Author's notes: A shorter one, I know, but I really liked how it happened in the end.

14 – Slytherins tend to want things they don't have and underappreciate the things they do.

Lucius finally got back into reality when he felt Narcissa's warm hands around his neck as she whispered "hey" and hugged him. He was signing and writing those documents for hours already, so he stretched and smiled lazily to his wife. Narcissa couldn't hold her grin when she saw his reading glasses.

"I still can't get used to these." she said. Lucius laughed and took them off. They weren't that ugly, but he preferred himself without them.

"It's better to wear them while I'm reading now than to wear them all the time after a few years. Or at least that's what the Healer said." He narrowed his eyes, repeating the exact words. The woman smiled and her silky blond hair touched his face.

"The healer's right, Lucius." Narcissa said as she wrapped her hands around him and kissed his cheek, still smiling warmly at him, in a way he haven't seen her in the last months. She had many duties, of course, the baby and everything, but Lucius was pretty often jealous of the kid – the baby got much more time with her than him.

"Cissa…" Lucius murmured, still smiling as he glanced at her when her trail of feather-light kisses reached his lips. "I won't be able to get any work done if you keep distracting me like that."

He realized that he sounded kind of pleased though; and he was. Actually with his work at the ministry – mostly donations and things like that – and his 'work' as a Death Eater (inherited from his dear father) sometimes he couldn't get any time with his family at all. And he missed her all the time. He rarely had the will to say it, but he loved her. He probably loved her even since they first met when they were still children. Or at least in that moment she won his heart, even if he couldn't quite be familiar with the feeling back then.

Lucius kissed her slowly and left his quill on the bureau; the document was forgotten. He kissed her again, wrapping his hands around her waist and taking her in his lap. He stroked her hair, rather distractedly, because the thought of the baby a minute ago made him realize that he hadn't see his son from a few days. Actually, Draco could perhaps barely recognize his father.

"What's the little one doing?" he asked. Narcissa let out a relieved sigh.

"Sleeping. Finally."

Lucius nodded understandingly; he knew that Cissa hadn't slept properly for months and now was her chance before the baby gets old enough to torture them both all the time – again. Lucius shivered when he remembered the long sleepless nights when Draco was crying without giving himself a rest and finally went to sleep at sunrise.

Lucius knew that she wouldn't want to wake the baby now. But he just couldn't stop himself from asking:

"I know that getting him to sleep again takes ages but… Can I see him? You know, I don't get the chance very often… So three of us… we can go out and have a walk in the garden… or something."

"You… you want to see him?" asked Narcissa; her eyes were showing him how surprised she actually was despite the warm look in her eyes.

"Of course. I'm his father." Lucius smiled curiously at her surprise. What was so strange about it?

"Sure… just give me a minute to dress him up…" Cissa said and hurried out of the room; her playful smile gone and replaced by a nervous one he couldn't quite understand.

Five minutes later Lucius was already sitting by the fountain in the garden, holding his son. Narcissa was standing next to him, ready to react if he messed up things, and still wore this rather nervous expression.

"What's wrong, Cissa?" Lucius asked gently as he watched Draco closing his eyes and falling asleep again. He lowered his voice. "I thought you'd like such a thing… you know, having a walk like a family for a change."

"Of course I do." She answered and smiled at him again.

"But…?" Lucius asked. He was sure there was something that made her feel uncomfortable for some reason.

"But… we don't do things like that, Lucius." Narcissa answered and stared at the ground; she probably didn't want to make eye contact.

Lucius trembled as if her words had hurt him. Was he really that bad? Did she really find it so strange that he just wanted to have some time with his family?

Of course he was, he thought and sighed. He was terrible both as a father and as a husband. He barely saw his own family just because of 'work' and of course, out of fear that the Dark Lord would think that he didn't want to obey his orders.

Narcissa never say a word about how often he was missing from home. She never openly told him how many nights she was waiting at the door, afraid that he will never come home; she had mentioned it though, but he didn't make a big deal about it. He didn't tend to appreciate anything his life had given him. And to think, he had everything one would wish for – a loving wife he loved, a healthy child, really much money, a big house – many people could only dream of that. He had it all and didn't even feel grateful about it; he just went out every now and then, risking his life for a cause he wasn't sure he believed in anymore.

"We will, Cissa." He murmured and pressed her next to him in a warm embrace with his free hand – he was still holding the baby in the other one. "I promise that we will. One day, all of this will be over."

"I thought you wanted it." She whispered. "Everything that happens. I thought you wanted the Dark Lord to win this war."

"If that would cost me everything else, I don't want it, Cissa." He said and smiled sadly. In a way, they were ones of the many suffering from this war – even when they were also amongst the ones that started it.

"Soon." Lucius said once again and closed his eyes as if this would hide him from the truth. "I promise. It will be over soon."