For once there is nothing up my sleeve
Just some scars from a life that used to trouble me
I used to run at first sight of the sun
Now I lay here waiting for you to wake up

-Fun.-

Marlene heard loud bangs echoed on her front door. Though it was late, her mind turned on quickly as she snatched her wand and raced to the front door. A Death Eater would never make so much noise. If they were trying to kill her they wouldn't have made so much noise. This was worse, this meant she needed to go fight or someone was dead. Marlene ripped opened the front door to find Sirius panting in her doorway, his eyes going in and out of focus, his skin far too pale.

"What happened?!" She asked helping him inside.

"I was jumped," He wheezed, clutching his sides, "By some Death Eaters on the way Remus's flat."

"You should have gone to St. Mungos," Marlene scolded him locking her front door and helping him over to her couch.

Sirius grimaced and let out a low groan as she lowered him down. Gingerly she unbuttoned his blood soaked shirt and scowled and how slashed up his stomach would be.

"Damn…what hex did they use? Hold on…I'm going to go get a towel."

Sirius nodded, leaning forward, his arm muscles tensing and his black wet wavy hair falling into his eyes. She ran to get a bowl and a towel. First she cleaned up the gashes to prevent infection then she moved to wipe of the smears of blood. Slowly she dipped the towel in the water, sighed as the towel became crimson.

"Merlin…Sirius…" She gasped as he winced. "Why are you all wet?"

"I couldn't…" He scowled. "I had to run away."

"I live four blocks from Remus! You ran that far in this state?!" Marlene gave him an exasperated look. "Sirius you could have…"

"I'm okay Mar…thanks to you." He added with a weak smirk.

"You have to be dehydrated, I'll get you some water and um… wash your shirt."

He nodded rolling back to rest on the couch.

"You can crash here tonight. You shouldn't apparate." Marlene called tossing his shirt in the laundry and pouring him a glass of water.

He smirked, despite his exhaustion. "I hope I'm not putting you out."

"Oh no, it's fine…I thought someone was dead." She admitted, walking over and handing him a glass of water.

It was when she sat down across from him that he finally got a look at her. Her long blond hair up off her tank top and heart covered pajama shorts. He smiled at her, "What no big plans for tonight?"

"I have rounds tomorrow afternoon." She shrugged, wiping the sleep from her eyes.

"I don't know why you waste your time." He tensed while he lifted the glass of water to his lips but didn't ask for help. Sirius continued, "Your family has money."

"So does yours," She shot back darkly, "That doesn't mean I'm just going to sit around and not do anything with my time."

Sirius titled his head. "Do you take the money?"

"Yes and I put it towards charities I approve of."

"I suppose that is good since most of them fund anti-muggleborn legislation." He smiled his voice hoarse.

Despite herself she gave him a small smile, her eyes unintentionally flickered down to his unnecessarily toned torso and she instantly stood up when he caught her looking. Heat rose to her cheeks and she tried to avoid looking him in the eye.

"I'll get you a pillow and a blanket."

He caught her arm, wincing at the sudden movement. "Stay a bit longer."

Seeing the soft look on his face she did, though she didn't want to. She wanted to go to sleep and not be close to him. Close to him everything she was trying to avoid and ignore came crashing down on her that much faster.

Marlene knew exactly what world they lived in. People died all the time, people she knew, people she loved. After her best friend Dorcas was murdered nearly a month ago Marlene had begun wondering if it would ever end. So at night when she was alone she liked to act like it didn't happen. That they all had just graduated Hogwarts and that was it. Most of them kept in touch, some didn't, but at the end of the day they just lived there lives and weren't in a constant state of fear. Seeing Sirius like this brought up a lot of stuff. Every inch of it something she didn't want to deal with.

Not looking at him she said, "Um…I'll get you a baggy shirt of min-"

"Mar," He whispered, his hand gliding down her arm, sending shivers up her arm to the base of her throat.

Her eyes began to water before she even looked at him. Her lip quivered and her body began to tremble.

"I'm fine." He told her. "But I can see that you aren't."

"What if you weren't?!" She demanded her watery blue eyes centering on him

His eyes hardened onto hers, his hand pulling her hand into his chest. "But I'm fine."

"What if you weren't?!" Marlene insisted.

Sirius ignored the shooting pain in his chest and tugged her onto the couch.

"You really shouldn't be-" She began worriedly, but he put a finger to her lips to silence her.

"Mar I'm okay. We are all going to be okay."

"You don't know that." She said quietly. "That's what Dorcas thought too."

He reached up and cupped her face, forcing her to look at him. "I will do everything I can to make you safe."

In a flash she wrapped her arms around him, resting her head on his shoulder. "I know we all protect each other."

"Yes we do." He nodded rubbing her back soothingly.

"I'm sorry," She apologized, pulling away, and wiping the tears off her face. "I'm just constantly worried."

Sirius smiled, he was still pale, but not as frail looking. "I know."

Marlene looked up at him and then in the next second, her hands were on his shoulders, and her lips were hard on his. Sirius hadn't been expecting this. He'd always been attracted to Marlene, and rather fancied her but as she was kind of like Remus's sister he always held back from doing anything. Instead he took part in appreciating the other girls at Hogwarts. His mind however had never truly left Marlene. It was hard to not be a little half in love with her. She was so effortlessly beautiful, kind and quick witted, every guy try to court her at least once or twice.

The only reason Sirius came to her place in the first place was because he knew she'd take care of him. If he went to the hospital there was no guarantee that Death Eaters wouldn't arrive and finish him off. If he continued to Remus's he might put him in danger as he had only been visiting him to get some food in him before the transformation the next night. As soon as he arrived and saw the concern on her face, other reasons popped into his head and he was too tired to suppress them.

This was the girl after all who had always healed him after he had fights with his father. This was the girl who convinced James to be his friend again when no one thought it could be done. It was Marlene who was always there to save him, and now she was snogging him like her life depended on it.

"What …was that for?" He breathed in a mixture of confusion and excitement, when her lips finally left his.

"I…" She laughed nervously, "I've just always wanted to do that."

"Why didn't you ever?"

"I thought…I dunno. I just thought it wasn't a good idea, but now…fuck it."

Sirius grinned, his whole face lighting up. "I like that idea."

"Sorry I just jumped you." Her blue eyes widened in horror as she looked at his recently healed chest. "I didn't hurt you did I? I'm sorry I shouldn't have-"

Sirius curled his arm around the back of her neck and pulled her forward, his lips eager and ready to meet hers. For a while it never escalated from there. They just snogged, both of their hands gripping the other, their bodies pressed against each other. But soon it did and neither of them allowed logic to get in the way. They moved into the bedroom clumsily and by the time they both dropped down the bed neither of them had a stitch of clothes on them.

He never had hesitated before, but before he entered her, he had to be sure this was what she wanted. Her actions said she did, by the way she had been directing and touching him, but he had to be sure. Once his eyes met hers, a shiver shudder down his body. Her eyes were full of lust and completely trusting, her normally light blue eyes were darkened in the hollow shadows of her bedroom. Before he could do anything, she pushed herself upwards and brushed her lips against his lightly. It was so gentle and so certain that it sent him over the edge.

His hands seized her and he drove himself into her. She hadn't been expecting this. He could tell by the way her nails dug into his shoulder and the high-pitched cry she emitted. This only made him go faster, he needed more from her.

After a while Marlene began to wonder if he had even been attacked at all as he had more energy than anyone should in his state. She however was too busy to question it.

The next morning, they both slept on separate sides of Marlene's queens sized bed. He curled the comforter around himself and waited patiently for the urge to leave to kick in. She was dead asleep next to him and would probably not wake for an hour or so unless he woke her. It made sense for him to leave now if he was going to leave.

The problem was, that urge that he had grown so used to feeling, never arrived.

At first he thought he was crazy. Anytime he shagged a girl it happened, like there was a little alarm clock in his head that was forcing him not to commit to anyone or anything. And right then Sirius didn't feel it. What he did was …happy. It startled him because normally he felt pleased and satisfied, but not just purely happy.

He reached forward and played with the ends of her bright blonde hair and found himself smiling. Was this what James had been going on about with Lily? That just being with her… even being near her made him happier than he'd been with a single other person? This revelation settled on Sirius and he didn't know how to handle it. This was foreign territory.

In her sleep she turned, mumbling something under her breath. When she stopped moving she had snuggled all the way over into his arms. If he was smiling before it was nothing compared to this. The feeling of holding her, was…incredible. He never had experienced anything like it. Her skin was so soft and her body was so warm and comfortable against his, which helped since he had been freezing a moment earlier.

Absentmindedly, he ran his hands through her hair and kissed the top of her forehead. He did this until it became clear he should get up.

Marlene woke in a state of confusion. It took a few seconds to remember why she had fallen asleep completely naked. Once she looked over and saw the other side of her bed was empty she sighed and rubbed her face. She should have figured he'd bail or leave without saying anything. Either way she decided she would worry about it after a cup of coffee.

She pulled out a pair of underwear, slipped it on and climbed into some jeans and a t-shirt. After that she brushed her hair, her teeth and sighed to herself. Marlene should have expected this, but she hadn't been thinking. How stupid could she have been to just act on impulse? Now every order meeting, every time they all got back together she would have to see Sirius and act like nothing happened.

This was her fault. He had never made the move, it was her and now she was going to have to deal with that. Marlene let out a low breath and shifted into the living room when she stopped. There, standing in her kitchen just in his boxers was a disheveled Sirius Black.

"You …stayed." She breathed in perfect shock.

He nodded sipping his coffee. "That's okay… right?"

She grinned, her face flushing as she walked over to him. "Yeah. That's okay."

He handed her a cup of coffee, she looked down at it and beamed. "You know what I put in my coffee?"

"I sat next to you at breakfast for two years." He shrugged.

Marlene put the cup aside, grabbed his cup and moved it onto the counter next to hers. She then kissed him and gave him a smile. "Thank you."

"If that's the response I get, I'm making you coffee more often."

"I just…When I woke up…" She trailed off, "Nevermind. I'm making eggs. Do you want some?"

"Yeah."

"You like them sunny side up right?" She asked taking a carton out.

He eyed her curiously, scratching his five o'clock shadow. "Yes."

"I sat next to you for three years." She told him.

He licked lips and leaned back against the counter top with a smirk. "Three?"

"Yes, three."

Authors Note:
Please review! This is the end of a one-shot series.