Looking back, Sirius often thought about the path his life had taken. He had never expected to end up anywhere in particular, after the deaths of James and Lily. Any future he had seen for himself had evaporated just as quickly as his grasp on reality had disappeared in Azkaban.

After his escape, he had regained his sanity painstakingly, piece by piece. His broken heart was not so easily fixed.

It had begun with Harry's acceptance of him, and with Moony's forgiveness.

Bouts of fear and paranoia would strike him, sometimes triggered, sometimes at random. Slowly, as the war progressed, so had he. There were setbacks of course, like the morning in Grimmauld he had gone down to the kitchen for coffee and drawn his wand on Hestia Jones, holding her hostage until the git Snape arrived to intervene.

Thankfully, Harry hadn't seen any of his… episodes. The same couldn't be said for his friends. Hermione had inadvertently walked into the library during an inexplicable sobbing fit. She had stood transfixed in the doorway before fleeing. She had never spoken to him about it. It had left her too embarrassed to speak to him for a long time after that, until she had decided to pretend it hadn't ever happened.

But Ron… Ron had found him in the attic sulking with Buckbeak. He hadn't run away, even when Sirius had lashed out at him. He had stayed.

It was hard then for Sirius, as years passed and their friendship grew stronger. He kept telling himself that Ron was a good friend, and that was all. He feared that any relationship he began would be doomed to fail, his partner inevitably realizing his brokenness would never completely heal.

What he hadn't admitted to himself was that Ron already knew and accepted that part of him, that Ron would be happy to have him as he was, now that the war was over.

It had only taken one visit for his resolve to falter. One look into Ron's earnestly determined eyes to figure out that yes he wanted this. And he had it. He had it with Moony's blessing and with Harry's reluctant joy for his godfather and best friend. He had it with lazy late breakfasts, and suppers outside in the park.

He had it with Hermione's apology and eventual affection, with Molly and Arthur's eventual acceptance.

Sirius Black had found everything he never knew he wanted in Ron Weasley, and all it had taken was a look and a kiss.

Prompts used: pretend, coffee, "What happens to hearts after they break? Do they repair themselves or just evaporate?" (Lacey Roop)