𝙥𝙖𝙡𝙚 𝙖𝙦𝙪𝙖 ➪ 𝗆𝖺𝗋𝖺𝗎𝖽𝖾𝗋𝗌

𝐸𝑋𝑇𝑅𝐴 𝑆𝐶𝐸𝑁𝐸 𝑂𝑁𝐸

➪ MULBERRY ➪

"COME ON, PRINCESS."

"No," Loki whined, burying her face further into the pillow beneath her head. She heard a soft chuckle from beside her.

"Come on, you promised," Sirius spoke, poking the girl in the back of the head. She frowned, turning her head his way, peeking through her eyelashes at the older boy. "It's five, and no one else is awake yet. We have at least a few hours to ourselves."

"You're going to have to drag me to get me up," Loki shot back, too tired to argue with him.

"Or I can do this." Loki let out a gasp as a pair of arms lifted her off the couch, lips pressing a kiss to her forehead. Her arms moved to grasp the shirt Remus wore, keeping herself closer to his chest. "Easier for everyone, hm?" Remus laughed.

"That's not fair," Sirius narrowed his eyes at the pair. "Ah, well. Come on. We have lots to do."

"We really don't," Remus whispered, his voice deeper than usual. Loki flushed as she remembered Christmas, and grinned up at the taller boy. "Sorry about waking you, by the way."

"It's fine," Loki responded. "It's actually a nice way to wake up."

"Maybe I should do it more often then," Remus grinned. "But with less picking you up, more cuddling."

"Hurry up, you two!" Sirius stuck his head back into the living room, harshly whispering as he waved his arm at them. "And don't step on the cat."

"We're not you, Sirius," Remus teased. He stepped over the sleeping bodies of Max and Lucy, setting Loki down once they were in the clear. She thanked him and pressed a kiss to his cheek, taking his hand and leading him after Sirius.

The pair made their way to the front door where the other boy stood with his hands shoved into the pockets of the black sweatpants he wore to bed, hair a somewhat controlled mess. Remus frowned at him. Sirius smirked in response. Loki rolled her eyes at the pair.

"Can we get going, please, or I'll just heading back to bed, " Loki spoke. Sirius nodded. He stepped toward the pair and grabbed their hands, pulling them toward the door. "Thank you."

Sirius opened the front door, making sure to be as quiet as possible, and Remus frowned."What exactly are we doing?" He queried. "Because if we're going to leave, we should at least leave a note so they know we're okay."

"Oh, come on, Moony. They know we'll be fine. James knows that after six hours if we're not back, that's when something's wrong." Sirius shrugged in response to the boy, dismissing his concern with a nonchalant expression. "You trust me to return you safe and sound, don't you, Princess?"

"I suppose," Loki hummed.

She turned her green eyes toward Remus, offering him a comforting smile as a way to reassure the taller boy. Remus eventually let out a sigh. He couldn't deny Loki held a certain influence over him that made it far too easy for him to cave in. After all, he was more concerned about the girl compared to him and Sirius. They had gotten out of many sticky situations together, and he knew Loki lacked the experience they had.

"Fine. I guess it will be fine," Remus spoke.

"Great."

Sirius continued to pull the pair away from the front door. He led them to the alleyway between Nicolas's house and the one beside it, letting Remus's hand go and pulling Loki to his side, swinging his arm over her shoulder. The pair continued to follow Sirius's movements between the homes, out to a park which looked like it hadn't been used in some time. They moved toward a forest. The sky, as light as it was before the sunrise, cast long shadows between the trees, and made it appear darker than it was. Loki couldn't help but tense up. Sirius noticed her behaviour and squeezed her shoulder, pressing his lips to the spot just above her ear, lowering his voice as he whispered to her.

"I won't let anything bad happen to you, Princess. What kind of prince would I be then, hm?" He laughed at his own comment. "Just don't rely on Remus. He may be a werewolf, but he's still a scaredy-cat."

"This werewolf can hear you, Sirius," Remus spoke up, his face straight and a tone of irritation laced in his words. "And he's not impressed. Where are we going, anyway?" He queried, looking around them to the dark corners of the wooded area.

"It's a surprise," Sirius grinned. "And we're not far from it, either."

Loki looked back to the taller boy, and the couple shared a look, then smiled at each other, humoured. They didn't speak, but let Sirius lead them to the location, only allowing him to muttr to himself about the directions.

"And here we are!" Sirius let his arm leave Loki's shoulder, turning around and stepping backward, raising his arms above his head with a grin. "It might not look like much, but I promise you, we're in for a treat.

The area in question was a small clearing, the sky visible thanks to the uneven circle of only grass in the middle. Laid out on said grass was the picnic blanket Nicolas's mother had reported missing the afternoon prior. Loki let out a laugh at the sight, taking the few steps to join Sirius standing on the blanket.

"And what's this for, Sirius?" Remus raised his eyebrow at his best friend.

"Come and sit and you'll see in," he elongated the last syllable, checking his watch, "twelve minutes."

"Fine."

The trio gathered on the blanket, sitting down. The boys pushed Loki to the middle, then the three of them laid down at Sirius's command, their eyes focused on the sky.

"I should have brought snacks," Sirius sighed. "Or my wand."

"Well, you'll remember for next time," Loki hummed, shifting her head to rest it against Remus's chest. "Are you going to tell us what it is we're waiting for, yet?"

Before Sirius could respond, a light darted across the sky. He grinned. "It's starting."

The other two frowned, glancing at Sirius before focusing back on the sky. Another light went by, then more gathered, collectively moving across the light blue sky. Loki gasped when she realised what was happening. Her eyes lit up, excitement making her body buzz.

"How did you know when the metero shower would be?" Remus queried, equally amazed with the sight.

"I just watched the news," Sirius shrugged. His hand nidged Loki's, who took it without a second thought. "It's really cool, actually."

"Thank you, Sirius," Loki awed, unable to tear her eyes away from the sight. "Thank you so much."

"You're welcome, Princess," Sirius smirked. He turned his attention to Remus, who felt his gaze and looked over, raising an eyebrow. "Up your game." He mouthed, a playful grin on his lips.

"You're on," Remus mouthed back.