Challenge Fic| Pieces of You: Part 4 - Several Months Later| NC17

[ceredwensirius]

Title: Pieces of You
Author: ceredwensirius
Written For: hermionesirius
Challenge: 2009 Valentine's Day Challenge
Prompt: Angry, Betrayed, Black Hair, Black Leather, Cigarettes, Firewhiskey, Flirt/Flirty/Flirtatious, Gentle, Grimmauld Place, Impulsive, Leather, Lips, Quick Temper, Recluse, Sexy, Smirk, Smoke, Stubble, Tortured
Lyrics:
So I've been writing just for you
The hand that wrote this letter
Sweeps the pillow clean
So rest your head and
read a treasured dream
I care for no one else but you
I tear my soul to cease the pain
I think maybe you feel the same
What can we do?
I'm not quite sure what we're supposed to do- Letter to Hermione, by David Bowie
Rating: NC17 (By the last chapter)
Pairings: Hermione/Sirius
Word Count: 3,729/15,000
Summary: Sirius escorts Hermione back to England at Harry's request
Disclaimer: Not my characters.
Author's Note: I've been promising this one shot for months so I'm hoping that this challenge will force me to finish it. LJ wouldn't let me put it all on one post so even though it is, as of this moment, only 3/4 complete, I'm posting. Thank you to my lovely betas ilexxAKA pelespenand also for looking this over. If you follow my drabbles at grangerblack100you will recognize pieces of this which have been posted in the past, particularly in Part 3.

Several months later…

"Where did you come from?" Her voice sounded thin and brittle to her ears. To calm the nervousness he was evoking in her she played with the hemmed sleeve edges on her robes, rolling the material tightly and then unfurling it, over and over, a tiny unconscious motion.

From the first moment he’d stepped into her office in New Guinea, she had felt it. The air between them had an uncomfortable edge to it and she didn't understand where it came from, it had never been there before. She felt different in his presence, not like herself, like she was transformed into something new.

His gaze seemed to strip away the comfortable layers of protective fog afforded by childhood that still lay between herself and the other 'adults' around her. She just knew he saw her clearly and that was dangerous. He was dangerous.

And when she was near him like this, alone, she felt dangerous too.

In his presence she was no longer a child, but instead thrust fully into the womanhood she hadn’t bothered to claim doing her research across the globe. The simplicity of being a woman in the presence of a man was startling.

There was a caution for her in the cool grey of his eyes that she could not interpret. Comfortable in his body, graceful, strong and masculine, he reminded her remarkably of a jungle cat hunting its next meal. It was astonishing how much her insides resembled a rabbit trying to hide in tall grass.

A very dangerous little rabbit at that.

"I just want to talk to you." The slight tremble in his baritone as he stepped forward did nothing to quell the excitement that coursed through her like fear, except that it wasn't, but the thrill of it was similar.

"Oh." The quiet of the house and most especially on this third floor hallway was suddenly deafening. She could hear the rush of blood in her ears and her heart crashing against her chest as it threatened to leap out of her. "Why?"

Rocking back slightly on his hips, expression unfathomable, his eyes bored into her. She refused to meet his gaze, her fingers twirling and unfurling in a frantic effort to give her anxiety an outlet. The gas lamp closest to the stairs, the only one that was currently working, hardly gave enough light to properly observe the artwork on the wall. That seemed to be of little consequence to her as that was where her eyes were fixed, a far safer alternative to the turbulence she would find in his eyes.

"You know the answer to that.”

Oh.

Cold and prickly in her nerves and along the surface of her skin but warm and thick like Christmas cider in her veins, his words worked their way through her, putting her rational mind at odds with her body.

"I do?"

It was a stupid question, one that fairly announced on a marquee that she was stalling, trying to get her bearings, maintain control if possible. Everything in this moment felt like it was moving forward with a speed she usually associated with violence. Resuming his slow but persistent pursuit forward, his weight shifted again as he took a step closer.

She moved a step back, away from him and toward the stairs. Not even a turn, just a backward step toward the illusion of safety.

He put his hands up, a physical illustration of peaceful intentions, a surrender of sorts and cooed to her in a deep, velvety voice that was nearly dipped in honey.

"Are you afraid of me?" The phrasing struck straight to the heart of the matter and while his voice betrayed none of his fears, the question itself betrayed all of them.

Something was happening, something that would change her, him, irrevocably and forever. They were rushing in slow motion toward a moment that would alter the fabric of their lives and yes, she was afraid of that.

He was Sirius sodding Black and had been pursuing her for months now. She had proved to be a nimble little rabbit and kept them off this path and kept him panting in circles around her as he tried to dodge her defenses.

Was she intimidated by the passion that his eyes, lips and body silently promised?

Without question.

But afraid of him? That he might hurt her?

"No."

Despite her declarative statement, her weight shifted and she was one step closer to the stairs.

A soft, frustrated growl slipped from somewhere deep within him, a sound surprising for how very canine it truly sounded. She almost looked up.

"Then why are you backing away?"

"Because things will never be the same and I am afraid of that." Her body finally turned as she fled down the stairs as fast as her legs would carry her.

In spite of his momentary defeat, Sirius had to smile. Chuckling softly as he lit a fag and bounced down the steps with something hopeful and lively bubbling within him.

~o~

Sirius held the invitation to Ron’s welcome home party in his hands but his thoughts were far from the youngest male Weasley’s return. He was daydreaming again, thinking back to their encounter in the hallway. He had forgotten what this was like; the chase. The thrill of it was invigorating and his loins burned in anticipation for an event that was inevitable. She wanted this, he knew she did. The parchment between his fingers represented another opportunity to act like he didn’t know she watched his every move when they were in a group of friends.

He wasn’t a wizard, or a Marauder for that matter, for nothing.

Oh, he knew alright. It was the biggest draw to these friendly get togethers. She pretty well stayed out of his way if she could help it, not that he made that an easy task for her.

He wondered what she would look like as he brought her off, over and over, flushed, sweaty and fucking gorgeous. It was a scene that ripped through his mind as he stroked himself, her name on his lips was a promise of all the delicious, wicked things he had every intention of seeing through.

He knew she felt pursued, knew she half loved and half loathed it. He suspected she second guessed moving in with him but that wasn’t the last move she was going to make. Soon her knickers would share drawer space with his boxers.

Sirius shook his head. She was much too fastidious for that. He’d just keep a hold of that first pair and shove them to the back of whatever drawer space she allowed him to keep.

“James had that look on his face just before he asked Lily to marry him.” Sirius almost jumped at hearing Remus’ voice.

“It’s not going to make me quite as long,” said Sirius confidently.

“Really?” said Remus mildly. “Ron came home and has wasted no time in asking her to make room in her schedule for him.”

A snarl ripped out of Sirius’ chest as he rose to his feet, grabbed his black leather jacket and turned to Remus. “Where?”

“Everyone is at the Burrow,” said Remus pointing at the invitation. “I came to see what was holding you up,” he continued, using that same calm conversational tone. “Molly is beside herself with joy.” Sirius tore through the house like a natural disaster, the sound of a vase toppling to the floor and smashing preceded the opening of the front door.

“That was underhanded,” said Tonks. The walls were still shaking with the force Sirius had used to slam the front door.

“Yes,” replied Remus and then grinned at his wife.

~o~

A thunderous crack preceded the pounding on the Burrow door. Arthur Weasley opened the door with a wide smile that slid off his face at the look carried by his fellow Order member. Sirius pushed past Arthur and walked straight up to Hermione who was sat on a sofa, holding hands with both Ron and Lavender in the sitting room. She looked flushed and delighted but one glance at Sirius replaced this with a look of apprehension.

The conversation in the room died, smiles fading and breaths held, as Sirius looked at the scene of three friends holding hands. Everyone was there for some sort of celebration that he vaguely remembered being invited to, although he had not paid attention to the particulars.

Nervous glances were exchanged between several Weasleys and Harry had his eyes focused on Hermione, a slight smile of encouragement for his best friend.

Sirius held his hand out to her, right there in the middle of the Weasley family and all their friends and there was absolutely no mistaking his intention. He was done with this game. If Ron wanted Hermione, Sirius wanted there to be no misunderstanding that he wanted her more. He wasn’t going to let the runt come in and come between them, not when he felt their turning point was close at hand.

It was risky to present her with a ‘now or never’ moment, but Sirius was nothing if not a risk taker and it had just felt like the right thing to do. His ego weighed heavily into this, as it did with everything, and if she were to refuse him, here in front of everyone… suddenly his idea didn’t seem quite as brilliant and he swallowed nervously.

There were some sounds coming from the kitchen, the back door opened and a new pair of voices filtered into the sitting room but Sirius’ concentration was solely on Hermione.

When Remus offered his congratulations, rather loudly, on the engagement of Ron and Lavender a flicker of annoyance crossed Sirius’ face but his eyes never left hers.

The little movement of her small hand giving a gentle squeeze to each of her friend’s before releasing them registered in his peripheral and he sucked in a breath and held it. For the first time since their eyes had locked she looked away from him to glance at Harry, who smiled again and inclined his chin toward Sirius. A shy smile crept into her lips and her head bobbed lightly and then she looked at Sirius again. Whatever the difference in her brown eyes was, it caused a wide grin to spread across his face.

One of her hands smoothed down her skirt before she stood and slipped her hand into his outstretched one. He smiled at the feel of soft, smooth skin and gazed almost disbelieving at the tiny hand in his much larger one.

“Well, you’ve got me,” she said quietly, her voice wavering slightly. “Now what?”

Sirius closed his fingers around her hand and pulled her to him, his smile victorious and hungry.

“Now?” he asked, his voice soft and deep, as he released her hand to draw her closer at the waist. The other hand he sunk into her thick, wild hair so he could control her head. “Now I’m going to kiss you.”

Sirius ignored the clapping and the wolf whistles as he tasted his witch’s lips for the first time. When she whimpered softly, a small sound of pleasure, he let that encourage him and kept going until he heard Ron grumble that this was supposed to be a celebration for himself and Lavender.

Hermione pulled back and giggled softly, giving Ron a small apologetic smile before entwining her fingers in one of Sirius’ hands and gave it a tug. “Maybe we should talk?”

The cool evening gave Hermione a small shiver as she closed the door behind them. As they walked quietly into the garden, Sirius shrugged out of his jacket and draped it around her shoulders. She thanked him quietly, stopping to lean against a tree, her mouth opening and closing a few times.

“Maybe I should explain,” offered Sirius, using the cold as an excuse to stand close and press against her, his words spoken softly into her ear.

“I guess we’ve been dancing around this for awhile,” she said, shaking her head. “I’m sorry I’ve been so…”

“Scared?” he offered and grinned at her glare. “Why is that exactly?”

A finger traced a crease in his shirt as she considered his question. The bright half moon filtered through the leaves and branches, drawing silver patterns of light on her face as the silence began to stretch.

“Hermione?” he asked softly.

“You’re just… you’re so…” she sighed a moment of defeat. “I don’t know when I started to feel something more than friendship for you. I didn’t know what your intentions were… exactly.”

He didn’t buy her answer in whole. “What is that I am, Hermione?” he asked before planting small kisses on her.

“That doesn’t help me think,” she said wryly with a small hitch in her breath.

“Maybe you need to quit thinking,” he replied, undeterred, his mouth slipping under her jaw and down her neck. “Maybe that’s what you were afraid of.”

“Maybe,” she agreed thoughtfully, tilting her head to give his lips better access.

Sirius stopped suddenly, surprised by her easy concession. “I love you,” he said softly. “I want a life with you. Do I scare you still or scare you more?”

She couldn’t help but grin at his last comment. “Do you remember how rattled that creepy wizard made me when we crossed to India?”

“You said you were unused to… ahhhh… I see,” he said with understanding. “Can I safely assume that you’ve never…” he let the trailing word suffice as a question. Hermione leaned forward to hide her face in his chest. “Don’t let that make you nervous,” he whispered. “I’ll show you, if you let me.”

All he got in response was the movement of brown curls, a suggestion of agreement. After a moment he heard a soft comment from her that he couldn’t quite make out. Tilting her chin up to face him, he asked her to repeat herself.

Hermione cleared her throat. “I love you, too.”

Sirius grinned before kissing her again. “I thought that’s what you said.”

Part 3 | Part 5

Comments

[wickedswanz.livejournal.com]

Love love love - This is beautifully written.

[ceredwensirius.livejournal.com]

Thank you. Means a lot coming from you.

[padfootslover.livejournal.com]

That was perfect.

[ceredwensirius.livejournal.com]

Thanks!