𝗔𝗖𝗧 𝗜𝗜 ━━ 𝗗𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗬 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗜𝗗𝗗𝗟𝗘
061. forget about everything else

( song for the chapter:
apocalypse — cigarettes after sex )

          𝗛𝗘𝗥 𝗠𝗢𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥 𝗪𝗔𝗦 𝗣𝗢𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗗𝗜𝗦𝗛𝗘𝗦 until they gleamed and glistened. Her mother never sets foot into the kitchen, not unless she needs to get a glass of wine. Speaking of wine, Celeste must have chugged down two bottles of alcoholic beverages the moment the guests stepped out. The Malfoys stayed over in the two guest rooms, and Scarlet distinctly remembers Regulus telling her that his cousins are also staying over at the Black Manor.

      At times, she pitied her mother. Being a trophy that takes up too much space in the dynasty Zircon Bridget has prepared and maintained must have been inexplicably miserable. Celeste Bridget spent her life being labelled as the pathetic soul that was too far down a fucked up tunnel to uphold a respectable family's reputation. There were times Abraxas Malfoy babbled to the entire community about how Celeste had been 'fixed', all he wanted was for his sister to be married into a good family and not spend her entire life being shunned. 

      Celeste got everything she wanted. But at what cost? Being a canvas painted with vivid colours and scattered with rebellious memories and impact brought her nothing. With a single footstep into the Bridget Manor, her canvas became devoid of vibrancy—became a white expanse only tinted by murky water from worn-out paintbrushes. It was not at all what she had imagined.

      Celeste Bridget's adventurous youth should have left people awestruck, her life should have been celebrated instead of being tolerated by a horrid man like Zircon—a man who rained misery upon her like unassailable sleet on a well-built farm.

"How many of those horrid drinks did you have?" Scarlet asked, passing a pile of dirty tablecloths to Jaggy so he could put them in the laundry. 

"Many. Do you blame me?" Celeste gestured around, referring to the tight atmosphere the dinner had brought. The little comment Orion made, a reminder that the woman married a thirty-year-old man at the mere age of seventeen still hung in the air.

Scarlet fiddled nervously with her rings, "Perhaps, we can have our conversation later on,"

"Merlin, do you have to start this again," Celeste scoffed, blinking away the blurry visions of her sight.

Scarlet turned to her in disbelief. "I just said we don't have to talk now."

Slurring some inaudible words, Celeste smashed the plate down on the floor in burning anger. The sound of it breaking echoed throughout the room. Jaggy was begging for her to stop the moment it happened. Celeste hurled another at the nearest wall with a furious cry.

      Scarlet hated it. She hated every second of it. The sound of the glass shattering, the painful screeching from her mother. Make it stop, make it stop, prayed her mind. Her dainty fingers curled around the wine glass. She didn't move, she stayed frozen. Celeste threw another until two of the expensive, glinting plates were still sitting on the shelf. There was a time when her father—Zircon would throw and break things. Punch a hole into a wall. That anger, the frustration Bridgets carry, Celeste reminded Scarlet of it this time. 

      Please, stop.

"You think this is easy, everything I do for you?" She slurred, breaking into tears.

"I don't fuckin' know!" Scarlet shouted at her. "You don't tell me anything and I don't see you making my life any better, it's like living with a statue!"

"Little Mistress Bridget mustn't shout, Jaggy insists Miss Bridget calms down." Jaggy cried quietly, his hands clasped together as he pleaded, staring up at her furious face and those dried tears on his Mistress' face.

"It's because you don't understand anything!" Celeste yelled back. "You can't—you think this is a fairytale, as if me going easy on you will make your life better but it won't!"

"All I asked was why you're switching up all of a sudden," Scarlet retorted. "I assumed something was wrong. You were so worried all of a sudden."

"I'm worried because you're as fucked-up as your father, and the rest of your damn family, and that's something no amount of love can change, no matter how much I try. Deal with it."

"Like you're any better," she spat with venom, glaring at her. Looking into the ocean blue, she could only see herself in her mother's eyes. The same anger. The same buried feelings begging to come out. "You think I don't see how guilty you feel about the death of that horrible man I call my father, the way you flinch every time—"

"Drop it," Celeste's tone dropped to an intimidating, low one. "Don't bring it up."

"That's what I'm talking about, you preach about me having to understand you when you don't even have a fucking heart, like some emotionless freak!"

"I feel guilty about Zircon's death because I could've done more!" She shouted back. Scarlet felt the world beneath her crumbling to the fire in the core of Earth. A deadly silence encapsulates the mother-daughter pair. "I should've done more," Celeste slapped a shaking hand over her lips, avoiding an escaped gasp.

      Jaggy started to dramatically slam his forehead onto a table's leg, gasping at what Celeste just stated.

With slow steps and a cryptic change in Scarlet's eyebrows, she neared her mother's shaking figure. "What do you mean?" Her thin brows pinched together in suspicion. There were times she wondered how her mother could tolerate it all.

"I didn't mean to," she whimpered, curled up in a corner with her back against the wall, now crying more heavily. Guilt, remorse, and horror danced in her crystal eyes. "He was so horrible... I–I didn't mean to, I didn't mean to."

You didn't mean to what, mother? Confusion took over Scarlet as she questioned in her mind, and her heart thudded against her chest like a caged animal.

"Did you do something to him?" She asked in an accusatory tone.

"Little Miss Bridget must stay quiet!" Jaggy snapped, his tone changing to a scolding one.

"What did you do, mama?" She screamed in her face in drastic horror. "What the fuck did you do? What did you do to him?" Silence. Deafening silence.

"It was an accident," she whimpered. "I was so scared, I was scared."

"What did you do?" Scarlet asked through gritted teeth.

"I didn't mean to—"

"Oh, Salazar! You fucking monster, did you kill him?" Scarlet gasped suddenly, not being able to help it.

      A stinging pain struck her across the cheek, her head swiftly snapping to her right as her jaw hung open with a little cry. Celeste wanted her to stop. Celeste wanted her to stop accusing her. Accusements and judgment. She wanted it to stop. And it did stop, only after she had just slapped her daughter across the face. To shut her up.

      After a second, the two of them stared at each other's glossy eyes. Unbearable regret and a look of betrayal spirled in the pool of blue. I fuckin' hate you, Scarlet wanted to yell. But she didn't. She didn't hate her mother. She couldn't hate her mother even if she aimed a dagger right in Zircon's chest and twisted a knife in his heart, right in front of her. She could never hate her mother.

      She walked away in silence. Turning around once, she saw Celeste sliding down the wall, falling to her knees in defeat as Jaggy moved to comfort her; she let out an ear-piercing cry that made her heart shake. She kept walking away. Like she always did.

      SCARLET KEPT THROWING ROCKS AT SIRIUS' WINDOW from her bedroom until the lights of his room brightened and he opened up the window with an unamused expression. 

"Can I come over?" She asked softly, and his expression instantly softened.

"Of course," he nodded, and Scarlet instantly Apparated in his bedroom, and her ankle almost twisted as she landed on her heels. Sirius poured a glass of water and passed it to her as she sat down. 

      "Everything alright at home?" He asked nonchalantly, as though it did not really matter.

"Hm," she nodded in confirmation, her expression insinuating the opposite. Sirius sat on the bed right next to her, and she felt the soft mattress dipping under them. "Everything is just fine."

      The air adorned with the tiniest crystal particles floated around them, and the glinting moonlight from outside contoured every curve of her face.

"Is it all right if I stay—just for the night?" Her voice was so soft, Sirius thought she might crack. 

"Of course," he nodded firmly. "Anytime." 

      With his gaze scattering her face, her eyebrows twitched and she drew in a tight breath—feeling her chest constrict at the sight. She forgot when he turned the bedroom lights off and only allowed the shine from the stars to diffuse through. 

      Suddenly, he noticed a slight decoloration in some parts of her cheekbone from his angle. He tilted his head sharply, and placed his finger along the crimson tint on her face, just barely touching it, and just grazing his skin along hers in the softest, most subtle manner. 

      Scarlet suddenly felt choked up, and she tilted her head to the side, not allowing Sirius to trace her face anymore.

"What are you doing?"

His heart pattered against his chest. "What was that—did someone hurt you?" The urgency in his tone sent a swirl of emotions in her chest.

"No, it's just..." she shook her head, placing the glass of water on the bedside table. "I'm... blushing."

      He raised a brow sharply, gaze burning into hers. 

"Don't look at me like that," Scarlet told him, and he just knew that whatever happened, she would never ever share her issues. She would fold her problems into a neat pile and lock it away in the basement of her heart. 

"Like what?" He whispered, his eyes falling to her parted crimson lips involuntarily. "Like you're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen?"

"If you say so," she whispered back with a neutral expression, a small smile lingering at the corner of her lips. She hated the way he talked. 

      Then, Sirius smiled brighter than the sun itself as he leaned forward and cupped the side of her face, caressing the redness on one of her cheeks as though it was the most precious thing ever. He pressed his lips to hers for a moment, and pulled away in a smile—face just inches from hers.

      The soft kiss escalated, turning into a lustful one, releasing months and months worth of yearns and true desire, as he gripped her face in his hands tighter. With a large inhale, he moved his lips down her jawline, caressing her jaw with his thumb when he moved to kiss her neck eagerly. "Sirius," she breathed out, overwhelming sensation at her skin, the movement of his soft, utterly soft lips burning through. 

      Sirius' hands shook in amusing anticipation when those tiny gasps of surprise left her lips, the way her fingers tightened around the ink of his hair as she tugged at them. Something in him could not help but want to give her the entire damn world, to suck away all her problems and issues and leave her unscathed. 

      Or leave her a shaking mess beneath his body; either works.

He stopped his movement, raising his chin and meeting her eyes. "I could make you forget about everything else," he whispered lustfully, confident. "Everything else, Blondie."

      At the moment, that was exactly what she needed. If she duelled on her thoughts about the argument with her mother, and her defeating, mysterious past, she might go insane. So, she did not hesitate to take up on his offer. 

      Scarlet did not think twice before nodding in approval and smashing her lips against his in a manner to accept whatever invitation he offered. Sirius' hand dropped to her waist, and he held her with almost bruising pressure whilst she held him closer by the neck. They felt it in their blood and bones—the fire. Both of their mere existence was fire itself. Desire roamed through their veins, acting as the diesel that only intensified the blaze. Bodies hummed with excitement, drawing each other deeper into the kiss.

From the back of his throat, Sirius groaned against her lips. "Scarlet," his deep voice vibrated against her mouth, she felt it against her chest. His fingers were tangled in her pin-straight hair, now messy with his movements.

      Very softly, he traced a finger down her neck and stopped right at the tip of the V-neck of her dress.

      She tugged him down by his collar, making him lean forward and more until her back hit his soft satin sheets. He hovered over her, never de-attaching their lips. Their bodies were locked together, and his elbows rested on the bed on either side of her.

      Scarlet started to unbutton his shirt eagerly. She sat up just a little and detached their lips so he can eagerly unzip the emerald dress she wore. His hands pulled down her sleeves and left her shoulders bare, his fingers burned against her bare skin as he ran his fingers over every inch of her upper body whilst taking off the dress. Desire danced in his eyes.

      For a moment, he simply admired her—not taking any action. He stared at her, with her dress brought down to her hips, revealing every curve of her upper body. 

      His hand roamed around her waist gently, a shiver running down her spine as he did so. Astonishment littering his expression at the mere sight of her. 

"You're beautiful," his eyes lingered over her skin, lust bellowing in his grey. "You're so beautiful."

      Curiously, she ran her thin, icy fingers down his chest. Muscles firm and flexed under her soft touch. He did not waste another second. He couldn't wait. He kissed her again, practically devouring her in one, long kiss. Her back hit the bed again.

      His lips detached from hers as he moved to place wet kisses down her jawline, and her neck, adjusting his position by moving down her body. Her breathing quickened, heartbeat rising. His lips touched every inch of her, her neck, the scars on her collarbones. In no time, he roughly tugged the dress off her body completely and threw it on the floor, and his fingers running everywhere, gentle grips at her hips. 

"Sirius," she whispered breathlessly, terrified at the level of pleasure she anticipated at the moment. He pulled away instantly as she said his name, eyes boring into hers. "I-I never, I haven't done this before." Her cheeks reddened, and for a moment, she felt embarrassed. 

He pushed away a strand of hair from her face, "That's okay. I'll talk you through it," he raised a brow, truly making sure she was feeling well about it all. 

      She nodded lightly.

"Are you sure?" He asked.

      In response, she tugged him into another kiss. Lips moving rhythmically against his.

      The same lips that travelled down to the valley of her collarbones, over her scar, tickling down to her bare stomach, further down — his hands brushing every corner of her skin, gripping hips and thighs, her hands clutching his sheets, shaking in anticipation.

      He let out a soft grunt when her hips rose, grinding against his, all that delight from the way her skin touched his. 

      The quiet of the night now overthrown by gasps and whimpers, grunts of pleasure, whispers of, 'are you sure?' and 'we'll take it slow...' as clothes scattered the floor, 'just like that, darling,' as her hips bucks, 'tell me what you're comfortable with, tell me what you want', he whispers against her neck, warm breath ticking her soft skin. Only considerate for her pleasure and her.

      Just her. Only her. As though the sweet melody of satisfiction escaping those full red lips was the only sound left to listen to, as though her cobalt eyes were the only sight he could decipher, as though her heart was the only thing that he yearns for in a world of golds and jewels.

      Believe it or not, in all pages of chapters of her life, there was always a void in all those indentation that Black fulfilled. The missing piece in her book.

      In simpler words, Scarlet never felt bliss like that in her life before. For a moment, she really did forget about everything else that was wrong. For a moment, it was only Sirius Black that truly mattered. 

𝑪𝑨𝑹𝑨 𝑺𝑷𝑬𝑨𝑲𝑺

i always knew i loved
shifts in mood/setting
but this is next level.