Disclaimer: Nope, doesn't belong to me. Title comes from the band Oasis (I'm a 90's kid, what can I say).

A/N: I know it's been a while, but I'm really hoping some of those regular reviewers I picked up might come back! No hard feelings though…it was a really long time without an update. Anyway! Thanks to all alert-ers, favorite-ers, and reviewers. Please consider reviewing if you like what you read!

Short but slightly gratuitous chapter. Enjoy.

Chapter 14

And no rivers and no lakes can put the fire out. —Florence + the Machine

"I," Sirius Black announced grandly, "have arrived."

Well thank Merlin she hadn't been eating or drinking anything during that ridiculous entrance, Emmeline Vance thought tartly, because she'd be dead from choking.

She heard Lily sputtering at James behind her, but she focused on one smirking Sirius Black.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded and he hands her a wrapped box.

"It's Christmas," he said, as if she didn't know.

"I'm aware. That doesn't answer my question."

"Of course it does," he responded easily. "It's Christmas, James bought Lily a present, I bought you a—"

"I can see that," she grumbled, and James went to stand by Sirius, draping an arm over his friend's shoulder.

"Do you like my present, Vance?" James asked innocently, and despite herself, she laughed. They just looked so damn pleased with themselves.

Lily was far less amused. "You should have said something," she rebuked James, poking him in the side.

He shrugged. "Tis better to ask forgiveness than permission," he sang out and Sirius snorted.

"You kids hungry?" Mrs. Evans called from the kitchen.

James's face lit up and Sirius answered for both of them. "Always."

"She is the sourest of the sourpusses," James whispered to Emmeline and Lily as Petunia and her horrid boyfriend Vernon glared at them in tangent. "Hasn't anyone told her that if she makes the face for too long, it will stick that way?"

"Many times," Emmeline answered dryly, shooting a pointed look in Petunia's direction; the horse-faced girl squeaked and, grasping Vernon's hand, left the room. "She's also a right coward, that one."

Lily rolled her eyes and stabbed at her roast beef with her fork. "It's also her bloody turn to do the dishes—"

"Evans," James interrupted, eyes watching her vicious poking in fascination, "Padfoot and I can do them. You and Ems just…do whatever girly things you were planning on doing."

Emmeline arched an eyebrow in Lily's direction. "We do owe Marlene a direct transcript of every loud sigh directed in our vicinity."

But Lily shook her head firmly. "I don't trust her in the house alone with these two. Or," she added with glare in James and Sirius's direction, "vice versa. And I need to tell Potter just exactly what manners are, so." She snatched James's plate away from him and, despite his protests that he wasn't finished, promptly dumps the tiny final bite of meat into the bin.

Recognizing the storm about to hit, Emmeline says with false brightness, "Come on, Black, I'll show you the backyard."

"Oh just admit it," Sirius remarked casually as she walked ahead of him, breathing in the sweet smell of the English countryside. "You wanted to be alone with me."

"Don't flatter yourself," she volleyed back easily, eyes focused on the rolling hills in front of her. She leaned against the fence that bordered the expansive Evans property and let her eyes drift shut as the breeze picked up slightly. "No excuse is flimsy enough to get away from Petunia Evans. Trust me on this."

She felt his eyes on her face and opened her own to find him next to her, his back and elbows leaning languidly against the fence, dark eyes unreadable. "Why did you come with James, Sirius?"

Something she can't translate flashed in his eyes and he cocked his head at her. "I heard you let Wormtail down easily enough," he said, and she scowled at him.

"And you're avoiding the question," she pointed out, turning back to the scenery.

"No," he argued, and she felt him lean in slightly closer. "I heard about what happened with Wormtail and I—" He paused and ran a hand through his hair. "I could really like you, Vance."

"Could? Excuse me while my heart just melts, Black," she snipped sarcastically, straightening her spine and pushing off of the fence. "If that's the best you can do—"

"It's not," he interrupted, hands snaking around her wrists and gently pulling, but with enough force that she tripped right into him. His arms went around her waist, his hands locking behind her back. His eyes had darkened significantly when she looked up into them and he said lowly, "I can do a lot better."

But he made no move to close the small distant between their faces and she stared up at him blankly for more than a few seconds, not quite comprehending. And then—oh. It was her move. She bit her lip and said quietly, "Sirius, you're practically famous for being a playboy and I've never even had a boyfriend." She felt his forearms flinch before they tightened around her.

"I like you," he said quietly, and his forehead dropped to press against hers. "Quite a lot, in fact, Vance. And…" he shrugged again. "Consider this a reformation."

Her heart tripped over itself as his hand came up to brush a few stray pieces of blonde hair out of her face. "But how can I be sure?"

His smile was slightly grim. "You can't. But…you trust me. Right?" His eyes searched hers and there was hot pull in her stomach as she nodded slowly.

"Yeah," she whispered and before she could second-guess herself, she eliminated the gap between them, her lips hesitantly meeting his.

His hands trailed up the backs of her arms and she felt goose-bumps brush over her skin; he laughed a little into her mouth and she pulled back irritably. "No," he said, pulling her face back to his and reversing their positions so that she was the one pressed against the wooden picket fence. Her arms slid around his neck of their own volition and he shifted his hips slightly so that her legs were just far enough apart for him to rest between them. A voice in her head whispered, Too fast, too fast! But she couldn't help but ignore it.

One of his hands traveled down to the edge of her t-shirt, sliding underneath it; she couldn't help the quick intake of breath that she took when she felt his warm palm against her stomach. He laughed again, but this time she smiled a little against his lips and his hand roamed further upwards, fingers splaying over her ribcage and halting there. She was vaguely grateful for his control, because her head was so fuzzy right then that she wasn't too sure when she would make him stop.

The pull in her stomach became more heated, and she had an acute feeling of pleasure-pain—like when she would scratch a mozzie bite for too long. "Slower," she managed to say, pulling away just long enough to get the word out.

Sirius nodded even as his other hand tangled itself in her hair, and his mouth moved to her ear. "You're beautiful, you know," he murmured into it, lips dancing over the outer shell. "Perfect."

"Bet you say that to all the girls," she whispered back, a small smile flitting across her face. He smiled back before answering, "No," and continuing his exploration of her neck. "I did really bring you a present," he told her, mouth moving down hotly to her collarbone and it took a moment for her to focus on the fact that he had actually said something.

"Oh," she managed to say, fingers coming down to smooth down the collar of his shirt. "I didn't get you a thing, you know."

For the third time, he laughed. "No hard feelings," he told her, mouth finding hers again. "But you could make it up to me."

She froze, hands dropping to her sides. "Sirius."

"Get your mind out of the drain," he said, poking at her ribs with the hand that still rested there. His eyes turned serious. "Be my girlfriend, Vance."

She blinked up at him, eyes wide. "W-What?"

His face was so close to hers that his eyes blurred into one and his nose was touching hers. "Be my girlfriend," he repeated, and when he moved against slightly, her knees nearly gave out. "You know you want to say yes," he continued, and his mouth moved down the side of her neck, never actually landing anywhere. "So just say it."

She couldn't even think with him doing that, and she knew he knew it, too. "That's—" she inhaled sharply as he came back up to bite her bottom lip softly. "—a big question, Sirius. Have you even had one before?"

He smirked at her. "No. I've only ever had girls." His fingers stroked against her side and she nearly sighed. "So it'll be a new experience for both of us, Vance."

But still she hesitated. "It would really hurt Peter," she pointed out quietly and his entire face darkened.

"You should think about what you want for once," he said, voice slightly cool. "This is between you and me, not you, me, and all our friends."

"But it affects our friends," she reminded him, and his hands dropped back to his sides. Frowning, she reached to thread her fingers through his. "I'm not saying no," she said quietly. "Just…let me think on it, yeah?"

Before she knew what happened, he was pressed even more closely against her than before, his dark black eyes encompassing her entire line of vision. "At least let me argue my case," he levied and there was that strange heat in her stomach again.

"Fair play," she agreed unevenly and his eyes flashed with triumph before his lips met hers again.

"James," Lily hissed, grabbing at James's arm and pulling him to the window over the sink. "Are you seeing this?"

James tore his gaze from her and followed her eyes out to the pasture behind the Evans house. A slightly proud smile inched across his face. "Atta boy, Prongs," he muttered and Lily smacked his arm.

"Did you bring him here for this specific purpose?" she demanded and he blinked beguilingly.

"Of course not," he said, the picture of innocent. At her snort of disbelief, his hands came to rest on her shoulders. "Evans. Lily. My heart. He really does like her."

"Of course he does," she retorted blithely. "She's pretty and he hasn't shagged her. Of course Sirius Black likes her."

James shook his head, eyes widening dramatically. "You're forgetting that I like Vance too. I wouldn't encourage him if I thought he was toying with her. And," he nudged her shin gently with his foot, "I have this small soft spot for you, and she's your best mate. It's in my best interest for her to be happy."

Lily's face turned soft and she glanced back out the window. "She does need something," she agreed wistfully. "It's been so hard for her, James."

He rested his chin on the top of her head and felt a tug at his heart when she burrowed her face in his chest. "I know," he said softly as her arms wrap around his waist. "I know."

"You look like you have a secret," Lily commented slyly and Emmeline blushed.

"No secrets," she said with failed nonchalance and Lily snorted.

"I saw you two," she said with a hint of mischief. "And James said Sirius asked you to be his girlfriend! Em, has Sirius ever even had a girlfriend?"

Emmeline shook her head, finger drawing patterns in the quilt on Lily's bed. "No," she said quietly. "And—and I told him I had to think about it."

Lily stared at her in disbelief. "But…but what is there to think about, Ems? He likes you, you like him—I don't understand what decision has to be made here!"

Emmeline shrugged. "It's hard to explain."

"Try me."

Biting her lip, Emmeline said slowly, "I like Sirius, Lily—a lot. And…if I'm his girlfriend…" she shrugged again, a little helplessly. "I know I'll go from liking him to something more in a very short time and we're about to graduate and things outside of Hogwarts are loony and—" she halted the torrent of words spilling out of her mouth. "I just lost my whole family in one fell swoop," she whispered, knees drawing up to her chest. "I need to heal from that before I can be with someone."

Lily took Emmeline's hands in her own. "Listen to me, Em," she said firmly. "I agree—I do think that what you need is to hell, but I think you're severely underestimating Sirius's ability to help you do that." As Emmeline's mouth opened to protest, Lily held up a hand. "He doesn't have anyone either, Em," she reminded her friend gently. "And if his friendships are any indication, he loves with his entire heart. This could be good for you."

Emmeline took a deep breath. "I've never—loved a boy before," she said softly, and Lily laughed.

"And before your eleventh birthday you had never done magic before," she pointed out. "And now it comes to you like breathing." She smiled gently at her friend. "I think you'll find it comes easier than you think."

Emmeline's eyes shot up to meet Lily's. "Wait," she said slowly, eyes narrowing in suspicion. "Do you—do you love James?" Lily gave her a small, secret smile and Emmeline's mouth dropped open before it turned into a grin.

"Lily!" she squealed, careful to keep her voice low as to not wake Petunia in the next room. "Does he know yet?" She wrinkled her nose. "He might faint when you tell him."

"I'm telling him soon," Lily promised, eyes sparkling and Emmeline's grin only grew. "Don't give the game away, Em."

"I would never."

"Has the jury reached a verdict?" Sirius asked, mouth at her shoulder, and she giggled slightly, pushing at him.

"You have to stop," she admonished him with false severity. "We're in the Evans's home."

"They went out," he reminded her petulantly, fingers sliding through the belt loops of her jeans and bringing her hips flush to his. "They all went out, Vance, and you've danced around the subject for the last two days."

"I didn't think you were staying so long," she retorted, vetoing as his hand drifted lower than currently acceptable. "Don't the Potters want to see James before he goes back to school?"

Sirius shrugged, backing her against the hallway wall, hands resting on either side of her head. "They've listened to obsessed monologues about Lily Evans for years, Vance. They're thrilled for him. Stop bloody dodging."

Her hands went up to wrap around his wrists. "First, listen," she ordered and he sent her a grin that sent warm shivers down her spine. "We cannot flaunt it. No touching—"

His dark eyebrows slash together incredulously. "Ever?"

"In public," she clarified firmly. "None at all. It would be incredibly cruel to Peter."

"It's incredibly cruel to me," he grumbled but she could tell she had won.

"And everything has to be slow," she added, hands falling from his wrists and crossing her arms over her chest. "I mean it, Sirius. Snogging only."

He had the grace to look offended. "I don't pressure girls, Vance," he informed her, and she gave a pointed look to where his hands had dropped back down to her waist. "Oh come on," he protested, wrinkling his nose at her. "That's hardly inappropriate."

She sighed and took his face in her hands. "Just…slow, yeah?"

"Vance," he said gently, forehead touching hers, "You are safe with me."

And she believed him.

Final term was going to be interesting.

A/N: Come now, that deserves a review, right? It's so easy now too...just type in the little box right there and hit 'send.' Simple! And I'll love you forever, and I'll put up a much fuller chapter soon. So...win/win!