#regulus 002

They’d made it all safely back to Emmeline and Mary’s, things were starting to calm down the best they could with the excitement of Emmeline’s return filling the house. He’d placed her in her bed, she was sleeping, but he was sure the order members had probably woken her by now. Either to help with her injuries or just too happy to see her alive that they could hardly wait to reunite. Either way things for the moment were handled, and he had a boy that looked scared shitless hanging around the apartment that he’d had promised to talk to once they’d returned Emmeline to safety.

He weaved through the people in Emmeline and Mary’s room, looking for Regulus. It didn’t take long, he really only knew Emmeline in her well enough and was too spooked to hang around anywhere else. “ Hey, Regulus, I think it’s about time we have that word I’d promised you,” Alastor stated as he approached, his tone suggesting there really wasn’t much of an option for him. He feared he may not want to talk with him if he’d given him the chance. He couldn’t blame him, it was a new environment and probably overwhelming, but Alastor needed to figure out everywhere Regulus stood. The man motioned him to follow out into the living room which was a bit less crowded, and sat on the couch, hoping he’d follow suit. He looked faint, he didn’t want him falling during this conversation.  “ Come on, Emmeline might tell people I bit, but it’s probably more likely she would. So sit, it’s been a big day.”

When Eleanora married Regulus and took over Grimmauld Place from Walburga, one of the first things she did was claim the attic as her workshop. She used it for potion brewing, jewelry making, working on antiques and magical artifacts, but since the war ended her primary purpose had been figuring out a way to remove Regulus’ dark mark. Growing their marriage from an uncomfortable arrangement to a genuine partnership had been a long and arduous process, but it ended up being worth it. She knew Walburga had suggested the match to make up for Regulus’ shortcomings as an heir and her parents had agreed because the Black family was one of the most distinguished pureblood families in the British Isles. None of them had really considered Eleanora and Regulus’ compatibility, but a certain kind of compatibility had been there anyway.

Over the course of their marriage Eleanora and Regulus had fallen into an easy familiarity. They shared books, played chess, and slept in separate rooms, an arrangement that suited them both. They had the kind of partnership Eleanora had always wanted from her marriage, one built on mutual respect and a friendly sort of affection, just like her parents’. So it was important for Eleanora to find a way to remove Regulus’ mark because she knew how much it bothered him. And she didn’t like that his parents had forced him to get it while he was still in school, really just a child. When Eleanora finally worked out how to undo the curse that bound the ink to Regulus’ skin, she felt a fierce sense of pride and satisfaction. She’d never been one to doubt her own abilities, but having the practical proof of it was always gratifying. 

She found Regulus in his study off the library that they shared. She knocked before entering, then wasted no time sharing her news. “I’ve figured it out.”

@toujours-purs-black

“There you are,” mumbled Edgar motioning toward the cloudless night sky and the innumerable twinkling stars that glittered far above their heads. Without city or lantern light to obstruct their shine the pale silver glow poured over them like a revivifying deluge of radiant energy. Surrounded by darkness and cricket choristers, the stars looked almost close enough to touch. A whole universe of impossibility right at their fingertips.

Without looking away from the dazzling diamond shine of stars hanging just out of reach, Edgar pointed to one particularly beautiful light. “Right between Leo and Cancer.” He smiled quietly to himself as he admired Regulus’s namesake. He didn’t know when he’d started doing it, searching the night sky for Regulus in the stars, but it’d been a while. Before the invitation to dinner was made, he knew that much for sure.

He retracted his arm and placed both hands on Regulus’s shoulders to pull his back into his chest. Edgar lowered his mouth to Regulus’s shoulder and kissed him gently, smiling quietly to himself as he considered the nervous energy that had seemingly evaporated once they’d found themselves on the hilltop. 

The week hadn’t dragged, surprisingly. Actually it’d been an exciting one, with more action than he’d seen in weeks. Assignments for the Order had him unwisely paired with Broderick Bode and their personalities had gotten the better of them. Though they’d survived both the assignment and each other, neither of them had walked away with a few mementos to remember it by. 

With years of fights under his belt, he was able to mend a good deal of the damage himself. Edgar was still sporting bruises, but he did so gladly; if somewhat self consciously as Thursday drew nearer. It wouldn’t be the first time that Regulus saw him bruised to bloody hell. Now that the context of their relationship was changing, though, he hoped it wouldn’t make him uncomfortable to be alone with him. Things didn’t get much more alone as they were now.

Keeping Regulus’s specifications for an ideal dinner with him in mind, Edgar had decided to invite him to his late aunt’s country house. He and Amelia used to spend every summer on the property, swimming in the lake and making a mess of the boathouse. There was a gazebo on the hill between the backyard and the lake’s shoreline, with a telescope and cushioned seating nestled within. All around them was nothing but open space and trimmed grass on all sides. Since the house went unused, the property was vacant, private, with no one but the stars to observe them. 

Edgar had prepared something of a picnic for the evening. An array of fruit was the precursor to a meal prepared by his own two hands; a garden salad, some cobbler, a Lancashire hotpot, then light desserts as well. He was no Molly, but Edgar had learned his way around a kitchen, and was fairly confident that the food was edible at the very least. 

So far they’d only touched the fruit and salad before Edgar mentioned his habit of looking for Regulus in the night sky, and dragging him out toward the gazebo to point his namesake out to him. The back porch, where they’d been eating, was set up like a fine restaurant’s outdoor seating. A white table cloth draped over the small table, there was a vase with a single flower to the side a bit so there was room for their plates. A fire was crackling in the circular, brick built fire pit, which had comfortable seating in a semi circle around it.

It was casually romantic, he hoped. Nice without too much pressure to be proper or well mannered. Especially since he’d worn dark wash jeans and boots, and a grey sweater under his navy duffle coat. Though, he supposed it was a step up from the jean and leather jackets he was known to fashion. 

Running through the empty hallways with Regulus’ hand firmly clasped in hers made Emma felt intoxicated. It was such a weird feeling, she almost found herself giggling. It was odd on her, she never giggled, but there was something about sneaking around that made her feel alive. 

As much as Emma wanted people to believe the opposite, she had only ever being with one person. Sure she flirted and maybe even occasionally kissed some good looking guy, she had a reputation to maintain after all, she didn’t do boyfriends and she wasn’t going to be anybody’s wife.