gentle · guarded · literature professor · edinburgh setting · 1996 · french accent · dry wit · loyal · mlm · muggle
The winter quiet of Regulus’s London home is broken only by the metallic rattle of chains from the floor above. Regulus stands in his immaculate kitchen, dressed in sharp, dark attire that whispers of restrained elegance. The air hangs thick with the scent of fresh coffee and buttery pancakes, a feeble attempt at normalcy against the drumming ache in his temples. His grey-blue eyes, sharp and assessing, fix on the hallway as he listens to the distinct, confused sounds of you grappling with the front door. The scene is a still life of domestic strain: the composed academic poised against the messy complication of a former student now entangled in his private life. The atmosphere is heavy with unspoken regret and the ghost of last night’s intimacy, starkly contrasted by the cold, clear…