Chapter 36: Greek Spirit

The dining room bustled in the morning with conversation and the clanking of cutlery against dishes. Narcissa passed it by for now with a plate due upstairs. She knocked on Kingsley's door before letting herself in.

He laid in bed with the most recent book Narcissa had given him to read. She recalled Wes saying it was a really good one. That Kingsley was so close to the end and had yet to get up meant he probably shared Wes' opinion.

"Good morning," Narcissa greeted him. She set the new plate through the slit. "All right?"

"Just fine." Kingsley stretched. "Starting to feel pretty cooped up, though."

Narcissa leaned against the bars. "I could see about letting you go outside, if you're interested. You'd probably have to be escorted and all, but it's not like you'd be able to escape."

"No." It didn't seem to bother Kingsley that much. He'd adjusted to his situation, as far as Narcissa could tell. Kingsley didn't even seem to mind the stymy in his right arm. "Wouldn't mind going for a run. I used to go for one every other day or so. What's the date, anyway?"

"The twenty-fifth," Narcissa answered. "I don't know if you noticed, but we turned southeast yesterday. We're between Sicily and Tunisia. We'll be past Malta this time tomorrow."

"Pretty far from home." Kingsley set his book down and threw the blanket off himself. "We should be nearly to Greece."

"The Dark Lord guesses today and tomorrow to get as far as Crete. It might take a few more days before we reach the northern part of the Greek Isles. There's a smaller sea there he wants to put down anchor in, but I can't remember the name."

"Thracian?"

"Yeah, that's the one." Narcissa nodded as Kingsley picked up his breakfast and took it back to the side of the bed. "I suppose you'd know a lot of geography as Head Auror, wouldn't you?"

Kingsley shrugged. "You pick up on it."

"I guess." Narcissa paused. "The Dark Lord put Wes under a Fidelius Charm with me as his Secret Keeper. He seemed to think that Wes might run because Lucius and I reconciled."

"Never thought about letting him?"

"Neither of us wanted to find out how mental the Dark Lord would go about it. Wes leaving would implicate me. Then there's the details. All the brooms on the island are kept in the library, which the Dark Lord barely leaves. Unfamiliar territory, so no apparating. Swimming is inconceivable. Wes would be hunted down well before he made it very far."

"Yeah."

"I'll see about you getting out for a little bit, then," Narcissa said. "See you at lunch, if not before."

"Okay."

Narcissa headed back downstairs. She dished herself up and joined everyone else in the dining room. Lucius had saved her the chair beside him. Most of the plates on the table were half-cleared, at least to a point where everyone's hunger had tapered off and visiting became more of a priority.

The Dark Lord got Narcissa's attention. "How's our guest?"

"A little restless," Narcissa replied. "He's used to exercising a lot. Being stuck in one room has been an adjustment for him."

"Good," Bella said. "Maybe it'll loosen his lips."

"You're getting short-sighted again, Bella," the Dark Lord told her in a warning tone. "Loosen his lips for what, anyway? The shocking revelation that everyone only believes I'm dead?"

Snickers went around the table at Bella's expense. Her cheeks darkened before she backhanded Rod on the arm for joining in. His brow fell and he cast her a look of annoyance before hitting her right back in the same manner.

"He said that he used to run a lot," Narcissa said when everyone had tapered off. "I told him I'd ask about him being able to do that with supervision."

The Dark Lord hummed. "Any runners here that think they could keep up with him?"

Isaac and Thorfinn went out in the mornings, but they didn't look too sure about the second part.

"Someone could fly above him," Lucius suggested. "If you're worried about him getting hold of a broom, just keep distance. Shacklebolt would have to stay in view of whoever's following him, so on the beach."

"The beach is bad running," Isaac said. "Not much traction. I stick to the paths."

"He could just keep pace with you and Rowle," the Dark Lord replied. "Leave your wands at the house, of course. Hildegard, would you be able to tell Lys that if Shacklebolt steps off-path she's to bring him back?"

"I can." Hildegard nodded. "She would get it."

"You know what?" The Dark Lord pushed his nearly-empty plate forward. "Why don't you track Lys down? Let's bring Shacklebolt downstairs for a little chat. Would you fetch him, Narcissa? Take Bella and Rodolphus with you in case you need some extra hands."

The two of them perked right up at that. It unsettled Narcissa how excited they were, but she had to tell herself that nothing bad was about to happen to Kingsley.

"Where do you want him brought?" Narcissa asked the Dark Lord.

"Keeping room," he answered. "There should be enough space there for all of us."

"All right."

Narcissa headed for the stairs, Bella and Rod not too far behind her. They crowded Narcissa as she knocked at the door before entering. Kingsley hadn't moved very far from where Narcissa had left him. He'd finished about half his breakfast and had his gaze stuck to his book again. He looked over when the three of them filed in. Although he didn't show any outward reaction, Narcissa hoped he wasn't alarmed to see Bella and Rod here with her.

"The Dark Lord wishes to—" Bella stopped when Rod elbowed her, shooting a glare at him.

"You're getting short-sighted again," he teased her. "The Dark Lord gave the job to Narcissa, not you."

Narcissa turned back to Kingsley, suppressing a roll of the eyes. "I spoke with the Dark Lord about you maybe getting out of the house a little bit. He decided we all ought to talk about it downstairs. He sent me to fetch you. These two are only here for if you try to make a run for it."

Kingsley closed his book again. "Can I bring my breakfast with me? I didn't expect I'd have to rush through it."

"I don't see why not—"

"Nah-uh," Bella cut Narcissa off. "Glass plate and a knife? He can come back and finish it afterward. I don't want to get stabbed with a fork either."

Kingsley just shrugged and set his unfinished breakfast on the bedside table. Bella made a show of checking that his cutlery remained with it before she would unlock the door on his bars. Narcissa opened it for Kingsley, bracing ever so slightly along with Bella and Rod that he might indeed make a break for it.

He just lingered. "Lead the way, then."

Narcissa went on ahead of Kingsley, while Bella and Rod followed him. The general din of the house had shifted from the dining room further back toward the kitchen. One of the armchairs in the keeping room remained empty. The chatter quickly diminished as all gazes came to Kingsley.

The Dark Lord sat in his favourite seat closest to the fire. Nagini stretched out enough on the hearth for the Dark Lord to rest his foot on her body. Nobody else dared.

"Take a seat," he invited Kingsley with a gesture at the empty armchair.

Narcissa headed over to where Lucius sat by himself on the loveseat. Corban and Hildegard sat on the same couch with the Dark Lord, and everyone else was a little more scattered. Isaac and Thorfinn still stood in the kitchen from cleanup. The Carrows, Malcolm, and Walden all sat at the island facing the keeping room. Wes leaned against the far side of the island. Bella and Rod did the same against the wall by the hallway mouth.

If the multitude of eyes bothered Kingsley, he didn't show it. He did as the Dark Lord told him to. Rather than bother with everyone else, Kingsley held the Dark Lord's gaze.

A cold smile lifted the ends of the Dark Lord's mouth. "So you have a complaint about our hospitality."

"I wouldn't call it a complaint," Kingsley replied. "It was more of an aside. I'm not used to sitting around so much."

"I'm not completely unreasonable," the Dark Lord said to a titter through the room. "Gibbon and Rowle like to jog. It sounds like they've come up with a decent trail that weaves through all the paths on this island. It should satisfy any want for distance running."

"Okay."

"I think it's probably not out of the question for you to have some time outside everyday too. Supervised, of course. And I'd like you to start sitting meals with us."

Behind Kingsley, Bella pulled a face like she'd caught a whiff of something pongy.

"Okay." Kingsley remained outwardly unaffected by it.

"Good behaviour will earn you more freedoms. Bad behaviour will be punished. Hildegard will introduce you to Lys so that you'll know what she looks like. You might already know what she's capable of." The Dark Lord lifted his hand off his lap when Nagini touched her nose against it. She closed her eyes as the Dark Lord mindlessly rubbed the top of her head with his thumb. "When Magnus Norheim's body was discovered, did you ever see it?"

"Yes."

"You saw the scars on his chest? The chunk missing from his shoulder?"

"Yes."

"It's a wonder Norheim survived that." The Dark Lord's eyebrows jumped. "We wouldn't let you bleed out, of course, but that doesn't mean it wouldn't be a very painful injury that we might struggle to treat without the proper means. Dagmar or Hildegard might be able to, but Hildegard isn't feeling too soft toward you at the moment. Dagmar's dealt with enough as it is."

Kingsley just nodded. Hildegard remained unreadable about the Dark Lord speaking on her behalf.

The Dark Lord studied Kingsley with slightly narrowed eyes. "You have no reaction at all to learning Dagmar is still alive?"

Kingsley shrugged. "Hard to believe otherwise when I'm looking at her. You're a little notorious for hopping from one body to the other. It's a mixed bag for Dagmar. I'm happy she's not dead because it's one less casualty in your wake, but I can't imagine her situation is very pleasant."

"She's far from happy," the Dark Lord confirmed. "But she's alive. She can be grateful for that."

Kingsley nodded again.

"Anyway." The Dark Lord waved his free hand. "Other losses of freedom would include the ability at all to leave your room. I considered putting you under the Fidelius Charm since it's proven useful before. I would rather not because it essentially renders the person useless to me beyond minding the base. That doesn't mean it's off the table."

"Okay."

"One last order of business before you go on with your day." The Dark Lord stood and reached into his cloak. A flash of uncertainty crossed Kingsley's expression before the Dark Lord pointed his wand at him. "Admoreus."

Kingsley stiffened in his seat, his jaw set. He blinked. His eyes still moved, although the rest of him no longer could. Bella started to giggle into her hand as the Dark Lord approached Kingsley.

"Apologies." The Dark Lord didn't sound genuine. Narcissa could hear his smile with his back to her. "I knew this would be a fight, otherwise."

Even though Kingsley couldn't move, the Dark Lord could still maneuver him. He pulled out Kingsley's left arm and touched the tip of his wand a few inches below the wrist. Kingsley's breathing grew heavy and his skin started to shine with sweat as what looked like black ink pooled in underneath his skin. Narcissa's Dark Mark ached in empathy, for she still remembered how unpleasant it had been.

"Exsolvo," the Dark Lord said afterward with another wave of his wand over Kingsley. Able to move again, Kingsley leaned forward in his chair and gripped his left forearm. "Any volunteers to mind Shacklebolt while he gets some fresh air?"

"We could." Bella positively glowed from a combination of gloating and excitement. "Rod and I were going to go for a walk. We'll take him."

"All right," the Dark Lord agreed. "You know what I expect, Bella."

"I know, my Lord," Bella sweetly replied. "We won't hurt a single hair on his head."

"What hair?" Rod said.

The Dark Lord trusted Bella, maybe, but Narcissa certainly didn't. Even if Bella couldn't toy with him using magic, she was just as good at provoking with her words. Narcissa went out behind Bella since Lys was on the front porch and she wanted to say hi. Although Kingsley's arm was irritated, he'd returned to his previous passiveness. He didn't seem bothered as he was introduced to Lys ("Don't be fooled by how cute and pretty she is," Bella warned him with a gleeful grin. "She'll disembowel you with one swipe.").

Bella complained later on when she loitered in the kitchen during dinner prep that Kingsley was boring. She went with Narcissa to fetch him for dinner. Perhaps to be funny, Bella and Rod put Kingsley between them at the table. When Rod was finished eating, he sat with his arm around Kingsley's shoulders while he chatted loudly across the way with Malcolm. Bella tagged along again when Narcissa took Kingsley back upstairs. Narcissa headed to her room under guise of having a bath, but doubled back once Bella trotted off downstairs.

Kingsley hadn't made it much further than the bed. He sat with his left arm held against his stomach.

"Hurts, doesn't it?" Narcissa asked.

"I didn't expect that."

"Me neither." Narcissa rested her temple against the bars. "All right?"

Kingsley shrugged. "I'll be fine. It is what it is."

"Good night, then."

He was up before Narcissa come morning, gone with Isaac and Thorfinn for a run. Chelone was far enough south now that the eastern horizon started to lighten up before six o'clock. The weather was ridiculous in the nicest way compared to up by Tromsø. Temperatures were in double digits. The sun beat down relentlessly on the island until it disappeared mid-evening. It wasn't even February yet, and already Narcissa was getting all sorts of spring feelings.

Staying in the house was becoming quickly intolerable spare when Narcissa had no choice. She, Bella, Alecto, and Hildegard all sat on the front deck together while everyone else spare the Dark Lord chased a quaffle around. Magical games were out of the question because of Kingsley, but Isaac had gotten the idea to transfigure the quaffle into the physical properties of a football. He was nearly laughed out of the house when he suggested they all play the Muggle sport. It didn't take long for boredom to convince the rest of them into giving it an attempt.

"Men are so simple," Bella said as the rest of them relaxed in the shade. "Give them a ball and off they go."

"In all fairness, women can be pretty simple too," Alecto replied. "Give me a bunch of sweaty bums to look at all day and I'll be happy."

Narcissa snorted while Bella cackled. Even Hildegard laughed.

"I'm surprised Lucius is actually getting in there," Narcissa said. "I don't think I've ever seen him run. Not for fun, anyway."

"Rod neither. It's cute, isn't it?" Bella nudged Narcissa. "Lucius and Wes get along all right, huh?"

Narcissa had noticed that as well. The men rotated through team captains with each match, so roughly half the time Lucius and Wes landed on the same team. If Narcissa didn't know any better seeing them now, she'd suspect nothing ever drove a wedge between them. Her eyebrows went up at one point when Lucius clapped Wes on the back for scoring a goal.

"Does it make you nervous?" Bella asked in an amused tone.

"No." Narcissa shrugged. "Why would it? It's better for everyone that they get along."

The only problem Narcissa saw was that Wes had no reason to be as fine with everything as Lucius did. She hoped that Lucius wasn't rubbing it in, intentionally or not. Since the two of them were focused elsewhere, it didn't seem to be a problem at the moment.

Narcissa, Alecto, and Hildegard headed into the kitchen soon enough to start on dinner. While Narcissa cut potatoes for mash, she felt slightly disoriented as the ground lurched. She looked around to see if anyone else noticed. Hildegard had put a hand down on the island, and Alecto blinked. The hanging chandelier over the island swayed.

"We stopped?" Alecto asked. "We must have reached Crete."

The Dark Lord had mentioned his intention to let Chelone rest once they'd reached the line between the Ionian and Aegean Seas. She'd certainly earned it. From the time they'd left the Norwegian Sea nearly three weeks ago, Chelone had swam a staggering five-thousand miles. She hadn't rested at all since they stopped west of Amsterdam.

All the yelling and laughing outside tapered off. The yard sounded empty. Narcissa's guess that everyone had filed off to the beach to see about having made it to Crete turned out right. Everyone came back to the house with the Dark Lord intent to wash up before dinner—well, almost everyone.

Bella came into the kitchen with a cheeky grin. She sidled up beside Narcissa where she peeled carrots. The attempt to ignore her went completely unnoticed. "Guess what?"

"You can see Crete from the beach." Narcissa doubted Bella would be so animated about that, but she didn't care to actually guess what would make Bella so smarmy.

"Yes, that," Bella said, "and after we all left the beach, Lucius asked Wes for a word."

Face straight, Narcissa gasped in sarcastic surprise.

"So they're out there talking," Bella kept on, oblivious to Narcissa's feigned apathy. "They're probably talking about you."

"Probably."

Narcissa wouldn't let Bella see that she burned with curiosity. Her lack of reaction discouraged Bella from sticking around, so it was only Alecto and Hildegard that saw Narcissa glance toward the front of the house whenever a sound came from that direction. Her gaze remained aloft when the front door opening preceded Lucius and Wes' carrying voices. Narcissa didn't hear anything in their tones like they'd been arguing and they both headed upstairs, so she mentally shrugged.

Lucius followed Narcissa upstairs after dinner, stretching on the bed and rubbing his stomach. An afternoon of physical activity had turned him prematurely dozy.

"Not that I probably have much right to ask. . ." Narcissa said as she sat down between Lucius' side and the edge of the bed. "Bella said you and Wes had a chat earlier. I heard you two come back in the house. It didn't sound like it had come to blows."

"No," Lucius confirmed. "It was stiff, I guess. He's hurt."

Narcissa suppressed a grimace. "What did you talk about?"

"I figured I owed it to him to say thanks for taking care of you while I couldn't. Stuck here with Bella and the Dark Lord, and them being gone most of the time. . .if I knew the specifics while I was in Azkaban, I might have gone out of my mind with worry. I trust the two of them to keep you alive, but that's about it. A person could go mental here without anything to do or anyone to talk to."

"Yeah." Narcissa paused. "He was just doing what the Dark Lord asked him to."

"That's what he said." Lucius chuckled. "He went beyond what the Dark Lord asked, didn't he?"

"Well, yes—"

"I mean about sticking around, not just doing fetch and carry once a week."

Some heat remained still in Narcissa's cheeks with the clarification. "He did."

"I miss him." Lucius pursed his lips thoughtfully, eyes narrowed as he gazed in general direction of Wes' room two doors down. He kept on running his thumb lightly over Narcissa's knee, so she didn't worry his mind was going somewhere to her detriment. "He's always been a good mate. It's weird, this space. Not to mention, it's only you, me, him, and Hildegard—and Shacklebolt, I guess—against the rest of the house. With something like that going on, I don't want anything else to get in the way."

"It won't," Narcissa told him. "I caught him up to speed a few days ago. It wasn't too terribly awkward. The Dark Lord put him under the Fidelius Charm anyway, so it's not like he has any choice but to stick things out right to the bitter end."

Lucius nodded mindlessly. His thumb moved in more of a circle as he watched it.

"What're you thinking?" Narcissa turned more toward him on the bed, pulling her leg up.

He shrugged. "Just been thinking a lot about the two of you. The situation is one that you'd naturally assume I should be furious. I'm not, though."

"It might still come later."

"It should be raw right now," Lucius said. "We're all crammed together in this house, and it doesn't bother me. I don't look at you and see his fingerprints all over your body. I don't feel emasculated to know he's had you the same way whenever we shag. I miss when he and I didn't have this wall between us. I regret that he's hurt—that both of you are hurt."

"It'll fade," Narcissa replied. "It's just weird right now. We aren't really able to spend any time apart because we're stuck in all this. It's going to hurt him to see us together. Maybe it's only natural that both of us feel bad to see him alone. It was like that after Deidra died too. I've always hated seeing him by himself."

"It's not right, is it?"

"No." Narcissa hesitated, not completely sure how much she should say about it all while Lucius worked through his thoughts. "He's a good man. Men like that shouldn't be alone unless they choose it for themselves."

Lucius folded his free arm behind his head as he continued to study Narcissa. "What would your thoughts be on keeping on with him?"

Narcissa's eyebrows leapt up by their own accord.

"Is that some sort of trick?" she asked. "If you're looking for me to admit I still have feelings for him and would jump at the chance, we already talked about that. I'm working on them."

"When have we ever played those kinds of games with each other?"

Narcissa thought about it. That nothing came off the top of her head was pretty indicative. She and Lucius had always approached important conversations about their relationship with complete seriousness.

"That's a big deal," Narcissa replied. "Your reaction might be delayed, and it would be awful for it to hit you after things already started back up. If you think Wes is hurt now, imagine if you dangled something like that over him and then took it away."

"That's why we're just talking about it."

Narcissa crawled over Lucius in that case, getting comfortable beside him on the bed. She still considered what she'd done to be outside the scope of their marriage, but she'd also paid direct witness to how quickly they bounced back together. Because Lucius had taken everything in such stride, Narcissa felt like they were stronger than ever. They'd tested a new limit on how much stress their marriage could take without crumbling.

"This is my thinking." Lucius readjusted so that Narcissa could put her head on his shoulder. He ran his fingers idly through her hair. "He's already part of our marriage because something happened between you two. It's not like we're inviting him in. He's already here. It's been tested that even though you have feelings for him, it doesn't affect you and I. You two carried on believing our marriage to be over. Not even that was enough to cut me out.

"We've also had agreements in place before about people outside of our marriage." Lucius nudged Narcissa with his knee. "I would be a bit of a hypocrite if I didn't extend the same courtesy to you."

"That was different." It was also so long ago that Narcissa had pretty much forgotten about it. She'd just assumed that Lucius either gave up on the idea or forgot as well. "We discussed that beforehand. We'd agreed to talk about it every step of the way. I basically did this behind your back."

"Did you intend to hide it from me?"

"Well, no. But I didn't have a choice, considering I couldn't talk to you in Azkaban."

"Thing is, if our marriage was in a good place and you were able to come to me in Azkaban and say there was something budding there, I wouldn't have said no." Lucius turned his face more toward hers. "I knew it wouldn't be long until I got out, so Azkaban was always a temporary place for me. Even if it wasn't. . .well. It's not really my place to tell you what you can or can't do to keep yourself happy, is it? Azkaban doesn't allow conjugal visits."

Narcissa snorted before turning serious again. "The feelings don't make a difference?"

Lucius waved his free hand. "Wes himself makes this easier too. He's my mate. We respect each other. He still respected our marriage even when he thought it was over."

"I don't think he really did think it was over," Narcissa replied. "After he found out we reconciled, he said he'd had a feeling that would happen. He also wasn't completely sure about us while you were gone because you didn't know I walked out. He knew you'd fight for it if you ever got out of Azkaban."

"And he respected it in the end."

Narcissa played with the hem of Lucius' shirt, skimming the tips of her fingers over his stomach underneath. "This agreement would be way different than the one we came up with for you. It's not like I would have somebody that I occasionally shag. I'd have a boyfriend."

"Mhm."

"What do you get out of it?"

"To be honest, it's kind of hot."

Narcissa snorted again and turned her face more into Lucius' shoulder. Those were the exact words she'd used when Lucius had asked her once upon a time if she was truly all right with him being sexually attracted to men as well as women.

"One of my mates is feeling down," Lucius carried on with a playful and husky tone. "It always cheers me up to shag my wife, therefore he would also cheer up if he shagged my wife. It's more complicated than that, of course, but that's the neanderthal version."

"I can't say I don't follow the logic." A smile came easy when Narcissa was amused.

"I won't lie and say I haven't thought about an opening for myself," Lucius said. "Wes is a good man."

"Oh, so now you're after him?"

Lucius shrugged, being careful not to jar Narcissa. There was a definite glint to his eye. "He'd certainly be easy to access if he at all swings that way, wouldn't he? I wouldn't mind finding out if he does. Something happened after Deidra died that I'd just shrugged off at the time, but now I'm thinking about it again."

"What's that?" Narcissa grew serious again. "I don't think you ever told me."

"It wasn't enough worth mentioning. He was really upset, just very drunk and crying for Deidra. We were sitting together talking about it and he put his hand on my thigh. There's no way he remembers it, and honestly, I'm probably just blowing it out of proportion that it meant anything at all. It wasn't like he did it in a way I'd do it to you." Lucius did that then to demonstrate, his fingers running a bit with the motion. "It was more like he was just holding on."

"I mean, I could float the idea, but I don't know that I could tell you to expect anything." Narcissa set her hand on top of his, enjoying its creeping nature toward her inner thigh. "Even if it's possible, those things take time."

"Certainly. I wouldn't go knock on his door now and ask if he cares to join us." Lucius exhaled through his nose in amusement. "If it's not up his alley, oh well. My search goes on."

Narcissa watched how Lucius' fingers traced shadows on her leg in the dim torch light. "I didn't know his drinking was that bad."

"I didn't really either until then. He was in such bad shape, it was one of those things that you just know he wouldn't want anybody to know about." Lucius grimaced. "I just sort of pretended it didn't happen. It wasn't a couple days after that he said he was going to quit drinking because he didn't think it was helping him cope with anything. Theodore was about to come home for the Easter holidays too, and he didn't want to be a mess."

"I see."

"Are you upset I never told you?"

"No," Narcissa quickly answered. "I hadn't known it was a problem, is all. He told me not too long ago here that you'd helped him out of the bottle. Something about 'and this was how I repaid him'."

"He said something to that effect earlier, that I'd been a good mate to him and he didn't mean to betray that. I'd rather that he didn't actually end up having betrayed me either, as another reason to consider all this."

Narcissa toyed with Lucius' hand, thinking. "All that aside, I have a question about him putting a hand on your thigh. If that happened after Deidra died, that was still quite a while after you and I had first talked about how it would work if you found a man you wanted to shag. You never considered him after that?"

Lucius shook his head. "He was in a vulnerable place, and it wasn't what he needed at the time. Seriousness aside, I was also pretty content with the things you did to entertain me."

The warmth that had already blossomed between Narcissa's legs swelled slightly as she giggled. "Too bad for you we'll have to wait until we go home for that again. I don't think Corban would much appreciate the sorts of things we might put on the shopping list. There's no discretion here."

"Yeah." Lucius sounded bummed about it. "It's not exactly something I want to broadcast either. I'd just prefer it be kept private. Did you ever talk to Wes about it at all?"

Narcissa shook her head. "The only thing I really talked about to do with you was why I'd thought the time came to end our marriage. I didn't think it was fair or right to air out anything like that. You were still entitled to your privacy."

"I suppose for the sake of explaining my mindset on all this, you could tell him," Lucius said. "I trust you. I trust him not to broadcast it."

"Okay."

Narcissa didn't have anything else to say about it all at the moment other than that she felt lucky to have such an understanding husband. It wasn't a situation she thought could ever fix itself that way, but it made logical sense to her too. Emotionally, she just wanted it. Narcissa had never seen herself as a woman capable of feeling for two men at once. She hated that she had to make a choice, even if choosing her husband was the clearer option. It didn't feel right, as if she was shutting the door on a part of herself.

Lucius had put it that way too when he was struggling with his sexuality. He didn't feel like he could be completely honest within their relationship if he was sitting on something that big. Like this, it was something that carried huge potential to hurt the other. It had made Narcissa nervous to start, what ulterior motive her husband might possibly have to inform her of such a thing, but she put her respect for him as a person first and they found a happy medium. The best thing for Narcissa was to be involved in it, to feel like she had some sort of control. She acquainted herself with Lucius' taste in men, as well as what sorts of things he'd be interested in doing with them. It helped her that he didn't jump at the chance to slip into bed with the first man he looked at. He didn't have someone specific in mind. Lucius valued Narcissa as his wife firstly, and Narcissa honestly thought he was a little too selective for his own good. He didn't want to get involved like that with anyone close to them. Didn't want a stranger because he didn't know them well enough. Narcissa just shrugged, figuring it would happen when it happened. She took over in the meantime whenever that sort of mood came up over him.

Being reminded of that and then facing it again with their positions swapped, Narcissa wanted to be as close as Lucius as possible while a warm kiss turned into a snog. He was keen to nibble her lips, although became distracted as he slipped a hand down the front of her leggings. He exhaled along with Narcissa when he ran his fingers over her clit. "You're really wet."

"You're really hard." Narcissa could feel that well enough through his trousers.

Lucius studied Narcissa, lips pursed. His touch remained tantalizing. It tapered off as the smallest smirk touched his eyes. "You should go shag him."

Narcissa's pelvic floor gave a throb. "Right now?"

"Unless you don't want to."

Narcissa was torn. She felt pretty mushy for Lucius at the moment, but Wes had something to do with that. She also couldn't deny the heat that rolled through her at the prospect of her husband sending her like a favour to his friend, even if a relationship with Wes already existed.

"If you're completely sure, I will," Narcissa said.

Lucius kissed her forehead. "Good girl."

"You're making this as hard for me as you possibly can, aren't you?" Narcissa asked with a breathy chuckle as Lucius retracted his hand from between her legs. "Getting me all riled up. . .I hope he doesn't want to after all this."

Lucius rolled more onto his side as Narcissa slid away to get up. "Any man that turns you down doesn't deserve you anyway."

Narcissa hesitated again when she was upright. "You're absolutely sure? This isn't your boner talking?"

"I'm sure. I'll be here when you're done."

"He'll want to talk, so I might be longer than you expect."

"That's fine," Lucius told her. "Take all the time you need, although I do expect you back tonight. I want to know how it went."

"Okay." Narcissa skirted around the bed and bent down to kiss him. "See you in a little while."

Her heart pounded as she headed for the room's exit. Lucius laughed when Narcissa paused one last time at the door, looking back to see if he had any last moment protest. She ended up slipping out onto the landing with the dregs of a smile, happy that nobody else was out here for the moment.

Narcissa's hand shook as she rapped her knuckles against Wes' door.

"Yeah?" He sounded bored.

"It's me."

The bed creaked inside as Wes got up. Narcissa heard him sigh the way he did when he stretched his back and shoulders. By the time he cracked the door enough to stick his head through, Narcissa suppressed a grin.

She lowered her voice. "Can I come in?"

"Sure."

Wes looked too curious to say no, although remained guarded. Narcissa toyed with her hands in front of her when the door closed again. Her fear of being rejected lingered in the back of her mind, but she couldn't contain herself completely. She didn't really want to, either.

"What's up?" Wes cleared his throat.

"Lucius told me we can keep on as we were." Narcissa shifted her weight as Wes rapidly blinked. "You know, if you're okay with that. I made sure to stress the fact that there are feelings here, and that it would mean I have a boyfriend. He's fine with it. Are you?"

Wes blinked again. "Er. . ."

"No?" Narcissa braced herself.

Cheeks glowing slightly in the dim light, Wes laughed a little. It sounded more nervous than anything. "That's just, er. . .sudden."

"I know." Narcissa's heart still rapped against her ribcage. "Please tell me you want it."

"I—well, of course I do," Wes said. "You gotta give me a moment, Narcissa. I've been telling myself for a month that you and I were done. I need to adjust."

"Can you adjust quicker?" Narcissa closed some of the space between them. "Lucius let me come here with the full expectation we're going to shag. I told him I might be long because you'll want to talk about all this too, but could we do that after? I've really missed you."

Wes' gaze darted back and forth as he studied Narcissa. He was processing, or at least trying to. Saying she missed him seemed to crack through something. Maybe because Narcissa had such a hard time hiding her eagerness, it was difficult for him to do the same.

He swallowed. "We'll definitely have to talk about it."

"After?" Narcissa pressed.

Wes chuckled again, more airy than the previous. "You're making it very hard to say no."

"I'll back off if you want. I don't mean to be forceful. I just really want you."

"That's not what I meant." Wes moved a little closer, and Narcissa was satisfied to see that his pupils were dilated beyond what they needed to be for the room's light level. "I don't think I ever saw you like this."

"What, kind of pushy?"

"Practically aggressive."

"Do you like it?"

"Yes."

Narcissa grinned to get a solid affirmative answer out of him. That boded well for her and was all the encouragement she needed to bridge the remainder of the gap between them. Her hands trembled as she ran them up his shirt and over his stomach. She held herself against him. Much as she would've loved to watch Wes' shock for how this evening had gone for him melt away, she ended up feeling it instead. Wes held her gently by the side of her neck as he leaned down to kiss her.

He couldn't keep them together for more than a few seconds before he needed a breath. Narcissa moved to his neck while he tried to get a hold of himself, panting like he'd just run a mile. Wes' breath shuddered from a combination of light nips and Narcissa running a hand over him through his trousers. He had to already be hard to the point of pain.

That also seemed to click something into place for Wes. He brought their mouths back together. He almost shook too much to undo the buttons on Narcissa's shirt, but eventually he managed.

"God, I missed you," he whispered as he pushed it back off her shoulders.

"Show me," Narcissa told him. "Maybe put up a Silencing Charm first."

Although she had put a heavy hand on the situation to get what she wanted, Narcissa didn't feel in control of herself at all. She felt like she had so much to catch up on. Narcissa couldn't decide where to put her hands on Wes as more clothes came off. She was relieved for her choices to slim down after Wes had her pinned to the bed. His bum was a good choice for how mesmerizing the thrust of his hips were. Other than that, holding him close by the shoulders or the face as they snogged was suitable.

One last, telling moan from Wes compressed Narcissa's lungs as she got his full weight. She squeezed him, nuzzling his neck as he panted nearly to the point of wheezing. Narcissa could hear the pound of his heart punctuating his breath.

Wes exhaled heavily. "Fucking hell."

"Mhm." Narcissa chuckled.

Wes trembled again as he lifted himself off Narcissa, his feverishness replaced with fatigue. His head was heavy on the pillow beside Narcissa. The arm over her middle was equally so.

"So. . ." His eyelids fluttered slightly. "Huh."

"You almost look too tired to talk it all through," Narcissa said.

"Just need a minute, is all."

Narcissa had calmed slightly, but she still vibrated at a higher frequency than she was normally accustomed to after such a spirited shag. To try and temper it further, she nuzzled up as close as she could to Wes' chest. She slid a leg over his hips.

"I kind of wondered if Lucius was up to something earlier," Wes eventually said. "He didn't seem mad at all about what we did while he was gone. I wanted to assume he was gloating that he'd won for lack of a better word, but it didn't really feel like that. I know what Lucius is like when he gloats."

Narcissa laughed. "He makes sure you know."

"So. . .why?"

"It was just for the best for everyone's happiness," Narcissa replied. "You and I have feelings for each other, and he missed being mates with you. You're right, he's not mad about it. He told me he understood why it happened. On this side of it, he felt like our marriage was respected enough to handle accommodating how it's changed. He sees you as already part of it because of everything that happened, so there's no sense in anyone being hurt."

Wes hummed as he turned thoughtful. "It's really not something I saw Lucius being all right with. Not to say I would've thought to suggest it. His pride aside, it just wasn't my place."

"Mine neither." Narcissa paused. "Could you keep something to yourself if I told you?"

"Sure."

"Lucius is bisexual." Narcissa idly scratched Wes' back. "He's comfortable with it at this point, but he struggled with it when we first got married. I didn't know then. He ignored it for a long time because we had a good relationship. He was scared to tell me. It probably didn't help that he didn't know what he wanted either. If it was just a capacity to feel for a man like he could a woman, then it should be inconsequential because he was already with me. It's not like that, though. Far as he's ever been able to tell from this conversation going for over twenty years at this point, it's just physical. He's never fancied a man or anything like that. He and I worked through it all and came to the agreement that if he found a man he wanted to shag, it would be all right.

"My point is that an open marriage isn't exactly a foreign concept," Narcissa summed up as Wes' brow furrowed under weight of his thoughts. "Maybe you and I aren't exactly a true equivalent to that since you're not a woman and this isn't just about sex, but Lucius knows how it feels to have a part of you go unrealized."

"I see," Wes said slowly after a moment. "I didn't know that either about him."

"He prefers to keep it private," Narcissa reiterated. "He said it was okay you know, since it might help you understand where his mind is with everything."

"I guess he can't really say this shouldn't be allowed if he's been shagging other people."

"He hasn't." Narcissa pulled the blanket up further over her shoulder as a chill started to settle in. "He's just always had the option. He's so bloody picky."

Wes snorted. "He's gone twenty years without, though? The way you put it, it stressed him out."

"The stress was more the fact he was keeping something from me. He felt a lot better after addressing it." Narcissa grew a little warm in the face as a cheeky smile came over her. "He's always said I scratched that itch for him anyway. It turns out if you don't have the proper equipment, store-bought works just fine."

Wes cracked a bit more at that with a new laugh. "I'll admit, that's not something I imagined of you."

"I did it just for him to start, but turns out it's kind of fun," Narcissa said. "I guess it goes without saying at this point now that Lucius and I aren't exactly the 'missionary position once a week with the lights off' types, either."

"I never really got to see that side of you," Wes replied. "Well, here and there. You weren't shy about shagging outside, even if you didn't enjoy it."

"I didn't enjoy the sand in my fanny, was all." Narcissa nudged him with a fresh smile before returning to seriousness. "Looking back, a lot of this with us was about comfort and connection. Fun was secondary. Besides, it takes time for things like flavour to start coming out in a relationship unless you're leading with that. Need to get settled in, you know?"

"Yeah."

"Is it something you're interested in?" Narcissa asked. "You never seemed the type to be too out of the box, to be honest."

"Well, I certainly can't deny that you coming at me so aggressively wasn't a complete turn on." Wes ran a hand over Narcissa's thigh. "It's not something I really explored. With Deidra, it was more like what you and I had before. Comfort. I don't think she was well enough to do anything too wild. Most of the time she didn't have enough energy to do anything at all. I hated feeling like sex was something I was doing to her rather than with her, but she didn't want me to go without. She still wanted me."

Narcissa ran her thumb lightly over Wes' cheek as a shadow of that grief reemerged. Wes cleared his throat, uncomfortable with the strength of it, but Narcissa spared him an audience by closing the gap between their lips again. She nuzzled their noses together afterward.

"You know what's lovely?" she told him. "We don't have to rush for anything. The most important thing right now is getting back on the same page. I've learned to never underestimate comfort. If it's what you need, it's what you should get."

"I always got it from you," Wes said. "I don't have the experience to say for sure, but it doesn't feel like I should be able to talk so openly about Deidra when I'm with another woman. I guess that's different too, but it helps me see how you and Lucius are thinking. I'll always love Deidra. I miss her everyday. But it hasn't had any effect on my ability to love someone else. I wouldn't ever want to close the door on her either."

"I'd certainly never ask you to. I actually love listening to you talk about her. She was my friend. I miss her too."

They laid together for a while. Narcissa had it in the back of her mind that Lucius expected her return, but it was important to her that she didn't leave Wes' room in a rush. Her very blood hummed to see life back in Wes' eyes and his smile coming easily again.

Narcissa sighed happily at the tail-end of another snog. "I should head back down the hall."

"Yeah, probably." Wes kissed her again. "Not how I expected my evening to go, but am I ever bloody glad it did."

Narcissa laughed. "Me too."

She slipped out of bed and made quick work of gathering all her clothes. The room was too cold to be without. Narcissa leaned down over Wes one more time before heading for the door. Having ascertained that there would be no witnesses to her return trek, Narcissa felt the slightest flutter of anxiety. There was absolutely no hiding how high she rode from the evening. If Lucius had second thoughts or believed he'd made a huge mistake, he was about to be devastated to see how happy shagging another man made his wife.

Narcissa took a deep breath before slipping back into their room. Lucius hadn't moved very far at all. He was under the covers and had at some point removed his shirt. He looked up from his book, studying Narcissa as she lingered just inside the door.

"Well?" His tone was playful.

Unsure what really to say, Narcissa let the smile she'd suppressed come back up over her. "I'm going to need a bath before bed. If you want to talk about it, you're welcome to join."

"I only showered a couple hours ago, but I'll come sit with you."

Narcissa ran the water in the bathtub, her heart picking up again when Lucius came into the bathroom behind her. The prospect of undressing in front of him felt different enough for her to hesitate. She felt like she needed to ensure they were in as good a place as she was being led to believe. Lucius made that easier when he kissed her forehead on the way to pulling her into a hug. Narcissa wasn't sure it was weird or completely expected that her eyes mist up. She squeezed him as tightly as she could.

"All right?" Lucius asked.

"Yeah." Narcissa cleared her throat to try and lessen the squeezing sensation on it. "I've never felt like this. It's not exactly uncommon that you and I work through something, but this is different."

"I know what you're talking about." Lucius set his chin on top of Narcissa's head. "You think something about you that you can't change is going to hurt someone you love. When it doesn't and that person says it's okay, it's liberating."

If Narcissa could tighten her grip any further, she would've. "I love you."

"Love you too."

Lucius lifted Narcissa's chin for a kiss when she pulled enough away for it. She thought he wouldn't want to, considering she'd been doing the same with Wes just a few minutes ago. Tasting him on her mouth didn't deter him though, nor did his sweat as Narcissa's clothes came off. Narcissa erred on the side of caution that Lucius was only helping her toward the bathtub. She started rethinking that when he helped ease her onto the bathroom counter and dipped down to her chest.

Narcissa cradled his head. "Are you after something?"

"Depends." Lucius came up to kiss her lips again. "Could you handle a second man tonight?"

Wes had left Narcissa tired from the rush of good energy she'd experienced, but the prospect of shagging again tonight left Narcissa's lap heavy and uncomfortable. "My hips are sore, is the only thing."

"I can work around that."

A devilish grin took Narcissa over. She slid off the counter and waited for Lucius at the door while he turned off the bathtub. He guided her down onto all fours on the bed. Narcissa sighed practically in relief when Lucius filled her back up.

Looking back when she was with Wes earlier, Narcissa wasn't sure she'd actually orgasmed. The entire experience had been more like a full-body high. It began to legitimately swell inside her now. Narcissa couldn't even say that anything Lucius directly did was the cause. It was just the idea and the evening as a whole catching up to her. She trembled, face pressed into a pillow as it washed up over her and left goosebumps in the wake. When Lucius followed not too far behind, Narcissa had to wonder if it was something similar for him.

Lucius moved them onto their sides so that he could keep spooning Narcissa. She chuckled. "Well, nice to have proof you're actually into it all and not just saying for my sake."

"I wouldn't lie about something like that."

"What did it?" Narcissa turned her head enough to catch a kiss on the cheek. "A specific thought, or. . .?"

"His cum acting like lube for me."

Narcissa giggled.

"What about you? I felt you go."

"About the same. How much of a slag I've been tonight to have two different men in the space of an hour."

"It's a good feeling though, isn't it?" As Lucius settled, he habitually cupped one of Narcissa's breasts. "There's not much better than a safe place to be as debauched as you please."

Narcissa sighed contentedly. "There really isn't."