Learn to love

Torn

"Can you give me a moment with Sirius?"

Standing up he waited for Athena and the others to walk before turning to face Sirius. Before he could even mutter a word, Aaron was met with a punch to the jaw. Stumbling back, he clutched his jawline. Willing the pain to go away.

"Ok, I deserved that." Rotating his jaw, he quickly ducked the second punch. "You only get one Black."

"What did you do?!" He hissed lowly, not wanting the others to hear.

He thought of lying. Hell, he should lie. How do you tell a man you slept with his wife? Who had no recollection of their marriage or daughter? 'Saints I'm such an asshole'. "I don't know what to tell you."

"I trusted you to keep her protected." Sirius spoke with venom in his voice. "Did you bed her?"

Aaron clenched his jaw a few times, dropping his head in defeat. "It only happened one time." He groaned at the punch he received. "Fuck." Holding back his desire to hit back, he took the punishment. "Sirius, I fought like hell to avoid this from happening. I kept my distance. Avoided any involvement, but I couldn't."

"That is my wife!" Sirius lunged forward fisting the front of the man's shirt. "My. Wife."

Aaron exhaled, lowering his voice to barely a whisper. "What would you have done if this was you? You know her. Athena doesn't make things easy. She doesn't take no for an answer." Grabbing Sirius's wrist he pried the man's hands off his now wrinkled shirt. "Eva already tried separating us after it happened. We managed for a few days, but it did more damage than good."

"What does that mean?" Sirius growled itching to punch the man again.

"I don't know how to put it in simpler words, Black." Aaron was treading on dangerous grounds, he knew that. But the gates were open and he was unable to stop himself. "She has been the only woman to see past the darkness. Past what everyone sees. I feel safe to be myself around her. The need to protect her is what keeps me going."

Sirius turned to pace in front of him, running his hands through his hair. "You have no right to feel that way. To look at her the way you do. Touch her like I once did."

Aaron chuckled. "The way you touched her is nothing compared to the way I had her begging beneath me. It's my name she screams at night." Knowing it was coming he braced himself for the punch.

"Don't you dare!" Athena and the others had picked up on the yelling from the two men. Afraid they would kill each other for some reason, she went to investigate. To her horror, she caught Sirius about to punch Aaron. Standing between the two she glared at the older wizard. Turning to look up at Aaron, she noticed the bruise forming on his jaw and the cut lip. "Aaron?" Reaching up to cup his jaw mindful of the bruise, he leaned against her touch. Eyes closing for a moment. Her eyes blazing as she turned back to Sirius. "What the hell is your problem?!"

"Mine?!" He scoffed out a laugh. "I'm not the one-" He quickly stopped himself. As much as this pained him. As much as it tighten his chest, he couldn't say a thing. She had no clue what Aaron had done. What she had done.

Aaron placed a hand on her shoulder, drawing her back into him. "It's nothing. Just some unresolved issues we had."

"Issues?" She looked between the two. "Until tonight, you two didn't know each other personally." Her eyes stopped on Sirius.

"You heard him, it's nothing." Sirius grumbled, slapping his hand against his leg.

Athena's eyes became darker within the second. "Nothing? You punched him. From the looks of it, more than once." Her fingers twirled the wand in her pocket. The thought of someone close to her getting hurt was always a trigger for her. Harry suddenly appeared in front of her. "Move."