the_debt_of_time

"She shouldn't have told you that," she whispered when Sirius continued to glare at
her, waiting for a response—which she assumed he thought should have been an apology.
How would that conversation even begin? Sorry I lied to you, Sirius, but to be honest, I'm lying
about everything, including my own name, how we really met, what the future has in store for you, and the
very real possibility that if I ever make it back to my own timeline, you'll hate me because I let you get
arrested after being framed by one of your best friends, who let your other best friends get murdered.
"Why?" Sirius asked.
"Because I didn't want you to feel forced into anything with me," she blurted out,
feeling her old insecurities creeping in. She remembered her first kiss with an older Sirius
Black. There had been passion and love that she had felt behind his actions, and the fact
that she had been unable to concentrate enough on them because she was so worried all
his feelings were due—at least in part—to the mysterious bond she created between them.
A bond that somehow extended over time and still existed here in 1976.
"I can't want the same thing for you?" Sirius shook his head and expelled a breath
of utter disbelief. "Fuck, Mia, you think Divination is rubbish, but you're willing to buy
into this Soul Bond thing so easily?"
She glared at him, ready to inform him that Divination was rubbish, but the Soul
Bond was clearly very real. She felt it. When they made love, she had felt it, had almost seen
it with her own eyes, and apparently, he hadn't felt the same thing.
"Don't look at me like that, I'm not saying it to hurt you. You know how I―" He
hesitated and squirmed a bit in his bed, clearing his throat. "You know how important you
are to me. I could never hurt you, and it's not just because of some bloody bond."
She looked away from him—forcing thoughts of the future and an older Sirius
Black from her mind—and whispered, "It's more complicated than that."
"Explain it to me then," he demanded.
"Learn Occlumency," she countered impatiently.
"No," Sirius replied, frustration narrowing his eyes. "Stop it with the bloody
Occlumency bullshit. For the record, I've been trying, but it's hard to do without a proper
Legilimens to test your barriers. That's not the point. You've bought into this Soul Bond
thing with blind faith, and you say it's more complicated but won't tell me why. You've
taken away my choice and yours in the matter."