body and grabbing his boxers, pulling them on. Scooping up the rest of their clothes, he led her down the hall to what she figured was his room at the Potter's home. There were books and magazines scattered around the room as though a tornado had come through. There was nothing on the walls, but it looked lived in enough to let a casual observer know that someone did in fact live there regularly.

He pulled the blanket off of her and kissed her softly.

"Good morning, CiCi," he whispered, wrapping his arms around her again.

She didn't know what to say. She had forgotten Regulus until James had brought him up. Was she still dating him? Had she just actually cheated on him with his brother? She didn't know. A guilty feeling sank into the pit of her stomach as she flopped onto Sirius's bed, exhausted.

"What's wrong?" His eyes were full of worry, thinking, of course, that there was something wrong because of what she had been through the night before.

"Nothing," she lied, wishing she hadn't, because Sirius sat down next to her and wrapped an arm around her, looking her straight in the eye.

"Don't lie to me. Something's wrong."

She didn't know exactly what to say. How did she explain that she might be regretting sleeping with him because she was afraid she might have cheated on his brother, but didn't know? Especially after he had told her he loved her the night before, whether he meant it or not.

"I'm just tired," she muttered, and he seemed to accept this, because he nodded.

"Me too."

Before she could do anything, Sirius grabbed her around the waist and laid her down on the bed, pulling the covers over the two of them and kissing her again. For a moment, Decima forgot about her anxieties and melted into the kiss. There was something about Sirius Black that just made her feel like there really wasn't anything important except for him. But she remember herself and pulled back, smiling up at him with what she hoped was a sleepy expression before turning her back to him and closing her eyes, curled up in her sleeping position. Sirius curled up beside her, stomach pressed to her back, arm draped around her waist, spooning her as he fell back asleep, his soft breath tickling the back of her neck.

She had just begun to doze off again when there was a knocking at the door and James burst in.

"Oi, Sirius, Decima, my mom wanted me to collect you two for breakfast. And I took the liberty of finding clothes for you, Decima," he said dryly as he dropped a sundress on the bed at their feet. "I know you've taken to just not wearing them, but I have to live in this house, too, you know, and those of us who aren't Sirius would appreciate you wearing something other than your skin."

He winked, but she blushed as he left the room, making Sirius sigh with disappointment as she sat up and reached for the dress.

"What?" she said questioningly. "Did you actually expect for me to just not wear clothes?"

"No," he muttered, "I just wanted to have a little more time with you like this."

"Like what?"

He crawled on top of her, blocking her from the dress.

"You know what," he said, holding her down and kissing her with such force and passion that she thought she was going to beg for him once he pulled his lips away, but he didn't pull his lips away. He searched her mouth as though he had never done it before, as though it had changed, and his hands began to massage her breasts, thumbing her nipples, which caused her core to fill with a warm pleasure and she moaned into his mouth.

He leaned over her neck, poising his lips just above her pale skin and murmured, "So you like that?"

She didn't have to answer, his lips had already descended on her skin and he was kissing and sucking feverishly, causing her to gasp in ecstasy. Decima had to pull away, she had to stop this until she knew what was going on, but she couldn't. She wanted him so badly there would be no point in trying.

Sirius let his hands graze her sides down to her thighs before parting her legs and lowering himself between them. Before she knew what was happening, one of his fingers slid into her while his thumb played with her clit. She purred and he whispered, "Merlin, you're so wet," against her neck. It wasn't fair. How could one person be so damn satisfying?

Slowly, he worked the finger in and out, curling it slightly, which caused her to buck her hips with his rhythm. He added a finger, then another, and he was kissing up her neck to her ear where he whispered, "Do you want it? You want me inside of you?" She bit her lip and nodded. How could she not? "You're going to have to beg for it. Do you want it?"

"Yes," she gasped.

"That's not begging."

"Please, Sirius. Oh, Merlin, please!"

She wasn't sure how loud she was being. Her brain was so fogged with lust that she couldn't tell, but she really didn't care. He withdrew his fingers and before she had a chance to even moan with disappointment, he was inside her, not even bothering to start gently and work his way up. He was going hard from the beginning.

"Oh, Merlin," she gasped, knowing she was close.

He wasn't, though, and he didn't seem to want her to come yet, so he slowed down, which made her whimper with disappointment.

"Not, yet, love, I'm not ready," he said, snaking his dry hand along her pale skin, causing her to shiver at the lightness of his touch. He raised his other hand to her lips and she sucked her juices off them eagerly, fully aware of the lust growing in his eyes as he watched.

"Uhn," he groaned, picking the pace back up as she continued to suck on his fingers. For some reason, she thought guiltily of Regulus, but the thought was pushed from her mind as he cried out, releasing inside of her at the same him as her walls tightened around him. She was sure they had to have heard him. Decima was vaguely aware of Sirius kissing her all over as she thought of the look she was going to receive at breakfast from Mrs. Potter.

"Sirius," she whispered, ready to speak her mind, "what about Regulus?"

"What about him?" he said, confused.

"Well, am I still dating on him? We never really said, in all the chaos, I'm not sure. Did I cheat on him?"

Sirius growled a little and said, "CiCi, I would have thought that after the way he treated you this wouldn't be an issue. He's chosen his side, and that side will never be safe for you, even if you two did marry and have little Black Family Heirs."

She crinkled her nose at that thought. If she married Regulus, she would be a breeding machine, nothing more. That is how the family would regard her. But Regulus had never treated her like that. Still, in the back of her mind, she knew Sirius was right.

"Um, okay…"

"What else is on your mind?" he said flatly, knowing she wasn't done expressing herself.

Decima blushed and said, "What are the Potters going to say when we go down to breakfast after that yelling you just did?"

Sirius barked with laughter and said, "Probably, 'Congratulations, son, she's a real catch!'"

They both laughed as they untangled and dressed. It felt good to laugh, Decima had forgotten. That was something she had never had with Regulus, that carefree feeling that made her comfortable enough to let go and laugh. She was always afraid she would upset his temper, which the Blacks were notorious for. She wondered if Sirius had a temper that she just hadn't seen yet.

Decima half expected Sirius to hold out his arm and escort her to breakfast, but he just grabbed her hand, and she was glad. She had had enough of pretense to last a lifetime. When they reached the kitchen, there was a house-elf scurrying around to lay down food for them, and the Potters were already eating.

James was red in the face, which was Decima's first clue that they had, in fact, heard what had just happened. Mrs. Potter just smiled as they sat down and Mr. Potter said dryly from behind his newspaper, "Congratulations, son, she's a good catch."

Decima couldn't help it. She snorted into her juice and Sirius just grinned at her and winked before saying, "Yeah, she really is, isn't she?"

"I hope that dress fits," said Mrs. Potter. "James wasn't sure what size you were, but it looks lovely on you. Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, thank you, Mrs. Potter, it fits wonderfully, and I slept better than I have in a while." That was the truth, even if she hadn't slept for long. She wasn't sleeping in fear of the people in the house like she had at Grimmauld Place.

"I'm glad to hear it," said Mrs. Potter. "How are you feeling?"

Decima thought about it. She was a little tired, but she didn't think she ought to say that, since she had just mentioned that she had slept fairly well.

"Sore," she finally said, and this time Sirius snorted into his juice and James turned purple. It was only then when she realized that it was very unlikely that she was sore from her escape from the Malfoy Manor. She blushed, but James's parents didn't seem to notice.

"Well, dear, I have some potions that might help with that," said Mrs. Potter as though she had merely suggested she had a hangnail.

"Thank you," she mumbled, not allowing herself to meet Sirius's eyes. Just then, an owl she recognized flew through the window and landed in front of her, dropping a letter before flying away. Decima looked in horror at the envelope addressed to her in her father's hand. Ripping it open, she read:

Decima,

We are very disappointed in you. Your behavior was a disgrace to your breeding and we are taking this opportunity to inform you that you are henceforth disowned. Don't bother to write back. There is nothing you can say to change your situation. You have no idea that difficulty you have caused this family.

-Kronos Zimmerman

Before Decima even had the time to allow this all to sink in, before the tears had even formed in her eyes, another owl, this one that both she and Sirius recognized, repeated the performance of the first owl and she glanced down at the new letter, this one with Regulus's writing on the envelop, acutely aware of Sirius's eyes on her.

CiCi,

By now, I'm sure the full weight of your situation has hit you and I must, again, make it worse. I apologize, but this is something I must do. It pains me to say this, darling, but we can't be together any more. I have things expected of me, which I am sure you understand, and the Black family needs its heir to behave as such. Thus, when someone picks up your things from my house tomorrow, I shall include the gifts you have given me. You may keep the ones I have given you. It would be ungentlemanly of my to take them back, and perhaps you can sell them for enough to support yourself for a little while. Please know that we can still be friends. I meant it when I said I loved you.

-Regulus Arcturus Black

That stung worse than a slap in the face. Decima flung the parchment onto the table, noticing that James was already reading the letter from her father with wide eyes. Sirius snatched up his brother's letter and read it through quickly, growling.

"Why, that little–"

"Padfoot!" James said quickly as Decima began to cry deep, heart-breaking sobs. She had just been disowned, broken up with, and completely kicked out of the only life she knew. She had nowhere to go, and no one left but Sirius.

"Baby," he whispered, hugging her tightly as Mrs. Potter skimmed both letters with dark eyes. Sirius gently wiped her tears.

"Well, Decima, it looks as though you and Sirius are in much the same boat," said Mrs. Potter. "I know it's a lot to take on, but I think you're really better for it. If you need anything, a place to stay, a shoulder to cry on, anything, we're here for you."

"R-really?" Decima gasped, looking up at Mrs. Potter in surprise. "You'd let me stay here?"

"Well, dear, we really can't just let you fend for yourself, now, can we?" said Mrs. Potter gently.

"Yeah," said James. "Besides, the Potter Manor is now becoming a semi-official haven for runaways of psychotic pureblood homes. OW! Dad, that was my shin!"

"I know, James," said Mr. Potter curtly. "Don't be such an insensitive prat or maybe you'll be the next one being disowned."

"All right, all right," sighed James. "I get it, shutting my mouth now."

"So…so I can really stay here?"

"Of course you can, love," said Mrs. Potter in her kind, gentle voice.

"They let you call them Mum and Dad, too!" said Sirius with a smile and a wink. They all laughed and he kissed her gently on the forehead before decided she had calmed enough that he could let go of her and finish his sausage.

The rest of breakfast went peacefully and as soon as Decima had finished her own sausage, Sirius grabbed her by the hand and let her outside to the gardens. It was cold out, as it was December, but he grabbed a jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders, leading her to a bench and holding her close. His body was so warm.

"I have something for you," he whispered. "A Christmas present. I would have given it to you on Christmas, but you really weren't in any condition to receive it."

He pulled out a little box with a small rose engraved on the top. She took it and opened it tenderly, finding a silver chain, which she grabbed and uncoiled to find a small silver heart on it, encrusted with diamonds. He smiled as she looked at it, admiring its beauty before taking it from her hand and putting it on her.

"It looks like it was made for you," he said.

"I love it," she whispered. "But it's freezing out here," she added, pulling in closer to him. "Why did we have to come outside for this?"

He laughed and held her tightly whispering, "Two reasons, firstly, I wanted you to see how amazingly beautiful it is back here, and secondly, I wanted to give it to you somewhere James couldn't spoil the moment."

Just as Sirius was leaning in to kiss her, she heard the voice of the very boy they had just talked about calling from the window of his room, "You'd better not do it in my mom's garden, or I'm never sitting on that bench again!"

Sirius groaned and Decima laughed, taking Sirius's hand and leading him back toward the house, calling, "Fine, James, we'll just do it on your bed, then, since you've practically volunteered it by banning every other spot in the house!"

Suddenly, she found herself being led, or rather, dragged, by Sirius into the house and down the hall to James's room, who was watching in horror as Sirius began to kiss her passionately.

"What are you doing? Sirius! Stop, guys, this is my room, his is down the hall. No! Ew! Keep clothing on! Stop it, what are you doing, I have sensitive eyes, here! Sirius, get off my bed! Decima, get off Sirius when he's on my bed! Oh, Merlin's pants, you people are disgusting!"

And with that, James Potter fled his own bedroom and Sirius and Decima pulled apart, laughing.

"Can we continue this somewhere else?" Sirius muttered seductively in her ear.

"Oh, why do you even bother asking?" moaned Decima as he put his shirt back on and led her down the hall to his room.

At lunch, there was an awkward silence as Sirius and Decima sat down, obviously glowing. James winced at the sight of them and turned to his mother.

"Mum, I need a new bed."

"Why, dear?"

"The one I have's been contaminated."

"Oh, Merlin, relax, James," Sirius said with a laugh. "We moved to my room as soon as you stormed out in terror. But keep your nose out of my business unless you want me to not be so considerate next time."

"You wouldn't?" James said, eyes wide.

"Well," Decima said, "that's rich, coming from someone who just thought that we did."

James grumbled, "You know, Padfoot, when I said you could bring her here after your heroic rescue mission, I didn't realize that meant you were going to shag her every three hours."

Mr. Potter laughed and grabbed the second half of his sandwich.

"Consider it a blessing in disguise, James. While Sirius is busy, you'll have plenty of time to study for the next term!"