And I'm back! I hope you are still interested in the story.

It's official. I'm losing my marbles. This chapter just proves it.

Extremely sorry for the delay by the way. I'm blaming it on the loss of marbles…

Disclaimer: JKR owns everything recognisable. No copyright infringement intended.

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12. The Morning After

She looked down upon him, her blue eyes shining in the dark. Beautiful red locks cascaded down her naked torso. Scorpius thought he'll never be able to breathe again as his eyes roved over the magnificent woman straddling him.

She lowered her head to his, her locks tickling his face.

"You really seem to be doing a whole lot of staring," she whispered in his ear and then kissed his jaw, "It's not the first time you're seeing a woman naked, are you now Mr. Malfoy?"

He smothered a groan as her lips grazed his ear. He knew she was teasing him as she kissed him everywhere on the face, but his lips. He caught her head between his hands, surprising her.

"But I think I am", He said, crushing her lips with his, losing himself in her taste. Yet again.

Scorpius twitched in his sleep. Merlin, he had to stop doing that! Dreaming that way about her. These dreams made him want her even more. All these dreams made him realise just how pathetic he was.

He could feel bright light pricking his eyelids and then yawned. He might as well get up rather than wait for his daughter to wake him up. He yawned again. Why was he so damn tired?

However the moment he opened his eyes, he nearly fell off his bed in shock. For he realised that he had a naked red-haired woman in his arms.

NO-FUCKING-WAY.

Rose had slept with him the previous night. The so-called dream wasn't a dream.

A gust of satisfaction blew over him, as the facts that the woman in his arms was really Rose and that they had really slept together, sunk in. Feeling happier and contented than he had ever been, he carefully extracted his arms from around her, making sure he didn't wake her up. He gazed at her bare back lovingly, remembering every bit of their passionate night.

The mind-blowing shower and the lovemaking that had followed had been an out-of-the-earth experience. They had spent the whole night making love, as if trying to catch up on what they had missed out on in the past two years, at least he was. He had savoured every moment of it, as if he won't be able to taste and feel her again, which was quite possible.

Scorpius furrowed his eyebrows as a thought came to mind; Now what?

He had been so thrilled the last night, when she had kissed him for a change. But….

Why did she do it? Was it because she felt something for him? Or was it just one of the caught-up-in-the-moment sort of a thing? Or was it because she had been celibate for so long (he hoped she was) that she became rather desperate and decided to bed him instead? Or was it because she had realised that he was in love with her and had decided to take advantage by making him do whatever she wanted, asking him to sleep with her being the first on her list?

Okay, maybe the last thought was slightly absurd. But it was possible that she knew about his feelings since it was said that a man's actions conveyed his real feelings. Last night he almost bit his tongue off, trying to make sure the words I love you didn't roll off it while he made love to her. He had made love to her. It wasn't just sex to him. He was no stranger to great sex, but last night was indescribable. The woman he was sleeping with made all the difference in the world.

He knew he and Rose had a lot to sort out. He couldn't just assume she had a thing for him. He knew how much she hated it when he assumed things about her. But he couldn't help but believe that she was attracted to him.

Last night he had felt a connection with her that he had never felt with any woman ever before. He could feel the love he was offering her being reciprocated. It was something else that that he had always been emotionally connected to her, but the physical connection just nailed the fact that she was the one for him. She had always been so. He had just been rather stupid to not notice it earlier.

It felt so natural and frighteningly powerful, that he wondered why they hadn't done this before.

Earlier, he had wondered if sleeping with Rose would quench his blazing desire for her. The night had instead just fuelled it.

For heaven's sake! He had to stop thinking about her, or he was sure he would bed her the moment she woke up. Maybe she wouldn't mind it. However, there was Amelia to tend to.

He sighed and pulled up the sheets to cover his wife's beautiful body. He himself got up from the bed, and pulled on clothes discarded from previous night and walked off to see his daughter, but not before taking a long glimpse at his wife's sleeping form.

He carefully opened the door to his daughter's nursery. It was a medium sized room, with sheep and for some odd reason (or rather James), little pigs with wings, painted on the cream walls. The ceiling was bewitched to look like the night sky. The room was littered with toys, some really big, and some small. There was a large portrait next to the door, a moving portrait of him, Rose and an eight-month old Amelia in her arms, looking like the happiest little family with huge grins on their faces. He wasn't surprised to see his image self throwing loving glances at his wife when she wasn't looking.

"Dardee??" came a curious little voice.

"Hey Princess!", said Scorpius softly, walking over to Amelia's lilac bed. It was very big for her size, and had the softest pillows and mattresses, making sure the little girl had the most comfortable sleep in the world.

Amelia was already wide awake, and was currently playing with her dragon soft toy, a gift from her grand-Uncle Charlie on her first birthday.

She grinned toothily at her father, stretching her arms towards him, urging him to pick her up.

"Did you sleep well? Seems like you've been up for a long time," he asked rubbing his nose against hers. She nodded.

"Mamma?"

"Mamma is sleeping," said Scorpius, suddenly grinning. She was tired and sleepy because of him, "She's very tired after yesterday's party. Aren't you hungry?" he asked, tossing her in his arms.

"Hungreee," squealed Amelia, pointing at her stomach.

Scorpius moved to the kitchen with his daughter and placed her down so that she could walk freely.

While he prepared her breakfast, she wandered around, taking her morning walk.

"Amy?" he called when he finished making her food. He walked towards the living room, to see Amelia hugging one of his least favourite muggle contraptions, the VT or was it the TV? He could never learn how to work it, despite Rose's extensive efforts. There were other things he could never figure out; the microwave oven, the fellytone, the washing machine, the fridge. They really did have an awful lot of muggle stuff in the house, since Rose wanted Amelia to have knowledge about non-magic objects as well.

Amelia looked at him hopefully, her eyes asking him to switch it on, so that she could watch her favourite programmes on it.

"Come here!" he whispered, beckoning her closer.

"Tee vee" the little girl whined.

Great! My own daughter knows more about the muggle world than I do.

"Only if you finish your breakfast, sweetheart. Now come on."

Amelia pouted, her eyes filling with tears. He hated it when she did that; that made him do anything she wanted him to do. The little girl was showing her mother's talent of being able to get work done.

Scorpius sighed, "All right!"

He came forward and bent down to examine the tiny buttons on the contraption. He looked for the largest one, since Rose had said that the largest buttons in any muggle device is usually its starter.

On pressing it, the LCD screen came to life, startling Scorpius, and making Amelia squeal. She quietly sat down on the carpet and watched a purple dinosaur dancing with the kids.

"I guess I should listen to Rose, when she does tell me how to work with muggle thingies," said Scorpius impressed, as he joined his daughter. "She was always a better instructor than the Muggle Studies professor."

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Rose stirred, a small smile breaking on her face. It had been ages since she had slept so amazingly. She stretched, yawned and blinked a few times, and then started when she saw her surroundings.

She wasn't in her room. She was in Scorpius's room.

Everything came in flashes in front of her eyes.

They were arguing, then the next moment they were snogging, and then they-

She shot up, sheets slid down, revealing her naked body.

She flushed red, and pulled up the sheets again, very grateful about the fact that there was no one around.

Oh My God. OH MY GOD. OH-MY-GOD!!!

What had happened to her last night? What was she thinking, going up to Scorpius, and snogging the life out of him, when he was clearly mad at her?

You did that to calm him, so basically kissing him did work.

She however hadn't expected things to go beyond snogging. It had felt rather surreal when she had felt Scorpius's fingers working on the knot of her dress. Realization had sunk in when she felt him pushing her dress down her body, making a thousand questions run through her mind. Was she ready for this? Would this make things awkward between them? Would they regret spending the night together? They were setting their feet into foreign territory, something they were familiar with otherwise, but not with each other.

The first few months after marriage had been awkward enough since their level of intimacy was limited to snuggling, hugs and pecks on the cheeks because that was their comfort zone. Neither had ever talked about taking their relationship forward in the past two years. Just the thought of bringing up sex was embarrassing. Because they were best friends, and best friends never slept together, unless they were in love.

Did Scorpius want her the way she wanted him? Agreed that she was the one who kissed him but wasn't he the one who really initiated the sex part?

But then, her mind argued, Scorpius was a man. And any man would never hold himself back if he is a minute away from sex, especially if he has been hot for a long time.

AND he had mentioned that he had held up his love (in other words, sex) life only because of her. And she knew just how active his love life was! He was a very attractive man after all, and one-night stands were next to breathing for him.

Her eyes prickled as she realized that the reason why he slept with her was maybe just to get relief. She had been so emotional during their love-making, that she had imagined seeing love in his eyes they moved together. Or had she?

He had been so tender and loving as he held her last night, as if she would break any second. The way he had kissed away her tears as he made love to her or the way he had called out her name when he came, it was too good to be true.

Maybe that's how he was with every woman he had slept with.

They said that sex usually solved everything, makes everything clearer. But it made her feel more confused than ever. Her eyes fell on the clock on the bedside table, and she almost swore; it was well past eleven. She was an early bird, and waking up at such a time made her feel awful. But then she had fallen asleep, or rather, passed out due to sheer exhaustion, in the wee hours of the morning.

Scorpius should have woken her up earlier. He knew that she hated to wake up late. Did he not wake her up because he wasn't ready to talk to her after last night? Was she bad in bed? Was it really uncomfortable for him?

She knew the only uncomfortable thing for her was the fact that Scorpius wasn't in love with her. Other than that, the night was more passionate than she could've ever imagined. The feel of his body against hers felt so familiar, as if this was where she had always wanted to be. It was like she was finally home. His kisses burned her skin, every touch of his sent a wave of pleasure down her body, leaving her wanting more of them. And he never disappointed.

Shaking her head, she got up carefully after wrapping the bed sheet around her. She turned pink when she saw what she believed to be a part of her bra on the floor. Oh they had a wonderful, wild night together alright.

After finding her underwear, she frowned when she couldn't find her dress. Hadn't it been somewhere next to the bed? She however gave up on her search, when she heard a loud rumble from her stomach.

She decided to wear another one of his shirts lying around (this room needs a lot of cleaning to do!), since it was long enough to cover till her mid thighs. The moment she wore it, a familiar scent washed over her, the scent that was totally him.

Her heart thudded loudly as she moved downstairs. Her Gryffindor courage seemed to be off on a vacation, since it had been used in excess the previous night. How was she supposed to face Scorpius now? Now onwards, was it going to be awkward between them?

She entered the empty living room, and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Morning sunshine!"

Rose turned in the direction of noise to see Scorpius seated at the dining table with a newspaper. He looked pointedly at the seat next to him and then at her.

The temperature in the Malfoy household seemed to have risen a few degrees, because she suddenly started feeling warm. She could feel her palms becoming sweatier as she walked towards him.

"Had a good sleep?" he asked, flipping through the newspaper.

"Oh yes. You?" Okay. That wasn't bad. All right! Speak slowly and steadily!

"Never better. Nice shirt, by the way," he said, smirking at her, as he looked at her figure wolfishly.

She turned pink as she sat down.

Damn that smirk of his!

His piercing gaze made her feel as if he could see everything that lay beneath the shirt.

Well he did see the whole package the previous night.

"Couldn't find anything else to wear in your room, since my dress seemed to have disappeared of its own wish," said Rose, as nonchalant as she could be, "Where's Amy? Did you feed her?"

"She's taking her after-breakfast nap."

"Okay. I'll make something for myself now," said Rose, getting up, "I'm starving..."

"Hey! Me too!"

"Didn't you just have your breakfast?" she asked surprised, as she saw a glass half-filled with pineapple juice, along with an empty bowl on the table.

"Not really. Just a bowl of cornflakes, two apples and two glasses of pineapple juice."

Rose stared at him, "And whatever you had wasn't enough?"

"Not today. I seem to have developed an appetite overnight. I wonder why,"

Her mouth fell open as she observed his twinkling eyes, his face twitched in amusement as he drank the remaining amount of juice.

Was he teasing her?

Over the years Scorpius had mastered the art of teasing her, and she had mastered the art of having a reply back for every one of his remarks. But this was a major leap from pulling her leg about her marks, boyfriends, her freckles. He was teasing her about sex. However it was a tease. And she wasn't going to back out of this one.

"Oh Pur-lease! You hardly did a thing last night! I should be the one having a rather heavy meal!"

It was now Rose's turn to smirk, as Scorpius looked stunned for a moment. She had stumped him with her retort, yet again. He then suddenly smirked at her, making her skin heat up.

"If I recall correctly," he said, regaining his cocky voice back, "You were begging me to stop at one stage."

"In your dreams Malfoy!"

"I would have continued the whole night if you weren't so exhausted. And that is the truth. I just have a lot more stamina than you do," he teased, feeling a lot more at ease. He wiggled his eyebrows at her, waiting for her next retort.

"You are talking as if you didn't mind it."

Scorpius's expression faltered a little. "Mind what?"

"Us sleeping together." Rose bit her lip as her face flamed up. Damn! Now wasn't the time!

Scorpius looked genuinely surprised. "Why would I mind, Rose?"

Now what are you supposed to say to that?!

Rose stared at the table as she felt his eyes boring onto the side of her face.

"So I was thinking if I should have juice instead of coffee. Quite refreshing and healthier," said Rose hastily, moving from her seat. Merlin! I'm an idiot! "So would you like some fried egg scramble?"

She hurried into the kitchen; very well aware of the fact that Scorpius had followed her. She took out a carton of pineapple juice from the fridge, and poured herself a glass. As she took a large gulp, Scorpius coughed behind her.

"Yes?" she asked politely without turning around. She wasn't ready to face him yet.

"Rose," he groaned, "I hate it when you play lets-forget-what-I-just-said. Why do you think I minded making love to you last night?" he gently grabbed her arm, waiting for her to turn around.

Rose almost started. Did he just say 'making love'? He could have said sex, but no; he had said making love.

She turned around instantly to look at him, heart thudding loudly. He looked perturbed and that was all. She sighed.

Did she expect him to have a loving look on his face?

Yes, she did.

She hated herself for getting her hopes up even for the smallest of the seconds.

"I guess because of the reasons of our marriage, I never expected it to happen so suddenly," said Rose in a small voice, staring at his chest.

Scorpius sighed, "Honestly speaking. Neither did I. Since it was, you know, us."

Rose's eyes prickled once again. She pushed past him and bent down to take out a pan from the cabinet.

Scorpius noticed her discomfort. What was with women becoming so moody? Oh wait, did she think that he thought she was bad in bed?

"But I'm glad it happened, Rose. It was fantastic. And you….", he said, his face flushing as images of previous night flooded his mind, "You were brilliant"

Rose turned around to look up at him; Is he kidding me?, "Really? Do you really mean it, Scorpius?" she asked in such an unsure manner, that Scorpius wanted to tear off his hair in exasperation, yet wanted to kiss Rose and assure her that he was absolutely right. How could someone so beautiful and amazing not be aware of themselves?

"Of course I mean it," he said, trying to sound as convincing as possible

Rose blushed the brightest red possible, and looked away from him.

"We're married, Rose. Whatever we do together is acceptable."

"Wha-what do you mean?" she spluttered. Surely he didn't want her again. Hadn't last night been a mere chance to relieve himself?

"I'm just saying we are a married couple. There's no need to feel embarrassed about what we did. I don't know why we waited so long." he said. He gave her a soft smile that usually made her weak at the knees. But his little statement had ruined the effect of his smile.

"Yeah, you are right. Sex in a loveless marriage is okay," she said sharply, and turned her attention to the stove, "It happens in many relationships. I absolutely understand"

The thought of him making love to her, just to do it, hurt her deeply.

"I wasn't suggesting it," he added quickly, slightly confused. Had he forced himself on her? And loveless?? Didn't she like him? Didn't she want him as well? She certainly wasn't complaining last night.

She ignored his last comment as she went towards the fridge to take out eggs.

She could feel Scorpius's frowning eyes on her. She decided to pretend that she was the only one in the house, trying to see if it made her feel any better.

She had just added some oil to the pan, when she felt Scorpius wrap his arms around her waist.

"What are you doing?" she hissed, as she felt his hands go under her shirt.

"Nothing," he whispered huskily in her ear, making her pulse race, and then proceeded to place light kisses on her neck.

"Th-that doesn't seem n-nothing," stuttered Rose, as she felt his finger lazily trace a circle on her stomach.

"Think again."

Her eyes fluttered close as she felt his finger now slowly tracing a path up from her abdomen. Was he seducing her? Merlin. She was in big trouble.

"I-need-to-ha-have br-breakfa-," Rose tried again as Scorpius's mouth reached her pulse point on her neck.

"You can have me," Scorpius whispered longingly, playfully nipping at her earlobe as he switched off the stove with his other hand.

Her toes curled as his voice washed over her. He wrapped one of his arms around her waist, pressing her as close as possible to his body. However, every coherent thought flew out of her mind when his finger grazed the underside of her breast.

"Someone seems a little devoid of clothing," whispered Scorpius in her ear when he realized she wasn't wearing a bra. Every syllable coming out of his mouth was dripping with desire and lust, "Makes my job all the more easier"

Rose whimpered as she felt his hands go over her breasts. She leaned against him, revelling in his touch and the feel of his toned chest against her back.

He wanted her. The woman tore at his senses, making him want to do things that he never wanted to do to another woman. The way she had responded last night, and the way she was responding now, there was no way she didn't want him.

His tongue ventured out of his mouth, and licked her collarbone. She let out a strangled cry.

He smirked against her neck in triumph, and blew air on the slick trail.

Having enough of his seduction, she turned around immediately in his arms and kissed him hard on his lips, surprising him. His hands crawled up her back under the shirt, pulling her closer. He pulled his mouth back to get some air before he assaulted her neck. The result of previous night's ministrations was still visible on the neck, but he felt the more of them wouldn't hurt.

Rose arched her back against his chest, her breathing becoming erratic as she felt his fingers working on the shirt and his kisses going lower. She gripped his hair, wanting to crush something, or hold on to something. Her brains were reduced to jelly every time this man kissed her.

He wanted to do nothing else but take this woman then and there. She was so bloody incredible. And the fact that she wasn't aware about it, made her even more incredible. He slipped the shirt off her shoulder, closing the distance between their mouths again.

He kissed her hard on her mouth, his hands locking in her auburn tresses, wanting her to know he needed her just as much as he needed oxygen. Her knees buckled as his lips swept deliciously over hers, igniting a blazing fire in her. He lifted her in his arms without breaking contact. Before she knew it, she could feel herself being placed on what she believed was the dining table. Rose had a strong feeling about where this was heading but she didn't feel like protesting at all. She wasn't the one for spontaneity, but somehow this just felt right. Maybe this was what making love was all about. Coming together of a man and a woman spontaneously.

He lowered her onto the table while he raised himself to straddle her. She gasped loudly as her bare back came in contact with the table's cool surface. Her entire body shook with anticipation as his kisses became deeper and his hands roamed the length of her body. She gasped against his mouth as his fingers traced the hemline of her underwear.

Nothing was going to stop him from taking her this moment, he thought, as he pulled back to take let Rose tear the shirt off his body, buttons flying in all directions. He was aroused, and so was she; her eyes could never deceive him. He attacked her lips with full force. Her reaction to his fierce kisses gave birth to a heat inside him, that made his insides melt. She hooked her left arm around his neck, crushing her chest against his, and wrapped her legs around his waist, wanting every bit of space between them to disappear. The feel of her body against his was overwhelming. He felt her right palm resting just above his heart. He was sure she could feel his heart thumping wildly. He could feel his feelings on the brink of bursting out of him. They were choking him now. And he was sure it would choke him to death as well. He pulled back from the intense kiss and rested his forehead against hers, both panting hard.

He looked into her beautiful stormy eyes. This was it. He was just so tired of holding it in himself. It was killing him. Letting her know would ease the intense pain he felt every time he just thought about her. She would either push him off her after this and never let him come on to her or she would give him what he had wanted the most in the world; her love.

"Rose," his voice shook, thick with emotion, "I-"

She however did not believe it was a fair time to talk. So she pulled his head down on hers, making him stop talking.

Oh well, the confession can wait.

As her tongue delved into his mouth and her fingers unbuttoned his jeans, his surroundings became a blur. When every shred of clothing had disappeared and their hips met, he was just aware of their pants and gasps, their trembling limbs as they reached out for each other and fell in a soulful dance. The moment was similar yet rather different as compared to previous night. Last night was all about getting relief from the pent-up sexual tension. Right now it was all about raw, unbridled love and desire he felt for his wife. Each time they made love, his body heated up, as if he had fever. Well if he did, then she was the virus. And Merlin he never wanted to recover.

Soon Rose's screams of pleasure echoed in the house, her nails digging in his back and marking him. Every nerve in his body exploding and his blood fizzing, Scorpius collapsed on top of her, breathing hard as he buried his head in the crook of her neck, and tried to his best to not pass out. This was way better than their entire night together.

"Fuck Rose," he gasped in her ear, "I love you so much."

Despite the dizziness, he realized what he had said. He had finally said it. Fuck, he had actually said it.

It was a weird feeling. He had finally said those words. An odd of sort of contentment came over him that had to do nothing with their previous physical activity. His heart actually felt lighter.

He felt her body stiffen against his. He slowly raised himself, his heart in his mouth as he wondered what expression she'd have on her face. An expression of anger, guilt, sadness or of euphoria?

This was it. The moment that might change their lives forever.

However, he was surprised when he saw shock on her face. Her cheeks looked flushed, her plush mouth was slightly open and her eyes were unusually bright as she looked at him disbelievingly.

Hadn't she noticed any of his feelings till now?? Was she really that dense? He knew he wasn't subtle about his feelings. She has had to notice it at some point of time.

"Say something," he croaked, feeling his insides turning colder with each passing second. Why wasn't she saying anything? Didn't she feel anything?? ANYTHING AT ALL?

"Please," he begged. He hated just how pathetic he sounded. But that was what he was like. He was desperately, hopelessly in love with her.

Rose closed her mouth and lowered her eyes from his face, burning a brighter red. Scorpius felt as if the ground beneath him had been pulled away. He wasn't technically standing but it was pretty much the gist of how he was feeling. He had misread all the signals. She didn't feel the same way. She just wanted a good shag. Feeling crushed, he slowly moved to get up, but Rose caught him by his arms, not allowing him to move off her.

"What?" he breathed, hope bubbling in his heart again.

Rose closed her eyes and squeaked, "Hello Daddy"

Eh?

Scorpius was taken aback. Hello Daddy? Of all the things in the world-DADDY? What the-? Has she lost her mind??

He looked at her, baffled by her words. He raised his eyebrows at her. She finally opened her eyes, and motioned her head to the right, blushing so hard that he swore that he could feel the heat emanating from her.

Scorpius turned to look in that direction and felt his blood run cold.

For there was a copper-haired man standing in their living room, who seemed to have been petrified, looking exactly like a statue with horror painted on its face as it faced them.

"Uh..Hello D-Dad," began Scorpius uncertainly, a furious blush covering his entire body, "So would you like some tea? We were just about to have some."

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AN:-

I'm so good with coming up with bizarre endings. And I'm proud of it. :-P

I felt this one was slightly more explicit than the previous chapter. So apologies if someone found it rather…well..explicit…

It took me ages to finish this one. I'm proud to say that I rewrote the chapter at least thrice, and finally gave up in the end and decided to post it.

Please leave a review behind to let me know if I've really screwed up this chapter!

Oh yes, I've started a prequel to this story. It's already out, so you can check it out if you want.

=)