Regimentum ⪼ Sirius Black/OC

Decies repetita placebit

Chapter Eight | Decies repetita placebit

[Though ten times repeated, it will continue to please]

Sirius Black has always been one of those beautiful human beings. The sort of man that others look up to. The sort who can charm his way out of anything, with just the flash of a smile. Vivian's always known it, of course. Even back when she loathed the very ground he walked on, she'd have to be blind not to realize that Sirius has been blessed with a certain cavalier beauty that is impossible to deny. Yes, she knows it, but it's never quite struck her in the same way it does in this moment. There's just something about the way the sun gently captures his features that enraptures her, and the way his hair falls into his eyes as he breathes deeply in peace, and the softness of his expression as that peace overrides the usual fire that he exhibits in his waking hours. Or, perhaps, what really strikes her above all of these things is the fact that he is right there, so close to her that she can feel the warmth of his body radiating from his skin, as if that fire is still smoldering even now. Sirius Black really is beautiful, which, despite being aware of this, is something that Vivian Blair would have never admitted before he had so thoroughly overturned her life. Nor, she muses, would she admit it now, if only because she knows that it would stoke his ego far too much.

The thought makes her smile. She reaches out to touch a strand of his hair and threads it behind his ear. Her fingers are so tentative and her touch so slight that she doesn't expect him to feel it at all, which is why she's surprised when he reaches up to take her hand and presses her fingers against his lips.

"...I know I look gorgeous in the mornings, Vivian, but you don't have to stare," he mumbles into his pillow.

Upon realizing that he had actually been awake and not asleep as she had assumed, she feels her cheeks flush. The horror of blushing because of something Sirius Black said makes her flush all the more, and not even her immediate attempts to scoff off the situation helps her.

"You're so full of yourself," she mutters, making sure to set her features into a proper scowl just in case. The insurance policy against her own embarrassment hardly helps her either though, because the moment Sirius opens his eyes and catches sight of her reddened cheeks, a grin like no other begins to spread over his face.

Honestly, it's moments like these that Vivian remembers that he's got some Slytherin in him yet.

"Godric, you're blushing," he crows, releasing her hand so that he can push himself onto his elbows and subsequently get a better look at her face.

Vivian's scowl grows more pronounced. As does her blush.

"For the last time, don't call me that," she snaps, and promptly rolls over so that her back is facing him.

Sirius barks out a laugh. A moment later, he's shuffling closer and peering down at her with that annoying Slytherin grin still etched across his face. "See?" he gloats, "Since you were just admiring my good looks, you can admit that you like waking up next to each other. Don't you wish you hadn't been so stubborn about it before?"

She elbows him (rather gently, truth be told) and he cringes (rather dramatically, if you ask her) and she mutters, "You have an annoying tendency of making me regret being nice to you, Sirius."

He snickers and props his elbow onto the pillow before resting his head on his hand. In a sarcastic tone, he fires back, "Oh, so finally caving and letting me get a good night's sleep for the first time in what feels like ages is you being 'nice' now?"

She pauses at this and rolls onto her back to look up at him. After a moment's hesitation, Vivian asks, "Was it really that bad?"

He raises an eyebrow. "What, sleeping on a lumpy mattress? It wasn't exactly a walk in the park." When he sees her expression, which is just guilty enough to make her eyebrows furrow, he huffs out a laugh and adds, "It's fine, Vivian. I didn't really mind that much." Then, with a slightly more mischievous gleam in his eyes, he shuffles closer and murmurs, "But I like this particular arrangement a hell of a lot better."