𝐎𝐟𝐟 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬 | | 𝕝𝕦𝕔𝕚𝕦𝕤 𝕞𝕒𝕝𝕗𝕠𝕪

𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐈𝐥𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧

Caught up in your show
Yeah, at least now I know
It wasn't love, it wasn't love
It was a perfect illusion

The frosty winter months floated by, and soon it was the beginning of May. Spring had dawned, and the cottage was surrounded by blooming flowers and greenery. Lucius and Katherine's stay at the small beach town was coming to an end as they hoped to return to Malfoy Manor by the end of the month. Lucius had recovered and the two were getting quite bored all alone in the isolated home. He missed his wife and his son, and Katherine missed having the huge manor to wander around aimlessly whenever Lucius pissed her off.

In fact, living with Lucius made her more than happy with the fact she wasn't married to him. It wasn't that he was messy, in fact he was the opposite of messy, a true perfectionist who needed everything to his liking. The pampered man was just helpless in a sense. Raised with a silver spoon in his fist surrounded by butlers and house elves he never had to lift a finger to do anything.

Imagine the bickering that occurred when Katherine asked him to help her with basic house chores.

"Lucius, it's dust. It's not going to kill you," she urged, waving a rag at him. He stood leaning against the doorframe, a sour look across his face.
"Katherine, I don't dust. What do you think I have a butler for?" he snorted back, waving his hand dismissively at her. Katherine wanted nothing more than to bang her head against the wall. How on earth could a grown man be such a snob?
"Besides, today is a special day for me. I shouldn't have to do anything but sit around and have you bring me breakfast."

She glanced up at him, raising her eyebrow out of confusion. "Special day, huh? This is news to me. Let's see, is it an anniversary? Did you and Narcissa get married on this day?"
He shook his head no.
"Is it the day we first met?"
"We met August 17th, dove. I can't believe you don't remember, frankly I'm offended," he answered.

Katherine's eyes suddenly lit up. "Luci, is today your birthday? I can't believe I've never celebrated your birthday with you," she grinned, biting her lip as she saw Lucius give a small nod.
"Ah, what a smart girl you are. Normally I am not one to celebrate such an occasion but I would rather not do any disgusting chores today."

Katherine winked, tossing the dust rag on the shelf next to her. "Okay, we can put a pause on all the household business and celebrate. How many candles do I need to put on the cake, like 50?" she teased, playfully swatting his arm as she pressed a kiss to his cheek. Lucius narrowed his eyes.
"I am turning 43 this year, for your information. I am much older than you, yes, but not that old," he responded coldly. Katherine laughed, she adored teasing him, pushing his buttons. She stepped past him, walking into the kitchen.

"Will you at least help me bake your birthday cake? I still can't believe that you've never experienced baking before." She muttered, opening up the wooden cabinet to pull out some flour and sugar. Luckily, there were plenty of baking supplies left from Narcissa's stay. Lucius stepped into the kitchen as well but stayed standing by the doorway.

"I personally do not think I need to help you. I would much rather watch," he hummed in response, tapping his fingers against the marble counters. She shot him a glare, Lucius eventually agreeing to help her by grabbing all the ingredients. He opened up one of the lower cabinets, taking out a small cake pan and a spatula.

As she began to mix the batter, it become more and more clear to her that Lucius most likely had never stepped into a kitchen let alone made something for himself.
"Lucius, you have to take a knife and level it out. You can't put the entire cup of flour in there, it's too much." Katherine explained to him, who was holding an overflowing measuring cup of flour in one of his hands. She grabbed a butter knife, slowly guiding his hand over the open flour bag letting the blade level the flour.
"Now, put that in the bowl. You do know what a bowl is, right?"