It wasn’t until he explained himself that she even considered her appearance may be a factor. She always found it delightfully endearing when Regulus lost his words, though tonight there seemed to be something stealing them from him. She gently held his book back out to him, offering him an apologetic smile as she did so. “Oh…” Mercy let out a sigh of relief, visibly relaxing. “That’s okay then, you had me worried.” She admitted, laughing breathlessly. Merlin, he’d barely even looked into a mirror that day! “Sorry, I’m just uncertain as to… I dunno, what to say, because–” He let out a laugh to mask his embarrassment, a hand coming up so his fingers could run through his hair, messing it up as he did. “–you look really beautiful, sorry, I’ve already said that.” His voice trailed off by the end of his words, noticing his heart beat a little slower then, making him be able to gather himself finally. “So um, who are you going with, then? Helena is probably already there.” It was when the book was taken away from his grip that Regulus noticed how hard he was holding onto it, and the shame that bubbled up in him came out as a rush of warmth to his ears, probably making them change color to bright red. “Oh! No, no, no I’m not upset, not the very least!” He shook his head, taking a deep breath as he felt awfully stupid for not dressing up nicely, even though he didn’t mean to go a couple of minutes earlier. So why was her heart suddenly pounding in her chest? She swallowed, looking back up at Regulus to offer him a nervous smile. “I’m not, Reggie.” She insisted, her voice barely louder than a whisper. “I wouldn’t lie to you.” She smiled again at his surprise, nodding in answer to his question. “There isn’t anybody I would rather go with.” She admitted, feeling her smile falter when he told her he could walk her to the party. “What?” She breathed, a frown creasing her brow as she struggled to hide her disappointment. “You… you aren’t going?” Who wasn’t all diamonds and pink lipstick and Charms to curl your hair. Despite the way she knew a lot of people saw her, she liked to think of herself as somebody who was grounded when they needed to be.

Mercy glanced down when their fingers brushed, deliberately not withdrawing from the contact. How was he going to tell her? There was no way he would be able to refuse that smile, or those cheeks. “I don’t– mm… I guess… I could… walk you there?” He couldn’t have reached higher anymore, no matter how much taller he wanted himself to grow in a matter of seconds. “M-Me?” Oh no. He was snapped out of his thought, however, when the girl stepped closer to him, his spine automatically straightening up, as if it wasn’t already. What he lacked in looks and personality, he simply made up for it in manners and brains. Regulus never thought of himself as lesser because of it. Whispers about how much more good-looking the first born was.

He took the book back, maybe a bit too slowly as his smile finally turned more natural. “Oh, I’m not offended… You’re just saying that to be polite.” Ever since he and his brother both started to move into the dreadful years of their teens, whispers from behind his back came back to him. It was a simple, everyday thing to do any yet, the situation made it feel intimate. Regulus reached for the book hesitantly, his heart skipping a beat as their fingers brushed along one another.

Inbetween land flint