The Great Pretenders

iv. Family

              The Marauders scrambled to get a good seat, pushing each other out of the way until they'd squeezed onto the backseat of the cab, leaving an annoyed James and a dumbfounded Alice behind. Euphemia paid no mind to the children's behavior as she settled in comfortably in the passenger seat, already making small talk with the driver.

              After looking at each other for a moment, Alice asked James, "Are we supposed to...get in?"

              James looked pissed. He nodded stiffly and glared at his friends as they snickered. Having refused entirely at first, he had to ignore Peter's taunting patting of his lap before finally giving in, grumbling as he climbed inside the small cab. Alice followed suit, her eyes darting between Remus and Sirius as she began thinking about what to do. Holding her breath, she sat down on Sirius' lap, having found it far more appropriate — and that was saying something. Alice Kelley, sitting in Sirius Black's lap? In any other moment it would've been nightmare inducing.

              Right now, though? It was only making her blush. Sirius closed the door after her and flashed a triumphant smile at Remus, who smirked and rolled his eyes.

              "Is everyone settled in?" Called Euphemia enthusiastically, unaware of the fuss her son was still making.

              "Yes," they all replied in unison, Alice's voice quieter than usual.

              The driver started the engine and began to drive around the streets of London. Peter had taken to poking James' ribs just to mess with him further, all the while Remus laughed, earning himself a shove from James which sent him back bit. Alice watched everything quietly and sat very still, her hands folded neatly in her lap.

              "Is everything alright, princess?" Sirius whispered in her ear, startling her.

              She nodded in response, keeping her lips pursed.

              "Do you mind..?" He asked for permission, gingerly placing his left hand over her legs and his right hand around her waist.

              Alice was beginning to fear her resemblance to a strawberry was growing uncanny, so she untucked her hair from behind her ears in an effort to hide her face.

              "Yes," she squeaked.

              "What was that?"

              Alice cleared her throat. "Yes, it's okay,"

              Sirius smiled and continued to hold her for the rest of the journey, tapping his fingers rhythmically on her thighs distractedly as he looked out the window. The ride took longer than Alice had expected — approximately two hours. James had finally settled down and actually contributed to the conversation about muggle sports Peter and Remus were having. At some point, she finally relaxed in Sirius' lap (which was astounding) and fell into a peaceful slumber, which was unfortunately interrupted by the boy with the grey eyes.

              His face was close to hers and she could feel his warm breath tickling her cheek, which only made her snuggle closer against his chest.

              "Princess...we're here," Sirius said softly, giving her leg a gentle squeeze.

              Alice murmured something Sirius couldn't make out and hid her face further. The sight was so endearing to him he felt guilty for trying to wake her. If he could, he would've stayed right there until she asked otherwise.

              He chuckled and started rubbing her back slowly, "Come on, sleeping beauty — up you get."

              But Alice didn't move. She was back to snoring softly, her body completely limp in his arms.