They arrived at home and both Severus and Lucius were excited and hopeful for the future. That all changed when they looked ton Harry who was looking between the two nervously with a clear confused look on his face.
"Harry, what is it?" Severus asked.
"I-Just, wh-what happens now, master?" Harry asked with his eyes fixed on the ground.
Lucius gently guided his chin up, so that he was looking them in the eye. "Things are not going to go back to the way things were, Harry. First. Severus and I would like to suspend all sub/dom actions until you are happy and healed. We'd like to form an actual relationship with you, so I'd like you to call me Luc if you feel comfortable with that," Lucius started gently.
"And I'd like you to call me Sev, if you are comfortable," Severus added.
Harry just nodded fear evident in his eyes, so Lucius continued. "You are not going to be hurt, Harry. This time if for you to heal both physically and mentally. Once you are happy and healthy, we can renegotiate the terms of our relationship to whatever you are comfortable with." Lucius offered.
"B-" Harry started but quickly cut himself off and redirected his gaze to the floor in front of his feet.
"Harry, we need you to be completely honest with us if we want this relationship to be a wholesome one. I'd like you to speak freely. Tell us when you are confused, voice questions, tell us when you are hurting. We can't help you if you don't let us know what you are thinking," Severus stated gently prompting the boy to finish his thought.
"I'm sorry, it's just...well I don't know how to be outside of a sub/dom relationship, it's all so...overwhelming," Harry whispered.
"Okay, maybe we didn't think things through. We'll still be here to help you, you are not going to face this alone. We're going to get through all this overwhelming chaos together. Okay?" Lucius asked compassionately.
"Why?" Harry asked before he could sensor the completely confused question.
"Why what, Harry?"
"Why do you want to do this with me if I can't even serve you competently?" Harry sighed. His face betrayed the fact that he believed they would kick him out to the street because he wasn't going to be beaten and fucked every three seconds.
"Because we love you, little one. When you love someone, it doesn't matter what they do for you, you just want to see them healthy and happy. And you have served us competently. Too competently. You allowed yourself to be abused in the pursuit of pleasuring us. That's not how a relationship works, love. So, it's time for Lucius and I to take our turn caring for you," Severus explained allowing his emotion to bleed through his mask.
"I-I don't understand," Harry admitted sadly.
"That's okay, sweetheart, we'll help you learn to understand. I just need you to promise you'll always be honest with us. Do you think you can do that?" Lucius asked gently.
Harry nodded his head sadly.
"Sweet heart, would it please you to have Lucius and I held you?" Severus asked gently.
Harry was silent for such a long time the two dominants were resigned to never getting their answer, but then Harry whispered, "Yes please, Sir Sev." Harry figured if it was all a hoax he might as well try and get some comfort out of it while he could. Severus simply move to sit cross legged as he held his arms open for his timid partner. Harry crawled into the man's lap and felt warmth surround him. It was quickly doubled as Lucius's arms completed the embrace. A single tear trailed down Harry's face as they stayed like that for a long time. Then Harry yawned.
"It's been a long couple weeks for all of us, why don't we retire early?" Lucius suggested.
Harry moved to start to get up but found in the next moment he was up, in Severus's arms as he moved to their bedroom. When they reached the threshold and Harry recognized where they were, he began to struggle. Misinterpreting the struggle, Severus immediately put his partner down and knelt on the floor with him.
"Harry, we're not going to hurt you, I promise. We just want to hold you and make sure you get a good night's rest. We want a relationship with you. We want to show you we love you beyond the superficial relationship we've let simmer over the years. Will you share our bed tonight?" Lucius asked going his partners on the floor.
Harry bit his lip hesitantly. "I-I'd be happy to pleasure my master's in any way I can," he replied automatically.
"No, Harry. No masters here. Not anymore. Please, answer honestly. Tell us what is going on in your head," Severus pleaded grasping the smaller hands in his own for emphasis.
"I-it's just, I really don't want to ruin this by disturbing you," Harry finally admitted.
"You won't ruin anything my love," Lucius said without a moment's hesitation.
"How can you be sure?" Harry asked.
"We won't let it. We'll protect you forever," Severus answered.
Harry hesitantly let himself be laid gently on the bed and fell fast asleep in a warm embrace between his two lovers. The peaceful atmosphere didn't last long unfortunately.
Severus bolted upright at the anguished scream that broke the silence. Lucius wasn't far behind him wand in hand. Both were stunned to see Harry weeping and scrambling to get out of bed. Although he almost tripped and slammed his face into the floor, he regained his balance quickly and rushed to the bathroom. The door was slammed shut but both men could hear the clear sounds of retching. They followed their submissive and Severus sat between the toilet Harry and the bathtub stroking the boy's hair. Lucius sat on the other side of Harry rubbing his back soothingly as Harry stayed hunched over the toilet breathing hard.
"Harry, love, what happened?" Severus asked after a while.
"I'm sorry," Harry mumbled so quietly the dominants almost couldn't hear. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry," as he was mumbling the sub pulled away from the other men scrambling away as best he could.
"Love, what are you apologizing about?" Lucius asked when Harry had ceased his scrambling and resorted to wrapping himself into a tight ball and rocking in an effort to soothe himself.
"Ruined everything! I always ruin everything. Alone. Deserve to be alone. Bad, bad, very bad. Couldn't even sleep right. Never do anything right. Ruined everything! Horrible. Useless. Burden. Worthless. Bad boy. Bad boy," Harry sobbed.
Severus and Lucius stared at each other sadly, neither certain of what to say. After a while, Lucius moved to gently pull Harry into his lap for a hug. He felt the small submissive flinch violently but then allowed the comforting contact.
"Harry, you have not ruined ANYTHING," Lucius whispered.
"Lucius and I love you and will NOT be leaving you alone, " Severus confessed moving beside the other men were sitting and began carding his hand through Harry's brown hair.
"You are NOT bad. Harry, you are good and kind and thoughtful," Lucius stated firmly.
"You are not horrible, you are astonishingly beautiful," Severus muttered near Harry's ear.
"You have more skills than anyone else I know. You are most definitely not a burden, you are loved," Lucius stated.
"Every human has worth. You are worthy of love, you are worthy of happiness, you are worthy of care, you are worthy of the world!" Severus proclaimed.
"You are NOT a bad boy," Lucius emphasized.
"You are a good boy, a very good boy pet," Severus praised.
"I'm sorry," Harry whispered.
"You have absolutely nothing to be sorry for, pet," Severus assured him. Lucius stood with the small submissive in his arms and the trio made their way back to bed. Once the group was settled comfortably wrapped in blankets against the headrest Severus spoke again. "Will you tell us what happened, love?"
"What do you mean, sir?" Harry asked blushing fiercely.
"You woke up screaming and throwing up. You said some very disturbing lies about yourself. What brought all this on?" Lucius clarified gently.
"Oh, I just had a nightmare. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have agreed to sleep with you, I shouldn't have screamed, I shouldn't have had a nightmare, I shouldn't have woken you. I'm sorry," Harry mumbled as if it put everything right again.
"You have nothing to be sorry for, sweetheart. There's nothing wrong with having nightmares. Lucius and I are glad to be here with you. We want to comfort you. We want you to let us love you, Harry," Severus reassured.
After a few moments of silence, Lucius prompted the man in his lap again, "Harry, would you be willing to tell us about your nightmare?"
Harry was silent so long both dominants had resolved themselves to not getting a response when the boy started his story.
"My relatives that I grew up with never liked me much. The dream started with them screaming and my uncle was holding my hand against the hot stovetop again, but then it kinda switched to the man they sold me to. He was beating me. It hurt real bad, but for some reason I had an erection. That's when I learned that I was a masochist. Then it switched again. When I turned sixteen, I received my full inheritance and was able to buy my freedom. Unfortunately, that also meant I could now sign legally binding papers. When I met my first leather family, I signed a contract that forced me into a really...painful situation. That was the next part of my dream, after the masochist bit. Two of my masters were fucking me. They'd paid another dom to fuck my throat. It was really hard to breathe. The other master was whipping me. I think that was the maybe the most painful moment in my life. The dom fucking my throat was pulling my hair. One of my masters was trying to jerk me off but I was raw. I don't know if he even knew that bit or not. Both masters fucking me had hands bearing down on my upper back holding me down and clawing my hips. Yeah, I'd have to say that hurt the worst. I think I screamed at the part where you were whipping my back and Luc was whipping my front. I was blindfolded and gagged. I think the pain was a really big butt plug. I didn't really know, just knew there was a really bad pain in my ass. Next thing I knew, I was over the toilet throwing up." The boy had said so casually it made Severus and Lucius's hearts break all the more.
"Harry! You've been abused your entire life. Are you sure you're even a masochist?" Severus exclaimed in righteous anger.
Harry flinched a little but answered, "I must be. I got an erection from the pain then, and I still get them sometimes."
"Harry, love, do you know it was the pain that stimulated the erection? Has pain ever been something that's simulated one again? A lot of things can stimulate an erection, humiliation, roughness or rough sensations that are not particularly painful like a masochistic pain," Lucius explained gently.
"I guess, I suppose I'm not sure. I'm sorry, you signed up for a masochist pet. I suppose if I end up not being one...I should probably leave," Harry answered dejectedly.
"Okay, first, masochism isn't something you are Harry. It's simply a word used to describe your preference," Severus stated firmly.
"And second, whether it turns out you don't like pain it will not change the way Severus and I view you, pet. We love you and we'll adapt to whatever changes happen like we would a new allergy," Lucius assured.
"Finally, I think Lucius will agree that until you are healed and happy pain play is off the table." Severus continued when Lucius nodded in agreement. "From this day forward, I commit to never intentionally cause you pain outside of thoroughly discussed play times."
"You have nothing to fear from us, Harry. We love you want to build a healthy relationship with you," Lucius added.
Harry was crying again as he admitted, "I don't think anyone has ever loved me before."
"Well now you have two anyone's who love you very much and will show you what love means. But for now, we all need more sleep," Lucius declared and they settled back in for the night.
Everything seemed to be going well with only the occasional minor incident where Harry needed reassurance and comforting reminder of what love was. It was almost two weeks later that the peace was interrupted when Lucius and Severus were startled awake by their bedroom door bursting open.
"Do you know where Harry is?" Tom spat accusingly.
Both Severus and Lucius searched the room before directing questioning looks back towards the angry incomer.
"Draco woke me reporting Harry was on the front porch inconsolable refusing to come in. When I went to check on him, he'd already reached the point where he'd stopped shaking. It looks as though his lips are starting to turn blue. He's weeping and refusing to come in or speak with us. All he says is both your names, sick, infect, burden, dirty, and bad. I came here immediately and you'd best fix this, " Tom informed them angrily before storming out of the room.
Severus and Lucius flew out of the room, down the stairs, to the porch where Draco sat in the doorway pleading with their partner to come inside or at least take the blanket.
"Thank you, Draco, but Severus and I will take it from here," Lucius stated gently.
"Harry, would you like to come inside?" Severus asked as Draco left to give the group some privacy.
"Can't," Harry shuttered.
"Why can't you come inside, Harry?" Lucius asked while Severus said firmly.
"You have to either come inside or take the blanket, Harry. I won't allow you to endanger your life."
Harry hesitantly took the blanket and wrapped it around his shoulders. It was a few breaths before Harry answered Lucius's question. "I'm not allowed to be inside when I'm sick. I'll infect everyone. Can't do that," Harry cried.
"Whose rule was that, Harry?" Lucius asked as Severus exclaimed.
"Well, that's both the stupidest and most obvious thing I've ever heard!"
Lucius turned an incredulous glare at Severus, "That is not helpful," he hissed.
"What I mean, Harry, is you deserve to be in the house and are entitled to extra special care. It's how you heal. Of course you're germs might spread to others, but there are things we will do to prevent that. If others fall ill, we'll simply care for them the same way we care for you," Severus elaborated.
"Will you please come inside now, Harry," Lucius pleaded.
"I don't want to harm you. I don't want to be a burden. I can just stay out here," Harry argued.
"You will not harm us, Harry. Getting sick is a normal part of life. You are NEVER a burden," Lucius assured, his voice leaving no room for argument.
"And if you stay out here, you will get even worse. We love you Harry, we want to care for you and help you get healthy," Severus explained.
"We don't want you to get worse, Harry. We love you, Harry. Will you please let us care for you?" Lucius asked extending his arms offering the tiny submissive a warm embrace.
Harry hesitantly nodded and crawled into the man's embrace. Severus immediately helped Lucius to stand with the boy in his arms and shut the door against the frozen air. The group moved upstairs back to bed and the dominants sandwiched their pet in a warm embrace under a mountain of blankets.
As he was drifting into sleep, Harry whispered, "It's quiet and warm. Comforting. Like I've sailed into the eye of the storm."
Severus and Lucius exchanged wide smiles as the sub finally let himself be cared for and slipped into a peacefully sleep with a small smile on his face. They hoped this showed a good trend towards healing. They didn't know how right they would soon be proved.
It was two days later when Severus was awoken to a light touch on his shoulder. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes he saw Harry standing nervously at the side of the bed fiddling with his hands.
"Harry, what is it?" Severus asked propping himself up on one elbow while using his other to wake Lucius.
"Umm...sorry to wake you, it's just that you said you wanted to care for me. Th-that I'm worthy of care. You told me I should be honest with you and tell you when things are bothering me," Harry mumbled clearly nervous about whatever it is he'd woken his masters for.
"That's right, Harry. What is bothering you, sweetheart?" Lucius asked gently trying to reassure the submissive.
"Well, I got up early to make breakfast, but I couldn't reach some of the things. I fell off the chair I was using to try and reach. I'm sorry, it's just...my wrist and head really hurt, sir," Harry admitted.
Although Harry looked like he was waiting to be hit, Lucius and Severus couldn't help but feel proud their submissive had trusted them enough to come to them for help. Severus gently picked up the small man and placed him between the two dominants kissing his forehead. "Thank you so much for telling us, Harry. I am so proud of you for asking for help. Good boy, pet," Severus assured. "I'm going to cast a diagnostic charm now to see how you're hurt. Okay, Harry?"
Harry nodded and Lucius wrapped one arm around the nervous boy while carding a hair through his curls while Severus did the charm. "Okay, Harry your wrist is broken, but thankfully your concussion is very mild. Lucius if you can set the wrist while I grab a skelegrow potion and a pain reliever we should have the wrist put to right in no time," Severus stated as he moved out of the bed and headed to his private potion's lab.
When Severus had left the room, Lucius took Harry's left hand gently in his own. The wrist was already swollen and bruised. "Harry, I'm going to make sure all the bones are in the right place so the skelegrow heals them correctly. It will hurt I'm afraid. Tell me when you are ready," Lucius said apologetically.
Harry nodded, "I'm used to it by now, Luc, you might as well get it over with."
With that resigned answer, Lucius reached out with his healing magic and felt for displaced bones which he forced back to the correct positions. Harry gasped and tears were streaming down his face silently. Lucius tightened the comforting arm he had wrapped around Harry as he cast an immobulus on the wrist so everything stayed in the proper place. Then Lucius added his other arm for a proper embrace whispering calm reassurances to the boy while they waited for Severus. Thankfully, they didn't have to wait long.
"Harry, this is the skelegrow. I'll monitor the progress and as soon as the wrist is healed you can have the pain reliever. Okay?" Severus explained handing the sub a vial which he obediently downed with a nod. It was about half an hour before Severus offered Harry the second vial. It wasn't long after that Harry's pained grimace faded into an embarrassed look.
"Thank you, sirs. I'll be more careful in the future. I'm sorry to have disturbed you," Harry mumbled.
"No, Harry, you have nothing to be sorry for. You did exactly as we asked you to by coming to get us. Severus and I are relieved and overjoyed that you allowed us to care for you. Thank you," Lucius assured sincerely.
"Lucius is right, Harry; however, you will be more careful in the future, love. I think we can agree you are no longer allowed to cook without someone at least IN the kitchen with you, okay?" Severus added.
Harry had a slight smile on his face as he nodded. The smile morphed into a yawn, however, and both dominants chuckled.
"Why don't we try to get some more sleep?" Lucius suggested.