Siriusly Deluded

Chapter 16: Explorations

Sirius took a long, hot shower, washing his hair repeatedly to get the remnants of the pancake batter out.

He dressed quickly, pulling on a pair of jeans, a white undershirt, and a dark green sweater. He grabbed the sandwich he made for her and strode down the hallway, stopping and raising his hand to knock on Lauren's door.

He gazed down at the carpet as he tapped, but his hand only struck air. He looked up, surprised, and met the eyes of an equally surprised Lauren. Understanding dawned on both of their faces.

"I can't--it was that easy?" Sirius asked in disbelief.

"I guess so," Lauren replied thoughtfully. It seemed too simple, in fact. Her dad had to know that they'd figure it out eventually, unless he doubted their intelligence. But then again, hormone-driven teenagers aren't exactly praised for their well-conceived ideas and level-headed reasoning. And what were the odds of her opening the door the second before he was about to knock on it? But it still didn't explain how she had gotten into his room the day before. 'This must be some sort of loophole in dad's spell,' she thought.

"So...can I come in?" he questioned.

"Oh--apparently," she responded, stepping aside as he entered.

"I brought you a sandwich," he said, offering it to her.

"Thank you," she said with a smile, sitting down on the edge of her bed. He followed suit, looking around the room as she chewed thoughtfully.

"You...shouldn't do hair," Sirius finally said. He had looked in the mirror before showering, and he didn't like what he saw.

She laughed, recalling the state in which she had left his hair. "I thought it was a good look for you."

"And my normal 'look'?" he questioned, flashing a sly grin.

"It's, er...very nice. Thank you for the sandwich. It was really good," she said, changing the subject abruptly.

"You already thanked me," he replied with a smirk.

"I did?" She swallowed hard, clutching her hands in her lap. 'Breathe,' she told herself. Just because they were at her house, in her room, on her bed, completely alone, during one of the most romantic times of the year...it was no need to start getting all nervous and jittery. No, the nervousness was entirely due to the way he was looking at her at the moment.

"Yeah," Sirius answered, scooting closer to her.

"Well it was really sweet of you to--"

He had placed his finger lightly on her lips to silence her. "You're welcome."

"You know I--"

"Talking: bad; snogging: good" he murmured before covering her mouth with his own.

"We can't do this...here," Lauren said breathlessly after pulling away. She watched as disappointment passed over his features, almost immediately replaced with hope. He appeared to have had some sort of epiphany. "What?" she questioned in a soft voice.

"You still haven't seen my apartment," he said simply.

"You want to go there?" she asked hesitantly. She wasn't sure if that was the best idea.

He nodded expectantly, standing up and grabbing her hands. He pulled her along with him across the room.

Lauren slowly opened her eyes after landing forcefully in Sirius' fireplace. She had definitely been witness to the grandeur of the Black mansion before, but she didn't really know what to expect. His mother had definitely been in charge of the decorating of that dark house.

She took in the spacious room in front of her. The carpet was pure white. A scarlet couch and ebony furniture stood out starkly. She thought he had good taste.

Sirius arms tightened around her as he stepped forward. "Do you like it?" he asked softly.

Lauren nodded, the back of her head lightly hitting his chest.

They collectively took the next few steps towards the couch, where Sirius collapsed on top of her. They kissed fervently for a while, but then Lauren placed her hands on his shoulders and pushed him away gently. Sirius looked at her with a confused expression, his fingers still twirling idly in her hair.

"What am I going to say when people ask me about your flat and I never even made it past the couch?" Lauren asked.

Sirius laughed and pulled her up from the sofa.

"As you wish, my lady, I shall give you the grand tour of my humble abode," he said with mock gallantry, bowing low. She curtsied primly and took the arm he offered to her.

He led her to a door on the far left side of the room they were in. "This is the kitchen," he said as he opened the door ceremoniously.

Lauren looked around at the immaculate room. She didn't know whether to be impressed by its cleanliness or make fun of him for never having cooked...or having a rather sexy food-fight there.

Then he led her out a set of French doors onto the balcony. They stood there for a while, watching people saunter by on the icy, glistening downtown-London street several floors below.

"Wow, you have a wonderful view," Lauren said as she leaned over the railing, straining to hear a group of carolers.

"Yeah, I do," Sirius replied, never taking his eyes off her.

Lauren blushed. 'Whoever thought Sirius would be so romantic?' she mused. That was the last coherent thought in her head, as Sirius suddenly swept her up in his arms, carrying her back inside. He slammed the doors shut and walked swiftly towards a door leading to a room Lauren hadn't seen yet. She didn't make a sound. She wasn't sure why. She wasn't sure about much of anything at the moment.

He flung the door open and carried her to the bed in the center of the room, laying her down gently on it. He stared at her for a second, making her heart turn in her chest and her fingers tingle. Then he did something she didn't quite expect: he tore his eyes away from hers and sat on the edge of the bed, staring down at the floor instead.

She pulled herself up to a sitting position and crawled over to him. He raised a hand and stroked her cheek lightly, soliciting a quivering sigh from her. Lauren grabbed his face in her hands, planting a kiss firmly on his lips. She knew her parents would absolutely kill her (after killing him, of course) if they knew where she was...but being there with Sirius felt so...oh, she didn't know...so right.

He groaned and pulled her close to him as he bent his face down to nuzzle her neck. A soft moan escaped from her lips, but after a while, she used a hand to tilt his head up, desperate to feel his lips on hers again.

After falling sideways onto the mattress, they kissed for several minutes, but then Lauren started tugging at the hem of Sirius' sweater. Sirius broke away from her, confused at first, but getting the not-so-subtle hint once he looked her in the eyes. He ripped it off and threw it across the room, then kissed her again. Apparently, she wasn't satisfied, because she began doing the same thing to the undershirt he still had on. He groaned again, letting go of her as he yanked the shirt over his head and threw it down.

Lauren let out a slight whimper as she ran her hands over his chest. Sirius suddenly decided that she had on entirely too much clothing as well. He propped himself up on his side so he was facing her. Then he gingerly placed his hand on the zipper of her navy-blue velour jacket, never taking his eyes off hers as he pulled it down slowly.

Lauren felt nerves building in her as Sirius unzipped her jacket, his hand lightly grazing her breast as he did so. She experienced the most intense twisty feeling in her stomach that she had ever felt at that moment.

Sirius used one arm to pull Lauren away from the bed as he peeled the jacket off her, revealing a pale yellow tank top, which he thought complimented her tanned skin nicely. He lowered her back down and began kissing her again. He was very surprised when Lauren pulled away from him.

He looked down at her in puzzlement. She was staring straight up into his eyes, but she slowly ran her hands from his shoulders to his waist and back up again. He shivered in response, but he thought he knew why she stopped. He lightly grasped the bottom of her shirt in each hand, looking at Lauren for assent. She nodded almost imperceptibly, and he kissed her softly, pulling his lips away as he gently pulled the shirt over her head and threw it harshly against the wall in the same direction as his abandoned jumper.

Meanwhile, Lauren lay back down on the bed.

Sirius looked down at her, his eyes traveling over her body slowly. She was wearing a lacy white bra. Her skin seemed to be flushing under his gaze. He placed his hand on one of her ribs, tracing it with his fingertips down to her waist.

Lauren shivered as he touched a sensitive part of her stomach. She pulled his head down for a kiss, clinging to his back with her other hand. After a while, Sirius broke away, looking at her questioningly with his now darkened blue eyes. She stared into them as she covered his hand with hers, leading it from her waist to her breast. He let it rest there for a second, and she gasped when he squeezed slightly. She took a deep breath as he moved his hand over to repeat the motion. She closed her eyes, thinking she had regained control (of her breathing at the very least), but inhaled sharply when she felt his lips touch the skin right above the lace edge of her bra.

"You're so beautiful," he murmured as he lowered his head to kiss her sternum. Lauren felt tears spring to her eyes. She tried to hold them back, but one tear from each eye fell and landed on her chest. Sirius looked up at her when his lips touched a wet spot.

"What's wrong?" he asked gently, his expression concerned.

Lauren shook her head, trying to smile as she said, "Nothing's wrong. Everything's right. It's just that...I love you so much...that it scares me sometimes." Lauren cursed herself inwardly. Why couldn't she keep her mouth shut? She hoped that he wouldn't be frightened away by her admission.

Sirius hesitated for a second. He had been planning on telling her this tomorrow at the Christmas Ball...but then he gazed into her eyes and said softly, "I love you more than I ever thought I could love anything in the world. I think I've loved you since the day I met you."

Lauren felt the tears gather in her eyes again. Guys were supposed to live in mortal fear of the dreaded "L-word," but Sirius had just said it three times in one breath. She exhaled shakily and then laughed as Sirius wiped away the now falling tears with the pads of his thumbs. They shared a sweet kiss, soft and slow and full of emotion.

Without thinking, she ran her hand along the waistband of his jeans, stopping at the silver button. Sirius glanced down at where her hand was resting. Then he looked back at Lauren, who was gazing at him with curiosity in her eyes. Sirius paused. Did she know what she was doing to him?

He sighed when he realized that his pants were suddenly much too tight anyway. He let go of her and slid off the bed slowly. He stood up and took off his jeans, stepping out of them before he climbed back onto the bed. He was clad in only a pair of very festive green and red striped boxers. He felt Lauren's gaze travel over him, rather appreciatively if he said so himself.

He lay back down beside her, more unsure of what to do than he was accustomed to feeling. Lauren scooted closer to him and extended her arm. Then, closing her eyes, she began to slowly slide her hand down the side of his torso.

Sirius raised a surprisingly steady hand to her lips, then traced a finger down from there, barely touching her skin. She opened her eyes instantly and gazed at him, a strange expression gracing her features. Her hand lay motionless on his waist, gripping ever so slightly.

He slowly brought his hand to the top of her jeans, but hesitated yet again. He wasn't sure if she was okay with it...until Lauren squirmed eagerly under his touch. He unbuttoned her jeans slowly, revealing white satin and lace underwear. He ran his fingers across them softly before he started moving down to the foot of the bed, pulling her pants along with him, Lauren instinctively raising her hips to accommodate his movements. When they were also tossed onto the floor, he slid one hand from her ankle all the way to her waist as he stretched his body over hers. "Bloody brilliant," he whispered softly into her ear before capturing her lips in a mind-blowing kiss.

When they came up for air, Sirius laid his head down on Lauren's chest, breathing shallowly. "And this is the bedroom," he said between gasps. Lauren rolled her eyes. Then she tangled her hands in Sirius' hair while her breathing slowed to a regular pace. Soon they were asleep.

A few hours later, Lauren awoke with a start. She tried to sit up, but something was pinning her to the bed. She glanced down at Sirius, who was fast asleep, his head cushioned by her chest. He looked like he was in heaven--she sighed--and he probably thought he was.

Sirius groaned as his pillow moved underneath him. Then he was confused. His mind was still foggy from sleep, but he was pretty sure that his pillow usually didn't move. He was too tired to care, though, and he had been having a very nice dream, so he used his hands to try to keep it in place.

Lauren's eyes popped open in shock when Sirius shifted. If he hadn't been in heaven before, he most definitely was now. She raised one hand and thumped him soundly on the back of his head.

"Hey!" Sirius complained loudly at the rude awakening. He opened his eyes, gazing up at Lauren in confusion. She merely stared back at him. Then he looked down at where his hands were currently resting... "Erm, sorry 'bout that," he said embarrassedly as he quickly brought his arms down to his sides.

"Yeah," Lauren said quietly as she avoided eye contact with him. She was feeling a little weird about the whole situation. Not regretful, she had enjoyed every second of it...just uncomfortable. "We, ah, should leave. We need to be there when my parents come back."

Sirius didn't need any more explanations, and jumped up to start dressing hurriedly. He was positive that Lauren's father would kill him if they were both mysteriously missing from their beds, let alone if he knew about what had happened earlier that night.

Lauren also began to put her clothes back on, though in not so quite a frenzied manner as Sirius. She was looking around for her jacket when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned slowly and saw Sirius standing behind her, holding the jacket. She extended her hand to take it, but he shook his head, stepping closer to her. She smiled as he reached his arms behind her back and put it on her himself.

Then he took her hand gently and led her back into the living room.