Disclaimer... Not mine...never have been and never will be. T'all belongs to JK Rowling, who is a Goddess, but mean for keeping us waiting for book 5 so long!
Dedication... To the good people at the Jack Daniels factory. Mmmmm....JD and coke... And to my Bally. I love her, hyena laugh and all. And not just because she shares my dreams of a roundy-house to spend our lives in.
Added extras... Sorry it's taken me so long to get this lot up...I've been moving house, starting a new job, helping a friend organise her wedding and a whole bunch of other things. I hope you like it though!
~ Chapter 3 ~
Lucius told Bill that he would again put all of the drinks on his tab. I objected, but he was firm. "I have too much money sometimes. You must allow me to do this." I relented.
The conversation took off of it's own accord. Lucius was able to converse on many diverse subjects, from books we had both read, to which beers tasted the best. Bill was forgotten as we bonded over shared interests. I could feel a change within myself. Before this Sirius was the only man I had ever felt more then just lust for. It was rare for me to meet a man who could stimulate me mentally as well as physically. It was clear Lucius was one of these men, and if Sirius had not completely dulled my perceptions, Lucius was responding in kind.
Lucius was making a quick bathroom break while Bill pulled our fifth drinks of the evening. He leaned against the bar. "So you seem a lot happier. Getting on with being strong?" He grinned broadly. I answered the grin and nodded happily as Lucius sat back down.
"What was that?" Lucius asked. I was slightly tongue tied for a moment but Bill filled him in.
"Russ has spent the summer getting over the unrequited love of his life. She went off with someone else." I blanched. I had not been planning to tell Lucius this yet, but now if he was in fact interested he would get the wrong idea. I watched as Lucius turned to look at me.
"So she broke your heart?" He asked, grey eyes intense. I nodded.
"Yes, she did." I hoped Lucius would pick up on the slight emphasis of 'she'. By the rise of his eyebrows it seemed that he had. He took a swig of his drink and I continued. "It seems she doesn't go for men, like me." Again I hoped the pauses in the sentence would convey the message I wanted.
Lucius smiled. "Men like you and I often have that problem." Fire erupted inside me. He had just admitted what I had already figured and it fanned the flame of my attraction. I could not mistake the pleased look in his eyes at my involuntary grin. We continued to talk, but there was now almost an anxiousness t out conversation. I knew it was a desire to talk to him alone on my part, and I hoped it was the same on his. My hopes were confirmed when he stood a good hour before time would be called.
"Well, I had better be heading off Bill." Lucius began to pull on his overcoat and turned to me. "I'm walking in the direction of the village green. Do you walk that way?" I tipped back the rest of my pint and stood up too.
"I do. I may as well leave and walk with you." I dragged on my coat, the leather feeling comfortably heavy across my shoulders. I waved to Bill and followed Lucius out through the door, wondering how much the old man would figure out, if anything.
Once out of the door Lucius dropped back so he was walking next to me. I wanted to reach out and take his hand but I could not make myself do it. Nothing had really been said out loud yet and I could not be the cause of a problem. The rain was still torrential and I walked with shoulders hunched, hands in my pockets. We were both dripping wet. I blew upwards to try and dislodge a droplet of rainwater off the end of my nose, making Lucius laugh. I looked round at him. He had water trapped in his eyelashes and little rivulets travelled down his face having not pulled up his hood.
We continued to walk, conversation mostly about the freak storms, until we reached some benches beneath a large sprawling oak tree. Although it was impossible to get any wetter, we unconsciously picked the driest bench. For a moment after we sat no one spoke.
"So who was he?" Lucius asked. "This unrequited love." Lucius' directness just proved he had understood my meanings before. I wanted to be direct in return but I could not bring myself to say Sirius' name to this man. Part of me still could not trust that he was not just a Slytherin trying to get a Gryffindor to admit his sexuality.
"Just a friend." I allowed, sitting back and looking up through the branches at the dark, cloudy sky, the occasional large droplet splashing down from the sodden tree. "He never even knew I liked him."
Lucius nodded. "I had a similar thing happen to me last year." He smiled slightly, self-consciously. "Unfortunately I made advances that were rebuffed." I laughed as it was clear Lucius looked back on the event with humour.
"What happened?" I was curious and not a little jealous. I had a possessive knot in my stomach that I knew only too well.
"He was shocked. I realised what I had taken for shared attraction was just hero worship on his part." He made a self-depreciating face. "It was embarrassing." I chuckled, knowing that had been a great underestimation. I could feel a blush at even though thought of a similar thing happening with Sirius.
"So do I know him?" I asked. Lucius shrugged slightly.
"I've no doubt you do." I waited for him to continue, but he just smiled at me and raised his eyebrows. I got the message. You tell me and I'll tell you. I nodded. I was not ready to reveal all yet. We sat in silence for a moment before Lucius spoke in a low voice.
"Are you busy tomorrow?" I murmured that I was not. "I was going to take a walk into the hills, follow the streams, take some lunch. Would you like to join me?" I was frantic to scream that I would but I could not seem desperate. I paused for a few seconds.
"Actually yes, I think I'd like to. It's been a while since I wandered in the hills." I smiled internally at the fact he had invented an outing where we could be alone and that I had happily agreed to it. We arranged to meet back at the same bench the next day at noon.
I rose to leave, for a moment unsure as to whether a kiss goodnight would be appropriate, but deciding not to court embarrassment. As I walked away I could hardly wait for the next day. I knew I would not sleep at all that night.
Later, as I finally drifted off to sleep in my bed, I wondered what my friends would think of my not only spending time with a Slytherin, but planning to do more than just walk and talk. The thought brought I smile to my face and I slipped into a deep sleep.