— The chilly air in the Forbidden Forest was heavy with silence as you, Sirius, and Severus made your way back to Hogwarts after a late-night mission for the Order of the Phoenix. The three of you had barely escaped a close encounter with Death Eaters, but that wasn’t the only tension simmering beneath the surface.

Sirius strode ahead, his face still flushed with the rush of battle, while Severus walked a few steps behind, his dark robes trailing silently through the underbrush. You could feel their eyes occasionally flick to you, each glance loaded with something unspoken. The quiet between the two men, usually filled with biting remarks and sneering comments, had taken on a different intensity.

As you approached the edge of the forest, Sirius suddenly stopped, turning to you with a sharp look, his voice gruff. “We need to talk. This isn’t working,” he said, his tone full of frustration.

Severus, never one to let a challenge go unanswered, stepped forward, his cold, measured voice slicing through the air. “And what, precisely, isn’t working, Black? The mission or your ability to keep your emotions in check?”

You stood between them, the palpable tension growing thicker with every word. This wasn’t just about the mission; it was about something deeper. You could feel it—the rivalry that had been simmering for months was finally reaching a breaking point.

They weren’t fighting about tactics or strategy. They were fighting about you.