slowly but sweetly

01 - sirius&marlene

:::

It is something in the way she holds herself, he decides. It's something in her utter disregard for the obvious. It's something in the way she swings her hips when she exits a room, as if emphasizing the fact that she's leaving, and what she's taking with her.

He's a Black, and he's been bred to gain, raised for rules, taught to please. He knows exactly what his parents would say: "She's a halfblood, a rebel, and cheap. You're a Black. You deserve more. We deserve more." He knows what his brother would say: "Why her? You could have anyone you like, why her?"

And, echoing in his mind day after day, he knows what Andy would say: "Don't be crazy. But do what you must to be happy, for however many years of peace we have left."

:::

There's a sort of light in her eyes - not like flame, or bulb, but like Sun. It's there all the time, but it only comes out at night, pupils reflected by the candles and brown eyes turning gold in the inferno. He'd even orbit around her, but that would require explaining a few things to James, Remus, and Peter that he hasn't even begun to fathom.

His friends know that he fancies her, obviously. It's hard to not know that nowadays. He doesn't mind them knowing that, he can put up with nudges,and looks, and even the teasing. It's what they don't know - don't know the way he has all the colours in her eyes memorized, the way he doesn't trip her on her way out, like he does everyone else - it's the tidbits they haven't heard yet that continue to save everything.

The light in her eyes shines as she recounts tales of adventures that are most likely not true in the candlelight, and he thinks he might stay here forever.

:::

There's no soft flame or flickering light; nothing but harsh sun and unrelenting wind now, but it's now or never, so he chooses now.

Marlene is double-checking for her supplies, making sure she's set. It's only their third mission; it'd be a shame to lose her for lack of resources.

They've always been friends, he reckons. But he should say something -it's not everyday your snogs you - if it was, he'd have snogged her long before now.

"Ready?" he wonders, sitting beside her, looking at the way the ground shapes a dewdrop.

"As I'll ever be." She grins, the pearl white of her teeth beaming in the light.

Everything is wrong. It's not romantic or gentle or anything that she probably wants, but all of a sudden Hestia is calling, saying that members of Operation Code 223 should be in the marked area.

And then, just as she's giving him one last smile and turning away, he grasps her elbow and kisses her lips - it's desperate and wild and loving and everything they need from one another.

When he pulls away, she whispers, "Bye, Sirius," and then really, truly, walks away; he can hear the catcalls behind him, but watching her, realizing that if she doesn't come back, this is how he wants to remember her: leaving, shaking her hips, turning and blowing him a kiss - leaving, but also coming, in a way that is odd and so very, very Marlene.

:::

She arrives back a month later, and he falls in love with her all over again, this time softly, this time sweetly.

Their kisses are less rough this time around, until a cold day in November, a day that leaves are on the ground, that the air is crisp and smells like lemon. A day that begins with her lazy smile and bright eyes; a day that ends with bloody lips and dull stares. It's a day that should never be remembered, but never forgotten, either.

Marlene's always had a thing for exits.

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a/n: This multichapter will be a series of five drabbles, on or about five different pairings, for various bootcamps. The entire collection is dedicated to Em (infinitemoonlight) for her birthday. =)

This chapter is entered in If You Dare only.

If you have any requests for the next pairing, feel free to mention it in a review!