Chapter 13 - Lucky

She found him by the lake, as she'd know she would. It had become their spot, even more than the other Marauder's. It just always attracted them, after everyone else had gone to bed. "Hey Sirius."

He turned from looking at the starts to smile at her. "Hey Ray."

Plopping down beside him under the tree, they both looked up at the sky again. "James noticed you weren't there when the party ended. He got rather upset, going on about how you didn't even care that he'd thrown the ultimate end of year party."

He grinned. "No doubt Lily was able to distract him."

Her grin matched his. Their friends hadn't been going out very long and they couldn't keep their hands off each other. James switched between looking like he couldn't believe his luck and telling everyone he'd always known it would happen.

"You know, I've been thinking, Ray…" Sirius said slowly.

"Alert the clergy! The apocalypse is coming!" Renee quipped.

He pouted. "I'm trying to be serious here, Renee."

She couldn't even help snickering at that, really. He glared at her until she stopped, a grin still on her face.

"Anyway," he said exasperatedly, "As I was trying to say before I was so rudely interrupted; I've been thinking, about the future."

Finally being serious, Renee said, "I know. I have too. I think everyone is, honestly."

He nodded sadly. "Probably. But more specifically, I've been thinking about our future."

Her heart rate picked up in an unpleasant way. "Sirius," she said, uncertainty in her voice.

His eyes widened. "Oh, Merlin, no, not like that. Definitely not. Would you relax?"

She obliged, reclining so they were both leaning against the tree, looking at the lake and the moon. His arms circled around her and she let his presence calm her down again.

"No, my thoughts were much more pleasantly occupied," he continued, "I was thinking about my whole living situation. Now that we're out of school, it's about time I moved out of James'. It'll be pretty busy there, what with his parents being in the Order and all. Plus, I'm sure Lily will be visiting him all the time. Honestly, they'll probably get married and move out any day now. Anyway, not the point here. You know that when my Uncle Alfred died he left me a decent amount of money. I was thinking I'd use that to rent myself a flat in London somewhere. It probably wouldn't be very big, but it needs to be fairly close to Diagon Alley, the Ministry, and all that. Anyway, I guess what I'm trying to get at, is that I'd like you to move in with me."

She wasn't as surprised as he'd thought she would be; she'd sensed that was where the conversation was heading, once she actually let him start it. Plus, she'd more or less been living in his dormitory for awhile now, which had lead to some interesting events. She thought about it silently for a few minutes. Only when she she noticed his fingers drumming against his arms did she twist around and see his anxious expression. She smiled.

"Sirius, you aren't actually nervous that I'll say no, are you?" Seeing him relax, she turned back around to lay down. "Of course I'm not going to say no, you dunderhead. I'm just thinking about what my parents will say, how it'll affect my Auror training, and how much James will want to kill us."

She knew without looking that he was grinning as he replied. "James can stuff himself for all I care; you're my girlfriend, not his."

She laughed. "It's not me I'm worried about. I've always wondered about you two, though. I mean, you are awfully close."

She could feel him laughing as he threatened her. "Don't make me throw you in the lake again!"

"Yeah, because that worked out so well last time," she said with a grin.

He tilted her chin so he could kiss her. "I agree, it worked wonderfully."

She kissed him back, then sighed and laid back down. "But really, Sirius, my parents will freak. And with Auror training, my schedule's going to be all crazy anyway."

He shrugged. "We'll work it out with your parents. I mean, they can't be too surprised; we've been dating nearly a year now and you're of age and will be getting a job and moving out soon anyway. Plus, they love me, and I'm amazing in bed."

She laughed. "No, silly, that's why I love you, not them." Getting serious again, though, she went on. "I guess you're right though. I'd be moving out soon anyway."

"Nice to know that's the only thing keeping you around," he said.

She elbowed. "Shut up. You know that's not true. It's just an added benefit. But what about my training? I probably won't even be home much at first."

He shrugged again. "It's not terribly important. Just knowing you'll be coming back to me, at our very own home, is enough."

She smiled; she did like the picture he was painting.

"All right," she said, sleepily snuggling deeper into his chest, "I suppose everything will work out. I guess the answer is 'Yes, Sirius, I'd love to move in with you.' Merlin knows why."

His arms squeezed around her, no words necessary to convey how glad he was.

A while later, they were both lost in their own thoughts, a comfortable silence between them. Renee finally broke the silence. "You know what I just realized? At least one other person won't be happy about me moving in with you."

"Hm?" Sirius question sleepily, "Who?"

"Tarin." Renee said matter of factly. The two had finally patched up their friendship, though weren't very close anymore. They could hold small conversations on most topics but blokes, but they never hung out anymore.

That actually woke Sirius up. "I hardly think she should get a say in this."

Renee laughed and said teasingly, "I don't know; I mean, she pretty much got us together. In a very roundabout way."

He had gotten distracted. "Hm? Oh, nonsense. It was the fact that you throw your head back when you laugh."

And indeed, she did so just then. "Sirius, what crazy potion are you on? That makes no sense."

"Sure it does," he insisted, "Last year, when we were swimming, the moon made you look all shiny, and you looked all happy and stuff, so I couldn't help but kiss you. Which is what started it all, really."

She twisted and kissed him. "That is without a doubt the cutest thing I've ever heard."

Seeing him blush, she kissed him again and said firmly, "I love it. And you."

She twisted back around and snuggled back into his chest, finally getting tired. Sirius didn't say anything, just held her closer and smiled.

Awhile later, Sirius broke the silence. "Hey Ray, I'm not sure if I mentioned this or not, but I only actually dated eleven girls before you and Tarin."

When she didn't reply, he carefully peered down at her. Her eyes were closed and she was breathing deeply. His eyes crinkled in a smile. Kissing her forehead, he settled back more comfortably against the tree.

"Well, I think thirteen is my lucky number," he murmured softly before falling asleep, too.

AN:/ Wow. I write fluffy endings. Ahem. Anyway. This story is done. Y'all might not realize, but this has been nearly a three year process. I tended to write nothing for very long periods of time, then write it all. For example, I had the first twelve chapters written in February of 2011 (most of which was written in three snow days), then I didn't write this final chapter until January of 2012. And then it took me about ten months to get the entire thing typed and posted.

Anyway, thank you for sticking with me through the whole thing, if you did.

As far as new writing goes, there probably won't be much for awhile. I have a couple one-shot ideas from this and an idea for a drabble series (I've never done that before so it could be interesting), so let me know if you'd be interested.

Anyway, again, thanks. I really appreciate any notice this story has gotten. It means a lot to me. I probably won't see y'all again for a very long time, if ever (I don't have much time to spare these days), so thanks for sticking it out for this one last story.

-Nikky