Sirius and Olivia (PG-13)
“Alfred, darling! What on earth are you doing here?” Olivia asked the man as he leaned down to drop a butterfly kiss on her cheek.
“Oh, just out with a few friends. Mindy sets these things up at least once a week and I’m very much expected to attend. What are you up to tonight?” Alfred asked her, a bit of a gleam in his eye. Sirius looked back and forth between the two, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. Something had passed between them, some sort of secret message or joke, but he couldn’t decipher it from one look.
“Oh Freddie, you know me. It’s a Friday night. Anything could happen.” Olivia answered, smirking at the older man. Something clicked in Sirius’ brain, and he had to grit his teeth to stop himself from reacting.
They’d slept together. This Alfred person and his Janie had had sex, probably on more than one occasion and quite recently at that. Sirius leaned back in the booth a bit, going over things in his mind.
After that last big blow-out fight they’d had before leaving Hogwarts, he’d lost contact with Olivia for a good year or two. He’d run into her again a little over a month ago and they’d immediately picked up where they’d left off in what passed for a relationship between the pair of them. They weren’t exclusive; they hadn’t been when they started this odd fling back in sixth year at Hogwarts, and he had no illusions that they might be now. He really didn’t have much right to be jealous
But Sirius believed that part of the reason they were always so on-again-off-again and had had so many blow-out fights was the fact that both of them actually wanted to be exclusive, but had conveniently forgotten to tell the other. They always seemed to get on just fine when they were together, or whatever you wanted to call it; but then Liv would catch Sirius flirting with some Ravenclaw in the lower years, or Sirius would walk in on Liv chatting up Remus in the common room, the two of them sitting just a little too close for his liking. It would cause a terrible row, and that’d be the end of it, only to start the whole process over again a few months later.
Their last big fight at the end of their seventh year had been caused by a conversation with topics much heavier than some innocent flirting or casual conversation, and it had been one of their worst. They’d both said some pretty nasty things to each other, and the fact that they were leaving school only days later was only to the good. But the two years in between had considerably lessened the sting of their last confrontation and the pair were almost completely back to normal. Whatever passed for normal between Sirius and Olivia.
They were at dinner themselves when Liv’s acquaintance Alfred stopped by their table to ask how she was. The familiar feelings of jealously came bubbling to the surface of Sirius’ mind at the subtle look that passed between them, but Sirius fought it back down. He was the one that was here with Olivia, and he wasn’t going to lose her again after only a couple months of being back with her. He picked up his wine glass and took a sip.
“So who was that?” he asked quietly, trying to sound as casual about it as possible.
“Alfred? Oh, he’s…” she trailed off, the lazy smirk coming back for a second. “He’s a good friend.” Liv answered, turning back to her meal.
“Hm. And does his wife know just how good of a friend you are to him? I have a sneaking suspicion that she wouldn’t approve.” Sirius asked Liv, his voice lowering slightly as if to make sure the wife in question couldn’t overhear him.
Liv looked at him, her eyes now narrowing a little in suspicion. “And what is that supposed to mean?” she asked, lowering her voice as well.
“I think you know exactly what it means. Why are you fooling around with a guy that looks twice our age? And why would you be fooling around with him at all if he’s married?” Some of Sirius’ anger came out then, and he tried to pull it back again. “That’s a recipe for disaster Janie, and you know it.” Sirius put his wine glass down and frowned at her.
“Don’t call me Janie, we’re not 15 anymore.” Liv responded out of habit. Sirius, heck all of their friends, would probably be calling her Janie until the day they died. She narrowed her eyes at Sirius, cocking her head as she swirled her wine. “Why do you care, Siri darling?” she asked, taking a sip of her wine.
“I’ve never liked the thought of you with other guys, you know that. I didn’t like it in sixth year, I don’t like it now.” He answered, crossing his arms over his chest.
“This again,” Liv huffed and rolled her eyes. “I would’ve thought after two years, you’d have gotten over your foolish notions of exclusivity and happily-ever-after.” She leaned down a little to dig around in her purse, coming back up with a cigarette case and a lighter.
“It’s not foolish. It’s what I want, and you want it too. Besides, what does this Alfred have that I don’t? What can he give you that I can’t?” Sirius asked her.
“Alfred is…intense.” She answered, lighting the cigarette. She inhaled quickly and let the smoke stream out of her mouth.
“I can be intense, whatever that means. I want us to be together Janie. I can do whatever it is this Alfred does, I can-“
“Oh now Sirius, don’t go all desperate lover on me. If we do get together, I don’t want it to be with some broken man I don’t know. I want it to be you, the boy I knew in school; the man I’ve come to know these last months.” She said in a rush. Liv then realized what it was she actually said, and leaned over the table to tap her cigarette in the ashtray, a little nervously.
“So is that a yes?” Sirius asked, grinning. He scooted closer to her in the booth, and reached his arm around her shoulder, playing with her hair and stealing her cigarette from her.
”Well I guess it has to be, after a speech like that.” she answered, a smile twitching on her lips. “I always thought it would feel restricting. Claustrophobic, even.”
“What?” he asked, giving her back the cigarette when she reached for it. He just let his hand rest on her silk-covered thigh instead.
“A real committed relationship. I never thought I’d like the idea.” Liv said, glancing out around the restaurant.
“What luck, I find myself enjoying it quite a lot as well. How fortunate.” He said, leaning forward slowly to kiss her.
“Fortunate indeed.” She responded quietly, meeting him halfway.
I will say this. I think the ending is a little strained. I kinda just cranked it out last night when I was trying to get this finished, and I'm not even sure if that's where it should've been cut off. So yea. I don't love it. But the beginning is...decent. :\
*pads
“Oh, just out with a few friends. Mindy sets these things up at least once a week and I’m very much expected to attend. What are you up to tonight?” Alfred asked her, a bit of a gleam in his eye. Sirius looked back and forth between the two, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. Something had passed between them, some sort of secret message or joke, but he couldn’t decipher it from one look.
“Oh Freddie, you know me. It’s a Friday night. Anything could happen.” Olivia answered, smirking at the older man. Something clicked in Sirius’ brain, and he had to grit his teeth to stop himself from reacting.
They’d slept together. This Alfred person and his Janie had had sex, probably on more than one occasion and quite recently at that. Sirius leaned back in the booth a bit, going over things in his mind.
After that last big blow-out fight they’d had before leaving Hogwarts, he’d lost contact with Olivia for a good year or two. He’d run into her again a little over a month ago and they’d immediately picked up where they’d left off in what passed for a relationship between the pair of them. They weren’t exclusive; they hadn’t been when they started this odd fling back in sixth year at Hogwarts, and he had no illusions that they might be now. He really didn’t have much right to be jealous
But Sirius believed that part of the reason they were always so on-again-off-again and had had so many blow-out fights was the fact that both of them actually wanted to be exclusive, but had conveniently forgotten to tell the other. They always seemed to get on just fine when they were together, or whatever you wanted to call it; but then Liv would catch Sirius flirting with some Ravenclaw in the lower years, or Sirius would walk in on Liv chatting up Remus in the common room, the two of them sitting just a little too close for his liking. It would cause a terrible row, and that’d be the end of it, only to start the whole process over again a few months later.
Their last big fight at the end of their seventh year had been caused by a conversation with topics much heavier than some innocent flirting or casual conversation, and it had been one of their worst. They’d both said some pretty nasty things to each other, and the fact that they were leaving school only days later was only to the good. But the two years in between had considerably lessened the sting of their last confrontation and the pair were almost completely back to normal. Whatever passed for normal between Sirius and Olivia.
They were at dinner themselves when Liv’s acquaintance Alfred stopped by their table to ask how she was. The familiar feelings of jealously came bubbling to the surface of Sirius’ mind at the subtle look that passed between them, but Sirius fought it back down. He was the one that was here with Olivia, and he wasn’t going to lose her again after only a couple months of being back with her. He picked up his wine glass and took a sip.
“So who was that?” he asked quietly, trying to sound as casual about it as possible.
“Alfred? Oh, he’s…” she trailed off, the lazy smirk coming back for a second. “He’s a good friend.” Liv answered, turning back to her meal.
“Hm. And does his wife know just how good of a friend you are to him? I have a sneaking suspicion that she wouldn’t approve.” Sirius asked Liv, his voice lowering slightly as if to make sure the wife in question couldn’t overhear him.
Liv looked at him, her eyes now narrowing a little in suspicion. “And what is that supposed to mean?” she asked, lowering her voice as well.
“I think you know exactly what it means. Why are you fooling around with a guy that looks twice our age? And why would you be fooling around with him at all if he’s married?” Some of Sirius’ anger came out then, and he tried to pull it back again. “That’s a recipe for disaster Janie, and you know it.” Sirius put his wine glass down and frowned at her.
“Don’t call me Janie, we’re not 15 anymore.” Liv responded out of habit. Sirius, heck all of their friends, would probably be calling her Janie until the day they died. She narrowed her eyes at Sirius, cocking her head as she swirled her wine. “Why do you care, Siri darling?” she asked, taking a sip of her wine.
“I’ve never liked the thought of you with other guys, you know that. I didn’t like it in sixth year, I don’t like it now.” He answered, crossing his arms over his chest.
“This again,” Liv huffed and rolled her eyes. “I would’ve thought after two years, you’d have gotten over your foolish notions of exclusivity and happily-ever-after.” She leaned down a little to dig around in her purse, coming back up with a cigarette case and a lighter.
“It’s not foolish. It’s what I want, and you want it too. Besides, what does this Alfred have that I don’t? What can he give you that I can’t?” Sirius asked her.
“Alfred is…intense.” She answered, lighting the cigarette. She inhaled quickly and let the smoke stream out of her mouth.
“I can be intense, whatever that means. I want us to be together Janie. I can do whatever it is this Alfred does, I can-“
“Oh now Sirius, don’t go all desperate lover on me. If we do get together, I don’t want it to be with some broken man I don’t know. I want it to be you, the boy I knew in school; the man I’ve come to know these last months.” She said in a rush. Liv then realized what it was she actually said, and leaned over the table to tap her cigarette in the ashtray, a little nervously.
“So is that a yes?” Sirius asked, grinning. He scooted closer to her in the booth, and reached his arm around her shoulder, playing with her hair and stealing her cigarette from her.
”Well I guess it has to be, after a speech like that.” she answered, a smile twitching on her lips. “I always thought it would feel restricting. Claustrophobic, even.”
“What?” he asked, giving her back the cigarette when she reached for it. He just let his hand rest on her silk-covered thigh instead.
“A real committed relationship. I never thought I’d like the idea.” Liv said, glancing out around the restaurant.
“What luck, I find myself enjoying it quite a lot as well. How fortunate.” He said, leaning forward slowly to kiss her.
“Fortunate indeed.” She responded quietly, meeting him halfway.
I will say this. I think the ending is a little strained. I kinda just cranked it out last night when I was trying to get this finished, and I'm not even sure if that's where it should've been cut off. So yea. I don't love it. But the beginning is...decent. :\
*pads