Summary of this OS: Marlene and Regulus share one little bit of eternity.

Rating of this OS: K+

Warning: Slice of life fic

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, J.K. Rowling does. I don't make any money out of this story.

.:.

Written for:

[HSWW] Assignment #10: Alchemy: Magnum Opus / Task #2 - Write about a dark character going to the light side

[THC]

Round 7 - Year 4

House: Hufflepuff

Year: 3

Category: Standard

Prompt: 9. Tomorrow may be a day away, but today feels like an eternity.

Word count (without the A/N): 1,161 words

For All of Eternity: Regulus Black and Marlene McKinnon

As I lay wrapped in the sheets by her side, her fingers carefully laced with mine, all I can think about is how precious this moment is. And I truly wish it could last for all eternity, and I do believe it can actually work… unlike her.

"Reg?" she asks, and I hum just to tell her that I've heard her. "I wish this was forever."

"You want me to be honest with you, Marls?" I tell her, gazing intently at her bright blue eyes.

I can see she wants to tell me off, but apparently she thinks twice about it (she knows I'm the best at that game, and she doesn't stand a chance).

"Be honest with me then," she begs me.

"I know this is forever. We've been doing this for a long time now, and I can't help but feel like we'll have each other forever now. I know it's childish and probably completely false, but you wanted to know what I felt."

"I feel like—I feel like this is the end of it all, Reg," she confesses.

I pull myself up on an elbow and hover over her, pressing a sweet kiss to her lips. "It isn't over," I tell her, and I know that this is wrong, that I can very well be lying to her, but I need her to believe me.

She pushes me away though, and sits up in the bed. I can't help but marvel about the cascade of blonde hair that falls down on her shoulders, and the way her blue irises burn with a fire brighter than anything I have ever known.

"It is, Reg. Because this—"

"I know what you're about to say, Marlene. And I hope you are aware you're ruining all the fun we've just had."

She sighs and points out, "Is it all this is for you? Fun?"

"No. Of course not. I like all our times together, but this one—this one was special, and even you can't deny it. It's the first time we've ever stayed that long together, and you're about to ruin everything."

"I know you wish this could go on forever, Regulus. But it can't."

"That's where you're wrong. Of course it can last forever. Because tomorrow may be a day away, but today feels like an eternity."

She looks up at me in shock. Obviously, she's never been aware that I am capable of such poetry. And I've not been, either. It's just come out of my mouth without me even thinking about it, but if there's one thing I know, it's that this isn't about convincing her to stay in my bed a little longer… I do believe those words that I have just uttered, I believe them with all my heart.

For a brief moment, I see a flicker of hope in her eyes, but it vanishes as quickly as that. I know she's been distressed recently because of her friends dying around her, I know she's starting to lose hope, and I can't let that happen, so I reach up and brush her cheek with my fingertips.

"Stay with me, Marls. Forever."

A smirk passes on her lips, and she teases me, "Look at you. Regulus Black, begging for a woman to stay with him. Forever."

"You're not just a woman though," I answer jokingly. "You're more like a girl."

She's outraged at my words and throws her pillow at me, and I catch it before it touches me. She pouts sweetly and all I want to do is kiss her beautiful lips, but I don't.

Instead, I sit up as well and whisper in her ear, "You're the prettiest girl I've ever met."

She can't hide her smile, and I look up at her innocently. "You're just trying to tempt me to stay."

"Would that be so terrible?"

"Um, let me think… Yes? I wasn't even supposed to come here in the first place. It could endanger both me and you, and I don't think I'm ready to fight back any attack right now. And neither are you."

"Always so practical," I sigh, and she glares at me as she stands up.

She's wearing my shirt, as always, but she just grabs her clothes and walks to the tiny bathroom of my apartment. I want to call her back, but I can only lay down on the pillows again and think about what I could say to her when she gets back into my room.

When she does, she's entirely dressed and her blonde hair is held up in a bun.

"I'm leaving, Regulus…" Her voice is dead serious, and I'm worried for a brief moment, before she continues, "For now. It's not me breaking up, whatever it is that we have. It's me walking out to… do whatever I have to do."

"You're still not trusting me with information from your Order," I note.

"How could you expect me to?" she asks me incredulously. "You were a Death Eater!"

"And I let go of my beliefs for you! Because you've shown me the light, and you've shown me how great it feels to just do something good! And now I feel like you're always turning your back one me!"

"There's a traitor in our ranks, and I have to be more careful than ever. I'm just being prudent, I'm not turning my back on you, Regulus."

"Then what is it that you're doing?"

"Taking precautions," she retorts.

I can tell that I'm starting to get on her nerves, so I just try to calm down as she looks down at me.

"Marlene. Please stay… just today. To make it an eternity of happiness. Just today. You can go on… whatever mission you have tomorrow…"

I know she's starting to hesitate when she just wriggles her hands. She finally takes a step towards the bed and I just slide to the far side of it. She sits down next to me and sighs.

"I don't even know why I'm doing this, Regulus. I'm neglecting my duties for you, you realize that, right?"

"I do. But it's our own little haven here, and you can't just miss out on that."

"Course I could. I just can't when you're looking at me that way, and when you're saying all these beautiful things…"

She smiles a little when I run a hand up her arm, and she leans in to press her lips against mine. It's magical really, and all I want is for her to stay with me, forever. And that's exactly what I tell her, again.

"You're mine here, just as I'm yours," I whisper when she lays her head on my chest. "And we have our own little eternity."

She hums and I can feel her drift asleep, and as I do just the same, the last thought that comes through my mind is that tomorrow may be a day away, but today feels like an eternity.