I adored you Madly, Extravagantly, Absurdly.

Chapter 13

IMportant Info: I wrote Smut. I wrote this chapter and felt like I should spell out the scene, but it would be weird if it was the only one (and we all know sex sells). So, I went back and added smut scenes to the following chapters:

Wolfstar - Chapter 3 end, Chapter 4 end
Rosekiller - Chapter 6 when Evan & Barty sleep in the drawing room (I'd actually recommend going back and reading it because I accidentally added quite a bit of story through that scene. I mean, not really, you'll be able to understand everything. There is just one detail Evan learns about Barty which isn't much of a surprise.

The drawing room saw a lot of action o.O.
I will always tell you at the beginning of each chapter whether or not there is smut and tell you how to skip it bc maybe you started reading this under the premise that there is no smut. (Tho I wrote in the beginning of Chapter 1 that smut is a possibility.)

Also, I went over chapter 10 again bc there were so many fucking mistakes in there. I don't know how that happened tbh. I remember clearly how I edited chapter 10 but somehow the changes didn't take? I blame Grammarly.

Warning: Physical Violence
Smut. Skip from when Evan drags Barty into a bystreet after the violence part to "I wanted to apologise"

***

"Do you think me mad? 'but who is sane and who is mad? Who is virtuous and who is vicious in this world of ours? Do you know? I don't." Teleny 19

Regulus still wears mourning colours in support of James. It means, he gets to wear the brilliantly tailored black suit James commissioned for him in London. It also means, he had an excuse to commission more black suits. He looks good in black. James said so, too.

Regulus sits in the drawing room, leaning over a chessboard. He plays against James, who plays according to "feeling" instead of strategy, which, in turn, drives Regulus mildly homicidal. Barty is sitting on one of the sofas, reading the paper.

"You have a pin in your hair," James says suddenly.

"It's your turn. You are aware of that, right?"

"It's pretty."

"The curl was annoying me this morning. Your turn."

James smiles and moves one of his pawns.

The past week that they stayed at Lion's Keep, James and Regulus had a little ritual every night. Regulus would sit down at his dressing table and James would take all the pins and combs out of his hair before they called on Pandora to help him undress the rest of his clothes. They didn't talk about it. They just repeated what they did the evening of James' grandmother's death. They shared little thoughts they had during the day, and James pulled on the curls and let them bounce back, to which Regulus only rolled his eyes.

Why is he wearing a pin today? They don't share a room anymore. There is no way James will take it out in front of his mirror tonight. Yet, he sat in front of the vanity this morning, Pandora finished arranging his hair, and when he saw the collection of hairpins in a little bowl, he instinctively took one out and used it to pin back one of the unrulier curls.

Regulus moves his bishop. He will win. James is looking at him.

"James. Your turn."

James hums. He reaches over the board and carefully pulls the pin out of his hair. "I like it better when your curls are free." He smiles and turns the pin in his hand. Regulus isn't entirely certain whether he should be upset that James pulled it out now or glad that he did it at all.

Barty snorts. "I don't know what I just witnessed, but I hope I don't have to again."

James glares at him. "I have a solution: Move out." He slips the pin into his pocket.