OF RUST AND STARDUST

Rod was packing bags and taking any spare moment to have a nip of whisky, he was manic. He never expected Bella to agree in a million years but she had, and he didn’t have excuses now- he had to follow through.

‘Dad, are you insane?’ Jonah probed, stepping into the bedroom ‘I’m not going, neither is Eve’ he said flatly, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes at his father like Bella did, no matter how much he looked like Rod’s side he had her eyes.

‘We’re in difficulties Jonah, we have t-’ Rod began explaining but was cut off almost immediately, his son looked much older now and much more mature as he confronted his father, putting a hand on his shoulder.

‘No- you and mum are in difficulties- you told us growing up we would have to serve, Dad’ he explained 'We’re not going anywhere’

'What about Eve she’s a child’ Rod replied, seconds later twitching as a blade ran past his head into the wall behind, causing them both to jump in surprise, but there was Eve in the doorway, smirking like her mother used to when she scared people

'I’m not going either, you can work it out Father’ she hissed a she strode across the room to retrieve her blade. 'Also, i’m not a child’ she growled as she left, snaking her way back to her room.

“Why is Eve skulk-“ She began asking as she rounded into the doorway before seeing her husband and son, the expression on their faces cutting her off entirely. “What is it, what’s wrong?” She breathed quickly and glanced at Jonah who looked tired and rolled his eyes, waiting a moment to see if his father would answer for him before he faced his mother squarely and took a deep breath.

“Eve and I aren’t going with you.” He said simply as if that was enough and Bella would have laughed any other day when she felt her normal self, but the look on his face told her that he was dead serious and she knew that look, she’d worn it herself many times before when she was determined to get her own way and she sighed, cursing herself inwardly for raising the boy to be so much like her.

“Have you told him that’s absurd?” She looked past Jonah to Rodolphus and tried her best to take control of the situation but her son was having none of it and stepped in front of her view, folding his arms across his chest and looking even taller as he stood at full height in front of her. The image of him as a baby tugging on the bottom of her dress to get her attention flashed through her mind vividly and she felt wounded, betrayed even. This wasn’t fair, he couldn’t do this, not to her.

“We’re not going, Mum. You can’t make either of us-“ He spoke calmly and firmly, which irritated Bella to the point of cutting him off.

“Your sister is a child, Jonah! How dare you! After all your father and I have done for-“ She started and Jonah didn’t flinch, he only stepped forward to interrupt her and separate her further from Rodolphus.

“Done for us?! Is that what you’re going to say? All you’ve done our whole lives is prepare us to serve and honour the Dark Lord! If you run, he will kill you. He will kill Dad, and he WILL kill Eve and I! Is that what you want?!” He’d bent slightly to be closer to her eye level which she found very patronising indeed, but the weight of his words had stunned her into a cold silence.

“You doubt your father and I-“ She started without much conviction and he nodded, making her flinch woundedly, and the feeling of betrayal jabbed at her chest again.

“Yes I do, I doubt your ability to run from the most powerful Dark Wizard in existence, without getting us all killed. I do not however doubt your ability to fix whatever it is you fucked up in the first place.” He finally took his eyes off his mother and glanced at Rod, looking at both of them back and fourth for a moment, with a strong sense of self pride after having successfully given his parents a lecture.

“Go for a while if you must, but please; come back.” He said this softer than his other words and nodded before he left, slinking behind his mother and closing the door, sensing she was on the verge of tears or manical hysteria.

Bella waited several moments after he left and looked at Rodolphus, entirely defeated and glanced again at the window, looking like she might throw herself out of it before she went to him and wrapped her arms around his middle, wanting him to hold her. “Did we raise him too well? What on earth was that?” She muffled as her face hid in his chest, feeling the weight of her shame entirely and shaking as she wasn’t sure whether to scream or cry.

Bella was soon there, worry in her voice and back to square one. Rod would never leave his children, even though he knew they were more than capable of protecting themselves he simply would never be able to bring himself to, even for a short amount of time, the anxiety would warp his mind even more.

'At least they aren’t sheep’ he muttered, wrapping his arms around her as they both stood in shame 'Darling I can’t leave them- even if they are more mature than we are’ he said quietly, kissing the top of her head and clung her tightly to him.

'We’ll stay, we’ll have a quiet Christmas and I’ll go to the Dark Lord I suppose’ he said after a few moments, biting his lip as he felt her stiffen at the mention of his name in front of her and let go, holding onto her arms 'It’s what is expected, anything else is suicide he wants me to go to him’ he babbled, knowing full well their master intended to punish him every bit as much as Bella 'I’ll give him time to breathe and go to him Bella’ he insisted

She looked at him as he told her it was the only way and moved her hands to his face, holding his jaw softly as she shook her head before sighing and giving up, knowing she had no argument against him at all.

She reached up the bridge of her nose and pinched as she sighed, thinking hard of the way she had been tortured and frowning slightly as she imagined Rod taking the same beating. She moved to the vanity and rummaged through several drawers for a bottle of wine, finding one and opening it to drink straight from it, wincing and waving her hand over the bottle to chill it before she took another large swig.

“I have an idea, but you’re going to think it’s strange.” She said after several minutes of silence and several swings of wine, looking over at him from the vanity with a small familiar smirk on her face. “We could prepare you, not that you’re not already in fine shape but we could strengthen you up so you’re more prepared and-“ she cut herself of and bit her lip when she saw the look on his face, unsure how he was taking it.

He was relieved of the small break, finding it much more difficult to address his sentimental feelings and followed his wife’s lead, fishing in the cabinet behind him for a half done bottle of something dark. Taking large sips until the warmth spread and the screaming in his brain had mostly died down. He was broken out of his thoughts as Bella spoke again, his ears pricking up at the word 'strange’

His smile grew the more she spoke and felt himself grow….excited, mostly by flushing in the face but Rod was basically an animal and any mention of his wife having at him usually rendered him a horny little boy- never mind what the circumstances.

'If you think you’re up to it, darling’ he replied, his eyes glinting familiarly at her 'Then I don’t see the harm’ he said, smugly raising his eyebrows as he took a big gulp from the bottle he was cradling, feeling the familiar thrill of teasing her. All this sadness did not suit them. He crossed over to her, leaning over to kiss her deeply, the strong taste of liquor mixing on both their lips and he stroked her cheek with his spare hand.

Her smirk grew wider as he raised his eyebrows cheekily at her and commented rather nonchalantly about it, though she knew he was teasing from the playful glint in his eye still. A playful chuckle left her lips as he crossed the space between them quickly, straightening as he leant and kissed her deeply, leaning into his touch as he stroked her cheek gently and she felt herself almost melt under him.

She opened her eyes as he broke the kiss and gazed at him with a certain ferocity, her arms snaking upward to meet behind his neck, as he insisted her not to hold back and she raised an eyebrow, biting her lip slowly before she smirked once more.

Rod was packing bags and taking any spare moment to have a nip of whisky, he was manic. He never expected Bella to agree in a million years but she had, and he didn’t have excuses now- he had to follow through.

‘Dad, are you insane?’ Jonah probed, stepping into the bedroom ‘I’m not going, neither is Eve’ he said flatly, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes at his father like Bella did, no matter how much he looked like Rod’s side he had her eyes.

'We’re in difficulties Jonah, we have t-’ Rod began explaining but was cut off almost immediately, his son looked much older now and much more mature as he confronted his father, putting a hand on his shoulder.

'No- you and mum are in difficulties- you told us growing up we would have to serve, Dad’ he explained 'We’re not going anywhere’

'What about Eve she’s a child’ Rod replied, seconds later twitching as a blade ran past his head into the wall behind, causing them both to jump in surprise, but there was Eve in the doorway, smirking like her mother used to when she scared people

'I’m not going either, you can work it out Father’ she hissed a she strode across the room to retrieve her blade. 'Also, i’m not a child’ she growled as she left, snaking her way back to her room.

“Why is Eve skulk-“ She began asking as she rounded into the doorway before seeing her husband and son, the expression on their faces cutting her off entirely. “What is it, what’s wrong?” She breathed quickly and glanced at Jonah who looked tired and rolled his eyes, waiting a moment to see if his father would answer for him before he faced his mother squarely and took a deep breath.

“Eve and I aren’t going with you.” He said simply as if that was enough and Bella would have laughed any other day when she felt her normal self, but the look on his face told her that he was dead serious and she knew that look, she’d worn it herself many times before when she was determined to get her own way and she sighed, cursing herself inwardly for raising the boy to be so much like her.

“Have you told him that’s absurd?” She looked past Jonah to Rodolphus and tried her best to take control of the situation but her son was having none of it and stepped in front of her view, folding his arms across his chest and looking even taller as he stood at full height in front of her. The image of him as a baby tugging on the bottom of her dress to get her attention flashed through her mind vividly and she felt wounded, betrayed even. This wasn’t fair, he couldn’t do this, not to her.

“We’re not going, Mum. You can’t make either of us-“ He spoke calmly and firmly, which irritated Bella to the point of cutting him off.

“Your sister is a child, Jonah! How dare you! After all your father and I have done for-“ She started and Jonah didn’t flinch, he only stepped forward to interrupt her and separate her further from Rodolphus.

“Done for us?! Is that what you’re going to say? All you’ve done our whole lives is prepare us to serve and honour the Dark Lord! If you run, he will kill you. He will kill Dad, and he WILL kill Eve and I! Is that what you want?!” He’d bent slightly to be closer to her eye level which she found very patronising indeed, but the weight of his words had stunned her into a cold silence.

“You doubt your father and I-“ She started without much conviction and he nodded, making her flinch woundedly, and the feeling of betrayal jabbed at her chest again.

“Yes I do, I doubt your ability to run from the most powerful Dark Wizard in existence, without getting us all killed. I do not however doubt your ability to fix whatever it is you fucked up in the first place.” He finally took his eyes off his mother and glanced at Rod, looking at both of them back and fourth for a moment, with a strong sense of self pride after having successfully given his parents a lecture.

“Go for a while if you must, but please; come back.” He said this softer than his other words and nodded before he left, slinking behind his mother and closing the door, sensing she was on the verge of tears or manical hysteria.

Bella waited several moments after he left and looked at Rodolphus, entirely defeated and glanced again at the window, looking like she might throw herself out of it before she went to him and wrapped her arms around his middle, wanting him to hold her. “Did we raise him too well? What on earth was that?” She muffled as her face hid in his chest, feeling the weight of her shame entirely and shaking as she wasn’t sure whether to scream or cry.

Bella was soon there, worry in her voice and back to square one. Rod would never leave his children, even though he knew they were more than capable of protecting themselves he simply would never be able to bring himself to, even for a short amount of time, the anxiety would warp his mind even more.

'At least they aren’t sheep’ he muttered, wrapping his arms around her as they both stood in shame 'Darling I can’t leave them- even if they are more mature than we are’ he said quietly, kissing the top of her head and clung her tightly to him.

'We’ll stay, we’ll have a quiet Christmas and I’ll go to the Dark Lord I suppose’ he said after a few moments, biting his lip as he felt her stiffen at the mention of his name in front of her and let go, holding onto her arms 'It’s what is expected, anything else is suicide he wants me to go to him’ he babbled, knowing full well their master intended to punish him every bit as much as Bella 'I’ll give him time to breathe and go to him Bella’ he insisted

She looked at him as he told her it was the only way and moved her hands to his face, holding his jaw softly as she shook her head before sighing and giving up, knowing she had no argument against him at all.

She reached up the bridge of her nose and pinched as she sighed, thinking hard of the way she had been tortured and frowning slightly as she imagined Rod taking the same beating. She moved to the vanity and rummaged through several drawers for a bottle of wine, finding one and opening it to drink straight from it, wincing and waving her hand over the bottle to chill it before she took another large swig.

“I have an idea, but you’re going to think it’s strange.” She said after several minutes of silence and several swings of wine, looking over at him from the vanity with a small familiar smirk on her face. “We could prepare you, not that you’re not already in fine shape but we could strengthen you up so you’re more prepared and-“ she cut herself of and bit her lip when she saw the look on his face, unsure how he was taking it.

Rod was packing bags and taking any spare moment to have a nip of whisky, he was manic. He never expected Bella to agree in a million years but she had, and he didn’t have excuses now- he had to follow through.

'Dad, are you insane?’ Jonah probed, stepping into the bedroom 'I’m not going, neither is Eve’ he said flatly, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes at his father like Bella did, no matter how much he looked like Rod’s side he had her eyes.

'We’re in difficulties Jonah, we have t-’ Rod began explaining but was cut off almost immediately, his son looked much older now and much more mature as he confronted his father, putting a hand on his shoulder.

'No- you and mum are in difficulties- you told us growing up we would have to serve, Dad’ he explained 'We’re not going anywhere’

'What about Eve she’s a child’ Rod replied, seconds later twitching as a blade ran past his head into the wall behind, causing them both to jump in surprise, but there was Eve in the doorway, smirking like her mother used to when she scared people

'I’m not going either, you can work it out Father’ she hissed a she strode across the room to retrieve her blade. 'Also, i’m not a child’ she growled as she left, snaking her way back to her room.

“Why is Eve skulk-“ She began asking as she rounded into the doorway before seeing her husband and son, the expression on their faces cutting her off entirely. “What is it, what’s wrong?” She breathed quickly and glanced at Jonah who looked tired and rolled his eyes, waiting a moment to see if his father would answer for him before he faced his mother squarely and took a deep breath.

“Eve and I aren’t going with you.” He said simply as if that was enough and Bella would have laughed any other day when she felt her normal self, but the look on his face told her that he was dead serious and she knew that look, she’d worn it herself many times before when she was determined to get her own way and she sighed, cursing herself inwardly for raising the boy to be so much like her.

“Have you told him that’s absurd?” She looked past Jonah to Rodolphus and tried her best to take control of the situation but her son was having none of it and stepped in front of her view, folding his arms across his chest and looking even taller as he stood at full height in front of her. The image of him as a baby tugging on the bottom of her dress to get her attention flashed through her mind vividly and she felt wounded, betrayed even. This wasn’t fair, he couldn’t do this, not to her.

“We’re not going, Mum. You can’t make either of us-“ He spoke calmly and firmly, which irritated Bella to the point of cutting him off.

“Your sister is a child, Jonah! How dare you! After all your father and I have done for-“ She started and Jonah didn’t flinch, he only stepped forward to interrupt her and separate her further from Rodolphus.

“Done for us?! Is that what you’re going to say? All you’ve done our whole lives is prepare us to serve and honour the Dark Lord! If you run, he will kill you. He will kill Dad, and he WILL kill Eve and I! Is that what you want?!” He’d bent slightly to be closer to her eye level which she found very patronising indeed, but the weight of his words had stunned her into a cold silence.

“You doubt your father and I-“ She started without much conviction and he nodded, making her flinch woundedly, and the feeling of betrayal jabbed at her chest again.

“Yes I do, I doubt your ability to run from the most powerful Dark Wizard in existence, without getting us all killed. I do not however doubt your ability to fix whatever it is you fucked up in the first place.” He finally took his eyes off his mother and glanced at Rod, looking at both of them back and fourth for a moment, with a strong sense of self pride after having successfully given his parents a lecture.

“Go for a while if you must, but please; come back.” He said this softer than his other words and nodded before he left, slinking behind his mother and closing the door, sensing she was on the verge of tears or manical hysteria.

Bella waited several moments after he left and looked at Rodolphus, entirely defeated and glanced again at the window, looking like she might throw herself out of it before she went to him and wrapped her arms around his middle, wanting him to hold her. “Did we raise him too well? What on earth was that?” She muffled as her face hid in his chest, feeling the weight of her shame entirely and shaking as she wasn’t sure whether to scream or cry.

Bella’s gargled plea arose from her position on the floor, face down and completely humiliated from the beating she’d just endured, her shaking hand outreached in a pitiful form of defence and surrender, her fingernails were all broken and cracked from clawing at the floor while she was wreathing and she was vaguely aware of the pain radiating from them.

“Please I beg you- my lord... I will do-“ She was cut off as his foot stamped down roughly on her outstretched hand, making her squeal and shriek in pain as she heard one of the fingers crack and a shot of pain went up her arm, hot and white flashing pain that made her vision blur for a moment before she dared to look up and saw him laughing down at her.

“Silence! Stupid woman.. you never learn do you?” He hissed; his voice a menacing whisper as he stamped down harder on her hand and she bit her lip so hard it bled to stop herself from squealing again. “I should banish you entirely for your insolence, Bellatrix. I thought you of all my followers would know how much dedication I... desire.”

The pressure on her hand grew harder, and she heard a crack at the same moment a white hot shot of pain flew up her arm and seemed to spot behind her eyes before travelling through the entirety of her body, making her buck and she couldn’t help the scream of agony that fell from her for a moment before she silenced herself again.

“Severus warned me of this... of you.” Bella couldn’t see that he wasn’t talking to her now and more to himself, glaring angrily into the shadowed corner of the room and thinking deeply of what to do with her. He was silent for several minutes before seeming to come to a decision, turning quickly on the spot which caused his foot to twist on her broken hand and another scream fell out of her, the white spots appearing in her eyes once more before she could dare to look up at him.

“Your duties to me for this task are suspended indefinitely Bellatrix. You and your husband will be called upon when a task presents itself that seems you can both... manage.” The teasing tone was back in his voice as if he had just told a rather amusing joke, and Bella could feel the lump rising in her throat as she swallowed it down hard, knowing that if her eyes even got remotely watery in front of him it’d be the end of her. You can scream Bella, but don’t you dare fucking cry she hissed at herself silently in a deeply hidden part of her mind that she hoped he wasn’t looking into. The triumphant look on his face though said that perhaps he had.

“As for this mission, it will still need to go ahead despite your major delays... I’ll have to find replacements for the both-“

“My lord PLEASE- Rodolphus-“

“- IS WEAKENED BY YOU.” His sudden rise in tone made her flinch and she wasn’t expecting the small shock to her body which could knew well enough was a weak crucio he’d hit her with as a warning.

“You know better than to interrupt me.” He tutted and she thought that was going to be all before he hit her with a strong crucio, one that made her writhe so hard on the floor she turned over so she could see him, his face twisted and turned into an expression of violent delight.

She screamed until she couldn’t and he finally let up, her throat gurgling slightly before he rolled her with his foot roughly and she coughed violently on the floor, which made him look at her with an expression of disgust and disappointment. When she noticed that the lump returned in her throat, this time much harder to swallow.

“Get out. OUT, LESTRANGE!” He barked at her and sent another unforgivable her way, causing her to scramble slightly to her feet before dodging another hex quickly. She knew if she didn’t get out herself he’d beat her like a doll, she’d been stupid enough to stay once before out of and loyalty and obedience and he’d stopped within an inch of her life and sanity, and then told her it was her own fault for not leaving when he’d given her the chance.

Now was her chance.

“Yes my lord-“ She whispered as she scrambled from the room pathetically, hearing him scream in a rage on the other side before darting down the darkened hallway, stumbling for a few moments to get and distance between her and The Dark Lord. She crouched in a darkened room off the hallway to catch her breath before apparating home, the tears already silently falling from her eyes as she did.

Despite taking the moment for concentration, she stumbled her landing as she apparated and wished to god she’d thought to land outside on the grass rather than crashing into the living room floor. This seemed to be the final thing that broke Bellatrix, and she started thrashing about in the middle of the floor, crying and screaming hysterically and looking absolutely manic.

Soon the sun had set and he was stood in the dark, waiting for her as he chain smoked and resisted the urge to begin drinking, no matter what the reason, Bella would not be happy coming home to a drunken pig of a husband. The kids had sensed the mood and had kept away from Rod, which he was grateful for, though the itch to have the first glass of scotch to just take the edge off was niggling in his mind and if not for the explosion of pain which made him seize his left forearm harshly, doubling over as if it was being ripped apart he would have done.

Seconds later he heard a dull thump downstairs and a scream that tore through the rest of him, he shouted out, biting his lip for just a second as he composed himself enough to apparate downstairs to her side immediately. At the mere sight of her he swore loudly, clutching his forehead as his eyes and brain processed what he was seeing and all pain he was experiencing was soon forgotten about.  He dropped to his knees beside her, one hand going for her back as the other pointed his wand sloppily towards the cabinet, summoning as many of her healing kits as he could think of, his only priority right then stopping the pain and calming her hysterics which broke his heart to hear.

Bella seemed so upset it's like she didn't know where she was or who he was, talking to her was out of the question so he held her, pulling her back and holding her chin as he all but force fed her the various healing potions that were on hand to him until he could feel her heart and breathing slow and the screams drop to sobs. He shushed her and muttered reassurances, finally taking hold of the most obviously damaged part of her- her hands- which were twisted and bent in off angles and slowly, precisely fixed the broken bones. He held her against him, kissing her forehead when he was done, his hands running down her middle and her legs, feeling for other breaks.

'Where else, darling?' he asked softly, examining her and grabbed an ointment for the obvious black eye she would undoubtedly be developing before running his fingers over her ribs, biting his lip as he felt the breakages and knew she had been through it, he had never seen her so battered.

'I'm so sorry my love, i'm so sorry' he repeated as he rubbed her back, calming her however he could think of.

She lifted her head once more as he asked where else she felt any more damage, just as his hands got to her ribs and she groaned, her face screwing up slightly before she nodded but put a hand up to him, silently asking for a moment before he fixed those too. She could hardly look at him she was filled with such shame, over her battered appearance and from The Dark Lord’s stinging words that kept repeating in her head tauntingly. She didn’t know how to tell him what had just happened, or what they were to do from this moment; all she could feel was an overwhelming amount of self loathing which was a true rarity for Bellatrix.

He seemed to notice this and rubbed her back gently as he apologised to her which only made her more upset with herself, and she hid her face in his shoulder to conceal her overwhelming amount of emotion. She stayed like that for what seemed like several minutes, so still and quiet apart from her breathing it looked as though she had fallen asleep before raising her head to face him once more, this time with more composure. “It isn’t you who should be apologising, darling.” She said sadly, her bottom lip pouting out slightly as she looked at him and felt another wave of shame hit her as the words of The Dark Lord saying she weakened him echoed loudly through her mind once more. “I‘m sorry, Rodolphus. I’m so sorry - “ She stopped herself and had to hide her face again, sobbing into his shoulder a few times before he calmed her quickly again and she agreed to let him finish his healing job as the pain in her ribs became more prominent. Bella felt hollow and empty has he fixed her, rather like some kind of odd experiment being pieced together than a living, breathing human being healed by her husband. She stopped flinching after the third rib as it became no more than a dull ache in her side, as her eyes glazed over and she stared off into the distance, not quite focusing on anything in particular and looking quite catatonic until she heard the clinking of the bottles go back into the cabinet and realised he was done. She got up slowly and silently, walking herself behind the bar to make him a drink, not having to use any sort of magic to tell it was what he wanted; he’d just healed his hysterical wife from the edge of a comatose state as his first act of the day, he’d NEED a damn drink. She made him a strong scotch and soda, and carried it over, handing it to him with a slight tremble in her hand which caused her to frown slightly. “Rod, we... I...” She tried to begin telling him what had happened but she couldn’t seem to get the words out, she felt tongue tied and out of sorts completely. She took a cigarette from the packet she spotted by the bar and lit it with her wand with some difficulty, her hands weren’t working to their best yet and she could see the cigarette shaking between her fingers as she took a long drag on it.

He watched curiously as she made him a drink, shaking like he sometimes did after hitting the bottle harshly. He felt like he should have intervened but knew she was stubborn and would want to do as much as she could herself to prove to him that she was strong. He took the drink and drank deeply, shivering a little as the strength of it took him by surprise but mere seconds later the warmth spread through and he felt himself begin to relax, if only slightly, he still had to get the truth out of her.

His eyes snapped to attention, focusing on her as she spoke of Christmas, and nothing else, the way she spoke unsettled him, like she wasn't there at all. After a pause he swallowed his fears,took another drink and joined her,  summoning a bottle of white for her like he normally did in situations such as these and pushed it into her hands. He stood just behind her and stroked the back of her arm with his finger softly, thinking after all his man handling she probably wouldn't appreciate a bear hug

'Christmas, darling?' he asked softly 'We'll go wherever you want' he added reassuringly, the few words she spoke by now doing a tipsy merry-go-round in his head, making him think the worst, he'd have to ask- if it was what he thought it was.

She sighed deeply as the questions came, knowing she’d have to tell him sooner than later. If the positions were switched she would have demanded it out of him already, or spied in his head if he’d tried to keep it from her. She took another long sip before finally turning to him, looking up at him seriously and trying to remain composed as she delivered the news. “It’s not banishment darling... but that was threatened.” She looked away for a moment before coming back to him, letting out a quiet, shaking breath as she did. “We’ve been indefinitely suspended from any duty or responsibilities related to The Dark Lord. We aren’t to act any further on any mission we were assigned and we -“ She started faltering, her voice cracking slightly before she took another sip of wine to recompose.

“We won’t be called to any meetings.” She looked down sadly, thinking of them all gathered around the table without them, purposely sharing information and strategy while the Lestranges were kept in the dark. It felt shameful, they’d been extradited from the elite, where they rightfully belonged. She already felt weakened by the lack of status and more ... common. She shuddered at the thought and pained sound fell out of her as she stepped closer to him, leaning into him and wanting his comfort.

“What are we going to do?” She mumbled, her face hidden in his shirt before she looked up at him, her eyes wide and manic and slightly reddened from her earlier hysterics. “He’s going to give the ministry job to Snape.” She hissed his name with more hatred and venom than she had ever mustered for Severus, feeling hatred for him putting even a seed of doubt into the Dark Lords mind about her.

She made another pained noise and tore away from him rather dramatically, picking up her glass again as she went over to the window at an alarming fast rate, looking for a moment as if she were going to just keep going right through it. She held the windowsill as she gasped for air, feeling herself on the verge of panic again as she faced the reality of her situation.

'Wh-' he cut himself off as he started to ask why, he knew full well why. Since that woman had entered their lives he was obsessed, he hadn't even thought about work once. It was all about Alecto and proving himself again and again to Bella, his jealousy got in the way of everything now and she had bore the punishment for it.

It was like a dark cloud hung above her and he found it hard to even meet her gaze now he knew what had been said, the shame ravaged through him, a feeling he hadn't felt in such a time it made his cheeks flush and his chest heavy. Soon he was broken out his self loathing by Bella's voice, now speaking with more urgency, hissing about Snape-

'Darling I don't-' he panted as she broke free, thinking for a moment she was going to run through the glass and kill herself, his mind in tatters and unable to stop her. He paused, holding onto a wall behind as the relief rushed through him as she stopped and gathered himself as thoughts, clearer thoughts- entered his head.

'My love' He began, chewing his lip as he thought of a way to phrase this

'Why don't we run?' he stated, glad to be speaking to the back of her head again 'We can survive darling, we can make it, we are better than all the rest combined- Even Snape!' he added as he could tell from her breathing and posture she wasn't on board

'We can take the children and run, we have more than enough money – we can hide away, we can buy safety darling- even from him!' he rambled, getting more and more carried away with the idea the more he thought of it 'Then I can do what I always wanted-'

She realised she was breathing heavily from the racing images through her mind and snapped herself away from them, bringing her attention back to him as he was saying they could buy their safety, that they had enough money and whatever else. She knew he was right about that regard, they wouldn’t be squatting like paupers in some sodden shack, they had more than enough money for anything they could possibly desire, and enough power to silence anyone who came near them. She turned as he crossed the room to her, insisting that he could protect her, urging her to let him.

Her usual self would have turned her nose up in disgust that the prospect of being ‘protected’ by her husband like some kind of damsel in distress, but in her current fragile state she found the gesture to be exactly what she needed, and the only image that filled her head was of the two of them embracingly lovingly, somewhere warm and comfortable without any threat or anxiety looming over them. Why had they ever done any different? It seemed completely ludicrous to her now that they hadn’t done this before.

“I’ll pack, you tell the children.” She said, meeting his eyes and reaching her arm out to him, stroking his arm before she couldn’t help herself from practically throwing herself at him, tightening her arms around him in an embrace and kissing his shoulder gently where she could reach. “I trust you to protect all of us, Rodolphus. I know you can do that, I should have let you much longer ago.” She said softly and leaned up to peck his cheek softly, breaking her embrace and stepping away from him, turning swiftly as she did to begin packing their things.

Bella’s gargled plea arose from her position on the floor, face down and completely humiliated from the beating she’d just endured, her shaking hand outreached in a pitiful form of defence and surrender, her fingernails were all broken and cracked from clawing at the floor while she was wreathing and she was vaguely aware of the pain radiating from them.

“Please I beg you- my lord... I will do-“ She was cut off as his foot stamped down roughly on her outstretched hand, making her squeal and shriek in pain as she heard one of the fingers crack and a shot of pain went up her arm, hot and white flashing pain that made her vision blur for a moment before she dared to look up and saw him laughing down at her.

“Silence! Stupid woman.. you never learn do you?” He hissed; his voice a menacing whisper as he stamped down harder on her hand and she bit her lip so hard it bled to stop herself from squealing again. “I should banish you entirely for your insolence, Bellatrix. I thought you of all my followers would know how much dedication I... desire.”

The pressure on her hand grew harder, and she heard a crack at the same moment a white hot shot of pain flew up her arm and seemed to spot behind her eyes before travelling through the entirety of her body, making her buck and she couldn’t help the scream of agony that fell from her for a moment before she silenced herself again.

“Severus warned me of this... of you.” Bella couldn’t see that he wasn’t talking to her now and more to himself, glaring angrily into the shadowed corner of the room and thinking deeply of what to do with her. He was silent for several minutes before seeming to come to a decision, turning quickly on the spot which caused his foot to twist on her broken hand and another scream fell out of her, the white spots appearing in her eyes once more before she could dare to look up at him.

“Your duties to me for this task are suspended indefinitely Bellatrix. You and your husband will be called upon when a task presents itself that seems you can both... manage.” The teasing tone was back in his voice as if he had just told a rather amusing joke, and Bella could feel the lump rising in her throat as she swallowed it down hard, knowing that if her eyes even got remotely watery in front of him it’d be the end of her. You can scream Bella, but don’t you dare fucking cry she hissed at herself silently in a deeply hidden part of her mind that she hoped he wasn’t looking into. The triumphant look on his face though said that perhaps he had.

“As for this mission, it will still need to go ahead despite your major delays... I’ll have to find replacements for the both-“

“My lord PLEASE- Rodolphus-“

“- IS WEAKENED BY YOU.” His sudden rise in tone made her flinch and she wasn’t expecting the small shock to her body which could knew well enough was a weak crucio he’d hit her with as a warning.

“You know better than to interrupt me.” He tutted and she thought that was going to be all before he hit her with a strong crucio, one that made her writhe so hard on the floor she turned over so she could see him, his face twisted and turned into an expression of violent delight.

She screamed until she couldn’t and he finally let up, her throat gurgling slightly before he rolled her with his foot roughly and she coughed violently on the floor, which made him look at her with an expression of disgust and disappointment. When she noticed that the lump returned in her throat, this time much harder to swallow.

“Get out. OUT, LESTRANGE!” He barked at her and sent another unforgivable her way, causing her to scramble slightly to her feet before dodging another hex quickly. She knew if she didn’t get out herself he’d beat her like a doll, she’d been stupid enough to stay once before out of and loyalty and obedience and he’d stopped within an inch of her life and sanity, and then told her it was her own fault for not leaving when he’d given her the chance.

Now was her chance.

“Yes my lord-“ She whispered as she scrambled from the room pathetically, hearing him scream in a rage on the other side before darting down the darkened hallway, stumbling for a few moments to get and distance between her and The Dark Lord. She crouched in a darkened room off the hallway to catch her breath before apparating home, the tears already silently falling from her eyes as she did.

Despite taking the moment for concentration, she stumbled her landing as she apparated and wished to god she’d thought to land outside on the grass rather than crashing into the living room floor. This seemed to be the final thing that broke Bellatrix, and she started thrashing about in the middle of the floor, crying and screaming hysterically and looking absolutely manic.

Soon the sun had set and he was stood in the dark, waiting for her as he chain smoked and resisted the urge to begin drinking, no matter what the reason, Bella would not be happy coming home to a drunken pig of a husband. The kids had sensed the mood and had kept away from Rod, which he was grateful for, though the itch to have the first glass of scotch to just take the edge off was niggling in his mind and if not for the explosion of pain which made him seize his left forearm harshly, doubling over as if it was being ripped apart he would have done.

Seconds later he heard a dull thump downstairs and a scream that tore through the rest of him, he shouted out, biting his lip for just a second as he composed himself enough to apparate downstairs to her side immediately. At the mere sight of her he swore loudly, clutching his forehead as his eyes and brain processed what he was seeing and all pain he was experiencing was soon forgotten about.  He dropped to his knees beside her, one hand going for her back as the other pointed his wand sloppily towards the cabinet, summoning as many of her healing kits as he could think of, his only priority right then stopping the pain and calming her hysterics which broke his heart to hear.

Bella seemed so upset it's like she didn't know where she was or who he was, talking to her was out of the question so he held her, pulling her back and holding her chin as he all but force fed her the various healing potions that were on hand to him until he could feel her heart and breathing slow and the screams drop to sobs. He shushed her and muttered reassurances, finally taking hold of the most obviously damaged part of her- her hands- which were twisted and bent in off angles and slowly, precisely fixed the broken bones. He held her against him, kissing her forehead when he was done, his hands running down her middle and her legs, feeling for other breaks.

'Where else, darling?' he asked softly, examining her and grabbed an ointment for the obvious black eye she would undoubtedly be developing before running his fingers over her ribs, biting his lip as he felt the breakages and knew she had been through it, he had never seen her so battered.

'I'm so sorry my love, i'm so sorry' he repeated as he rubbed her back, calming her however he could think of.

She lifted her head once more as he asked where else she felt any more damage, just as his hands got to her ribs and she groaned, her face screwing up slightly before she nodded but put a hand up to him, silently asking for a moment before he fixed those too. She could hardly look at him she was filled with such shame, over her battered appearance and from The Dark Lord’s stinging words that kept repeating in her head tauntingly. She didn’t know how to tell him what had just happened, or what they were to do from this moment; all she could feel was an overwhelming amount of self loathing which was a true rarity for Bellatrix.

He seemed to notice this and rubbed her back gently as he apologised to her which only made her more upset with herself, and she hid her face in his shoulder to conceal her overwhelming amount of emotion. She stayed like that for what seemed like several minutes, so still and quiet apart from her breathing it looked as though she had fallen asleep before raising her head to face him once more, this time with more composure. “It isn’t you who should be apologising, darling.” She said sadly, her bottom lip pouting out slightly as she looked at him and felt another wave of shame hit her as the words of The Dark Lord saying she weakened him echoed loudly through her mind once more. “I‘m sorry, Rodolphus. I’m so sorry - “ She stopped herself and had to hide her face again, sobbing into his shoulder a few times before he calmed her quickly again and she agreed to let him finish his healing job as the pain in her ribs became more prominent. Bella felt hollow and empty has he fixed her, rather like some kind of odd experiment being pieced together than a living, breathing human being healed by her husband. She stopped flinching after the third rib as it became no more than a dull ache in her side, as her eyes glazed over and she stared off into the distance, not quite focusing on anything in particular and looking quite catatonic until she heard the clinking of the bottles go back into the cabinet and realised he was done. She got up slowly and silently, walking herself behind the bar to make him a drink, not having to use any sort of magic to tell it was what he wanted; he’d just healed his hysterical wife from the edge of a comatose state as his first act of the day, he’d NEED a damn drink. She made him a strong scotch and soda, and carried it over, handing it to him with a slight tremble in her hand which caused her to frown slightly. “Rod, we... I...” She tried to begin telling him what had happened but she couldn’t seem to get the words out, she felt tongue tied and out of sorts completely. She took a cigarette from the packet she spotted by the bar and lit it with her wand with some difficulty, her hands weren’t working to their best yet and she could see the cigarette shaking between her fingers as she took a long drag on it.

He watched curiously as she made him a drink, shaking like he sometimes did after hitting the bottle harshly. He felt like he should have intervened but knew she was stubborn and would want to do as much as she could herself to prove to him that she was strong. He took the drink and drank deeply, shivering a little as the strength of it took him by surprise but mere seconds later the warmth spread through and he felt himself begin to relax, if only slightly, he still had to get the truth out of her.

His eyes snapped to attention, focusing on her as she spoke of Christmas, and nothing else, the way she spoke unsettled him, like she wasn't there at all. After a pause he swallowed his fears,took another drink and joined her,  summoning a bottle of white for her like he normally did in situations such as these and pushed it into her hands. He stood just behind her and stroked the back of her arm with his finger softly, thinking after all his man handling she probably wouldn't appreciate a bear hug

'Christmas, darling?' he asked softly 'We'll go wherever you want' he added reassuringly, the few words she spoke by now doing a tipsy merry-go-round in his head, making him think the worst, he'd have to ask- if it was what he thought it was.

She sighed deeply as the questions came, knowing she’d have to tell him sooner than later. If the positions were switched she would have demanded it out of him already, or spied in his head if he’d tried to keep it from her. She took another long sip before finally turning to him, looking up at him seriously and trying to remain composed as she delivered the news. “It’s not banishment darling... but that was threatened.” She looked away for a moment before coming back to him, letting out a quiet, shaking breath as she did. “We’ve been indefinitely suspended from any duty or responsibilities related to The Dark Lord. We aren’t to act any further on any mission we were assigned and we -“ She started faltering, her voice cracking slightly before she took another sip of wine to recompose.

“We won’t be called to any meetings.” She looked down sadly, thinking of them all gathered around the table without them, purposely sharing information and strategy while the Lestranges were kept in the dark. It felt shameful, they’d been extradited from the elite, where they rightfully belonged. She already felt weakened by the lack of status and more ... common. She shuddered at the thought and pained sound fell out of her as she stepped closer to him, leaning into him and wanting his comfort.

“What are we going to do?” She mumbled, her face hidden in his shirt before she looked up at him, her eyes wide and manic and slightly reddened from her earlier hysterics. “He’s going to give the ministry job to Snape.” She hissed his name with more hatred and venom than she had ever mustered for Severus, feeling hatred for him putting even a seed of doubt into the Dark Lords mind about her.

She made another pained noise and tore away from him rather dramatically, picking up her glass again as she went over to the window at an alarming fast rate, looking for a moment as if she were going to just keep going right through it. She held the windowsill as she gasped for air, feeling herself on the verge of panic again as she faced the reality of her situation.

Bella’s gargled plea arose from her position on the floor, face down and completely humiliated from the beating she’d just endured, her shaking hand outreached in a pitiful form of defence and surrender, her fingernails were all broken and cracked from clawing at the floor while she was wreathing and she was vaguely aware of the pain radiating from them.

“Please I beg you- my lord... I will do-“ She was cut off as his foot stamped down roughly on her outstretched hand, making her squeal and shriek in pain as she heard one of the fingers crack and a shot of pain went up her arm, hot and white flashing pain that made her vision blur for a moment before she dared to look up and saw him laughing down at her.

“Silence! Stupid woman.. you never learn do you?” He hissed; his voice a menacing whisper as he stamped down harder on her hand and she bit her lip so hard it bled to stop herself from squealing again. “I should banish you entirely for your insolence, Bellatrix. I thought you of all my followers would know how much dedication I... desire.”

The pressure on her hand grew harder, and she heard a crack at the same moment a white hot shot of pain flew up her arm and seemed to spot behind her eyes before travelling through the entirety of her body, making her buck and she couldn’t help the scream of agony that fell from her for a moment before she silenced herself again.

“Severus warned me of this... of you.” Bella couldn’t see that he wasn’t talking to her now and more to himself, glaring angrily into the shadowed corner of the room and thinking deeply of what to do with her. He was silent for several minutes before seeming to come to a decision, turning quickly on the spot which caused his foot to twist on her broken hand and another scream fell out of her, the white spots appearing in her eyes once more before she could dare to look up at him.

“Your duties to me for this task are suspended indefinitely Bellatrix. You and your husband will be called upon when a task presents itself that seems you can both... manage.” The teasing tone was back in his voice as if he had just told a rather amusing joke, and Bella could feel the lump rising in her throat as she swallowed it down hard, knowing that if her eyes even got remotely watery in front of him it’d be the end of her. You can scream Bella, but don’t you dare fucking cry she hissed at herself silently in a deeply hidden part of her mind that she hoped he wasn’t looking into. The triumphant look on his face though said that perhaps he had.

“As for this mission, it will still need to go ahead despite your major delays... I’ll have to find replacements for the both-“

“My lord PLEASE- Rodolphus-“

“- IS WEAKENED BY YOU.” His sudden rise in tone made her flinch and she wasn’t expecting the small shock to her body which could knew well enough was a weak crucio he’d hit her with as a warning.

“You know better than to interrupt me.” He tutted and she thought that was going to be all before he hit her with a strong crucio, one that made her writhe so hard on the floor she turned over so she could see him, his face twisted and turned into an expression of violent delight.

She screamed until she couldn’t and he finally let up, her throat gurgling slightly before he rolled her with his foot roughly and she coughed violently on the floor, which made him look at her with an expression of disgust and disappointment. When she noticed that the lump returned in her throat, this time much harder to swallow.

“Get out. OUT, LESTRANGE!” He barked at her and sent another unforgivable her way, causing her to scramble slightly to her feet before dodging another hex quickly. She knew if she didn’t get out herself he’d beat her like a doll, she’d been stupid enough to stay once before out of and loyalty and obedience and he’d stopped within an inch of her life and sanity, and then told her it was her own fault for not leaving when he’d given her the chance.

Now was her chance.

“Yes my lord-“ She whispered as she scrambled from the room pathetically, hearing him scream in a rage on the other side before darting down the darkened hallway, stumbling for a few moments to get and distance between her and The Dark Lord. She crouched in a darkened room off the hallway to catch her breath before apparating home, the tears already silently falling from her eyes as she did.

Despite taking the moment for concentration, she stumbled her landing as she apparated and wished to god she’d thought to land outside on the grass rather than crashing into the living room floor. This seemed to be the final thing that broke Bellatrix, and she started thrashing about in the middle of the floor, crying and screaming hysterically and looking absolutely manic.

Soon the sun had set and he was stood in the dark, waiting for her as he chain smoked and resisted the urge to begin drinking, no matter what the reason, Bella would not be happy coming home to a drunken pig of a husband. The kids had sensed the mood and had kept away from Rod, which he was grateful for, though the itch to have the first glass of scotch to just take the edge off was niggling in his mind and if not for the explosion of pain which made him seize his left forearm harshly, doubling over as if it was being ripped apart he would have done.

Seconds later he heard a dull thump downstairs and a scream that tore through the rest of him, he shouted out, biting his lip for just a second as he composed himself enough to apparate downstairs to her side immediately. At the mere sight of her he swore loudly, clutching his forehead as his eyes and brain processed what he was seeing and all pain he was experiencing was soon forgotten about.  He dropped to his knees beside her, one hand going for her back as the other pointed his wand sloppily towards the cabinet, summoning as many of her healing kits as he could think of, his only priority right then stopping the pain and calming her hysterics which broke his heart to hear.

Bella seemed so upset it's like she didn't know where she was or who he was, talking to her was out of the question so he held her, pulling her back and holding her chin as he all but force fed her the various healing potions that were on hand to him until he could feel her heart and breathing slow and the screams drop to sobs. He shushed her and muttered reassurances, finally taking hold of the most obviously damaged part of her- her hands- which were twisted and bent in off angles and slowly, precisely fixed the broken bones. He held her against him, kissing her forehead when he was done, his hands running down her middle and her legs, feeling for other breaks.

'Where else, darling?' he asked softly, examining her and grabbed an ointment for the obvious black eye she would undoubtedly be developing before running his fingers over her ribs, biting his lip as he felt the breakages and knew she had been through it, he had never seen her so battered.

'I'm so sorry my love, i'm so sorry' he repeated as he rubbed her back, calming her however he could think of.

She lifted her head once more as he asked where else she felt any more damage, just as his hands got to her ribs and she groaned, her face screwing up slightly before she nodded but put a hand up to him, silently asking for a moment before he fixed those too. She could hardly look at him she was filled with such shame, over her battered appearance and from The Dark Lord’s stinging words that kept repeating in her head tauntingly. She didn’t know how to tell him what had just happened, or what they were to do from this moment; all she could feel was an overwhelming amount of self loathing which was a true rarity for Bellatrix.

He seemed to notice this and rubbed her back gently as he apologised to her which only made her more upset with herself, and she hid her face in his shoulder to conceal her overwhelming amount of emotion. She stayed like that for what seemed like several minutes, so still and quiet apart from her breathing it looked as though she had fallen asleep before raising her head to face him once more, this time with more composure. “It isn’t you who should be apologising, darling.” She said sadly, her bottom lip pouting out slightly as she looked at him and felt another wave of shame hit her as the words of The Dark Lord saying she weakened him echoed loudly through her mind once more. “I‘m sorry, Rodolphus. I’m so sorry - “ She stopped herself and had to hide her face again, sobbing into his shoulder a few times before he calmed her quickly again and she agreed to let him finish his healing job as the pain in her ribs became more prominent. Bella felt hollow and empty has he fixed her, rather like some kind of odd experiment being pieced together than a living, breathing human being healed by her husband. She stopped flinching after the third rib as it became no more than a dull ache in her side, as her eyes glazed over and she stared off into the distance, not quite focusing on anything in particular and looking quite catatonic until she heard the clinking of the bottles go back into the cabinet and realised he was done. She got up slowly and silently, walking herself behind the bar to make him a drink, not having to use any sort of magic to tell it was what he wanted; he’d just healed his hysterical wife from the edge of a comatose state as his first act of the day, he’d NEED a damn drink. She made him a strong scotch and soda, and carried it over, handing it to him with a slight tremble in her hand which caused her to frown slightly. “Rod, we... I...” She tried to begin telling him what had happened but she couldn’t seem to get the words out, she felt tongue tied and out of sorts completely. She took a cigarette from the packet she spotted by the bar and lit it with her wand with some difficulty, her hands weren’t working to their best yet and she could see the cigarette shaking between her fingers as she took a long drag on it.

Swear to it. Make the Unbreakable Vow.

My brain is scrambled fkn eggs

I’m going to write a post soon tho bb I promise ! I’m on annual leave until next week too which is fun

He turned, smirking to his wife as he pondered her demands in his head, in his mind he had already demonstrated his strength time and time again, what else was there to do? He raised an eyebrow, tugging at himself briefly as he watched her hand go between her legs, using her fingers to tease herself and he felt himself grow hot again.

’Pillow Queen’ he growled, watching her laid back without a care in the world, her smugness matching his own, and he couldn’t have that. He stretched for a moment, readying himself as he crawled on fours towards her, topping her and resting his parted legs over hers and he knelt up, smirking down at her.

He reached for the hand she used to pleasure herself, batting it away from her and his hand encircled her wrist with ease, holding it up. He said nothing, but laughed as he wandlessly summoned the dagger that she had left on the bed and cut across her hand, not deeply but enough so that it would bleed for a few minutes, he did the same to his, biting his lip. He panted, topping her and entwined his bleeding hand with hers, hissing as their blood mixed and stung eachother, feeling the goosebumps rise as he felt the blood drip down his arm. His lips soon found hers before she had the chance to shout at him, taking her through surprise and kissed her deeply and fully, pushing his tongue into her mouth.

He held her hand high above her head, pressing her as much as he could do the headboard and nearly laughed as he felt the pillows fall to the floor. He brought his other hand round to replace the one he took away. ‘Mine- my job’ he muttered, breaking from kissing her for a moment and moaned as she was every bit as aggressive back to him. By now he had entered two fingers, the familiar feeling the smugness returning as he realised how wet and tight she felt, he brought them out, rubbing her clit before entering her there again.

He shivered as he felt nails on him and moved his knees to kneel between her legs, pushing them over his waist as he waited until she was on the absolute brink to enter her. Both their hands ached, by now he’d let go and had caressed her face and breasts,and his head went from biting and kissing her breasts to kissing the soft sensitive skin of her stomach, utterly adoring her with his touch.

‘Don’t you ever get rid of me’ he panted, staring over to her ‘I’ll lock you up, and i’ll take all the glory myself’ he growled, before laughing at her reaction to what he said. That was the difference between the two, Bella’s words always had more weight than Rods. He paused for a second, rearing up, and entered her, he absolutely had to, he was entirely sure he would die if he didn’t.

She gasped slightly as he easily swatted her hand away and held her wrist above her head, struggling with it for a moment before she noticed he’d summoned her dagger, hardly having a second to question him as he cut across her hand and she hissed as the flash of pain ran through her, making her shiver under him. He pressed his lips to hers before she could say a word, feeling his hand press into hers hard above her head as he did, their wounds stinging as the blood and the sweat from their palms ran down their arms. Bella hissed and moaned against his lips as he kissed her deeply, feeling his tongue and melting under his hold, her arm tingling in pain as he pushed her back harder against the headboard.

She panted hard as he broke the kiss, her lips plump and reddened as she parted them to gasp for air, then let out an involuntary moan as he replaced the hand between her legs and growled that it was his job. Her free hand found its way to his back and she dragged her nails down it, moaning softly as her lips trailed across anywhere she could reach on him, nipping and kissing him wherever she could. She felt his fingers and couldn’t stop herself squealing this time as he teased her, shouting his name and slamming herself back into the headboard roughly.

She heaved a sigh of relief as he let go of her wrist and her hand dropped, her arm streaked and smeared with blood and the two of them were panting heavily as he kissed his way down her body, her muttering words of encouragement between her moans and pants, her hand tugging hard in his hair as she made a whining noise, desperately wanting all of him.

“Rod, pet.. darling..” She sighed and urged as his lips teased her and he held her hips tightly, making her yearn for it.

“You can fucking try.” She hissed in reply to his words of locking her up and laughed with him, smirking and biting her lip as she felt him pause and tense for a moment, raising an eyebrow in curiousity before she felt him thrust forward and her whole body turned to jelly for a moment as she screamed in pleasure before falling effortlessly into rhythm with him.

Her legs tightened around his waist, tensing hard as he fucked her relentlessly, the headboard creaking behind her as the weight of him pushed her into it harder and harder. She sighed his name between her shouts of pleasure and encouragement for him to keep going until she was silent for a moment, her whole body tensing hard against his before she jolted and a wave of pleasure rolled through her, the scream emitting from her loud enough to wake the dead.

She kept her pace until he finished and finally let her body relax, shaking slightly as she panted to catch her breath for several minutes, looking almost like she was in shock.

It took her several minutes to regain the feeling properly in her body again, and for her breathing to become anything less than a ragged pant, and when she finally had enough energy to move her gaze to him, lifting her hand to caress his cheek softly with her wounded hand.

“Never in a million years would I dream of getting rid of you. Not after that, darling.” She smirked, running her tongue along teeth and chuckling smugly before she sat up and summoned herself a cigarette, lighting it as she layed back against her pillows and smoking it lazily.

She came first, making him pant smugly as he smirked down at her then closed his eyes, continuing to make the bed crash against the wall as he fucked her until he finally couldn’t hold himself any longer and came. He screamed equally as loud as she had moments earlier and shuddered as he felt his last little bit of energy leave him and saw dots in front of his eyes, he knew enough by now to get off her soon as possible and all but collapsed by the side of her on his front.

He dozed off immediately, his breathing falling into a slow rhythm as his muscles relaxed finally. They laid like that for some time, even though his rest was brief he dreamed of her until her voice and touch roused him halfway back to consciousness. He groaned again, but more the kind of groan he did in the mornings when she woke him up early and opened his eyes, nose crinkling as all he could see was red, red on her, red on the bed and red on him. He smiled as it made sense, closing his eyes again as Bella cuddled up to him and he could smell cigarette smoke, Bella obviously doing a much better job at recovery than he.

‘I should hope so darling, i’m nearly dead’ he replied to her comment about him being satisfactory and stretched out on the bed 'How on earth you ever trained me to this point i’ll never know, I used to be the pillow queen’ he muttered with a grin, opening his eyes again and looked at her, marveling at how regal she somehow still looked despite being bloody and messy. He brought his across to her  knee, giving it a light squeeze and took a few moments to fully memorise every detail of her bloodied body.

“I’m very good at what I do darling, you know that.” She said smugly with a grin and laughed at his comment about having used to be the pillow queen, biting her lip as she felt his eyes on her and caught herself blushing, smirking at him as he gave her knee a soft squeeze and the look in her eyes was absolutely adoringly as he did.

She was about to take a long drag on her cigarette when he quickly leant over and took it from her, making her growl and glare as he did which quickly turned to amusement as he stumbled off the bed and just caught himself on the wall, making her roar with laughter as he muttered at her before disappearing into the en-suite.

She was still giggling moments later when she reappeared in the doorway, pausing for a moment before she stepped in and perched herself on the sink, watching him from outside the shower and rolling her eyes when she still saw the cigarette with him before summoning herself another. She smoked it lazily while she eyed him through the glass of the shower recess, taking in every detail of his muscles and watching the blood rinse off him before he turned around and she saw his back, which made her eyes immediately widen and she almost dropped the cigarette, which in turn caused her to drop ash on her thigh.

“Oh my-“ She hissed and cut herself off as the ash hit her skin and she brushed it off quickly, hardly reacting to the burning on her leg, it actually made her giggle a tiny bit before she looked back up to Rodolphus and gracefully slid off the sink, opening the shower door to get a closer look.

She hadn’t noticed as he walked away into the en-suite, she was too busy laughing but now she could see the extent of damage to his back and bit her lip, taking a deep breath as she wondered if at all he ever hated her deep down for this. She reached out a hand slowly to stroke his skin gently, biting her lip still as she did before she let out a shaking breath that she’d been holding in as she reached for him, so she could summon her healing kit to her side.

“Darling-“ She said gently, pulling things out and placing them on the sink, turning the labels to face her as she did and lining the bottles and vials up neatly. She turned back to him and gave him the familiar look that meant it was time to heal him, and summoned a towel for when he was finished and stepped out, while she perched herself on the edge of the tub and waited for him.

She knew he would be bothered by her fussing and so tried to go as fast as she could, whilst still maintaining enough control to heal the wounds on his back properly, which would have begun festering if she hadn’t urged to heal him immediately.