Broken Glass

''''''''''''''''''''' Ch. 2 Home, Sweet Home '''''''''''''''''''''

Remus hopped off his bed, suddenly feeling like a ten year old boy on Christmas morning. He amused himself for a short moment by checking his appearance in the mirror in the adjoining bathroom. He knew Lucius wouldn't care about his being beautiful for him, but a little primping couldn't hurt.

Once he found himself satisfactory, he all but flew out of his room, all grace and dignity forgotten at the thought of being reunited with Lucius after a hellish few weeks without him. After all the hard knocks dealt to him by the unseen hand of fate, he'd finally gotten a break. He got to have Lucius with him for a whole two weeks. It couldn't have gotten any better. God himself would have to strike him down to spoil this for him.

Remus bounded down the stairs, unable to contain his glee. When he reached the last step, he skipped off, turned the corner into the foyer, and stopped short. What he saw made his breath catch and his heart skip a beat. Lucius was standing next to Remus' mother, dwarfing her with his height, wearing his usual all black attire. But now . . . it looked different. It didn't give him the same pale countenance it usually did, contrasting with his light skin, but rather his skin tone had caught up with it. Lucius had been bronzed in the sun, not truly tanned, but color had most certainly been added to his otherwise marble white skin. His tan accented his platinum hair, lending it a sort of golden radiance. In other words, he was hot. Remus was certain he had never seen a creature nearly as beautiful as Lucius appeared to him then. His two weeks spent on his father's yacht in the south of France had done him some good.

His mother spoke, bringing him out of his stupor. He hadn't realized he'd been staring. 'Smooth,' he thought to himself.

"Honey," she said, "Aren't you going to welcome your guest?"

He was willing to overlook her term of endearment. Every cell in his body was screaming at him to run to Lucius and plant a long, soul searing kiss on his lips,. He felt as if he were physically pulled toward him, but he knew he couldn't exactly ravage his boyfriend with his mother as an audience.

He walked towards Lucius, who smiled at him, seeming to know exactly what he was doing to him. Despite his body's protests, Remus extended his hand for a friendly handshake. His hand was enveloped by Lucius' own, the touch warming Remus' entire body.

"I'm glad you could make it, Lucius," Remus said, his tone oddly detached.

"And I'm glad you invited me," Lucius responded, that smile still gracing his lips. A mischievous twinkle in his eye accompanied it. Remus had an odd feeling that the other boy was thinking of exactly what he would do with him once they were away from his mother's eyes.

His mother's shrill voice cut into their shared moment of reunion, "Oh, I'm so happy you have a friend over, Remus."

Remus shared a look with Lucius whose responding look told him he knew exactly what he was thinking. What bullshit.

He looked back to his mother who was gazing at them curiously, unasked questions written across her face. Remus knew she must have picked up on something, after all, his mother wasn't a complete failure of a human being. He just hoped she didn't know exactly what she was missing.

"Well, I guess I'll just leave you two boys alone now," she said, "I have some cleaning up in the kitchen I need to finish. Remember, your father will be home from work at around seven, so don't wreck the house or play any loud music."

With that, she gave them one last curious glance and then retreated out of the foyer, disappearing into the large arched opening that served as the entrance to the kitchen. Both Remus and Lucius kept their eyes on her as she left the room, making certain that she was well out of hearing range.

Remus was the first to break the silent paralysis that had fallen on them. He pulled Lucius down to him, capturing the taller boy's lips with his own. He kissed him with all the pent up stress, irritation, passion, love, and longing that he'd felt over the past few weeks, hoping through it, he could convey just how much he had missed him. He ran his hands through Lucius's short, soft hair, feeling his mate, HIS mate, return the kiss with equal fervor, relishing in the feel of their lips crushed against each other. Lucius' arms wrapped around his middle, pulling Remus as close against him as the laws of physics would allow. Remus moaned into Lucius' mouth, making it known to him that he appreciated the gesture.

The kiss ended all too quickly. Lucius pulled away from Remus, chuckling softly at the sight before him. Remus had an idea of how he must look. Passion flushed cheeks, kiss bruised lips, eyes glazed over. He knew this because Lucius looked exactly the same way. Lucius brought his hands up from where they were resting on Remus' hips, cradling the smaller boy's face in his hands. He brushed his thumbs along Remus' cheekbones, sending what felt like small electric charges through the other boy's skin.

"A little enthusiastic, Remus?" Lucius, said, smiling now, not in mischief, but in happiness. Remus pouted, knowing it could make Lucius melt right into his socks. Lucius leaned forward and kissed him, quickly and chastely.

"Well, what did you expect? You ran off on your glorious summer vacation getaway, leaving me with these demonic parents of mine for a whole two weeks," Remus said. He had surprised himself. He truly hadn't meant to sound quite so bitter.

Lucius flinched at Remus' tone and said, "I know, I know. I'm sorry, but I'm here now, right? Do you have any idea how hard it was to convince my mother that I had to come home NOW? That's gotta count for something, right?"

Remus' statement softened and he couldn't help but notice that his Lucius had a startling resemblance to a puppy begging for pat on the head. He tilted his head to the side and softly kissed Lucius' chin. He felt him relax, knowing that he wasn't angry with him.

"Well, I'm still annoyed, Mr. Malfoy," Remus said, smiling, "I do hope you plan to make this up to me." He hoped Lucius would pick up on his innuendo.

"Oh, I most certainly do," Lucius replied. He grabbed Remus' hand and yanked the other boy upstairs, quickly located his room and slammed the door shut behind them.

* * *

Remus looked down at his lap, which was currently serving as a pillow for one blonde haired wonder. Lucius returned his gaze, his eyes bearing a dreamy sort of quality. Lucius raised his hand towards Remus' face, tracing the other boy's jaw. Remus mirrored the action, moving the hand that had been previously resting on Lucius' chest and bringing it to the reclined one's face. His other hand remained where it was, gently stroking Lucius' hair. He still could not accept the fact that this was his. All his. Not for anyone else to share. Just his.

"All mine," Remus whispered, unaware that he had spoken aloud. Lucius laughed quietly.

"A bit possessive now, are we?"

"Possessive? Who? Me? Pfft," Remus said, smiling in return. Things couldn't get any better.

Lucius remained silent, asking with his eyes for something he very well should have grown tired of long ago. Remus complied, bending down to brush his lips against Lucius' in the slightest of kisses. He was caught off guard as Lucius' hand pressed against the back of his head, bringing him further down, and increasing the force of the kiss.

This had been going on for over an hour. When they had first reached Remus' room, Lucius had been all too eager to make up for upsetting Remus. Remus had been shoved onto his bed, which he had made what seemed like ages ago, barely registering that the sheets were going to get all messed up. Lucius had crawled on top of him, letting him know who was going to take charge of the particular escapade. Their kissing had been ceaseless, infused with passion and intense as anything. The only thing that stopped them from taking it one step further was the knowledge that Remus' mother was right downstairs. Anything more would have been highly inappropriate.

After the initial thrill had subsided, they'd taken to simple cuddling, basking in each other's presence. They had talked very little, the need for words had long since passed and the barest touch and a soundless look were all they need to communicate.

This was how they'd ended up, with Remus sitting on his bed, his back resting against the wall and Lucius stretched out lengthwise, his head comfortably positioned on Remus' lap. A glance at the bedside clock told Remus that it was 6:57 p.m. His father was due home at any minute. As pleasant as the situation was, Remus knew they couldn't stay this way forever.

"We should move," Remus said quietly, reluctant to disturb one of the few moments he and Lucius had to be alone.

"Why?" Lucius asked, "Your dad?"

Remus nodded in reply and said, "We wouldn't want to be seen in this . . . ah . . . compromising position." He added a smile for Lucius' benefit.

Wordlessly, Lucius sat up and rearranged himself so that his back was to the wall, his shoulder touching Remus.' He turned his head to the side and easily closed the distance between them for a quick kiss.

They separated when they heard the front door open, signaling the return of Remus' father. 'Drat,' he thought to himself, 'Back to the platonic charade.' Just another raindrop to add to the torrential downpour on his parade.

Remus could hear his father moving about downstairs and he was struck by a stab of dread at the thought of him ascending the stairs and entering his personal haven. It was more than the anxiety of his overprotective mate meeting his domineering father, but the tangle of nerves he felt was caused by the knowledge that it was nearly the full moon. He expected his father to take the usual "safety precautions" as his mother liked to call them. He preferred the term "unduly provoked imprisonment."

"It's almost the full moon," Remus said, very well aware of the sound of his father's heavy footsteps on the staircase. Lucius's eyes narrowed, letting the smaller boy know that he heard it, too, and understood Remus' unspoken plea. An air of protectiveness stole over his features, an statement that all but shouted: "Can't touch. Mine."

The sound of the footsteps had now reached the hallway.

"I see," was all Lucius said, his tone cold enough to inflict a bad case of hypothermia on any unsuspecting target.

There was an audible click in the hallway as Remus' father stopped to turn on the overhead light. Remus took this as his cue to scoot further away from Lucius on the bed. He felt as though his body was protesting his brain's command, unwilling to be separated from the body heat and fuzzy warmness that was his boyfriend. Lucius took Remus' unspoken advice and distanced himself as well, so that they were now seated as opposite ends of the bed.

'See, dad,' Remus thought, his mental voice laced with bitterness, 'Just friends. Your son isn't madly in love with another man. Oh no. Not at all.'

There was a sharp knock on Remus' bedroom door, which was a rather meaningless gesture, since the knocker had no intentions of waiting for a response. The intruder entered the room, with no preamble, and gave the two inhabitants a undefinable look, his gaze resting on the smaller one, that was his son. Remus offered an equally blank look in return, leaving Lucius to glance surreptitiously from one face to the other. A palpable tension hung in the room and it nearly crackled with visible light between the boy and his father.

"Good evening, son," the older man said. Remus put all his effort into holding back a cringe.

"Hi, Dad," Remus said, nearly choking out the last word. The simple act of forming it on his tongue left a vile taste in his mouth.

"So, this is your friend," Mr. Lupin said, giving Lucius a once-over that reminded Remus of a sheriff staring down a suspect. It made him uneasy, to say the least.

"His name is Lucius, Dad," Remus said, willing himself to keep the venom he felt bubbling under the surface to creep into his carefully neutral voice.

The only response he received was a nod in Lucius' direction and a grunt under the man's breath. Remus supposed his father didn't quite yet know what to think of Lucius. He simply hoped it was nothing bad. It wasn't that Remus was just dying for his boyfriend to get his abusive father's approval; that would be ridiculous, bordering on insane. He just didn't wish for Lucius to be subjected to his father's frequent outbursts because of him.

"Dinner will be ready in ten minutes," was all his father said as he turned on his heel and left the room, shutting the door with as much force as he could without slamming it.

Lucius turned to Remus and said, "Is he always that dreadful?"

Remus shook his head, not wanting anything more than to throw himself into the safety and security of Lucius' arms, but didn't. He wouldn't risk being caught red-handed with his father in such close proximity. He could, after all, hear him retreating down the hallway to his parent's bedroom.

"Are you kidding?" Remus said, taking Lucius' hand, "That was him on his best behavior."

***

Dinner was an uneventful affair, consisting of "Would you pass the peas?" and "How was your day at work, dear?" The tension in the room served as icing on Remus' Happy Day From Hell cake.

After the dishes had been cleared and the dining table vacated, Remus' father ordered him upstairs with a look. Remus turned to Lucius as his father mounted the stairs and told him, without the aid of words, that he would in all likelihood, not see him again for the rest of the night. Lucius' eyes narrowed again, the only outwardly visible sign to his discomfort.

Remus followed his father's larger figure to his room, knowing full well what was about to happen. His father would lock him away, as he had done every full moon since the age of six, like the monster he believed him to be. He knew his father saw him as no son of his. Just a burden, a creature that needed to be hidden away from the virgin eyes of the rest of civilized society. He had once believed the same until, on one star riddled night, he had encountered a certain blonde whirlwind of a boy deep within the Forbidden Forest. He would have smiled at the memory, had his situation not been so grim.

His father remained in the doorway as Remus stepped inside his temporary prison. He turned to look at his father, his facial features schooled to appear blank.

"Does he know?" his father asked, not needing to ask what exactly it was that someone may or may not know.

"What? That your one and only son is a filthy, rotten beast?" Remus said, regretting the words as soon as they had left his mouth. He had always tried to avoid provoking his father, but his recent time spent with Lucius had given him a foolhardy amount of extra nerve.

Before he could react, his father's hand struck him across his face, the backhanded slap leaving a sharp throb on his cheek. The blow had been so hard, Remus felt as though his mouth was simultaneously numb and on fire.

"Don't you dare use that tone with me. I've kept you under this roof and away from people because you can't control the goddamn monster in you and you know it. You should be thanking me for even keeping you here," Remus' father spat at his son, who was still reeling in pain from the blow and trying not to show it.

"Yes, sir," Remus replied, his voice lacking all feeling.

"Good. Remember that," the older man said, "I'll tell that friend of yours that you're not feeling well and you've gone to bed. You shouldn't be disturbed."

The thought of separation from his mate caused a lump to form in Remus' throat. He tried to swallow it down, but to no avail, and the only sound that escaped him was an almost inaudible worless lament. As if he could sense Remus' discontent, his father stopped in his tracks, and without turning to face his son, threw one last comment over his shoulder.

"You know, if he knew what you really were, what secret you've been hiding . . . he wouldn't be here."

The door shut, leaving Remus to stare at it morosely. He felt an modicum at satisfaction at knowing just how mistaken his father's assumption had been.

'If you only knew, Dad. If you only knew.'

***

From the small window in his room, Remus could watch the full moon as it clearly shone in the blackened sky, unabated by the clouds. It illuminated his room with a pale glow. None of the lights were on, as Remus had been too depressed to bother with them. His thoughts wondered to Lucius and what the other boy was doing at the moment. Surely, he knew that his father was lying about his condition, but he couldn't figure out why Lucius simply didn't waltz in here, carry him out of the house, and ride off into the sunset on his trusty white steed. Or maybe just pick the lock and sneak out the window. It was all the same to Remus.

He buried his snout in his outstretched paws. With the rise of the full moon, Remus had undergone his transformation from boy to wolf. He could probably temporarily shift back to human form if he willed it so, but the prospect of sulking on his bed as a human was far less appealing than doing so as a wolf. As he shed his human appearance, he lost some of his human idiosyncrasies as well. He might still be subject to anguish, but it was not nearly as concentrated as it would have been, had he been human.

He wondered during a brief bout of insanity if his father had actually been right. Perhaps Lucius wasn't all that interested in sharing his life with someone who turned furry once a month. He quickly dispelled the theory, reminding himself that Lucius was very well aware of his lycanthropy and what came with it. Lucius had made it clear that he had accepted the full package: nothing more, nothing less.

He whimpered and placed his large paws over his snout. It would have been a cute gesture, had it not been so downright depressing. His ears perked up at the sound of metal clicking against metal. The noise continued, growing more and more apparent, until the doorknob slowly turned. The door was opened excrutiatingly slowly, as if the person behind it was terrified of it creaking on its hinges. Light spilled in from the hallway, casting a thin streak of brightness on the floor. Lucius poked his head in and Remus could have sworn he saw the other boy melt when his eyes fell on him. He must have made a damn cute wolf.

Lucius slid through the narrow opening, afraid to open the door any further, and silently closed it behind him. He cautiously crept towards the bed and peered down at Remus.

"You're not going to eat me, are you?" He asked, only half in jest.

Remus shook his shaggy head and was rewarded with a scratch behind his ears. He knew it was strange, being petted by his boyfriend, but at the moment, he really didn't care. Lucius was here and they would soon ride into the night like cowboys.

"All right, then," Lucius said, "Let's get out of here."

Remus hopped off the bed and padded as quietly as wolfishly possible behind Lucius to the guest bedroom.

***

Once they had reached the sanctuary of the guest bedroom, Remus had forced his body to resume it's traditional form: human. It had taken quite a bit of effort, but he'd succeeded. He was also very naked. Under any other circumstances, Remus would have been delighted at the thought of being nude in Lucius' bedroom, but the other boy had other things planned right now. His mind was safely out of the gutter.

Lucius had handed him a pair of pants and a shirt, after explaining to Remus that he had covertly smuggled them out of his room earlier that evening. Remus' initial joy brought on by his resuce had faded, leaving him feeling rather debased. One look at Lucius told the other boy exactly how he felt, and before he knew it, Lucius was sitting next to him, his arms wrapped around his shoulders. He rested his head on the other boy's chest, trying to repel the feelings of hopelessness and dejection from his consciousness.

"Shh," Lucius whispered, "We're gonna get out of here. He won't hurt you again, not like that, not ever again. I promise."

When the first tears cascaded down his cheeks, Lucius brought up his hand to brush them away. Remus leaned into the touch. He felt Lucius' fingers beneath his chin, tilting his face upwards, where Lucius' mouth met his. He didn't know how long they remained there kissing. He was too preoccupied with the taste, feel, and scent of Lucius to heed the tiny voice in his head telling him that they needed to move now or else.

He did not register the barely audible swear coming from the other side of the hallway. No, he was more focused on the feel of Lucius' hand at the small of his back. Nor did he hear the creeping footsteps approaching the guest room. Just then, Lucius had run his tongue along Remus', sending tingly sensations down his spine. He was so thoroughly drowned in the essence of the boy in front of him, the taste of his lips crushed against Lucius' that he almost didn't open his eyes when the door was thrown open with a bang.

Remus saw Lucius' eyes fly open and they both turned startled faces towards the door. Remus' father stood there, a look of such abject disgust on his face, that it was one Remus had never seen before. He had seen his father at what he had thought was his worst, but all prior experiences fell short of the sight before him.

His father was purple with rage. The man opened and closed his mouth, trying to voice his anger, and failing. He stalked towards the bed and grabbed hold of Remus' arm before Lucius could whisk him away.

He was nearly dragged down the hallway and flung into his room, his face connecting with the hard wooden floor. He felt one large boot strike his ribs, before he heard the sound of retreating footsteps. Remus thought he felt something had cracked. He could scarcely hear muted yelling coming from the room across the hall.

The tiny voice in the back of his head whispered, 'I told you so.'