Chapter 3

Knowing what was meant to happen didn't make waiting for it any easier.

After Hermione had shown Lucius the note Draco had left, asking for time, Lucius had promised that time was exactly what his son would get.

Lucius had always given Draco whatever he needed and then some. But this was harder than it should have been, harder than it had ever been before. Lucius wanted to force Draco to talk to him, so he could tell him that nothing would change, not really.

Instead, nearly a week went by, during which Lucius only saw his son in passing...in the corridors or in the kitchen, but not in their bed.

With just him and Hermione in it, the bed seemed almost comically large. He hated that Draco wouldn't even sleep with them. No matter what the fight, no matter the circumstances, they always slept in the same bed. Lucius didn't want to take that as indicative of how things were going to turn out, but it made him nervous nonetheless.

Things couldn't continue that way forever. Draco would eventually have to make up his mind.

The wait would have been much less stressful if Lucius himself were less certain about what he wanted. As he'd told Hermione, he'd suspected that intimacy with his son would make the triad stronger and more complete, but he'd never seriously considered following through on that. He'd assumed the wedding would be enough, that intention counted for more than action.

But he'd been wrong.

Lucius had had dreams, just as he knew Draco had, insinuating that their triad wasn't complete. But now the need had extended beyond his sleep and into his waking hours. He found himself watching his son, studying him, learning him. He knew Draco even better than he knew himself...he spent hours every day with him, or used to. He was more familiar with Draco's features than any other person on the planet, and he could easily say they were the most handsome he'd seen in an age. Even more than his own, though in a different way. Youth was something with which he'd parted ways, not that he was bitter about it. After all, he had Draco, an only slightly altered mirror of himself at that age.

Looking beyond aesthetics, Lucius could see why Draco was easy to love. He was charming and knew how to say all the right things; he was funny and chivalrous and intelligent.

That was why Hermione loved him, though. Not Lucius. Lucius loved something even deeper within, something more hidden that Draco didn't usually let show. He had a core of decency that was unassailable. Surrounding that core was a mire of confused morals and questionable tactics. That was what Lucius loved. Draco wasn't just one thing...he was everything. He was strong and scared and determined and angry and just... He was free in a way Lucius had never been.

Lucius didn't love that Draco was from him, of him. He loved that Draco was the things Lucius was never allowed...and had never allowed himself...to be.

A knock on his study door made him start in surprise. He'd been staring at the fire, wishing an answer would just come to him...and hopefully one had.

"Come in," Lucius said, though both Draco and Hermione knew they didn't have to wait for permission to enter.

The door opened slowly and Draco slipped through, closing it tightly behind him and leaning back against it.

"Hey," Draco said, full of false confidence and awkwardness.

"Draco," said Lucius, voice infused with warmth. "Please, have a seat."

Lucius was reminded, as his son sat in what had long ago been designated 'his' chair, that besides Hermione, neither of them had actually courted anyone. His own marriage had been a business transaction that had, very luckily for both of them, inspired mated magic and even love. Draco had almost had the same fate, but after the defeat of the Dark Lord, Lucius had taken any prospects of arranged marriage off the table for his son.

So whatever they were doing right now was completely new ground for both of them.

"Actually, I think this would be much more comfortable in our room," Draco said. He was nervous and trying to hide it, but Lucius knew all his affectations...the slight twitch of his ring finger, the way he would duck his head forward to hide behind his hair. Draco could hide nothing from his father, and Lucius hoped he didn't want to.

"Of course." Lucius stood and preceded Draco from the room, holding the door for him. The walk to the bedroom was tinged with discomfort...both knew something important and life changing was about to happen.

Lucius wished Hermione could be there, but he knew that if Draco had needed her, she'd have been. This was something Draco evidently needed to do without her. Lucius hoped she wouldn't be put out by that, but he doubted she would. This was something Hermione wanted just as much as Lucius himself did...more than anything, the little minx probably just wanted to watch.

Taking a seat on the bed...a good sign, as he could have chosen the armchair or even the sofa in the sitting area...Draco tucked his hands under his thighs, sitting on them. It was a habit Narcissa had nagged out of him at a very young age...he must be extremely nervous if it was recurring now.

"May I?" Lucius asked, indicating the space on the bed beside Draco.

"Of course. That's... that's what we're here for." Draco swallowed.

Lucius sat. "I know this is... strange, to say the least, and if it isn't what you want, then we can stop it right here."

"But that's just it, Father. If we stop it right here, we have no idea what might happen to our marriage." Draco ran the fingers of both hands through his hair, a sure sign that he had gone over things a thousand times already.

"True, but we could always just wait to see what, if anything, happens. It's possible nothing will. We could go on as we have, if that's what you want."

Draco mumbled something, a curtain of hair concealing his face from Lucius.

"What was that?" Lucius prompted gently.

"I said, it's not. What I want." Beneath the cover of hair, Lucius could see his son's pinked cheeks.

"I'm glad to hear that." He wanted Draco to make the first move, but his son seemed frozen. "Is there any way I can make this easier for you?" he asked finally, once it had become obvious that Draco wasn't going to say anything else.

"Just... don't talk. And... close your eyes."

Lucius nodded but had to ask: "Are you sure you wouldn't rather close yours?"

Draco looked torn. Lucius knew exactly the battle he was raging inside his head. If he closed his eyes, he could pretend Lucius was someone else. But then Lucius would be looking at him, and that embarrassed him.

"Or we could spell the lights off completely so neither can see," Lucius offered, not just for Draco's comfort. A part of him was rejecting the very thought of being naked with his own son. Even when Draco had been very young, Lucius hadn't bathed with him or anything like that. He'd probably only seen Draco nude a handful of times, and those had almost always been during the struggle to dress him...Narcissa' struggle, not his.

"No, it's okay, just don't, you know... stare. And again, don't talk." Draco laughed nervously and dropped his head into his hands.

Lucius pulled Draco into a loose embrace and kissed his ear lightly. "Hush, pet," he said soothingly. "It's all right."

Draco went stiff at the soubriquet, looking up with wide eyes.

Wanting to kick himself...Draco had been clear on the 'no talking' rule, and things like that were exactly why...Lucius went to move away, but Draco closed the space between them and planted an inelegant kiss on Lucius' lips.

They both held the kiss for as long as possible, but Lucius drew back first. It hadn't been unpleasant, just... not the way it was with Hermione. He could see from the confused look on his son's face that it was the same for him.

"Er, should we just...?" Draco tilted his head toward the centre of the bed.

Lucius closed his eyes. Draco's nervousness and anxiety was practically tangible...they'd never be able to get through this if he continued to be so stiff. And getting through this wasn't exactly what he'd had in mind. He wanted to enjoy it...that was how it was supposed to be, anyway.

"Lay back," he said, ready to take charge.

Perhaps it was because he'd been raised to obey Lucius or maybe it was simply so he wouldn't have to decide for himself, but either way, Draco positioned himself on his back with his head resting on a pillow. His eyes were closed tight and he looked too much like a stereotypically nervous virgin come wedding night. It was ridiculous, considering the things they'd gotten up to with Hermione between them.

Lucius leaned over and kissed Draco's jaw. The skin was smooth, unlike his own, which was beginning to bristle. Draco turned his head away and Lucius sighed. It had been Draco's idea, after all...what made Draco think this was any easier on him?

Then Lucius had a brilliant...if he did say so himself...idea.

Loosening and removing his tie, Lucius pulled it taut between his hands, letting Draco come to the conclusion himself. It was no more than what they'd done with Hermione, and Hermione had once done it to Draco herself, so it shouldn't be a complete shock by any stretch.

With a nervous look and a lip drawn between his teeth, Draco slowly raised his arms over his head, crossing them at the wrist and gripping the bar of the headboard.

Despite the enticing picture Draco made...and that was rather a strange thing to think, but there was no denying it...Lucius needed things to go more slowly. He placed the tie on the pillow beside Draco's head and ran his hand down his son's body. Resting over his heart, Lucius could feel the rapid beating and wished there was a way to make things easier. It didn't help that he liked the way Draco's heart raced for him.

After tracing the rough ridges of his abdomen, Lucius' hand travelled to the hem of Draco's shirt. He tugged it experimentally, looking at Draco's face to make sure what he wanted was all right. Draco's face was unreadable but not uncertain. Lucius pulled the shirt up and over...when it bunched around Draco's hands, Lucius had to pry them from their grip to remove it completely.

Sitting closer beside Draco on the bed, Lucius allowed himself the privilege of studying him closely. The similarities were there, of course. The same bone structure, just muscled differently. The nipples, in particular, were identical. Strangely Draco's navel was slimmer, more like a slash than an indent like Lucius'. He decided he quite liked it and dipped his finger into it. Draco's breath hitched and he quivered a little, but there was real desire in his eyes.

"Are you going to use the tie?" he asked hoarsely. His hands were back on the bar, life obviously hanging in the balance.

"Do you want me to?" Do you need me to?

"Yes."

Lucius nodded and threaded the tie around the headboard and Draco's wrists, which were thinner than his own with a protruding bone that was delicate but somehow hardy. Draco would be fine.

The tie was snug but not unbreakable...Draco would not be held if he didn't truly wish to be. And by the look on his face when he tested the bonds, he knew it as well. He didn't ask Lucius to tie him tighter, so Lucius took that as a good sign.

Stretching out beside Draco, Lucius settled himself more comfortably. He wanted to feel the skin of his chest against Draco's, but that seemed a rather large step. He also, very badly, wanted to kiss him. He didn't, though. That was something he wanted Draco to initiate. He had been the first to do it, after all. If Draco's bound state precluded that, then so be it. Lucius was nothing if not patient.

Again, Lucius wished for Hermione's presence. There was a calmness about her, an acceptance that made things easier. Lucius also felt Draco would be just as comforted by her.

Brushing his thumb over Draco's nipple elicited a sharp inhalation, and Lucius looked at Draco's face to see his eyes tightly closed. His mouth was open and his breath was coming fast; heartened, Lucius pressed his lips against Draco's pebbled nipple, the replica of his own.

Everything to that moment had been fairly platonic, in action if not intention. But this was sexual, this was charged. Lucius felt a thrill of the forbidden run through him even as the concern for his son overtook it.

"All right?" Lucius asked, his hand on Draco's belly, thumb smoothing over the skin.

Draco gave a shaky nod and did not open his eyes.

Draco's body was salty and familiar in a way that confused Lucius; he wanted this, but he also wanted not to want it. For a moment, he wished he was normal. Married to one person, father and not lover... Was what they had really worth risking his son in this way? Was he risking Draco? What about himself...was he destroying the most important relationship he'd ever had: that with his son and heir?

He didn't think so. He wouldn't be doing this if he truly believed everything he cherished was at risk.

"It's okay," Draco said, moving a little beneath his bonds.

Lucius raised his head, realising he hadn't moved for a few moments. "I just don't want to..."

"You aren't," Draco said quickly. He opened his eyes, and while nervous, they were sure. "I want this."

"Is there some way I can make this easier?"

Draco bit his lip. "Just... do it. Okay? Don't be unsure. I need you to be the strong one, the certain one."

That was quite an admission, coming from Draco, and they both knew it. All doubts left Lucius as he leant over Draco and kissed him softly on the mouth. Draco kissed back, but only slightly, and Lucius pulled away.

"I love you, Draco," Lucius said. The words were almost unfamiliar. He'd said them too few times when Draco was growing up, and even less when he'd become an adult. Only when Hermione had come into their lives had he become less stingy with the words, but even still it was not something he said every day, even if Hermione made sure to.

Draco's response was only a whisper, and his eyes were closed again, but he said the words and that was enough.

Lucius' hand brushed over Draco's lower belly, the trail of hair directing his movements until his fingers reached the trouser placket. Without hesitating, Lucius opened it, stifling a groan when Draco's hard cock strained up to meet his hand.

He wanted to say something, to make the moment less or more important, but he couldn't. The fact that Draco was hard was the turning point...there was no coming back from that, and he didn't want to. Not now.

With Draco tied like that, obviously not wanting to make any major decisions besides the first one of coming to Lucius, it fell to Lucius to take charge. He didn't mind doing so...he was familiar with that position in his work life, certainly. But over their year of marriage there had been a shifting of dynamics, with Draco falling into the directorial role, and Lucius obeying his orders. Lucius wouldn't say he was submissive to Draco in any way, just that he'd become accustomed to letting Draco call the shots. Now with him steering the broom it was almost unnerving...Lucius almost felt like it was his first time.

A deep breath and a gathering of his not inconsiderable wits had Lucius steadied. He divested Draco of his trousers and pants...and his socks as an afterthought, because he knew Draco would never live down the shame of having kept them on...and set about admiring Draco's body. It was true that Draco hadn't wanted Lucius to look, but Draco wasn't in charge anymore, and unless he felt that his son was unduly uncomfortable, he would look his fill.

He tried to start at the top, at Draco's slightly reddened hands in their bonds. It was an alluring sight, appealing to any man with an affinity for bondage, which Lucius certainly had. Somehow, though, it just wasn't enough to keep his interest... His eyes kept steering back to the throbbing length of Draco's cock.

Shaking himself, Lucius cast his gaze down to Draco's feet next. Long and slender, they were aristocratic feet, pale with blue veins if one cared to look closely enough. But despite Lucius' determination not to, his eyes returned to Draco's groin until he could bear it no longer.

When he slid light fingers up Draco's lightly haired thigh, Draco moaned softly and parted his legs a little. He didn't seem to realise what he'd done, or what it was doing to Lucius. Having Draco naked before him was an intense aphrodisiac, and it served to help him forget everything other than the fact that he wanted him.

Lucius' fingers closed around Draco's prick, and the ensuing whimper was so unlike Draco that Lucius almost had to check and make sure it was still him. Draco's eyes were clenched shut and his lips were parted, the upper one raised a little in what might have been a sneer if Lucius hadn't had proof that he was enjoying himself.

Draco's cock was so hot, so achingly and strangely familiar. It wasn't so similar to his that it brought him out of the moment, but the fact that it was Draco's was what was difficult to get his mind around.

Deciding that thinking was getting him nowhere, Lucius abandoned himself to the act. Long, slow strokes, a twist of his wrist that had Draco crying out, and tug, a squeeze, a pinch, even. Draco's body was an instrument that Lucius himself had cultivated for decades. It was his. Draco belonged to him in a way no one else could...to Lucius, Draco was everything a person could be.

When Draco came, it was almost anticlimactic. White spurts shot out over Lucius' fist onto Draco's belly, and Lucius continued stroking until Draco made soft, protesting noises. His eyes were still closed, and Lucius took a moment to really absorb the inhibition of the moment. He'd never seen his son so willingly give up control; it was a heady thought because he knew he was the only one who could inspire that level of trust. And Hermione, of course, but still, this seemed different. Even when Hermione had tied Draco up, he'd still somehow been in control. Now there was not even the illusion of that.

With a practised wandless action, Lucius banished the mess on Draco's body and his own hand. Even though he was fully dressed, he felt naked all of a sudden. His desires were open and so obvious...he hated letting so much of himself show, even to Draco.

He pulled the sheet over them both, and finally Draco opened his eyes. They were soft and lambent in the low light, and Lucius was pulled in.

"Are you all right?" he asked quietly, knowing it was he who needed the reassurance.

"Better than all right. I want to..." Draco tilted his head in the direction of Lucius' lower body, wriggling his hands a little. "But I'm..."

"It doesn't matter. There's time for that. I wouldn't want you to feel obligated."

"I don't!" Draco protested, but despite his words there was relief in his voice. Faint, but there. "It won't always be... one-sided."

"I should hope not," Lucius said haughtily, but he smiled to make sure Draco knew he didn't mind. And truly, he didn't.

Draco yawned, trying to turn his head to hide it in his arm since he couldn't cover his mouth with his hand. "Sorry," he said sheepishly. His eyelids looked heavy. Lucius kissed them, and then his lips.

Draco kissed back, a languid, easy kiss that demanded nothing.

"I think I'll have a little rest," Draco said, his words slurring a little in his evident exhaustion.

"Of course." Lucius leant over to untie the bonds, but Draco stopped him with his eyes.

"Leave them." His voice was quiet but insistent. Lucius was entranced by his blush and chuckled.

"I'll be in to check on you shortly." Lucius placed one last kiss on his forehead and rose, tucking the sheets around him before he left.

As he shut the door securely behind him, he almost jumped when he saw Hermione slouched against the wall, hastily pulling her hand from inside her trousers.

"Oh," she said, voice laden with guilt and lust. "You're all finished, then?"

Lucius grinned with sharp teeth and advanced. "Naughty pet. Who said you could listen?" He took her wrist and lifted her hand to his mouth, her fingers slick and heavy with her intimate scent. He bit one. "Who said you could play with yourself?"

"I was just..."

"Listening to me have sex with my son and masturbating," he finished, advancing her body against the wall and pressing his against it.

"I was bad," she whispered, half mischievous, half needy.

"And...?"

"And I should be punished." She grinned her own shark's grin.

After Hermione's punishment...which ended up being more like a reward, but Lucius wasn't one to quibble over such matters...the two checked on Draco. He was sleeping soundly, the tie still secure around his wrists.

Hermione didn't ask about the bonds, simply crawling into bed and resting her head on Draco's chest. With Lucius on the other side of his son, nothing had really changed after all.