here’s a snippet of do-not-ask-what. things are being written, things are being woven into stories, things are, most definitely, getting away from me, so snippets is all there is.
On Marlene giving muggles a chance…
By the time she made it back, Sirius was still working on his bike, though working, apparently, meant cleaning up some pieces up with the bottom of his shirt, which looked as ragged and oily as his hands.
The sight of him, all done and dirtied up, made her feel a little better with herself. That is, until Sirius noticed she was there, trying to make her way back into the cottage before he had a chance of looking up.
She had not been successful.
“Yes, well, turns out we weren’t a great match after all,” she huffed, giving her back to him while she searched for her wand in her bag. Or her keys, which ever made its way to her hand first.
She could feel Sirius eyes on her, and the silence stretching in an uncomfortable way, not too different from the way he pauses before a ridiculous spell, meant specifically to annoy her, sets off. Charged, but not quite familiar.
“Really?” Was all he asked, a slight hint of doubt in his voice.
She could very well say “yes, really”, get into the house and be done with the subject. Except, that wouldn’t be the end of it. Not when it came to Sirius. He would mention her date in the most unsuspecting moments looking for an answer that satisfies him, even if he lets her get away with being vague for now. So, against all her instincts, she turned around and fessed up.
“Okay, fine. I made a complete fool of myself, that’s why the date was cut short.”
“Really?” Sirius asked again, this time, truly surprised.
“Do you have any other comment other than disbelief?” Marlene shook her hair, and for a moment she thought that Sirius, maybe for the first time ever, had gone mute.
“Yes, really. If anything, I thought he would be the fool, though that’s still to be determined. What did you do?” He asked when he finally came into his senses again.
Marlene grimaced at the memory of it, and her discomfort only grew once she saw how Sirius face lit up, no doubt coming up with his own version of things in which Marlene did something idiotic.
“I—” She started, but couldn’t get past the first word. When she finally spoke again, she said all in one breath. “I asked him what he did for a living and when he told me he was part of the police, I started pestering him with all sorts of questions about music and what instruments he played and if they were going on tour anytime soon until I realized he meant the police as in the muggle aurors of sorts, you know, the ones with the hats and the uniforms?”
By the time she was done, she curled herself up, sitting down on the stoop, and hid her face behind her hands, while Sirius barked with laughter.
A soft moan came out of her throat. She was mystified, and Sirius was enjoying it way too much.
“Well, statistically, you are more likely to meet a muggle musician than a wizard, there a loads more of them after all,” tried to reason Sirius, though Marlene could still hear laughter in his voice.
“This is all your fault, you know?” She finally snapped, raising her head. He had been the one who told her to give him a chance, that she would be fine, that it wasn’t that different from dating a wizard.
Well, she hadn’t been fine. She couldn’t be farther from fine.
Sirius didn’t had a chance to ask anything before she snapped again.
“You told me I could handle myself, that I would be fine, that men are men after all, not matter who they were!”
She kept yelling at him, losing steam the more she went on, and Sirius just let her scream at him, watching her shoulders deflate second by second, until she went quiet. He put the pieces he was cleaning back in his toolbox, and made his way to the stoop before sitting next to Marlene, who was at risk of covering her face back behind her hands.
“I never took muggle studies, you know?” She told him, still upset.
“Well, I was right,” he said, and Marlene turned to look at him, a reproachable look in her eyes. “He is a fool. Who introduces himself that way? That’s like Remus telling you he happens to be part of a pack instead of saying he’s a werewolf.”
Slowly, Marlene’s anger started thawing, and Sirius gave her a sympathetic smile.
“Well, he is part of a pack according to Harry. He doesn’t seem to understand the difference between you turning into a dog and Remus’ condition,” said Marlene, accepting Sirius silly argument and running with it.
“See? Common mistake if Harry does it. It doesn’t make you a fool, it makes you just as adorable as him,” and at that, Marlene rolled her eyes and hit him with the back of her hand.
“Clean up out here before you enter, okay? I’m going to check on that adorable little fool before going to bed,” Marlene told him before getting up and entering the little cottage.
Sirius watched her close the door, the smile in his face turning melancholic. He really didn't knew what James and Lily had saw in them, but despite everything, they really were a family, if a little unconventional.
