Author's Note: Enjooooy!

Disclaimer: The following characters belong to J.K. Rowling, and this story derives from her original works, storylines, and world. Please do not sue me, I can barely pay tuition.

Hogwarts: Criminology, Task #7 Possession of a Firearm - Write about threatening someone with a weapon.

Warnings: NA

Stacked with: MC4A; Sky's the Limit; Flouting Regulations; Summer Bingo; Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Individual Challenge(s): Gryffindor MC; Seeds; Ways to the Heart; Golden Times; Old Shoes; Trope it Up A (Enemies to Friends to Lovers); Themes and Things A (Change); Themes and Things B (Escape); Ethnic and Present; Rian-Russo Inversion (Y); Flags and Ribbons (Y); Letter of the Day; Short Jog; Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux; No Punny Business

Representation(s): Sirius/Kingsley; asexual Kingsley

Bonus challenge(s): Second Verse (Middle Name); Chorus (Odd Feathers)

Tertiary bonus challenge: Evolution; Satisfaction

Word Count: 2439

Summer Bingo

Space Address (Prompt): 5D (Liberty/Freedom)

When the Search is Over

Do you know where your love is

Do you think that you lost it

. . .

Well bless my soul

You're a lonely soul

Cause you won't let go

Of anything you hold

Well all I need is the air I breathe

And a place to rest my head

-Say (All I Need), One Republic

Within two seconds of laying eyes on him for the first time, Kingsley had Sirius Black petrified. One of his arms held Black's arms pinned behind his back, the other pressed the tip of his wand against the criminal's ribs.

"Don't move," Kingsley hissed.

"Kingsley—" Remus Lupin said, coming forward. Kingsley had known him from Hogwarts. Seeing him ally himself with a Death Eater was shocking—but Kingsley didn't have time to dally on that.

"Stand back," Tonks said from behind Kingsley, her wand also pointed at Black should Kingsley need help.

"This is a misunderstanding, he's not guilty like…" Remus said.

"Stand back or I'll petrify you, too," Tonks snapped at him.

Remus rolled his eyes before calling out: "Dumbledore, sir?"

The old wizard meandered into the kitchen of Grimmauld Place and surveyed the scene.

"My apologies, Sirius. I had been hoping to prepare our Auror friends before they met you—I should have asked you to stay upstairs until then…"

With a wave of his hand, Dumbledore dismissed Kingsley's spells. Black wiggled in his arm, and Kinglsey tightened his grip.

"My, what strong arms you have," Sirius said.

"You can let go, Kingsley," Dumbledore promised.

"I know how to behave myself," Sirius added. "More or less."

Kingsley let go of the man, but kept his wand up.

"Professor Dumbledore," Kingsley said carefully. "I've been responsible for finding this man for the last two years of my career, by order of the Ministry for Magic…"

"Well, congratulations," Sirius said, spreading his arms.

"Sirius, don't make this difficult," Remus sighed. "I promise, we can explain everything. Professor Dumbledore can vouch for Sirius, I gladly will. He is innocent."

"I have trouble believing it," Kingsley said.

"Well, not that innocent." Sirius winked. "But I'm not a murderer, nor am I a Death Eater."

"It's true," Severus Snape—who had until that moment chosen to watch silently from the corner—said. He spat out the words as if they were distasteful to him. "I can vouch that Peter Pettigrew is alive and well and at the Dark Lord's beck and call."

"Peter Pettigrew?" Kingsley said, lowering his wand.

"It's a long story," Sirius said. "Perhaps you'd like to hear it with a cup of tea. Or whiskey, which may be more appropriate seeing as your most recent life's work is about to unravel before you..."

Kingsley helped put away the teacups after the meeting specifically to have a moment with Sirius in the kitchen. He still had trouble wrapping his head around this story, or seeing Sirius without immediately wanting to restrain him and call the Department for back-up…

"I would like to apologize for earlier," Kingsley said. He fidgeted with his earring nervously—and then hated how much he was allowing his nervousness to show.

"For threatening me with a wand in my own home?" Sirius asked. Then he grinned. "I'm kidding. Don't mention it. I understand. I always wondered which Auror was leading my manhunt. The Prophet always said that information was confidential."

"If it's not too…" Kingsley chewed his lip. "If I may ask… How did you do it? How did you avoid detection and last so long on the run?"

Sirius grinned. "So bold, Auror Shacklebolt. Shouldn't you at least buy me dinner before asking?"

Sirius waved his wand, set a dishcloth to work, and sashayed out of the kitchen.

Kingsley plopped down the bag of styrofoam containers in front of Sirius, who was sitting at the kitchen table doing paperwork for the Order.

"What's this?" Sirius asked.

"Chicken tikka masala," Kingsley said. "I'm told by Remus that it was your favourite meal."

"It is, I suppose," Sirius said, looking preoccupied as if trying to recollect something far away.

"I also hear that prolonged exposure to Dementors can dampen one's senses, including taste," Kingsley said.

"That's true," Sirius said, frowning now.

"I thought an old favourite, especially one this good, might help," Kingsley said.

"I'll never say no to free food," Sirius said, putting down his quill and opening up the plastic bag. "I suppose this one is yours?"

"Yes," Kingsley said, reaching for his container of palak paneer. "I was going to bring it home…"

"You can eat here," Sirius said. "I promise not to poison you."

They pushed aside the Order paperwork and got settled in. Dinner was quiet, but Sirius looked pleased to be eating and to have company.

"So," Kingsley said. "I bought you dinner. Now will you tell me how you managed to slip away from me for two years?"

Sirius burst out laughing.

"And here I thought you genuinely enjoyed my company. You dog, you."

"Maybe I did. I can hit two birds with one stone," Kingsley said.

"I'm sure that's a key to being a good Auror, fur sure. A good addition to your pedigree." Sirius said, looking far too pleased with himself. "It would be a ruff job to do if you couldn't. Besides, it's a pawsitive quality for anybody to have."

"What's with the canine puns?" Kingsley asked.

"You're quick," Sirius said, taking another bite of his meal. "I like that. No, I re-leash it."

Kingsley gave him a second. "And?"

"Heel, Auror Shacklebolt. Why would I tell you why you failed to sniff me out so quickly? I think you can mal-tease the answer out yourself," Sirius said. "You're a good boy."

Kingsley leaned back in his chair and stared Sirius down. Sirius met his gaze, held it, and smiled.

"I have nothing but time, after all," Sirius said. "Oh, this will be such a treat."

"Arthur passed that motorcycle magazine to me," Sirius told Kingsley as they sat at the kitchen table waiting for the Order meeting to begin.

Kingsley nodded along. "I thought you might like it."

"I did, I enjoyed it a lot," Sirius said. "Makes me miss my bike. But you know, lovely a messenger as Arthur is, you can come talk to me directly, you know."

"I didn't know you were so picky," Kingsley said.

"Well, beggars can't be choosers, but I do make an effort to bark up the right trees."

A few seats away, Lupin sighed deeply.

They were playing chess this time, and Sirius' rook took his knight.

As Sirius reached out to pick up the fallen piece, Kingsley noticed a new tattoo on the inside of Sirius' wrist—a small number '12.' He was kind of surprised that he hadn't seen it before. He thought he'd catalogued Sirius' looks quite well by now.

"My friend James used to have a trick where he'd charm his pieces so the queen would look like a pawn and so on," Sirius said, examining the knight in his hand.

"That sounds like cheating."

"Absolutely," Sirius said. "It was the only way to beat Remus, though."

"By making something look like something it's not?" Kingsley said. Then the realization came crashing down on him. "You're an Animagus, aren't you?"

Sirius looked shocked for a second, but then he burst out laughing.

"I thought you'd given up on that thread," Sirius laughed.

"Absolutely not. You've been all but consuming me. My nickname in the department is 'The Bloodhound.'"

"That's topical," Sirius said.

"Is that your shape, then? A bloodhound?"

"No, not quite," Sirius said.

"Can I see?" Kingsley followed-up quickly. Sirius arched an eyebrow.

"That's a third date thing," Sirius said. "I am a gentleman."

"So do you want more Indian food, or should I get more creative?" Kingsley asked.

"Surprise me," Sirius smiled.

What Kingsley eventually came to realize about Sirius was that, above all, he was bored, and he was lonely. He was in this big house alone all day, Order members trickled in with no rhyme or reason, Lupin himself was often out working (or getting closer and closer to Tonks), and his godson was far away.

By their "third date," Kingsley had come to this conclusion—which was why he spent the week beforehand setting up the balcony of the previously untouched masters bedroom with all manners of disillusionment charms, protective spells, and everything else he could think of that would protect and shield this place. As the leading authority on hunting down Sirius Black, he felt rather good about the degree of protection this balcony would offer. Still, better not tell Dumbledore.

"Is my life not enough of a hellscape to your taste Auror Shacklebolt, or are you really making me go into my parents' bedroom?"

"It'll be worth it," Kingsley promised. Sirius did smile when he saw the porch covered with tealights and blankets, along with the case of beer and Indian food that had been left there.

"I thought I'd get creative with the venue, without reinventing the wheel," Kingsley explained.

"A wise man," Sirius said, sitting down. "Chilling spell on the beer—nice touch."

They clinked their bottles together and took a sip, overlooking Muggle London. For a while they just watched, snacking on samosas and drinking.

"How was work?" Sirius asked.

"Do you seriously care about the Auror Department?" Kingsley asked.

"I care about your day," Sirius said.

"Well, it was another great day of Not Capturing Sirius Black. I accompanied the Minister on an inspection of Azkaban, which is… I suppose that the good news is that I got you this," Kingsley said, reaching for his work bag and taking out the package wrapped in brown paper and string. He passed it along to Sirius, who unwrapped his old leather jacket. The black leather was in that nebulous, in-between state that only pieces of clothing that were worn daily but looked after obsessively could claim. Silver zippers crossed over the chest and across the hips where the pockets were. Buttons lined the collar and Kingsley, seeing the jacket and its owner together again, guessed that it would still fit quite well despite the amount of time that had lapsed.

"How did you get this?" Sirius asked, fingering the leather.

"Auror Department archives has a good chunk of your things in it," Kingsley said.

"As evidence, I suppose," Sirius said quietly.

"Yes," Kingsley said. No use lying to Sirius. "But I'm the only one accessing your file right now. I've had this for about a week and nobody's flagged anything, so I think I'll be able to bring back more. Don't tell Mad-Eye, he'll have a fit."

Sirius grinned, thumbing the leather. "I had baby pictures of Harry in my apartment. Some from Lily and James' wedding. Pictures of my brother, too. Do you think they're there?"

"I'll check," Kingsley said. "I promise. I'll have to go slowly to make sure we're not found out, and reckoned I'd start with this since you mentioned that you missed your bike."

"I can't believe you remember that," Sirius said, shaking his head.

"I do," Kingsley said. "Like I said, my nickname in the Department's 'The Bloodhound.' When I start caring about something, or someone, I remember. It's like all the lights turn on once I start."

"I don't know where I'm going to wear this," Sirius said, reclining back against the house's wall, hugging the jacket against his chest. He tilted his head back, and it changed the way his hair fell, exposing his throat and the sharp contours of his face. Molly had been plying him with food for weeks now, but Kingsley couldn't help but think that Sirius still looked emaciated and sickly.

"I don't know if I've ever apologized..." Kingsley said.

"For what?" Sirius asked.

"The Auror Department. The mistakes. The fact you didn't even get a trial. The fact that you're trapped in this house. The fact that you were on the run for a year and I was on the other side of that. The injustice of it all," Kingsley said.

Sirius shrugged. "You don't have to apologize. The company and the bottomless tikka masala is worth much more than words."

"Maybe," Kingsley said. "But I can hit two birds with one stone."

"Sure." Sirius smiled for a second but it dropped again. "It's not your fault. I don't… I don't really know who to be mad at, about this. There's so many points of failure, you see—myself included. And anger won't fix anything. I'm just going to wait until the Ministry at least acknowledges Voldemort's return. Eventually I'll get a pardon and then… well, we'll see."

"You'll have a life after," Kingsley said. "I know you were one of the most sought-after Curse Breakers in Britain, you can go back to that."

"I'll be out of practise," Sirius snickered.

"Well, Harry can officially stay with you. You'll be able to do more for the Order, if you want. Go out, get your own Indian food. Drink beer in a bar instead of here."

"I don't know, Kingsley," Sirius said. "I think the… the biggest, most overwhelming part of this is that I've lost so much time. Most of my friends are dead, they've moved on, or they've changed so much—what would we talk about? If I went back to the Curse Breaker's Guild, I'd start at the bottom again. I don't know where I'd be if I hadn't gone to Azkaban, but it's not that wild that maybe I'd be married or have a house somewhere. I mean, maybe I'd be dead. That's the thing about lost time; there's no getting that back, and you lose worlds upon worlds along with it."

Kingsley nodded.

"I think that's why I apologized, really. Time is the only thing I can't give you, but I'll happily help you play catch up," Kingsley said.

It was the first time Kingsley leaned in to kiss someone; usually the other person took the lead. Usually he didn't feel compelled to do it, but then again he usually didn't have Sirius Black around. Inherently related to this was that it usually didn't feel this good. The mixed smells of leather, dust, and whatever soap Sirius was using heightened Kingsley's senses.

Sirius tugged on Kingsley's shirt insistently. Kingsley swung one leg over Sirius', which made it easier for the other man to pull him closer.

"You've come a long way from threatening me with a weapon there, Auror Shacklebolt," Sirius said. He looked up at Kingsley and smiled, running his hands down so they rested over Kingsley's ribs. He got shivers.

"What can I say? This time, I'm glad I found you," Kingsley said.