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The park is quiet today, the weather mellow and inviting. Springtime flowers blossom, fresh bursts of colour blooming everywhere. Regulus lays on their stomach, eyes closed as sunlight warms the picnic blanket beneath them. They hum contentedly as fingers run through their hair, working the knots in their curls loose with slow, gentle movements.
“Baby.” Lily’s amused voice is rich and sweet, sending lovely little tingles down Regulus’ spine. “Don’t fall asleep on me.”
“M’not,” they mumble, eyes still shut as they bask in the warmth. Her fingers massage at their scalp, drawing out a pleased sigh.
Lily chuckles softly. “Sure, love.”
It continues like this for a few more blessed moments, enough so that sleep actually does begin to tempt Regulus, before the soothing movement stops and their girlfriend’s hand is gone. Regulus scrunches their face in displeasure.
“Oh, stop,” Lily huffs quietly. “I’m just picking some of these flowers.”
“Fuck the flowers,” they whine, reaching a hand out blindly in an attempt to grab her hand and put it back. Lily lightheartedly smacks their hand away.
“Even if I’m picking them for you, you loon?”
Regulus finally lifts their head and cracks an eye open, peering over. In her hand lies a flower, just a flower. It is small, a frail purple thing, with round petals and a droopy stem. Their heart flutters as Lily leans over the side of the quilt to pluck another, this time a pointy white one with a petal missing. She turns to look at them then, meets their eye with a small crooked quirk of her lips and teases, “This one’s a bit shit, but I think you deserve it for being a lazy sod all afternoon.”
‘Fuck off,’ they try to say. What comes spilling out instead is, “I love you.”
Lily blinks. Regulus blinks as well. They really didn’t mean to say that.
It's only a moment before the two of them burst into helpless giggles. Regulus drops their face in the blankets beneath them, shoulders shaking with laughter, and Lily chuckles, “What was that?”
“Shut up. You broke me, being all cute with your flowers. I will not be held accountable for my actions.”
Lily presses herself flush against her partner’s back, caging them in, the flowers left forgotten on the blanket. Leaning down, she giggles into their ear, “For what it’s worth, I’m totally open to more spontaneous declarations of love. Merlin knows it took you long enough to admit it the first time.”
Regulus twists their head to jokingly glare at her, faces now inches from each other. “Not even going to say it back? I see how it is.”
A puff of breath against their jaw, warm and tantalising. Their eyes flick down to Lily’s lips as they curve beautifully around her words, the Irish lilt within them making their heart stutter.
“You’ll have to earn it, love.”
And Regulus Black prides themself on their self control, but nothing could have stopped them in that moment from surging forward to capture those lips with their own.
No matter how many times they do this, the thrill of kissing Lily Evans never gets old. It’s an awkward angle, their neck strained with it, yet they find that they couldn’t care less. Lily sighs into their mouth, a hand coming down to cup their jaw. Regulus smiles into the kiss and their teeth clack together.
After a few moments, Lily pulls away. Green eyes are dilated as her gaze trails down Regulus’ face, soaking in her partner’s kiss-swollen lips and pink cheeks. She hums, her thumb tracing the line of their jaw reverently.
“Well?” Regulus mutters, blinking up at her. “Have I earned it?”
“Yeah.” A grin tugs at her lips. “I definitely love you.”
Regulus sighs around their own growing grin, resting their cheek on the quilt as their eyes flutter shut. “That’s a relief, then. Would have been rather awkward.”
“Mm,” she hums lowly in agreement. “Terribly so.”
“I might’ve had to kill you just to live with the embarrassment.”
Delicate fingers tucks a long dark curl behind their ear. “That’d be a right shame.”
“It would, wouldn’t it?”
Something slips behind Regulus’ ear and their brows furrow, blinking their eyes open in confusion just in time to watch Lily as she pulls away.
“What—”
“It’s a flower, darling,” Lily cuts them off. “Thought you’d look even cuter like that and I was right.”
A blush rises in their cheeks. “Shut up.”
Lily grins at them, eyes fond and soft. “Mm, I don’t think I will.”