When school is over, Severus finds himself living in a dingy little place working in a dingy little shop down Knockturn Alley. Everything around him is escalating, but he just keeps his head down and shuffles to work each morning, hiding in a back room full of hexed clocks and wardrobes that knock about all day long. Although he had always tried his very best, during his time at Hogwarts, to show where his loyalties lied, he still has not been invited to join the ranks of the Death Eaters, and seeking them out is a sure death sentence.
One day, after about 3 months of this lonely lifestyle, an owl knocks at his window while he eats his evening meal.
Severus,
He would like to meet with you, having heard about your skills and allegiances. He wants me to meet with you first, however, to make sure. Be warned: any funny business, any sign of traitorism or espionage, will lead to something very disagreeable indeed. Do not come unless you are sure this is your desired path forward.
I've a room at the Potbelly Inn. Come there tomorrow at 7 pm. Room 3.
Lucius
By 6 the next day, Severus is dressed and ready to make the short journey. He has taken a bath and tried to make something of his hair, and has put on his somewhat grungy best clothes. He tries to make himself wait to leave until 6:45, knowing that this will still make him 5 minutes early. At 6:40 he jumps up and leaves, and is outside the inn by the time he had hoped to depart. Severus paces back and forth out front for a bit and then decides he's being too conspicuous, so he goes in, and upstairs, and knocks on the door of Room 3.
Lucius looks so collected, Severus thinks. His sleeves are rolled up and he is just in his vest, no robes. But once he lets Severus in, he can see that Lucius's wand was concealed behind the door, and as Severus enters, a shiver washes over him. This place is heavily warded, not casual at all.
"Do you have any questions?" Lucius asks him, after they have talked for a long time about what it means to be a Death Eater, and what will happen next. The whole time, Lucius has been conspicuously holding his wand; Severus was asked to leave his on a table near the door.
"Can I see your mark?" Lucius shows him. It is ink black, and seems to shimmer as if alive. "Do you ever regret it?"
"Not at all. Not like other things." Lucius pulls his chair closer to Severus's, with one of his knees between the other man's. "There are some things I have often wanted to change." He takes his left hand and places it on Severus's cheek. Severus swears he can see the snake moving, and while he's distracted looking down at it, Lucius leans in and kisses him. Severus can't breathe, or think, or move. He can taste whiskey, and he can hear a ringing sound that seems to fill the room.
"The bed is right here, Severus," Lucius says with his lips only a centimeter away from Severus's. "We might as well stop regretting things."
"I was drunk," Lucius says the next morning when Severus begins to stir. He is already mostly dressed, tea cooling on the dresser. "I was drunk, and I have to get home. We have Draco now, and I'm needed." He keeps his eyes down as Severus sits up. "We'll see you at the meeting then, at the Manor." And he is gone.