supernova *marauders era*

xxxii. serendipity

"Changing? Changing where?"

Sirius shrugged, "Not too sure. Apparently, they change headquarters every few weeks."

"Bastards."

"Yup. But anyway, I didn't come here to talk about death eaters."

"I figured," Arabella nodded. "Have you eaten? I was about to start making dinner," she said as she got up and started walking towards the kitchen.

"No, I haven't. I'll help you," he said.

Arabella turned back to him, "Didn't you almost burn down Lily's house last time you were making food?"

Sirius rolled his eyes, "That was one time. How was I supposed to know not to put plastic in the oven?"

"Everyone knows that," she murmured.

"Whatever. I promise not to burn the apartment down," Sirius said as he crossed his heart.

And that's how the rest of the dinner preparations went. They had come to realize that that they worked reasonably well with each other. They kept an eye on each other since they weren't known for being the best cooks. Arabella would occasionally whack Sirius with a wooden spoon if he was doing something wrong. Sirius would stand right behind her, watching her every move, making sure she never did anything wrong or hurt herself. At these times, Arabella would find herself blushing, utterly aware of how close they were. She could, at times, feel his breath on her cheek but chose to ignore it and focus on not cutting her finger.

On the other hand, Sirius noticed every time she would blush and the way her body would tense up, then instantly relaxed when she realized it was just him. He liked that she felt comfortable around him. That's all he wanted to make her feel: comfortable. Ever since they had the talk at James and Lily's wedding, they had gone back to being relatively normal. Due to them both working all the time, Sirius at the ministry, and Arabella with Dumbledore, they didn't get the chance to hang out. So they would spend a lot of time writing to each other. Arabella still had moments when she would stop writing, but he completely understood now. In times like those, he would make an effort to show up. That's why he was at her apartment. Arabella hadn't answered his last two letters, leading him to believe she wasn't feeling great.

They ended up making some spaghetti with tomato sauce on top; it was nothing fancy though it was the only thing they could make without trying too hard. They sat down and ate their meal. Having both a glass of wine and a casual conversation about what was going on in their lives; more specifically, the people in them. Marlene and Dorcas were moving in together. Remus and Evan were practically a couple. Frank and Alice recently got engaged. Peter was finishing up his studies. Mary had gotten promoted in her job. Despite being a death eater and a spy, Regulus had managed to get an internship with Gringotts. Everyone was doing just fine. Even Arabella, who hadn't felt like herself in the past months, was now starting to come to terms with everything that had happened. Sirius eventually convinced her to let their friends know what was happening. To say everyone was surprised was an understatement. Many of the girls started to panic and cry, as well as James. The other boys kept asking her if she was okay. And when that all got much for her, Sirius stepped up and told them to give her time, which was what they did, though not before they spoiled her with many surprise visits and take-out nights.

Once the meal was finished, they washed the dishes and made the kitchen look spotless. Arabella was now lounging on the couch with a cup of wine in her hand, and Sirius was exploring the many vinyls records she had purchased over the years. After a long time of looking, he came across a Billy Joel record. He set the record player, and she instantly recognized the song playing: Vienna.