Hello everyone, this is my first Narcissa/Lucius oneshot which I have written as part of the GGE 2017 for Sarah (aka scrumptiousinternetllama). I enjoyed writing this, I hope you enjoy this fic. Thank you to Emmeebee for betaing this and Book of Hope for the scenario which I tweaked. Little warning: slight use of swear words. I do not own anything in regards to Harry Potter; the rights belong to J.K. Rowling. All I have left to say is sit back, relax and enjoy reading.

Prompts used: dialogue: "don't let it get to you" and "didn't get caught", genre: angst, song: Rule The World by Take That (the title is a lyric from it)

June 1979

Lucius Abraxas Malfoy looked at his Auror partner with concern. They had been tasked with apprehending Antonin Dolohov, and Lucius had known that he would be paired up with someone for the mission. The problem, however, was who that partner was: Narcissa Lupin.

It was a problem for him because he'd always held a candle for her, yet she'd only ever had eyes for Remus Lupin. Remus had been killed two months prior by the very man they were going after, making this mission incredibly personal for her.

Narcissa was driven by grief and anger: two emotions that could very well get her killed in this kind of situation. She was also four months pregnant.

"Look, you don't have to do this; you should be thinking about your unborn child, Narcissa," Lucius said, meeting her blue-eyed gaze.

"Don't tell me what to do, Malfoy. The sooner Dolohov is dead, the better." After a moment, she added abruptly, "We're here." They stopped in front of a cheap hotel in the East End of Muggle London. From its exterior view, it was nothing to write home about, with paint peeling away at the windows and marks where bullets had embedded themselves in the brick.

They'd charmed themselves to look inconspicuous, like an everyday Muggle couple, so that they wouldn't be stand out. As long as their charm held, for as long as they needed it to, they would be fine.

Entering the establishment, Lucius walked up to the front desk and asked the rough-looking man behind the counter, "Have you got two spare rooms? We'll only be needing them for one night."

"Sorry, fella, there's only one left; single bed, too," the man replied in a cockney accent. He stunk of stale cigarette smoke; Lucius held his breath, not wanting to breathe in any more of the stench.

"Fine, we'll take it," Lucius grumbled, handing over the correct amount of Muggle money. He took the key that was handed to him, and they followed the man's directions to their room: down the corridor and up a flight of stairs.

Once inside, the door locked and the room warded with a Muffliato Charm, they looked at each other.

"So what are we supposed to do? I'm not topping and tailing with you in that bed."

"You won't have to…" Sighing, he ran a hand through his long blond hair. "I'll take the sofa, so you can have the bed, Izzy."

The way she glared at him made his blood run cold and he averted his gaze, immediately regretting calling her the name he'd used so long ago, back before he had screwed everything up.

"You don't get to call me that ever, do you understand?" she said, angry tears threatening to fall.

Lucius nodded. "I do… sorry. Look, we should get some sleep. We have a busy day ahead of us tomorrow."

Without another word, Narcissa left the room to prepare for bed. Lucius hurriedly did so as well, and then he lay on the sofa that he had transfigured into a bed, counting down the hours until they could get out of this hell-hole and on with their assigned mission. When Narcissa returned, she went straight to the empty bed.

He didn't know how long he'd been asleep when he woke to Narcissa's sobs.

It broke his heart to see her this way. He wished he could comfort her. After a few minutes mulling the decision over, he got out of bed and walked over to her side, transfiguring the bedside table into a chair for him to sit in.

"I'm sorry, Izzy," he whispered, taking her hand into his, stroking it in slow, gentle circles. Her free hand was on her bump.

Narcissa opened her eyes and met his gaze. "How did you…"

"You were sleeping… so I didn't get caught…"

"I miss him, Lucius. I miss him so much. I'm scared I'm not going to be a good mother. You know my family doesn't have a good track record when it comes to parenting."

"You're not like them, Izzy. You, Andromeda and Sirius broke away from that mould. You're strong and caring; you'll make a great mother, I know it…" He trailed off.

"It's alright calling me that; Izzy, I mean. Don't let it get to you, what I said earlier. It was just my hormones. I hate being snappy."

"Sirius and Andy will help you with the little one, as will James, Lily, even Severus. I will, too, if you want me to."

"Thank you, Lucius."

"You're welcome. See, we can get along without you biting my head off." He chuckled, trying to lighten the situation.

"Oh, I know, you're not a complete arsehole after all," she replied, slapping his shoulder lightly before cradling his hand to her chest and falling asleep.

Lucius stroked her blonde curls with his spare hand, memorising every part of this moment.

I love you, he thought before drifting off to sleep where he sat.

The next day, they left the hotel and headed to the place Dolohov had been tracked to: a dingy pub in Islington. Sure enough, Dolohov was there, sticking out like a sore thumb with his disguise. He was pretending to be a ginger-haired man with a straggly beard and lopsided glasses on his nose.

They waited patiently until he went to the toilet before following him. Narcissa stood guard outside the bathroom.

"You really thought you could keep running and we wouldn't find you? Well, guess what, there's nowhere to run now, you piece of shit," Lucius said, his voice like ice as he pointed his wand at the black-haired drunk who hadn't yet had time to cast a new Disillusionment Charm.

"It was good while it lasted," Antonin sneered, chuckling. Before Lucius had time to react, his foe punched him hard in the jaw, knocking him back into a cubicle.

"See you around, Malfoy," he said with a grin before heading for the door. Before he could open it, Narcissa barged in, locking the door wordlessly behind her and warding the room so that no one would hear them.

"You're not going anywhere, you bastard. This is for my husband. Crucio." The bolt of light hit Antonin in the chest and he fell to the floor, writhing in pain. His screams ricocheted off the bathroom walls. When the pain eventually subsided, he looked up at her and smirked.

"So you're the wolf's mate. I gutted him like the mangy mutt he was. I told him as he lay dying that I'd do the same to you, too."

"You bastard! Azkaban is too good for you." Raising her wand again, she said the two words that would end his life. "Avada Kedavra."

Antonin's body went limp, his lifeless black eyes staring straight at her. Taking his wand from his jacket pocket, she put it in her handbag before casting Incendio on his corpse.

Turning to Lucius, who was leaning against the bathroom wall, she touched his face gently; his cheek was already beginning to bruise and his lip was cut. He winced but didn't shy away from the contact.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. What about you; are you okay?"

"I'm glad he's dead. I'll be alright in time."

They Disapparated together.

November 10th, 1979

Lucius didn't know how they had ended up arguing, but he wished they weren't. With Narcissa being so heavily pregnant that she was due any day, he knew it couldn't be good for the baby.

"Why did you never tell me how you felt at school?"

"Because by the time I found the courage to, you and Remus were together, and as much as it killed me, Izzy, seeing you happy and in love mattered more to me than my own happiness."

Her eyes widened in shock at his revelation, but then she groaned in pain, holding onto him for support as wetness soaked her jeans.

"What is it? What's wrong?"

"My waters have just broken."

Lucius wrote a quick note to Sirius and sent it via owl. Picking Narcissa up in his arms, he Floo'd them to St Mungo's.

When the Medi-Witch came to lead Narcissa into a vacant room, she tightened her hold on his hand.

"Don't leave me."

"Sirius, James, Lily and the others will be here soon; don't you want your family by your side…"

"No, you, it has to be you, Malfoy. I'm not done being angry with you yet."

Lucius was by her side throughout her labour, holding her hand and stroking her hair as he gave her words of encouragement. She gave birth to a little baby girl, who had her mother's blonde hair and her father's green eyes. Narcissa named her Grace Remy Lupin.

"She's beautiful, Izzy. You did well."

Narcissa smiled. She looked radiant as she held her baby girl in her arms. Grace was nursing, her eyes closed.

"Thank you for being with me, Lucius," she said. Leaning over, she kissed him gently.

"Izzy…"

"No, listen. Remus told me that if anything were to happen to him, he'd want me to find love again, and I said the same to him. I will never stop loving him and he'll always be in my heart and there every time I look into Grace's eyes, but I think I could be happy with you, even if we have to take things slow."

He smiled and ran his fingers through her hair. Leaning in, he kissed her gently.

"Alright, Izzy. Alright."

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Until next time everyone,

Sunset Whispers x