Redamancy (d.m)

Chapter seventy six-epiphany

"Emily refused to entertain her younger sister's foolish delusion, scrubbing at the shining silverware with an overwhelming display of aggression, one that did not go unnoticed by-" I halted mid sentence in my read aloud, both my head and Bubbsy's darting towards the crunching of grass sounding from the pathway up to the sunlit gazebo I had been reading to Bubbsy in

At the sight of her formidable master, Bubbsy sprung up from the frilled cushion she was perched on, folding herself into a sinking bow as he stepped onto the gazebo, nervously toying with the silver on his fingers

"Do you need something?" I said tartly, folding the corner of the latest page before snapping it shut with one hand

He pried open his mouth from its tight line, shaking his head when it produced no sound, and instead turned to the elf still in her bow. He strode up to her, retrieving a folded piece of parchment from the pocket of his trousers, holding it in between his pointer and middle finger down to her eye level

"Send this out for delivery, and make sure it gets here within the hour" Bubbsy straightened up before taking the paper in her slender fingers, mumbling a word of comprehension while she bobbed her head forward rapidly, "Thank you"

I looked up from where I was tracing the fabric of my book in my lap, my exterior softening slightly at the rarity.

"You may return after you've sent it" He watched as the little elf bounced down the cobblestone, scrambling to fulfil her order, before turning back to catch my eyes studying him, gaze souring as I looked away

He walked slowly over to the overstuffed armchair I sat stoically in, yanking my head away as he made to lift it up to his. I heard a gentle sigh, then I watched as the fronts of his leather shoes wrinkled as his heels lifted, and suddenly, his face appeared in front of mine as he balanced his arms on his crouched knees.

"I don't know how to do this" He began, delicately removing the novel from my mordant grip, invading my depleted hands with his, and his were hands of pleading, "so if I do it wrong, more than I already have, you're going to have to be patient with me"

I looked down at my lap hesitantly, refusing to devolve my biting stare until I was given a worthier reason. He seemed determined to give me one

"As always, you're right. You can talk to whoever you want..." he seemed unable to contain himself, adding, "even if who you want is a classless cunt"

The side of my lips curved upwards, albeit only for a third of a moment before they melted back into their scowl

"I've only ever apologised a small handful of times in my life, each time more poorly done than the last" He said, his head dropping down as though weighed by the thought of his disgrace, "but you know, I'll apologise to you an infinite amount of times until you find one that you may deem acceptable"
"How do you know I won't keep you forever uttering your atonements just for the fun of it?" I mumbled, the suppressing of my own smile becoming even more difficult as I caught sight of his
"Blind faith?" He suggested, grinning despite his uncertainty
"You're a fool" I answered, no longer able to restrain my own smirk
"Only for you" he said softly, rubbing his thumb against the metal of the ring he gave me, laced snugly on my finger as I leaned down to pull his lips into mine, we moved in slow motion, our kiss like the peacefulness of drowning or the haunting of night

We pulled apart just as we heard light tapping on the stone pathways, signalling Bubbsy's return

"Bubbsy has owled master's request, sir, they is preparing them as we speak, they is sending back a delivery time of half an hour from now" she squealed, slightly breathless from her haste
"Preparing what?" I asked, my curiosity overtaking me
"Rue somehow got her hands on some weed, and Ria wants to have milkshakes while we smoke it" Draco informed as Bubbsy reseated herself on her cushion
"Who's we?"
"That's you, me, Blaise, Rue, Ria, Emerson, and Castell" he listed, spitting out Aletheo's last name with a sneer
"I think we can finish the book in half an hour, what'd you reckon, Bubbsy?" I wondered aloud, but it wasn't the elf who answered
"We can if we read fast" Draco said, pulling me onto a neighbouring sofa so that I lay with my back against his chest, both of us propped up on our sides, him draping the arm that held the book over my shoulder to make it visible to the both of us while he calmly picked up from where we had been interrupted