Narcissa wasn't sure how long they stood like that. It didn't become uncomfortable, as she feared the long silence might, but a sudden, magically amplified knocking at the entry door caused them to jump apart.
"It's far too late for visitors," Narcissa said blankly. Lucius was already on his way out of the bedroom, wand in hand. It hardly mattered; their guest had no intention of waiting to be invited in.
"Cissy! Lucius! You are the worst hosts, I swear-"
"Bella!" Narcissa cried, delighted at the surprise.
"Bellatrix," Lucius ground out, not bothering to hide his irritation.
"Fabulous to see you too," she replied, shooting Lucius a smirk as she hugged her sister briefly.
"What do you want, Bella?" he snapped, crossing his arms across his chest and leaning against the banister.
"Bella!" Narcissa gasped suddenly. "What happened to your face?"
Slowly, Bella pursed her lips and raised her brows, eyes staring innocently at some indistinct point on the vaulted ceiling as she lifted her fingertips to the colorful bruise on her cheek.
"Oh this? Yes, Roddy hit me, so I thought I might stay with you two for a while?" She looked at them with a casual little smile. "If that's not a problem?"
Narcissa's jaw was slack with horrified disbelief, and even Lucius's previously hard gaze had melted with shock.
"You- your're joking! You two were so...so right for each other! You were happy! What happened?"
"Oh," Bellatrix shrugged and linked arms with Narcissa as they headed towards a spare bedroom. "You know, he's got just the worst temper. I just did some teeny, tiny little thing that apparently he didn't like too much..."
"That's dreadful! Oh, Bella, I'm so sorry. What will you do now?"
As the two women disappeared from sight, Lucius frowned. Something was not right. Rodolphus was, without a doubt, one of the most violent men he'd ever met, but he couldn't imagine him hitting his wife. Maybe they'd hurl a few intentionally-poorly aimed hexes at the other, but there was something terribly crude, and decidedly Muggle, about striking a woman. It was not like his friend.
Suddenly, the door burst open. Lucius knew he was going to have to alter to magical securities around his home; the Manor knew who was usually welcome and who was not- a burgular or enemy would have no chance or entry, Muggles couldn't even see the place, but family, even by marriage, was always able to enter.
"Please, please tell me she's here, I'm going to kill her-" Lucius's eyes widened as Rodolphus staggered into the entry hall.
A wide gash across his forehead dripped blood into his eyes and down his clearly broken nose. He was limping as well, and the sleeve of his right arm seemed to have been burned off.
Lucius blinked. "Rodolphus," he began carefully, fully aware of what this could escalate to. It was to no avail; Rodolphus' mercurial temper had exploded out of control long before he showed up at the Malfoy Manor.
"I'm going to fucking kill her!" he roared, whirling around to face Lucius, reaching for his wand. However, Lucius was faster and more skilled in this area, and disarmed and disabled his friends effortlessly.
"You're not going to touch her, and if you disturb my wife or son, you will be permanently removed from my home," he snapped, hauling Rodolphus to his feet and dragging him towards his study. "You're going to sit here, and explain what happened."
Lucius braced himself for another outburst, but his shoulders slumped. "Did you know, Lucius?" he mumbled miserably. "Was I really such a blind fool?"
Lucius waited, and Rodolphus drew in a shuddering breath.
"Evan. She slept with Evan." He seemed incapable of fluent articulation, and elaborated brokenly.
"I just found out. Evan showed up at our house this afternoon. Wanted to see Caroline. Apparently, the disloyal bastard found her 'endearing'. Said some bullshit about how he'd be different, that obviously he'd never hurt my little sister." His large hands balled into fists, and his jaw tightened. "I said no. He left. Caroline told me that, if I kept her 'locked up' forever away from Evan, she'd be so upset her heart would probably give out. She threatened to die to get her way. Unbelieveable, isn't is?" he asked with a humorless snort. "So she went off and sulked, and Bella..." he paused to heave a deep breath, "Bella said I should let her go. I told her that I couldn't have Caroline getting upset or excited, and she said..."
Lucius frowned as Rodolphus's brow creased with pain.
"She said Evan was boring. And that she doubted anything he did would excite her enough to cause any danger."
In any other woman, the words might have been impartial, but he could imagine just how Bellatrix would say it; in her low, husky voice with a suggestive smirk and too-innocent eyes.
"I asked what she meant by that. She just smiled. I asked when. She said... she said a few months after our wedding. Said I was out one day when he came to visit, and that she was bored. Bored. She saw that I was upset, and she said she thought that I knew- how would I know? She said... she said that she thought I realized that she didn't love me, that she'd married me for fun and freedom, and freedom included fucking other men. How was I supposed to know that? I knew she wanted to get away from her parents, but I didn't know..."
"No one could have expected you to know," he replied gruffy, unable to offer any other sort of sympathy. "And she is here; she's with Narcissa."
"I'm going to kill her," he announced dejectedly. Lucius sighed.
"You are not. Come with me," he commanded, rising to his feet. Rodolphus limped miserably along, and Lucius arrived at the guest room where the sisters were chatting amiably on the bed.
"Lucius! You-" Narcissa sat up and frowned, eyeing Roldophus uncertainly.
"Rodolphus would like to speak to his wife. Narcissa, perhaps we should step outside."
For a moment, Narcissa considered arguing that Rodolphus might hurt Bella, but considering his current condition, she decided that perhaps her sister could defend herself.
"Very well." With a glance at Bellatrix, she joined her husband in the corridor. He quietly shut the door.
Almost immediately, shouting could be heard from the other side. Narcissa looked on worriedly, but Lucius merely leaned against the wall to wait. There was a crash from within. The yells ceased, and Naricissa glanced at her husband nervously.
"You don't think-" she broke off as a heavy thud was heard. Her eyes widened as the noises continued. "He hurting her!" she insisted. Bellatrix cried out, and her indignant sister started forward, but Lucius grabbed her arm, grimacing.
"He's not hurting her."
"He is! Can you not hear-"
"He's not. Narcissa," he looked at her meaningfully. "She's fine. I think we can leave them on their own now. Your sister and Rodolphus are... less than articulate. They are... making up. In their own way."
It took Narcissa another moment before red flooded her cheeks and she turned abruptly to stride briskly down the corridor.
"So, what happened? Did Rodolphus say anything?" she asked primly, glancing over her shoulder as Lucius's long, easy steps quickly matched her hurried pacce.
"He did. But I'd like to hear what Bellatrix told you, first."
"Nothing else, just that she'd done something insignificant, and he'd flown into a rage."
"She slept with Evan. Evan Rosier- perhaps you remember him?"
Narcissa nodded, lips pressed together in disapproval.
"Anyway, it was shortly after their wedding. You sister thought that promiscuity was all but granted in their vows- clearly, she found your parents' supervision oppressive, and was merely using Rodolphus as an escape." Lucius exhaled sharply, and shook his head. "He is lost. Utterly and entirely. Bellatrix never respected him, but his willingness to accept her behavior I fear shall be his ruin. Now she will not only find him weak, but actively despise his consititution. He will love her more and try to plead her affections back," he predicted, "and she will laugh in his face. Their relationship was a slippery slope to begin with, and now he has indeed fallen."
They had reached their own bedroom by now, and Lucius carelessly shucked his shoes and socks on the floor before sitting down on the bed. He stayed still only a moment though, before rising with a heavy sigh to move his shoes to the closet, and summon an elf to take his laundry, and take off his belt and hang it up neatly-
"Why do you do that?" Narcissa exploded at last. He glanced up in surprise, and she defended quickly, "I mean, what's the harm of leaving your shoes there for the night? You'll just take them out again tomorrow."
He shook his head. "It's just something I've grown accustomed to. As a child, my mother would have elves throw away anything remaining on the floor after I'd gone to bed. One time..." He frowned. "Never mind. It doesn't matter any more." He returned to his seat on the edge of the bed.
"Lucius..." she sighed, stepping forward carefully. She was still not fully confident around him, and her uncertainty made her hesitate. "Your mother is not here," she reminded him softly, cautiously positioning herself before him. "And I assure you, I don't mind a little mess." To emphasize her point, she unclasped her necklace, dropping it to the rug. Lucius seemed taken aback, but she didn't stop there. She removed her earings, flung them aside as something akin to terrible frustration becan to well within her, and her bracelet soon followed. Without pausing to consider her actions, Narcissa yanked her hair free, letting it fall down her back, and tossed her robes in a heap. She probably wouldn't even have stopped there- another moment and her knickers could have joined the mess she was creating. But Lucius had risen abruptly, curled his hands around her bare waist, and crushed his lips to hers.
She met him with a desperate sort of ferocity, eagerly pressing forward and parting her lips so his tongue could slide in, hungry and exploratory. A low groan escaped him, and she realized he'd been waiting for this for a long, long time. It seemed almost strange- this side of Lucius did not dovetail with the passive, reserved man to whom she'd grown accustomed. But there was no restraint in him now, and his mouth was like fire as he tasted her for the first time. There was no hesitation, and Narcissa smiled to herself, wondering if there was nothing he could not do with expertise should he be so inclined.
Lucius dropped down to her neck and she gave a small murmur of approval as he suckled gently, nipped at her earlobe, and brushed his nose to the hollow of her throat.
"You are," he whispered, drawing back to stare at her with serious eyes, darkened with lust. "So, so beautiful." He lifted one hand to carefully brush the loose strands of hair from her face, and tipped his head forward to kiss her once more. It brought a pleased flush to her face to realize that he wanted her, the evidence pressing against her stomach. It was surely absurd that she should feel such- after all, it was hardly their wedding night and she was no longer a virgin. But it felt like the first time; Narcissa felt giddy and nervous and heady and wanted nothing more than to stand here and keep kissing her husband, perhaps forever.
Lucius, however, had somewhat less patience. Without being entirely sure how she got there, Narcissa realized that she was lying on the bed and Lucius's hand smoothed down her back, over her hips and thighs, catching behind her knees and lifting her legs to wrap around his waist, continuing to kiss her all the while. She also noted that he was wearing far too much clothing, and immediately began to rectify the situation by unbuttoning his shirt. If he'd been able to stop caressing her silky skin for even a moment, he might have helped her with the task. When the hindersome fabric was gone at last, Narcissa arched against him, letting her head fall back and wordlessly offering him what ever he chose to take. With a groan, he slid down, reaching behind her to unfasten the clasp of her bra as his lips parted against the sensitive flesh.
Suddenly, the door burst open with a resounding bang. Lucius's head jerked up and fury swept away all traces of his senuously placid expression. Narcissa was slower to react, turning her head in confusion towards the noise.
Bellatrix was staring at them, evidently as baffled as her sister. "I... Well. I certainly didn't mean to interrupt. I suppose I didn't realize there was anything to interrupt." She didn't budge, despite Lucius's obviously enraged glare. "Hm. Well, that's certainly interesting-"
"Bella! What the fuck is taking so lon- oh." Rodolphus stopped beside his wife, clearly as stunned as she. "We were... leaving." He glanced at Bellatrix, trying to determine if she could make any sense from the scene. Deciding she could not, he looked back, mystified.
"Oh, get out!" Lucius snarled at last. Bellatrix stifled a snort of laughter, and turned away.
"C'mon, Roddy. I didn't realize..."
"That they fucked?" Rodolphus offered helpfully. Bellatrix nodded, supressing another laugh. "I mean, they certainly don't seem the type," he continued, still looking on bemusedly.
"I didn't think so either. But I mean, they've got a kid..."
"Yeah, but I figured it just happened once or something. This is strange."
"Bella!" Narcissa wailed. "Go away!"
"Yes, of course. We were on our way out." Grinning widely, Bellatrix seized her husband's arm and began to drag him off. Their laughter continued all the way down the hall, and Lucius slammed the door behind them with a flick of his wand.
Narcissa sat up slowly, blushing as she walked over to the wardrobe to select a nightgown. The moment had evaporated thanks to her dreadful sister, and now she felt uncomfortable in the silence. Lucius vanished briefly into the bathroom and Narcissa changed quickly and slipped into bed. He reemerged shortly, and silently climbed into bed beside her, darkening the room with his wand. He didn't stir, and Narcissa turned to face him. If she squinted, she could just discern his profile, staring resolutely at the ceiling.
"Good night, Lucius," she sighed. Perhaps this evening had been ruined, but, she assured herself, there would be other nights. Very carefully, she leaned over to press her lips to his cheek. "Sleep well."