Les Misérables | Regulus A. Black [1]

Chapter Thirty-Six

[Chapter Thirty-Six]

Regulus was practically beside himself when it came to experiencing his first kiss and nothing brought him greater joy at the moment than sharing it with Éponine. Not to mention, there was nothing more flattering than having her kiss him first. He always had it played out in his mind that the boy was supposed to initiate the first kiss and all the other nonsense that had been passed down to him through words and observations, but what he experienced was so much better. It had been unexpected, instead of planned, still giving him the same sense of spontaneity that he had been looking for initially. However, it didn't end with either one of them getting kissed on their eyeball or with getting punched in the face.

That enough was a blessing in itself.

It was the way she kissed him too that set his heartbeat off track for a few moments. It was a simple kiss, but still, there was something behind it that left Regulus never wanting it to end. Over the last few months that they had been forced to get to know each other on a personal level by the order of their parents, Regulus never saw what had finally established itself as ever happening. In the beginning, he only expected to live a long life of misery, married to a woman that he didn't like. But instead, in the short time, Éponine became a person that was making a daily impact in his life.

Life wasn't meant to be perfect, but it could be filled with little perfect moments that one could treasure forever.

That was what Regulus had discovered once he had given Éponine a real chance in his eyes. All around him was an imperfect world, filled with moments of chaos and enough problems that made him want to pull his hair out in frustration. He had an imperfect family as much as they tried to put on the act that nothing was wrong. Even Regulus knew that he wasn't perfect nor was Éponine, but it was moments such as their first kiss or the time back where they were visiting the cliffside that showed him that there were perfect moments to be shared.

The kiss left him excited because Regulus could suddenly anticipate all the "firsts" that he and Éponine would experience together.

Of course, not everyone shared in the same excitement as Regulus did as Madam Pomfrey had caught the two in the act and clapped her hands together to get them to separate. It left them both red in the face brought on by pure embarrassment, but at the same time, not even the harshest scolding could get the smiles to fade from their faces. Éponine stole a glance in his direction and the blush on her cheeks was enough to die for at that moment, leaving Regulus to forget why they were in the Hospital Wing, to begin with.

Yet, they remained silent until Madam Pomfrey shooed them off, giving Regulus the clear for his nose and telling him to stay clear of walls. Rather than one of them leading the way out of the Hospital Wing, Regulus took it upon himself to hold Éponine's hand and the two of them walked hand in hand all the way back to the Slytherin dorm.

"Did I do it wrong?" Éponine's sudden question caught him off guard as they were walking down one of the corridors. "I hope I didn't-"

"What do you mean?" he asked with an incredulous expression on his face. It was one of the most amazing experiences of his life and she was doubting herself at the time? "Why would you think that, Épi?"