The Art of Living - R. Black

thirty one

Song for this chapter: Me and Your Mama - Childish Gambino

TW Sex

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Meredith Black

September 30th, 1997

I knock on the door to the study even though it's cracked open. "Come in," Regulus says from somewhere inside the room. I push open the door the rest of the way and it loudly creaks. We're still living in the manor in Scotland for the time being, and it's old enough that all of the doors creak when opened or closed the slightest bit.

Regulus is sitting behind the desk surrounded by lots of papers. His hair is messy from the amount of time he's run his hand through it, and there are ink smudges on the side of his left hand.

"Reg?" I say. "You almost done for the night?" I go and sit on the edge of the desk, the only spot that isn't covered in papers or dust-covered books.

My husband looks up at me before glancing over at the clock on the wall. "Fuck, I didn't realize how late it was," He says. "I'm sorry, I'll come to bed shortly."

"You say that but it will be two in the morning and you'll still be in here working," I say. "Just come to bed."

Regulus looks at me and seems to be fighting an internal battle in his head. He glances back down at his papers and the quill in his hand. "Just a few more minutes," He says, "I promise."

"Okay, darling," I reply. Regulus returns to what he was working on and I scan over all of the various papers. I know what he's researching and what he's looking for, and I absolutely hate it. Every time he brings up a Horcrux I feel like I'm eighteen again and begging him not to leave me and go on a suicide mission. Which is why we don't talk about it often.

I cross my legs and my robe accidentally rides up to my upper thigh. I don't even notice it, but Regulus's eyes drift from his work and over to the exposed skin of my thigh. He looks away quickly enough that I wouldn't have noticed it if I hadn't already been watching him.

I lean back on my hands and my robe rides up even further. "It's been more than a few minutes," I say.

"I know, I'm almost done," Regulus said, his eyes flicking over to me.

"I'm just going to go to bed," I say. I go to get up from the desk but Regulus reaches over and puts his hand on my thigh to stop me from getting up.

"Don't leave," He says. Regulus sets down his quill and gives me his full attention. He rests both of his hands on my thighs and looks up at me from his chair.

I lean down and cup Regulus's jaw before kissing him. Regulus kisses me back and runs his hands up and down my thighs.

"Let's go to bed," I whisper against his lips.

Regulus gives me a quick kiss. "Okay," He says.

"Okay?"

Another kiss. "Yeah, let's go."

Regulus gets up from his chair and blows out the candles. He grabs my hand and I let him lead me down the hall and upstairs to our bedroom. The boys are back at Hogwarts and Cassie has been sleeping soundly for the past two hours so the house is silent except for the hardwood creaking under our feet.

We walk into our bedroom and Regulus closes the door behind us before he backs me up against the wall.

"Hi, angel" Regulus says with a smirk. He has his hands on either side of my head and is leaning in with only a few inches of space between our faces.