Passion Dies

Chapter 26

Jareth POV

Sirius and Jareth walked down the streets of Hogsmeade, occasionally stopping to go into shops. They spent a while in Honeydukes. At one point, Sirius made Jareth wait outside while he went into a shop. Jareth protested, but gave in and sat on a bench outside. Leona and Remus waved at him from down the street, walking over and sitting next to him.

"Hey, Jare," Leo said as she sat. He waved slightly, smiling softly. He nodded to Remus, who nodded back. "Where's Sirius?"

"Inside," Jareth said, his face falling sadly.

"What? He left you out here? Alone? In the freezing cold? Ohhh, I'm going to kick his-"

"Leona! Leo, no, it's- it's fine," Jareth said, smiling. "He's probably getting something for... something. I don't know."

"You sure? That's not very cool of him to-" Remus said, but was cut off by Jareth.

"I'm sure. It's fine, really," Jareth said, but there was a hint of sadness in his voice.

"Jareth," Leona said with a knowing voice. She knew about his depression and how easily broken he was. "Talk to me. We're here for you, hun."

"I know... I... It's okay, though. It's... not your problem. I don't mean to sound rude, but I don't want you to worry about it," Jareth said.

"You're my best friend, Jareth, so, yes, it is my problem. Now talk, boy," she said firmly. Jareth sighed.

"Well, Sirius was.... Lately he's been kind of... distant, I guess. I try to talk to him but he changes the subject. I ask questions about what we're doing and he ignores them. He knows how anxious I get and yet he still does this to me, and... and I hate it so much," Jareth said, tears filling his eyes.

"And I know I sound petty and selfish and stupid, but I can't help it."

"You need to talk to him, Jareth," Leona said.

"But there's more, too. I've been getting more comfortable around other people when he's with me, and I even... I tried to hold his hand, but he ignored it. That's the last time I ever try to make a move," Jareth said, chuckling through the tears.

"But he... he so amazing, too, I mean... He cares about me, and when we're alone he's so... affectionate, and he respects me and my boundaries but... But I think I do want to be out. To everyone. Except maybe my parents. At school, I mean. But... But he won't talk to me."

"Jareth, listen to me. You need to talk to him. I'm sure he'll listen if you tell him how you're feeling," Leona said, firmly again. Jareth nodded, wiping away his tears. The door opened, jingling a bell.

"Remus, Leona, hey," Sirius said brightly. He looked down at Jareth. "Ready to go, mate?"

Jareth looked over at Leona, who rolled her eyes.

"Yeah. Let's go," he said, standing. "Catch you guys later, yeah?"

"Remember what we talked about," Leona said, taking Remus' hand and walking back down the street.

"Yeah," Jareth breathed. He looked over at Sirius, taking a breath. He stood straighter, trying to look more confident. "Sirius, we need to talk." Sirius' face fell.

"Merlin, you're going to break up with me, aren't you? It's that one boy... bloody hell what was his name? Doesn't matter. Well, go on then, just do it," Sirius said, bracing himself.

"Bloody hell, Sirius, no," Jareth said, sighing. "It's not that. I just want to talk about... stuff."

"Okay. Okay, let's go somewhere private then, yeah?"

They walked down the street until Sirius led him into Honeydukes.

They snuck up into the attic.

"Leona told me about this place," Sirius explained. "She's rather clever, that one."

"Yeah. Yeah, she is," Jareth agreed.

"So... um, what's going on?" Sirius asked. Jareth sighed.

"Well... Well, I..." Jareth couldn't think. He hated being put on the spot like this. "Sirius, listen, I... you mean the world to me. You really do, and... These past few days you've been pretty distant, I guess. You hardly even spoke to me. You never answered my questions, or, or even told me why and-" Jareth stopped speaking, beginning to hyperventilate.

"Jareth, love, it's okay," Sirius reassured, rubbing his boyfriend's back calmingly.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have just ignored you like that. But I can show you why, now. Are you okay?"

Jareth tried to slow his breathing, but it wasn't working. He pulled at his sleeves, wishing he could disappear.

"Jare, darling, breathe with me, okay?" Sirius breathed in deeply, then breathed out slowly. Jareth matched his breathing, calming down. "Can I hug you, love?"

Jareth nodded, and Sirius hugged him tightly.

"I'm sorry," Jareth said.

"No, no, don't be sorry, this is all my fault," Sirius said.

"It's okay."

"It's not, but... Okay, let's just go. I need to show you why I've been so weird lately," Sirius replied, standing. Jareth stood as well, hitting his head on a beam.

"Ow," he said, rubbing his forehead where a small bump was already forming.

"Are you okay?" Sirius asked. Jareth nodded.

They snuck back out of the attic and into the shop, walking outside into the cold air.

Jareth followed Sirius up the street leading back to Hogwarts.

"Sirius... where are we going?"
"Hogwarts," Sirius replied briefly.

"What- Why?"

"You'll see, Jareth," Sirius said, smirking.

And with that, Jareth knew that Sirius had something interesting up his sleeve.