CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT: JEALOUS

Flora wasn't sure if Regulus would want a muggle gift, but after shopping around aimlessly she returned to the bookshop and bought him the most brooding book of poetry she could find—Charles Baudelaire's The Flowers of Evil. By the time she'd done that, it was time to set off and meet Mark at the pub.

He'd told her to meet him at a pub called The Grapes not far from where she'd been shopping. With some difficulty, she eventually found it, albeit about ten minutes late. But he was there, waiting outside for her, smoking a cigarette. A small part of her wished he hadn't waited; it was too late to turn back though, as he'd already spotted her and smiled.

"Sorry, I got lost," Flora said apologetically once she had crossed the street and joined him.

He dropped and stubbed his cigarette out in an ash tray sitting on the window ledge.

"That's alright," he said, opening the pub door for her.

It was busy inside, and Flora could hardly see for all the cigarette smoke floating around her head as they walked further in. Amongst all that, it smelled of aged carpet and stale beer. It reminded her suddenly of her childhood, sitting in the pub with her dad when her mother wanted her out of her hair. She'd never paid any attention to the game, happy to instead eat crisps and do her colouring book. Sometimes Remus had come too, and they would sit under the table or play in the pub garden.

She followed Mark to the bar, who then turned and asked her what she'd like to drink.

"I don't know," she shrugged. She didn't particularly like beer.

"You had rum and coke last time. You want that?"

"Okay," she nodded.

"Go find us a table and I'll get the drinks."

Flora looked around and spotted a table in the far corner. It had a wall bench on one side padded with thin cushions. She sat there and waited for Mark to join with their drinks, which he did some five minutes later. He sat next to her, setting his pint down and handing Flora her drink.

"Thank you," she mumbled, trying to discreetly slide a little further down the bench without offending him. Luckily, he didn't appear to notice as he was taking a sip of beer.

"How'd your shopping go?" He asked a moment later.

"Oh, alright," she glanced at the plastic shopping bags she'd set down on the other side of her. "I got a few things for my brother—chocolate, a board game, socks…"

"That was your brother who was in the shop with you?" He asked.

"Uh, yes. Remus."

Mark nodded. "I wasn't sure. I see both of them—your brother, and his friend, but I wasn't quite sure who was who. Makes sense though. He looks a bit like you."

Flora smiled a little, nodding her head in agreement. "Loads of people say that, but we are actually half-siblings. I suppose we get our looks from our mum."

"You're half-siblings, really?" He repeated in surprise. "You look alike."

Though Flora had once quite fancied Mark and initially wanted to pursue him, it was quickly becoming apparent to her that chances of a normal, honest relationship would be difficult to maintain. She was beginning to dread the questions, fully gearing herself up to lie if needed.

And it was needed. Within only five minutes, the lies started.

"You live with your parents then?" He asked.

"Yes," she answered.

"What do you do?"

"I, uh, work part-time at a small hotel. I'm going to university next year though."

"University?" He looked impressed. "You must be clever. I've never met anyone who went to uni before, especially a girl."

Flora was glad to momentarily divert the conversation to talk of university, for at least this part was true. She took a sip of her drink and smiled, giving a light shrug.

"Did you go to a grammar school then?" He asked.

"Yes," she nodded.

He leaned back in his seat, taking a quick gulp of his drink and then setting it down again on a soggy coaster before he continued. "I left school at fifteen, and to be honest I was hardly ever there. It was a liberal school, you know the kind that was experimenting with having no rules or timetables? There were no set lessons or anything, and we weren't really supervised."

"Oh, yeah, I remember those," Flora replied, "There was one like that in my town, but it didn't last long. Was it actually any good?"

Mark grinned. "Well, not for me it wasn't. But I never had much for brains anyway. You'd be smart enough for us both."

Flora picked up her drink again and took a heavy sip, giving him a small smile when she set it down again. She still had her coat on, and her arms wrapped around her middle whenever she wasn't holding her drink. Her lower belly was beginning to ache a little with the onset of cramps.

They sat in silence for a minute. Flora stared ahead, watching the people crowded around the bar, listening to the murmur of raised and lowered voices, the laughter, the clink of glasses and ding of the cash register. It was noisy, but low enough for her and Mark to hear one another.

"So," Mark began, "How's Regulus?"

Flora stiffened a little, keeping her eyes down. "He's fine."

"I hope he's taking medication for his CDS."

Flora shut her eyes and rubbed her hand over her face. "Oh God," she half laughed. "I don't know where that came from. I made it up."

Mark laughed with her lightly. "Figured. I looked it up a medical textbook after, really giving you the benefit of the doubt."

"I am sorry about…about all that," Flora said, looking at him shyly. "He wasn't supposed to come. It was all such a mess, and I know you were annoyed with me."

He shook his head. "Nah, I wasn't annoyed with you, love."

Flora sighed heavily, picking up her drink again just to have something to do with her hands. Now it had come to it, she didn't really know what to say. There was no plausible way of explaining Regulus and making any sense.

"So, he actually is just weird then?"

"He's just posh," Flora replied. "All posh people are weird."

"His brother seems normal."

Flora was surprised he'd remembered Sirius was Regulus' brother, but she didn't say so. She just shrugged, knocking back another sip of her drink.

"And what's with the names?" Mark went on. "Sirius and Regulus? Aren't those stars or constellations or something?"

"Yeah, stars," Flora nodded. "I don't know either. Maybe their parents were hippies."

"And," he paused a second, looking at his glass as he considered his next question. "You're going out with him now?"

Flora shifted slightly, looking down. "Sort of…I don't know."

"Doesn't he live in London?"

"Yes, but he—he comes to see me in Wales quite often. Calls me all the time…"

Mark finished his drink and put it down on the table again, looking at her. A few strands of his long hair hung over his eyes on one side.

"So, he comes all the way from London just to see you? Sounds like a lot of effort for someone who's only 'sort of' going out with you. Does he know he's only 'sort of' going out with you?"

His tone was teasing, but Flora could sense a hint of curiosity and jealously in his words. She met his gaze with a sorry expression, knowing he couldn't understand the complexities of her relationship with Regulus and that she wasn't able to tell him much more. She fidgeted with her glass, idly twirling it around in her hands.

Mark leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees and angling his body towards her. "I don't get it though," he said, "You seemed to actively dislike him when we were out."

Flora looked away, shaking her head but also agreeing. "I know, and I did. And I know he came across as…difficult. But I have known him a while, and I suppose maybe the attraction was always there."

"He doesn't seem like your type of guy, if you don't mind me saying so."

Flora frowned. "What do you mean?"

"You're sweet, and he's so…not sweet," he shrugged. "He seemed quite horrible, to tell the truth."

"He's not horrible," Flora said, at once on the defence. "And he can be sweet."

"Can be?" Mark snorted lightly. "He should always be. You're too good for him, Flora. You want another drink?"

He nodded suddenly at the empty glass in her hands. She quickly put it on the table and shook her head, pulling her coat sleeve up to look quickly at her watch.

"No, thank you. I'd better get going actually."

Mark frowned a little. "We've only been here half an hour. Have I upset you?"

"No, of course not," she replied. She gathered up all her shopping."But I need to pack my things and have something to eat, so I should really get back."

"Can I walk you? I'm going that way anyway."

"Yes, alright," she shrugged.

The journey back was a short walk, three stops on the Tube, and then another short walk up the street. Mark dropped all discussion of Regulus, opting instead for small talk and gentle flirtation, which Flora deflected every time for fear of encouraging him. They arrived at the flat at the exact same time Remus returned, who saw them coming up the street.

"Hi," Remus greeted them both, though his eyes watched Mark.

"This is my brother," Flora said to Mark by way of an official introduction. She hoped to make it brief.

"Yeah, you come down the shop sometimes," Mark replied, nodding to Remus in recognition.

"Mhm, yeah," Remus shrugged. "Cigarettes."

"You should really stop with the cigarettes," Flora said quite seriously, her tone disapproving. "Both of you. And Sirius. It's so bad for you."

Mark laughed a little. "I'll consider it. Anyway, have a safe trip home, Flora… Hope to see you again."

Flora said goodbye a little awkwardly. She didn't initiate any sort of hug and he didn't move closer to try it, though his eyes did linger on her a moment before he walked away.

Remus gave his sister a knowing look as he unlocked the door for the two of them.

"He fancies you."

Flora frowned, looking at him sidelong. "I know."

"You going to see him again?"

Remus let Flora step inside first. The heavy door slammed loudly behind them and their voices echoed slightly as they continued to talk inside.

Flora's perplexed frown only deepened at this question. "What?"

"Are you going to see him again?" Remus repeated.

"Hang on, are you my brother?" Flora paused in the middle of the stairs as they began to climb to the top. "Or is this somebody else wearing his coat?"

Remus rolled his eyes and made a tutting sound. "I'm just asking if you like him."

"No, you implied I could go out and see somebody. That's not like you."

"Well," he shrugged, "If you want to see him, and I've said it before, I don't mind… He seems alright."

Flora continued up the stairs, catching up quickly with Remus who was slightly ahead on her.

"Well, I don't want to," she said.

"I thought you liked him though," Remus looked puzzled.

"Not that much," she shrugged. "And anyway, he knows I live miles away in Wales. He was asking why I'm all the way down here. How could I possibly see him on a casual basis?"

They reached Remus' door at the top of the building. He unlocked the door and let them both in; the flat was nice and warm since Sirius had left the heating on before he left, which Remus grumbled about.

"You can stay here a while," Remus continued. "I don't mind, and Sirius doesn't mind."

But Flora resolutely shook her head, putting her shopping down by the door. "No, I'm happier at home. Which speaking of, could you take me back soon? Regulus will be wanting his dinner."

"Yeah," Remus said derisively, "Get back and feed the dog."

"No, I don't think Sirius is there."

Remus gave her an unimpressed look.

"Does he prefer Pedigree or Cesar?" She went on, following him into the kitchen.

"Yeah, funny," he replied dryly. Mentioning Regulus had instantly put him in a bad mood.

"Where is Sirius anyway?" Flora asked.

"I don't know. He went to take your dear Regulus to see Barty, but after that I don't know."

Flora frowned, watching him as he flipped the kettle on and took down two mugs to make tea.

"Why are you being such a miserable old bat all of a sudden?" She demanded.

"Talking about Regulus tends to dampen my mood."

"Well then, don't talk about him."

Remus shot her a sharp look. "Why are you so defensive about him lately?"

"I'm not," she said with an air of nonchalance, opening one of his cupboards to see what snacks he had. She was craving something sweet and knew Remus always had chocolate. "Can I have these?" She asked, taking a bag of Chocolate Buttons and opening them before he could reply.

Remus sighed and resumed making their drinks. "You shouldn't be so friendly with him. He's an arrogant, irritating little prick and the sooner he's out of your life, the better. I don't know how or why you tolerate him."

"Remus, it's not like you to be nasty," Flora frowned, her mouth half full with chocolate.

"Yes, it is," he said.

"Hm," Flora shrugged. "Yeah, you're right, it is."

"Did you get much shopping done?" Remus mumbled after a few moments, changing the subject.

"Some," she replied. "Got a few things for you. When are you going to take me to Diagon Alley?"

Flora ended up staying for another hour and a half. By that time, Sirius returned and said he'd just dropped Regulus off back at the cottage, which Flora took as her cue to leave. Remus took her back, but thankfully didn't hang around long; he stayed only long enough to cast Regulus a disdainful look before disapparating home.

Flora at first didn't notice what Regulus was doing when she walked in. She was tired and only wanted to sit down. The idea of cooking hung over her head like a black cloud. She only noticed that Regulus was stood at the kitchen counter with a potato peeler in one hand and a potato in the other once she'd sat down at the table, and even then had to do a double-take to make sure her eyes weren't playing tricks on her.

"What are you doing?" She blinked.

"This is what you do, isn't it?" He asked a little sheepishly, holding up the potato and knife for her observation. While Flora could peel the skin off potatoes in just a few ribbons, Regulus' potato looked more like it was blistering; the skin had only come off in small pieces and very thinly.

Flora bit back a laugh and stood up. "Here, like this," she took the potato and peeler from his hand and proceeded to show him.

Regulus tried again, his face set in concentration. He managed to get a longer piece of skin off after a few more tries, and looked very pleased with himself—over five minutes later—when he finally had a fully peeled potato.

"I'll do the rest," Flora said. "We'll be here all night otherwise."

After dinner they curled up together on the sofa to watch television, though Flora dozed off, sleepy from the heat of the fire and the meal in her belly. Regulus had his arms wrapped around her, half asleep himself until Flora stirred and stretched a little.

"Shall we go to bed?" she suggested.

"Mhm…" Regulus squeezed her closer, too tired to move.

Flora turned her head and kissed his jaw, which was the closest she could reach to his lips. "Bed…" she murmured.

They both slept deeply, too tired for much more than a kiss goodnight.

Flora saw the werewolves in her dreams again. She saw their teeth, the blood on their fur, their piercing yellow eyes. Her twitchy movements and soft distressed moans disturbed Regulus. He blinked sleepily in the early morning light, watching her through half-lidded eyes until he realised she was having a nightmare and tried to gently wake her up.

"Flora," he whispered, holding her arm and lightly shaking it.

She woke at once with a small gasp, lifting her head slightly from the pillow in confusion before remembering where she was and settling back down again. She rolled around to face him, and Regulus wrapped his arms around her as they both drifted back to sleep.

When Flora awoke again, it was with a dull ache in her lower belly. She was still facing Regulus with her face against his chest, his arm locked around her. She let her eyes close again, as she usually did first thing in the morning, and didn't move even when she felt Regulus stir to get up to go to the toilet a few minutes later.

The cottage was cold in the morning. It always was until Flora either lit the fire, put the heating on, or started cooking in the kitchen. Regulus shivered a little as he stood over the toilet; the window was open a crack on account of the mould that would spread across the ceiling without ventilation, and the tiles were cold on his bare feet. He shut the window when he'd finished and hurried back to the warmth of the bed.

Flora had her back to him and had partially kicked the duvet off. He paused, startled at the sight of bright red blood spotting the sheets, her underwear, and the hem of her nightie where it had ridden up. He simply stared for a moment, then knelt on the bed beside her. It dipped down slightly with his weight.

"Flora?" he peered down at her, and could tell she was awake though her eyes were closed.

"What?" She grumbled, not opening her eyes.

"There's blood on the sheets…you're bleeding."

Flora's eyes flew open and she sat up at once, twisting herself round to look. It wasn't much, but it was certainly enough to be considered a mess.

"Oh, shit," she hissed. She kicked the duvet off her feet and sighed heavily, rubbing her face.

Regulus had never dealt with a situation like this before and didn't know what to do or say. He knew what it was, of course, but he had never seen it before, let alone seen a girl dealing with it. He felt quite useless.

She let her hands fall back to her lap and then climbed out of bed. Her nightie dropped back over her legs and she self-consciously tugged at the hem of it as she went to her drawers to get what she needed. Regulus felt that he should make himself sparse and quickly cleared his throat.

"Do you, uh, want a cup of tea?" He offered.

Flora glanced over at him, her expression clearly exhausted and strained. She nodded. "Please."

Regulus got up from the bed, grateful for a reason to escape the situation. As he came to pass Flora, he hovered a little awkwardly at her side until Flora lifted her eyes to look at him again. He quickly pressed a kiss to her temple and hurried off downstairs.

Flora spent most of the day doing nothing. As the day progressed, the ache in her belly increased and she curled herself up on the sofa with a hot water bottle and duvet. Regulus had seen her like this once before since living with her, though not quite as bad, and he had stayed out of her way. Now, unprompted, he kept bringing her tea or biscuits and sat at the end of the sofa with her feet tucked in his lap.

"You look pale," he said at lunch time. Flora had her eyes on the television, half watching a BBC drama.

Flora yawned and shifted her gaze to him. "Can you refill this with hot water?"

She pulled out and held her hot water bottle for him to take. He took it but didn't move from his spot beside her, and instead brought out his wand, tapped the rubber bottle with an incantation Flora couldn't quite hear, and handed it back to her. It was instantly hot again. She was mystified, but didn't care for an explanation. She understood now how he'd been making tea without turning the kettle on—at first she'd assumed she'd simply not noticed, being half asleep, but then gradually became aware that that kettle had not once made a sound.

"Do you want something to eat?" He asked.

"Mhmm," she nodded, sitting up and pushing the duvet back.

"No, I'll do it," he said at once, putting his hand out to stop her. "You're sick."

"I'm not sick," she frowned. "It's just my period."

"You look half-dead, Flora," he countered with an eye roll. "Stay there. I can make sandwiches."

"Can you?" She sounded incredulous.

He moved her legs off his lap and stood up, tucked her feet back in and disappeared into the kitchen without another word.

"Regulus?" Flora got up.

"Stay there," he called back.

"What do you mean you can make sandwiches? You've only just wrapped your head around potato-peeling," she followed him into the kitchen.

He had four pieces of bread on the cutting board and was looking in one of the cupboards. Flora stopped and looked at him, arms folded and eyebrow raised. He looked back at her with a mischievous sort of smile, fully showing off his dimples, and again tried to herd her back into the living room.

"Go and sit down," he took hold of her hips and guided her backwards.

"You better not turn my kitchen upside down," she said, eyeing him as she got back into her snug little duvet pit.

"I won't," he kissed her briefly.

Ten minutes later, he came in holding a plate. He held it with two hands like he was presenting her with the Crown Jewels, and he looked terribly proud of himself. Flora smirked.

"Go on then, what is it?" She asked.

"It's a sandwich."

"I know that," she rolled her eyes. "What kind?"

He brought it to her and put it in her hands. "Cheese."

Flora stifled another urge to laugh. If she didn't find him so endearing, he would be ridiculous. He rushed off to fetch his own sandwich and returned to sit on the sofa with her so they could eat together. Flora was surprised the sandwich was cut so neatly, but she was not going to make a fuss over it. She thanked him, and for the rest of the afternoon they kept each other company—Flora read one of her newest books, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë, while Regulus curiously sat looking through the books on her shelf.

Flora watched him for a moment over her own book. He would pull one out, read the back of it with a serious expression on his face, then put it back and look at another. He'd never taken any particular interest in her "silly muggle books" before.

"What're you doing?" Flora asked.

He looked over his shoulder at her and seemed to silently deliberate on something, as though considering whether to say simply "nothing" or give her a genuine answer. Ultimately, he decided on the latter.

"Well," he began, shifting around to face her. He looked almost embarrassed. "Barty pointed out that I don't know anything about muggles."

"I could've told you that."

"Yes, I know," he said quickly with a small frown knitted in his brow. "I have decided…I've decided I'm going to learn. Just a little."

"What, by reading?"

"Well, yes," he shrugged. He was holding a book of Hans Christian Anderson's fairytales. "I finished Pride and Prejudice and I have to admit, it wasn't all that bad. It was actually very good. Quite…relatable."

"Jane Austen wrote a few other novels," Flora replied, privately delighted he was taking such an interest.

"Yes, I saw," he pointed to the shelf where several of Jane Austen's novels were sitting. "But…what else should I read?"

Flora sat back thoughtfully, then pushed the duvet back and got up to join him by the bookshelf. Her cramps had mostly gone and she was beginning to feel a little better.

"History, maybe," she pointed to a small section of books that boasted information on things like the Black Death, Elizabeth I, Lady Jane Grey, and general British history.

"This one is easy and fun to read," she pulled out a large volume with a lot of pictures on the front and more pictures inside. "I used to love looking at this as a child. It's history from Cavemen to now… and I have these," she turned to a uniform stack of books Regulus had never even noticed before, as they were hidden behind the sofa, "They're stories and encyclopaedias for children."

Flora handed him the first one at the top of the stack and he took it with interest—they were called Disney's Wonderful World of Knowledge, and illustrated with cartoon drawings of Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse. There appeared to be somewhere between thirty to fifty books.

"I've seen these characters on the television," he said, his eyes lighting up with recognition.

"Yeah, Mickey Mouse," she laughed. "I know they're children's books, but they're really informative. Have a look at them. I'm going to take a bath though, I feel disgusting."

Flora had only been in the bath five minutes when Regulus tapped on the door. She'd left it slightly ajar, and he stuck his head in before she answered.

"Can I come in?" He asked.

"No, I'm naked, you pervert," she replied playfully, pulling her arms across her chest as though she were scandalised.

Regulus smirked and stepped in, perching himself alongside her on the edge of the bath.

"Are you feeling better?" He asked.

"Mm, yeah, a bit," she nodded, sitting up. "What do you want for dinner? I was thinking maybe we could contact Remus or Sirius and get them to bring us some fish and chips."

"That sounds like a nice idea," he agreed, dipping his hand into the water and casting ripples across the surface. His fingers brushed against her knee while his eyes searched her face.

"Was there any particular reason you came in here, Regulus?" She asked.

He shrugged, a small smile on his lips. "No, I just missed you."

"Oh, you're disgusting," she laughed.

"I didn't see you all day yesterday," he countered, picking up a sponge and trickling water over her bent leg.

"I was shopping. I bought you a Christmas present," she replied, shivering pleasantly at the sensation.

He looked suddenly taken aback. "Me?"

"Yes, you. I mean," she looked down at the water, "I don't expect you to get me anything…I know you can't really, being stuck here. But I just wanted to get you something."

"What did you get me?"

Flora frowned. "It's a surprise, stupid."

He moved from the edge of the bath to kneel down on the floor, so he was now eye level with her. He splashed her playfully with water, jumping back when she splashed him right back. When he moved back to her side again, Flora sat up and wrapped her damp arms around his neck. Water trickled down Regulus' neck and shirt, but he didn't care; they kissed deeply for a moment, until Flora drew back and said—

"Mark is jealous of you."

Regulus at once looked intrigued, then confused, as though he had never heard the name before. "Mark?"

"The Scottish lad I went out with on Halloween," she reminded him, though she was sure he knew exactly who she was talking about.

"How do you know he's jealous of me?" He replied, increasingly perplexed by the information.

"Because I bumped into him while I was shopping yesterday. I had a drink with him and—"

"Had a drink with him?"

He looked almost disgusted, and Flora's heart sank; she hadn't expected him to react so seriously.

"I…yeah," she said with some hesitation, "Just one drink."

"Why?"

"Why does it matter?" Flora replied sharply.

"Why?" He spluttered, "Because—because you're mine."

Flora was quiet for a moment, too unsure of what to say. Regulus was clearly upset by this revelation. His confusion had quickly changed to a mixture of jealousy and possessiveness. When he'd said "you're mine," it came out almost like a snarl.

But Flora stood her ground, for she didn't like his tone one bit. "It was just a drink, Regulus. We never exactly established any boundaries between us."

His eyes narrowed. "Boundaries? What do you mean boundaries?"

"You know, like what is and isn't okay in our…well, whatever this is between us," she gestured between them, unsure of how to describe their relationship. "We've never specified what we are."

Regulus scoffed derisively. "I thought it was pretty obvious how I feel about you. I didn't think I needed to explicitly tell you. And either you haven't noticed or you don't care, or otherwise you wouldn't be going out with that haggis-eating, stupid oafish—"

"I wasn't going out with him! I bumped into him and had a drink with him to smooth things over. Nothing more."

"But he fancies you!"

"So what?" She scowled. "I don't fancy him."

"You obviously did at one point," he rightly pointed out.

"Yes, but not anymore. I told him I was sort of seeing you, and in all likelihood I won't see him again."

"You have his phone number downstairs."

"Oh my God," Flora huffed, exasperated. "Throw it in the fire then. I know you've been itching to do it."

Regulus sat back against the wall sullenly. They fell silent for a long moment, neither looking at the other as they gathered their thoughts.

Finally, Regulus spoke first. He took a steady breath and said in a low voice, "I want you to be only mine. I don't want you to go out with other boys."

Flora looked at him, but his eyes were cast downwards on the bathroom tiles.

"So you want me to be your girlfriend?" She replied. They needed to be straight-forward, she decided. She grew nervous when he didn't reply for several seconds, as though the idea were incredibly absurd.

"I suppose, yes," he mumbled.

"You suppose?" She scoffed, gripping the edge of the bath tub angrily.

Regulus sprang towards her. "Yes! Okay? Yes, I want you to be my girlfriend. I want you to be mine, and I want to to be yours."

"Fine!"

"Good!"

For a moment, they had a sort of stand-off just glowering at each other until Flora realised how ridiculous they both looked—her naked in the bath, him on the bathroom floor. She looked away, her mouth resting in the palm of her hand, and suddenly began to shake with soft laughter.

Regulus looked alarmed, thinking she was crying at first, but then realised she was laughing and gave her an odd look. But then he seemed to understand. The corners of his mouth quirked upwards and he shook his head, biting the inside of his cheek.

"Did you call Mark a haggis-eating oaf?" She was positively gleeful with laughter now.

"Something like that."

"I kind of like it when you're jealous," she smirked.

"I wasn't jealous," he grumbled. "There's obviously no competition between me and him."

He held her face in his hands and kissed her. Flora kissed him back, pressing little kisses to his mouth, jaw and chin with her fingers spread across his cheek. She loved the rough, masculine feeling of his chin against her lips, and Regulus loved the softness of her skin against his. To him, all of her was soft. His hand idly trailed up and down her leg in the water, moving upwards to her inner thigh and down again teasingly.

"Regulus," Flora said when she could catch a moment to speak.

"Mm?"

"When my period has stopped," she went on as he kissed and nipped gently at her neck, "I—I want to have sex. With you."

He stopped with his ministrations and lifted his head to look at her, drawing back a little. "What?"

"I want to have sex."

Regulus wasn't sure why the declaration made him suddenly feel like a hot flustered mess, but it did. His trousers were already feeling tight from kissing and caressing her naked body in the bath, but this had him feeling like he'd short circuited.

Flora frowned when he didn't immediately say anything. "Don't look so shocked. We're barely one step away from it already, all you have to do is put in me."

"Well, yes," he swallowed thickly. "I just wasn't expecting such a straight-forward announcement about it."

"Don't you want to do it?"

"Obviously I do, Flora," he replied with a little huff, like it was the silliest question in the world to ask him.

"Well then."

He leaned back in close to her, his intense gaze fixed on her; he cradled her head and kissed her face all over while in a low voice he murmured, "I want you more than anything I've ever wanted in my whole life."