Matters of Circumstance
Disclaimer: Do you seriously think JK would sue me if I forgot to write a disclaimer?
(A/N: Many thanks to my wonderful beta: Smile Life Away for being such a fantabulous beta and to my friend Naka for helping me decide on that one sentence. And, mom; Lucy (daughter of Audrey and Percy Weasley) and Lorcan (son of Luna Lovegood and Rolf Scamander) =0)
Story Info:
House: Slytherin
Challenge: Three (June 16th to June 23th)
Set: Set 6 (Romance): tingling, rain, dancing, fireworks, breathless, starlight.
LIKE ANGELS
"Want to know why I love the rain?" Lucy asks softly when she hears him sitting on the swing next to hers. There's a minute of silence and then she starts to swing, back and forth, and he can't help but smile at the sight of her. The material of her dress shimmers as she moves. Her hair, cascading down around her face in elegant waves, hides her eyes from view. And her laugh is almost enough to drown out the sound the rain makes as it dances around them. Finally, she looks up, her eyes twinkling with the soft starlight - as she meets them with his. "It's like fireworks," she says finally and closes her eyes, tilting her head up.
A breathless "Fireworks?"comes out of his lips and she gives him a smile, her lips curving slightly, gracefully. Those lips, he'd give anything to kiss them. To run his hands though her hair, caress her skin with his fingers. But he stays where he is, one hand clenched tightly around the swing's chain.
"Like angels falling from the sky," Lucy pauses, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and looking up at him again, almost bashfully. Then she chuckles, looking down at her feet. "That's what my mom used to say, anyway." And at that last sentence Lorcan feels a pang, because her mother is the last thing she should be thinking about right now
There's silence again and words tingle on the tip of his tongue, urging to be uttered. Words like: You have an amazing smile or I never thought I'd end up falling for you. But the moment is too delicate, and he's afraid it might break if he dares speak.
"Actually," she says after a minute, coming to a stop by sinking her feet into the mud below her. "I like the rain, because it reminds me of her."
Lorcan winces, unsure of what to say. "I'm sorry," he whispers finally. She laughs, looking up at the sky and closing her eyes.
"She used to say that too: people always apologize for things they didn't do." There is a pause again, and this time, when she looks at him there are tears running down her face. "Merlin, Lorcan, I miss her," she mutters before crumpling into his arms.
And in the silence, Lorcan can't help but wonder at how striking she is. Even when she has been crying the whole day because of her mother's death, even when she is wearing a plain, black dress and no make-up, even when she is so obviously broken, the only word he can think of to describe her is: beautiful.