Chapter Five

Disclaimer: They belong to JKR, and I'm about to clean them up and send them back. I hope they keep their mouths shut about what they've been up to!

Chapter Five

Lying in bed alone, Severus couldn’t resist rolling to one side and inhaling the faint scent of Lucius’s aftershave remaining on the pillow. The man himself had risen early to prepare for an important meeting in Diagon Alley with a prospective investor. Six weeks after discovering the waiting arms of his best friend, Lucius was back in full form: confident, arrogant, and powerful.

While the sex was incredible, full of heat and passion and even playfulness, it had been the knowledge he was desirable that had lifted Lucius out of his depression. Once again impeccably groomed, his bearing told all who observed he was a man not to be trifled with. He had even packed all the kitchen elves off to Narcissa. Lucius had found new house-elves, elves who had never heard of vegetarianism. Elves who cooked juicy, rare fillet steaks, succulent pork chops, and sizzling, crispy bacon.

And yet Severus could not suppress a sigh. Having the man he had desired for years in his bed should have been sufficient, but Severus wanted more.

For Lucius had never spoken of love.

Passion, lust, physical fulfilment. The blond spoke heated words of desire in the wee small hours and shouted his triumph in the broad light of day, but he had never revealed his heart.

And of all things, Lucius’s heart was what Severus had longed for the most. A bitter kernel of suspicion tugged in his chest and was growing larger every day. Did Lucius merely want him for physical pleasure?

“You’re very quiet this evening, Severus.”

Severus glanced over at the man reclining on the bed. Lucius took every opportunity to remove his clothes and was gloriously naked and aroused, idly stroking himself as he watched his lover preparing for bed. Unable to conceal his response as he dropped his underwear, Severus simply shrugged away Lucius’s concern, distracting him sufficiently with his lips, tongue, and long, supple fingers to avoid further questions.

Hours later, in the shadows of the night, Severus trailed a finger along skin still warmed with passion and watched Lucius sleep as he whispered the words he dared not while the man was awake. Spooning against Lucius’s back, Severus missed the curve of a smile and the grey eyes which flickered open at his words.

***

“Good morning.”

Severus opened his eyes to find Lucius still beside him, head propped up on one hand and an undefinable expression softening his features. “Good morning.”

“It is.” Lucius did not offer further explanation before capturing Severus’s face between his hands and gazing into his eyes, baring his soul to the darker man’s scrutiny. After long moments, he closed his eyes and the distance between them to initiate a kiss unlike any they had shared before. Gone was the fire and passion, replaced with tenderness as gentle as any woman’s caress.

Long after Lucius had left for his office, Severus lay alone and thoughtful, hope swelling in his chest and a future unfolding in which he could finally imagine happiness.

***

“Kippy!”

“Yes, Master Professor Snape?”

“Have you seen your master yet?” Severus glanced at the window, where the darkening skies declared the lateness of the hour, well past dinnertime. Lucius should have been home two hours earlier.

“The master has not summoned Kippy, sir.”

“Thank you. That will be all.”

Worry and self-doubt furrowed Severus’s brow as he poured a generous tot of brandy, forsaking the wine he had been drinking for something a little more fortifying.

The grandfather clock in the dining room had chimed ten o’clock when Severus was woken from a light doze by the slam of the front door and the distinctive click of Lucius’s expensively shod heels on the marble tiles.

“Severus! Where are... There you are.” The blond had tossed his robes over a chair and had a drink half poured before Severus was fully awake. “Merlin, what a day! You would not believe the problems I’ve had with the Minister about our new project.”

“Why did you not send an owl?” The words were out before his sleep-drugged brain was in control of his tongue.

“The man has no vis... An owl? Why?” Lucius blinked as if seeing Severus for the first time. “What’s wrong, Sev? Have you been drinking?”

Severus remained silent, his expression unreadable as he stood and left the room.

Lucius was still staring at the door when Kippy entered.

“Is master requiring dinner?”

“No, thank you, Kippy.” As the house elf turned to leave, Lucius added, “Do you know why Master Severus was... not himself?”

Kippy’s ears drooped as he replied. “Master Professor Snape was worried, sir.”

“Worried?”

“Yes, master. You is usually home by six.”

“Why should he... Oh, fuck!” Ignoring the bewildered elf, Lucius ran out of the room and up the stairs to his bedroom.

“Severus!” Finding his room empty, Lucius hurried to Severus’s room. The room Severus had not used for six weeks. Finding the door closed, he paused, suddenly unsure of his welcome. After knocking twice, the door opened abruptly.

“Yes?” Severus was shirtless, his trousers unfastened and riding low on his hips. He had never looked so enticing.

“Please talk to me. What in Merlin’s name have I done wrong?”

Severus stood in the doorway, preventing Lucius’s entry to the room. “Perhaps you should look at my face rather than my crotch, Lucius.” His trousers had slipped lower, revealing the lack of underwear beneath and the arousal his words denied.

Dragging his eyes up to meet Severus’s, Lucius was startled at the pain revealed within. “I can’t help it. I want you so much.”

“Is that all I am to you? A quick fuck? Stress relief until you find another woman you can perform for?” Severus stepped out of his trousers and stood aside, gesturing towards the bed. “Very well, you might as well get on with it. How would you like it tonight, Lucius? Top or bottom? I’m here to please.” His body was pale even in the candlelight, erection standing proud despite the bitterness of his words.

Lucius followed him into the room, closing the door firmly behind him. He shook his head and reached out, cupping Severus’s face in his hand. “Do you really believe that’s all you are to me, Sev? A warm body? Physical release? I thought you understood this morning.”

Taking the other man’s hand in his, he placed it on his chest to reveal the rapid thump beneath. “This is where you belong, Severus, where you’ve always belonged. I failed to realise it for too many years in my obsession with Cissy. But you were always there, always by my side when I needed you, even when I did not deserve you. This,” moving Severus’s hand down his body to find the erection straining the fabric of his trousers, he continued, “This was unexpected. Gloriously so. My desire for you took me by surprise; the intensity of the passion between us has me dumbfounded.” He gasped as Severus gripped his hardened flesh and began to stroke through the fabric. “But this... gods, Sev... this is... fuck, stop, I can’t think... don’t stop... Merlin, I love you, you stubborn git!”

Severus smirked as he reached for his wand with his other hand and dispensed with Lucius’s best trousers and everything else he was wearing. “Then, next time you’re going to be late, send an owl, you pillock! Now, kiss me and tell me you love me again.”

Just before Lucius’s lips met his lover’s he found the words once more. And after he collapsed on the bed ten minutes later.

And softly, tenderly in the moonlight many, many hours later as he lay in the arms of the man who had saved him.

***

A/N: This was written for the 2012 Lucius Big Bang on LiveJournal. My thanks to karelia and linlawless. They're awesome!