Rabastan was stiff and sore when he woke up. The first thing he was aware of was an itching across his back and legs, and when he shifted a little, he realized that the itching was from a rough, scratchy blanket.

I don't own any rough, scratchy blankets.

Maria and Joseph allowed only the finest things in their son's bedrooms, and Rabastan had never slept on anything so rough as what he was feeling now.

And someone was lying beside him. Someone warm and still, whose arms were draped lightly around Rabastan's waist…

"Did you sleep well, Rabastan?" the Dark Lord whispered in his ear.

And then he remembered last night.

Oh, last night.

Rabastan's eyes flew open and he sat up quickly, dislodging the arm that rested across him. His heart beat quickly as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "Oh- oh God…"

"Mm? Something wrong, Rabastan?" He reached out and laid his hand on Rabastan's chest. "You aren't having regrets already, are you? Not feeling bad about what we did last night, are you?"

"What we did last night was wrong." Rabastan's voice cracked with emotion and he turned away, grabbing his clothes up off the floor. "I'm- I'm betrothed- and you're…"

"I'm much better than your little wife-to-be, aren't I?"

Rabastan stiffened and looked back at him. "What?"

He had a small, slightly predatory smile on his face, and he pressed his hand against the small of Rabastan's back, pulling him close to him again. "You can't help comparing me to Andromeda, can you? And going to bed with me is so… so much better than going to bed with her that it just tears you apart to think that in a few months, you'll be married to her. That's why you're so upset about this – because you didn't want to know how much you were missing…"

"Th- that's not it…" he whispered, but before he could finish his sentence (not that he knew exactly what to say; something about the importance of fidelity or some such), the Dark Lord had pulled his head down to his and pressed a bruising kiss against his lips. Rabastan's whole body shuddered automatically in response and he resisted the urge to embrace him.

"I hope we will see each other again soon, Rabastan," he murmured, pulling back slowly and fixing Rabastan with that powerful, piercing stare that seemed to look right into his soul.

"I'll send you an owl," Rabastan said breathlessly, as the Dark Lord's hand caressed the sharp angle of his hip.

"Thank you." The Dark Lord sat up, brushing his dark hair back and out of his eyes. "I will look forward to seeing you again."

Rabastan flushed and reached for his clothes again, pulling his shirt and trousers on haphazardly. His hands shook as he tried to do the buttons up.

"Let me…" The Dark Lord spoke in a low and enticing hiss, and he leaned forward to button Rabastan's shirt, letting his fingers linger on his chest.

"I- I had better be going… my mother will be worried." Rabastan felt a knot of humiliation in his stomach and all the fears of being thought a child returned – his mother, worried about upsetting his mother…

"Of course, of course…" He lowered his hands and watched Rabastan as he stood. "And perhaps, the next time I see you, we will be able to do something, ah… more substantive than this…"

"Whatever you desire, my Lord," Rabastan whispered. He glanced once more at him – longingly, for the Dark Lord would never know how much he wished that he could stay there with him instead of going home and facing his parents – then he slipped out and started down the steps.

The sun was just rising outside, drawing a faint, hazy pink line on the horizon. The street looked even more desolate than it had when Rabastan had gone up to the Dark Lord's flat the night before. A stray cat yowled at Rabastan as he passed it by.

He didn't want to go home.

He could already picture the scene: Maria in tears, embracing him and saying how worried they'd been, all while smothering him so that he couldn't get a word out to explain where he'd been. Joseph standing aside and asking sharp, prying questions about what he'd been doing.

But the longer he stayed out, the worse it would be.

When Rabastan arrived home, however, he wasn't greeted at the door by Maria in hysterics or Joseph looking cold and suspicious.

The door swung open and Rabastan came face-to-face with his brother. Rodolphus's expression was thunderous and his hands were clenched into fists.

"Where the Hell have you been?" he demanded.

Rabastan shrunk back fearfully. "Rod, I didn't expect–"

"Mother came to Bellatrix and me when you didn't come home!" Rodolphus hissed at him. "Showed up on our doorstep asking if you were with us – in the middle of the night, and us just married!"

"I'm sorry–"

"Oh, now he shows up!" Bellatrix stormed up behind Rodolphus, looking even more furious than he did. "At dawn! That's thoughtful of you, Rab – keep us all up all night–"

"I didn't know that Mother and Father were going to disturb you!" Rabastan snapped. He could stand being berated by his brother, but not by Bellatrix. "It's not my fault!"

"You told them that you would be back by midnight!" Rodolphus reached out and grabbed his shoulders, shaking him so hard that his head snapped back. "Where were you? What were you doing?"

Tears of pain and humiliation filled Rabastan's eyes, but he struggled not to let them fall. He pushed Rodolphus's hands off his shoulders and raised his chin, breathing deeply.

"I was with the Dark Lord," he said, forcing himself to sound proud. "He kept me at his home all night. I did not want to disrespect him by asking to leave."

Rodolphus looked suspicious, but Bellatrix gasped. She stepped forward, clutching Rodolphus's arm and leaning towards Rabastan. "With the Dark Lord, were you? What were you doing with him?" Her eyes flicked back and forth between Rabastan's, like she was reading an answer written on his face.

"That's not your concern," he told her, with what he intended to be cold aloofness, but a hint of smug satisfaction worked its way into his voice and her eyes widened.

"You were–"

"Rabastan!"

Rabastan had never been so relieved to hear his mother's voice. Anything was better than giving Bellatrix the chance to accuse him…

"Where in God's name- we were so worried!" Maria all but flew down the stairs to him and pulled him into her arms. Rabastan gagged on her perfume and the scent of vodka around her. In the half-second before she buried his face in her chest, he saw that her eyes were bloodshot.

"I- I was with the Dark Lord," Rabastan coughed. The smell of Maria's perfume was overwhelming and disgusting. He pushed her away – he didn't want her to touch him. "I told you that I would be with the Dark Lord."

"And what were you doing with the Dark Lord until dawn?" she demanded.

Rabastan didn't answer. Wouldn't answer.

He glanced sideways at Bellatrix, expecting her to tell Maria what she suspected (what she was right to suspect), but her lips were pressed tightly together, though her eyes gleamed as she looked from Rabastan to Maria and back.

"Just talking," Rabastan said at last. "Nothing particular. We were talking, we had a few drinks, and- and I fell asleep." Not strictly untrue.

Maria put her hand on Rabastan's hair, petting it in the most condescending manner that Rabastan could have imagined. He gritted his teeth.

"Well, you're home now… go up to bed, darling…"

Rabastan stepped away from her and ducked his head, starting towards the stairs. As he passed by Bellatrix, she leaned over and whispered in his ear, "We're going to have a nice long talk about what happened between you and the Dark Lord, Rab."

He froze and looked at her with wide, frightened eyes. She smiled sweetly.

"Oh, don't worry," she breathed. "I'm going to keep your little secret… at least, for now."