On December Something

Fighting Desire

Christmas Eve -- Petunia's Flat
11:56pm

Petunia lay in her bed and stared up at the ceiling. It was Christmas Eve and in approximately four minutes it would be Christmas. Lily and James wanted to stay together in her spare bedroom so she allowed it. This meant that Sirius was on the couch and Petunia was alone.

She couldn't sleep. She had tossed and turned for a couple of hours but sleep never found her. She found herself wondering what Sirius was doing. Was he awake just like her? Was he thinking about her like she was about him? She doubted it. There was no reason that he would be thinking about her. They hadn't had a chance to talk alone since they had been here and it had been a couple of days since they first arrived. Christmas was going to be much different than what they were used to which is exactly what she had been trying to avoid.

Between the excitement for Christmas and Sirius she was bound to never go to sleep. She decided to get up and make some warm milk. Sometimes it helped. It also helped if she added a little bit of cinnamon whiskey. She liked her warm milk extra Irish.

She tugged her robe on and tied it loosely around her waist to cover up her hot pink nightgown, ignoring her lack of luck that happened that morning. If she had known boys were going to be showing up with Lily she might would have picked out something a tad more conservative at the stores. Even though they had been around for a couple of days she had never found a moment to just go shopping. All she had were short nightgowns because the heat was positively horrendous around this time of year. Her neighbors below always cranked the heat up to maximum and heat rises.

She tiptoed out into the living room and saw Sirius in what she could only hope was a deep sleep. She didn't want to wake him. She wished she could sleep so easily. She was careful not to clank the pans or the bottles so that she could make her drink but what couldn't be helped was the light in the kitchen. She hoped there was enough wall there to shield the light but someone softly cleared their throat behind her as she turned the stove on. She whipped around and there he stood. He was leaning casually against the door frame as he watched her stir the milk.

"It seems that we keep meeting here," he joked.

Petunia let out a little chuckle but her nerves were now starting to get the best of her. She avoided his gaze like the plague. Well, she tried to at least.

"Did I wake you?" Petunia asked meekly.

She couldn't help it. She had to look at him. She felt compelled. He looked a little tired but he was too interested in what she was doing. She thought maybe she had woken him. His hair was in disarray and his eyes were slightly bloodshot.

"No. I couldn't sleep and then I heard you in here. I thought maybe you could use the company," he said huskily, pulling a chair out to sit down at the table.

She nodded before pulling two mugs out of the cupboard and held up a bottle of the cinnamon whiskey. A friend of hers had brought it back from the States but she hadn't opened it yet. Typically, she would settle for irish cream or a good bourbon. She wanted to try this drink out. There was no one better to try it with in her opinion. 

"Nightcap?" She questioned.

"Sure," he answered with a yawn.

He didn't seem like he needed the extra dose in his mug but she poured the same either way. When the milk had come to a boil she mixed the two and set it down in front of him. They clinked their mugs together and took small sips.

"Why can't you sleep?" He wondered.

"It's Christmas," she told him.

It was partially the truth but she couldn't tell him the other half of her reason. After all, she wanted to stay as far from embarrassment as possible. So far it hasn't worked in her favor.