The Intentional Accident

Later that afternoon both Sirius and Agatha were sitting in one of the higher boxes at Puddlemere United's home ground. The box was reserved for the player's significant other's and their guests. Sirius was glad he brought Agatha; he had the feeling that when the time came to go and tell Michael, he would need a firm push to get him going. However, once the game started he quickly regretted his choice of guest.

"What is the ref looking at? Even the gnomes in my garden could see that was a foul! Oh you are joking! Take your head out of your arse and you might pass the Quaffle a little better!" she complained at the top of her lungs. At work Agatha was a magnificently calm and collected person but when it came to Quidditch she became fuelled by a passion equal to none. Puddlemere United was massacring the Kenmare Kestrels. The Quaffle didn't get past Michael once, not even when the Kestrel's Chasers employed their trademark move, the Hawkshead Attacking Formation. As they flew towards him in an arrowhead pattern, Michael waited until the last minute to see who got the Quaffle for the actual shot. His split second timing and reflexes allowed him to bat the Quaffle away with the tail of his broom. It flew past the Kestrel Chasers and was caught by one of his teammates who sped towards the other end of the pitch to score a goal, much to Agatha's dismay.

"What happened to this team? Oh if my poor grandfather could see this ..." Puddlemere United scored three more goals before the Snitch was finally spotted. Both Seekers raced to reach it first. The whole stadium watched with bated breath. The two were neck and neck when they made a simultaneous grab for the Snitch. Luckily they were close to the ground so neither was harmed in the resulting collision. Sitting up slowly, the Puddlemere Seeker lifted up his clenched fist to show the struggling Snitch to the stadium. Puddlemere United had won 190 -0. Amid the joyous screaming, Sirius turned to Agatha.

"You did say I wouldn't have to wait long."

"Yes I did. Now that the game is over you have something to do and I'll be damned if I'm going to let you think of a way out of it." Sirius looked back out to the pitch. Michael and the rest of his team were doing a lap of victory over the cheering (or jeering, depending on which side they flew over) crowd. As they flew past the box Sirius and Agatha were still standing in, Michael blew Sirius a kiss before flying on with the rest of his team. He looked so happy. Perhaps this wasn't the right time to tell him after all. Sirius hadn't really given it much thought when he said he would tell him that afternoon.

"I don't know, Agatha. Maybe I should wait until this evening ..."

"Oh no you don't. You keep putting it off like that and it's only going to get worse. Now be off with you and leave me to my indignation in peace." As Sirius started making his way through the slow moving, bustling crowd, he knew it would take him a while to get down to the changing rooms like this. At least this gave him some time to think of what he was going to say. Heading down the steps he could hear Agatha yelling some choice words, not at anyone in particular, just at the world in general.

~|~

"Great game, huh?" asked one of Michael's teammates as they changed out of their sweaty robes.

"Okay, you just earned the award for understatement of the century! We nailed them!" exclaimed Patrick, the somewhat eccentric Seeker.

"Did you see young Mikey though? Those saves were fantastic! They didn't get past him once, not once!" added Sid, one of the Chasers. Michael smiled broadly. They couldn't see because he was in the process of pulling his shirt over his head. It was nice that his talent was recognised by his colleagues, who also were brilliantly gifted players. Just as Michael sat down to remove his restricting Quidditch boots, an owl flew in through a hatch near the small window and landed on one of the changing benches. It held out its leg and became quite irritable when no one took the letter straight away. Finally Patrick removed the letter and read it.

"It says the Ballycastle Bats have won their game against the Chudley Cannons. Creamed them by the sound of it."

"Well that's hardly surprising. I mean, it isn't exactly hard to beat the Chudley Cannons, is it?" scoffed a dark haired Chaser called Jacob. Putting the letter down, Patrick looked over to Michael.

"Didn't you say you knew one of the Ballycastle Bat's Beaters?" Michael froze in the middle of removing his reluctant boot. Of course he knew him, he used to play on the same team as the slimy bastard.

"Yeah, I know him. We both played on the Gryffindor team at Hogwarts, though what possessed the Sorting Hat to put him in Gryffindor I'll never know."

"They say he's brutal with a Bludger," said Sid delicately. The icy tone in Michael's voice was there for them all to see.

"Oh he's good alright. That doesn't stop him being a git though. I wouldn't mind swapping places with one of you guys so I could take a swing at him," he said a little more light heartedly to the two Beaters. The whole team laughed.

"Don't you worry mate, we'll wipe the floor with the lot of them but not for a while though. Our next game is against the Tutshill Tornados and that's a good few months away." When the rest of the team had finished and left, Michael was still changing. His concentration was elsewhere, namely in the past. He still remembered the hell Sirius was put through by one Scott Finnigan, a friend that Michael had trusted for six years. When Scott walked in on Michael and Sirius kissing in an empty classroom, Michael had made him promise not to say anything. Shortly afterwards, Michael and Sirius had the one argument that caused them to break up for a while. It didn't take long for Scott to move in on the situation and start blackmailing Sirius, threatening to tell his father all about him. It wasn't until Michael overheard Scott making one of his demands and floored him that it stopped. Michael's stroll down memory lane was cut short by Sirius' arrival at the changing room door.

"Hey handsome," he said softly from the doorway. Michael quickly turned his head to see him. Sirius walked over to him slowly then kissed him on the top of his head. "You were great out there. Agatha may not be in the mood to agree but you were wonderful." Michael smiled as he took Sirius' hand in his own. He liked Agatha as much as Sirius did; she was a lovely woman, if a little forward at times.

"Well, she'll get over it." Gazing up into Sirius' eyes, he decided he could stand this small talk no longer. "Come here, you!" he said playfully as he pulled Sirius down so that he was half sitting on his lap. Their lips became gratefully silent and were instead drawn and sealed to each other. Sirius wanted to lose himself in their kiss and forget what he had to tell Michael. However, Agatha's words echoed through his head. He could hear her sharp tone telling him to get on with it and stop stalling. He finally heeded her disembodied voice.

"Mike, there's something I have to tell you ...something important." Michael released him from his muscled grip so that he could sit properly. Sirius had to force himself to look his beloved in the face. How to do it? Tell him gradually or blurt it out as bluntly as possible? The walk down to the changing rooms hadn't helped him decide how best to deliver the news at all.

"What is it? Is something wrong?"

"Nothing's ...wrong, as such. Just promise me you won't be angry ...well not just angry but ...upset." Michael could see that whatever this was, it was serious. He thought he heard something in the corridor outside. He got up to carefully close the door then resumed his seat next to Sirius.

"Nothing you say will upset me and besides, I love you too much to get angry with you." Sirius took a deep breath. He had to break the news as impulsively as he had performed the deed that led to it.

"Mike ...I'm pregnant." He had said it. It was done. The ball was now in Michael's court. Would he pass it back lovingly or puncture it in anger? Michael's face went blank as he took it in. He thought back to when this could have happened, and then he remembered.

"So you didn't pour that potion away?"

"No, I drank the whole thing, just as the label said to. I don't know what made me do it. I had it ready to pour down the sink then all of a sudden I was pouring it down my throat instead. I'm so sorry."

"You should be sorry," said Michael bluntly. He was staring fixedly at the floor; his tone flat and dry. "You went behind my back and did something I thought we had decided we weren't ready for. You lied, you were sneaky, underhanded and you know what else?" He paused for a moment and turned to face Sirius directly. A smile graced his blank face. "I couldn't be happier." For a moment, Sirius thought he had imagined what Michael had said. He soon recognised the smile on Michael's face though, it was the look he had when he was sincerely happy.

"You mean it?"

"Of course I do, and you're not the one who should be sorry, I am. I can't pretend to understand what you've gone through this past month or so, what you're still going through. I have to admit, I was a little shocked when you brought the subject of children up because I was so unsure of who was going to carry it. When you told me you wanted my children, it just ...surprised me. I wanted more time to think about it ...but now that I look back, I can't remember why I didn't think I was ready."

"So you are ready?"

"Well, I'll have to be now, won't I?" answered Michael jokingly. Sirius loved his sense of humour. He threw his arms around him in a relieved hug. They held each other for at least a minute, separating when Michael's curiosity got the better of him. "Well come on, tell me all about it. How long have you known?"

"I only found out for sure this morning. Agatha performed a test and confirmed it." He took Michael's hand and put it gingerly on his own stomach. "You're going to be a Daddy," he said through both a smile and a trickle of happy tears.

"So are you, I think." Michael tried to figure out the proper terms but was interrupted by Sirius' soft hand on his cheek.

"Let's just say we're going to be parents, that pretty much covers it." They both began to laugh, revelling in their happiness and bliss. This meant they never heard the rapidly retreating footsteps in the corridor. They were also too busy kissing when they walked through the door to notice the carelessly abandoned Extendable Ear lying on the ground.