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"Kids off to bed!" Despite having slept for three hours, Marlene had to admire her boyfriend's energy. He had worked the whole night — one drawback of being an Auror. He did not have a say on his shifts... especially if he didn't want any cut to his wage, which was the last thing they needed at the moment. He had arrived home in the early morning and succeeded in getting some rest before the kids woke their parents up, anxious to open their Christmas presents.
Marlene smiled at him and asked him to help her pick up the gifts' wrappings that the children had dropped on the floor earlier that day. "Do you think the children were happy?" They did have money, it was not that, but they struggled sometimes. Surely their children's gifts paled compared to the pile Harry received each year, spoiled by rich parents and grandparents. Thankfully, the little Blacks had a fair share of biological and non-biological uncles and aunties that came to help.
"Of course they were, love. Did you not hear your daughter going on and on about the cat to your mum?" Marlene grinned. "The kitty was a nice touch." Her heart warmed up as she remembered the enchanted expression of their daughter when she had seen her dad walking in with a box containing a small and adorable kitty, despite not understanding why Saint Claus didn't place it under the tree with the rest of their presents. Anyway, she and her bother had spent their entire morning playing with it and cuddling it and there had been quite a few tears when they had to leave it at home to go to lunch at their grandparents'.
"Hey, let's go to bed..." Marlene proposed, noticing her man's tired eyes. She kissed him tenderly on the cheek and began standing up. "Wait, Marls... There still is a gift for you."
She hadn't noticed the small red box under the Christmas tree. She supposed Sirius had hidden it to give it to her when they were all alone.
"Is it going to explode in my face?"
Sirius laughed. "Maybe... and don't say I didn't have to" he added, noticing her expression. "Only... just open it."
It was a ring. And not just any ring... Marlene knew perfectly what it was, but it was the last thing she expected at that moment. Sure, they had been together for years, but they had had two kids without really looking for them — they loved them to death and Marlene wouldn't change a thing, but they were young and finding all the money had been difficult; a wedding was an enormous cost, a caprice... They had agreed that they did not need to get married to be conscious of what they felt for one another or to promise to always be there.
"Will you marry me?" Marlene felt ten years younger when she noticed how the man was looking at her... and was overwhelmed with butterflies in her stomach.
"Oh..."
Sirius chuckled softly, brushing a loose strand of her blonde hair behind her ear. "Is it a no?"
"Sirius... why?"
"I want you to be my wife," he stated simply, making her feel emotional. "I know it'll be a great expense, we can still do something simple, but... I want to marry you"
It was the simplicity of Sirius' love that took her breath away. The attention and care towards her that he never failed to show, thesmall gestures that made her feel so loved: working all night to be able to buy one more toy for their children, or his smile when his shift was over and he was back home, to her... stroking her hair while falling asleep, the flowers and breakfast in bed for her twenty-seventh birthday. The two of them were so complicated, but what they felt for each other did not need much explanation.
"Marls, if you don't agree it's fine... I just thought—" he said, a little disappointed to find her looking straight at the carpet, not quite meeting his gaze.
"Of course I want to marry you, you idiot!" She looked up at him, wiping the tears off his face. "It's just... you made me happy."
He took her face in his hands, stroking her cheekbones. "I can't even explain it, Marls... I'm more and more in love with you each passing day. You are my reason to do everything — you and the kids. Fifteen years ago, I would have never imagined having this life, but I'd be miserable otherwise."
She drew him closer, taking him from his pajama, and kissed him with passion. "Put this ring on me, then."
Sirius grinned.
"You could have asked five years ago... I was hot and hadn't endured two childbirths yet..." The comment was put to an end by his boyfriend, who searched her lips almost desperately. He kissed her hard... Marlene felt dizzy.
"Let's go to bed"
Sirius smirked on her lips. "Fantastic idea"