Trust is a Fickle Thing... | Rabastan & Vivian

[RABASTAN RORICK LESTRANGE]

There was a raw kind of magnetism between the pair of them as Rabastan stared at Vivian, waiting to hear what kind of sick, twisted dreams she may have. Would he be in company? Would there be blood? Would there be vengeance? Would there be desire? He found himself anticipating her answer the slightest bit more than he expected to be. Was he really that interested in picking the mind of Vivian Blackwell? Yes, the answer resounded in his head in an instant. But why? The answer to that question wasn't so clear, but the desire to know still remained as she began speaking.

She dreamed of hands, of people touching her. The tone of her voice sounded disgusted but in that moment he knew exactly what it felt like to want her, but it had absolutely nothing to do with her looks. She was beautiful, yes, there was no denying that... But there was something about the way she understood him, the way that he felt utterly drawn to her without any clue as to why. But she sounded violated when she spoke, and he knew he should push those thoughts to the back of his mind. And yet still the words were on the tip of his tongue. I want you. But he said nothing, though the absolute, raw desire to ravage her sat there, flowing through his veins as easily as his own blood, pumping straight into his heart. He wanted to find someway to comfort her as she spoke of her dreams, about the hands, but no words passed his lips before she continued.

He took a sip of his firewhiskey as she spoke of the pain deep inside, the kind that rips you apart from the inside out. He knew what that felt like. He knew what it felt like to think of all the ways you could die. It started off as the utterly simplistic ways, but eventually they always turn gruesome, bloody, torturous. She said she dreams of being a child with no place to run, and it served as gentle reminder to him. She was not a child any longer. She was of age, just as Theo was, she was free to do as she pleased, with whoever she pleased. He smirked into his firewhiskey, downing the remainder of his second glass in a large gulp. There was no burning sensation. If there was, he was completely unaware of it as his eyes stared into Vivian Blackwell's.

"I know what it's like to dream of blood, to dream of that kind of pain. Sometimes, you think it's not that bad. Eventually you become used to it. Let it numb you to everything else," his eyes never left her as he spoke. He saw himself in her on so many levels. He related to her pain, her thoughts, and he could see the excitement in her eyes. And for the flicker of a second he thought he saw desire. Desire for him? Desire for pain? Desire for...? The possibilities were endless, but he would find out the answer.

"And tell me... What do you desire, Vivian?" he began leaning slightly across the table, his eyes staring into hers, his voice coming out even, steady, and low.

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[VIVIAN HOPE BLACKWELL]

Rabastan listened in silence as she told him about her dreams, as she had done for him. She was glad he didn't offer his opinions on them, as so many people would have done. He didn't try to fix her, or give her advice. He just took her as she was, and he understood. She took solace in the fact that maybe the next time she was trapped in the endless nightmares, she would't feel so alone.

And Vivian saw desire flood his eyes as she spoke. He wanted her, but not in the way so many other men wanted her. He saw deep inside of her, and he wanted it all.

He told her that he understood, and spoke of the pain she felt, like it was an old friend. He knew what it was like to have pain make you numb. That was what Theo had never been able to understand. How she could not feel, what it was like, why she was like that. He'd never gotten it, no matter how hard she tried to make him understand. And Theo was the only person she had to talk to. Until now. Rabastan understood it all, and in talking to him she felt like she understood it a little better herself.

"And tell me... What do you desire, Vivian?"

He leant across the table towards her, and Vivian wondered if he realised he was doing it. Was he just as drawn to her as she was to him? She thought she could feel the sparks shooting between them, the electricity making the air between them crackle. Her response raced to her mind and almost spilled out of her lips; 'You.'

She wanted to move around the table that was dividing them and close all space between them. And she could do it, too; the pub, from what she could see, had emptied, and the bar man was busying himself in the back room. She imagined herself rising and going to him, sliding onto his lap, facing him and entwining her hands in his thick black hair. He was like a flame to her, and she wanted to burn alive.

But Vivian forced herself to tread more cautiously. There were reasons why she should walk away now. This was Theo's dad, and he was twice her age. He had brought her here to test her, see if he could trust her. But all those reasons seemed very small right now, and far away.

"Can't you see it?" she replied, her voice low and hungry. This was dangerous, dangerous territory.

[RABASTAN RORICK LESTRANGE]

Rabstan sat in silence as he waited for Vivian to answer his question. It was a simple question really, but he almost felt like he could see the wheels turning in her head. She was thinking, and what about he at least had some idea. He could see his own raw desire in his eyes mirrored in her own. She seemed to survey the pub, ever so discreetly, ever so carefully. What was she thinking? He smirked at her, only now realizing that the bar was empty, and the barman was nowhere to be found.

She turned back to him and he waited with bated breath. He wondered what words would come spilling forth from her mouth. He wondered if he was just as much on her mind as she was on his, and in the same teasing, torturous ways. The words that left her lips next were all the more tantalizing as she stared at him, both of them leaning across the table, refusing to back down from the other. There was a magnetism, a power between them and it felt like air was thick and choking with desire, with attraction, with lust, with so many things that Rabastan Lestrange had not felt in a very, very long time. He stared at the girl, tossing her question over and over again in his head.

Could he see it? Could he see what she wanted so badly? The answer was a resounding and irrevocable yes. The desire was clearly in her eyes as plain as it was in his. His thoughts lingered only momentarily on the fact that she was so young. She was far wiser and far more mature than her simple age would let on. She knew so much, had experienced so much, and they could relate to the very core of one another’s soul. They knew what it was like to experience pain, to be trapped inside of yourself, to be trapped inside a cell that could never ever be broken. They were too irreparable, scarred souls filled with a desire unlike any other. He momentarily thought of the reason they’d met here in the first place, and somehow it all seemed irrelevant.

His eyes met hers again and it was like all thought vanished. Could see see what she wanted? Yes. Yes. And before he could stop himself he pushed the table between them aside. It screeched lightly against the wooden floor. The barman was nowhere in sight, and there wasn’t another soul to be seen in the bar. The table was no longer a barrier between them, keeping them from what they both so desperately desired Rabastan stood up, ripping her up from a chair as easily as a rag doll and held her in his strong arms. There was a savage, carnal desperation that took hold of him then as he held her up, his lips devouring hers, rough and smoky like a volcano about to erupt and he pushed her against the wall near the table they’d been sitting at. His tongue darted within her mouth like he was desperate to taste every inch of her, his hands gripping her like they wanted to rip beneath her and reach down and touch her tortured soul.

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[VIVIAN HOPE BLACKWELL]

Rabastan didn't answer her, but there was a moment. A moment when they looked at each other and all pretences dropped. They weren't playing games any more. They both knew the reasons why this shouldn't happen, but neither of them cared. He wanted her. She wanted him.

He moved the table and it screeched across the floor. Vivian's glass fell to the ground and shattered, what remained of her Firewhiskey spilling across the floor. And then he grabbed her, and she couldn't spare a thought for anything else.

Rabastan Lestrange grabbed her, pulling her out of her chair and into his arms. He was strong, and manoeuvred her as though she were weightless. Vivian gasped slightly as he picked her up and pushed her against the wall. Her arms wound tightly around his neck, and his lips were on hers, devouring her, kissing her like she'd never been kissed before, and she kissed him back just as fiercely. She had never felt anything like this, not even close. She had thought she had known what lust and passion felt like, but this was something else all together. Vivian pushed down Rabastan's hood, wound her hands in his hair, and gripped tightly. His hands were all over her, gripping her so hard it would have hurt if she hadn't wanted it all so badly.

A part of her felt like it was all too much, too much to take, while another part knew she could never get enough. He was holding her up against the wall, and she wrapped her jean clad legs around his waist. Her cloak, still fastened at her throat, spilled down the wall behind her. He tasted like smoke and sweat and whiskey.

"Oi!" Vivian heard a voice and knew that the bar man had returned, and felt Rabastan's lips leave hers. The bar owner sounded none to pleased at seeing his table pushed aside, one of his glasses shattered, and two people who looked on the verge of public indecency. "If you want a room, fine, otherwise take it somewhere else."

[RABASTAN RORICK LESTRANGE]

The pair of them were glued to one another, his hands were everywhere on her as he pinned her against the wall to hold her up. She was kissing him with a desperation he’d never experienced with a woman before. She was kissing him more than like she wanted to, it was like she needed to, and he kissed her with the same furious, untamable desire. She wrapped her legs around his waist and her hands began to grip his dark, thick hair and he let out a low, heavy mix of a gasp and a laugh as she did so. The fact that he was fugitive on the run was momentarily forgotten altogether, like that life was far off in another time. Their hands and tongues explored each other with sensual, raw passion. It was like everywhere she touched caught fire, every sensation, every nerve-ending wanted nothing but her and this. More and more, he would never be fully satisfied. And then - a voice.

Rabastan immediately pulled his lips from her, turning his head away from the barman, so he’d not get a close enough look at his identity. Vivian turned her head toward the man, and after he shouted a warning of either getting a room or leaving, he returned to the back room from which he’d come. Rabastan remained staring at the wall for a moment, his heart beating fast within his chest, his blood still pumping through his vein like boiling water. He turned his head back to face Vivian, his eyes meeting hers as he moved her from the wall and planted one more heavy kiss on her lips before placing her back firmly on the ground. His hands remained entwined around her waist as he stared her for a moment, not wanting the moment to be over, not wanting to have to let her go.

And then the shock of what he’d done set in. Though his face remained cool and calm he only now allowed himself to realize that he’d just kissed a girl half his age unlike he’d kissed any woman before. The realization was startling, but as he stared at her he would not apologize. It was inappropriate, and there was a part of him that felt sick, but mostly, he felt insatiable. He felt like he wanted to do it again, more, longer, but maybe it was the Firewhiskey… Maybe it was something else.

He pondered for only a moment on what to say as he turned away from her and picked up the table that had been knocked down. He whipped out his wand, which looked particularly dark and deadly, and waved it once as Vivian’s glass was put back together and the spill that had been on the floor disappeared. He sat back down at the table and looked at her, a wicked grin on his face.

”So was that what you desired, Vivian?”

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[VIVIAN HOPE BLACKWELL]

Vivian was breathless when Rabastan pulled away, and she clung to him helplessly. She was glad he was holding her up, because she doubted her ability to stand right now; she was sure her knees had turned to jelly.

She glared at the bar man, but was too breathless and frustrated to come up with a response. Vivian noticed that Rabastan turned his head away from the man, so he wouldn't see his face. She wondered if it would be a problem that he had seen her; she knew she was distinctive, and she shouldn't really be down here. Not so late, anyway.

Rabastan kissed her again, one deep kiss that left her head spinning. Then he let her down, and she stared up at him, still standing in his arms.

For a moment she saw shock cross his face, and it was enough to bring her, at least partially, back to reality. This was Theo's, her best friend's, father. He was twice her age. He was a Death Eater on the run from the Ministry. If anyone knew she had associated with him, if they were caught together, they would both be off to Azkaban. Vivian didn't think she could stand being locked up. She'd rather die.

But she still burned for him. By rights they should have nothing in common, but instead it felt like they were cut from the same cloth. Rabastan pulled away, and she let him. Vivian took the moment to straighten out her clothes, and run a hand through her hair. She was too hot in her cloak, so she unfastened it, and let it drape over the back of her chair. She watched as Rabastan righted the table, and repaired the shattered glass with a wave of his black wand. He sat back down at their table, and Vivian was momentarily stunned. Were they really just going to sit back down, like nothing had happened?

”So was that what you desired, Vivian?”

She felt the same grin that was on his face sneak onto her own.
"Yes," she replied, sitting down again, "and no. The bar man interrupted." Their all too brief encounter had fuelled her desire for him, rather than sated it. If the bar man hadn't walked in, she didn't know where she would have stopped... if she would have done at all.

Vivian glanced back towards the room the bar man had vanished into again, and then back at Rabastan, a mischievous smile on her face. She stood up from her own chair and slid herself onto his lap, just like she had imagined doing earlier. She had a leg either side of him, and she faced him, her arms sliding around his neck, the fingers of one hand gently playing with the hair at the nape of his neck. She kissed him again, but this time it was slow, gentle, teasing.
"What about you?" she asked, her voice low and quiet, when she pulled away. "Did that scratch the itch?" Was the bar man's suggestion really so unthinkable? Was it so wrong of her to even consider renting a room above the pub to spend the night with Rabastan Lestrange? She wanted to explore this, and afterwards they could keep each others nightmares at bay.

Yes, it was wrong. She knew it was. He was twice her age, and what would Theo say? Suddenly she thought that Theo would be wondering where he was. He would have waited wanting to know how the 'meeting' had gone. So many reasons why she should leave now, but she couldn't make herself heed any of them. Maybe later she could blame it on the Firewhiskey.

[RABASTAN RORICK LESTRANGE]

Vivian sat down again as she answered her question, and her voice echoed Rabastan’s thoughts precisely. What had just happened had only just begun to scratch the surface of the pool of desire he was filled with for Vivian. He wanted more of her. He wanted all of her. The fires of lust and primal urge were unable to be put out by a simple kiss. Though there kiss had been far, far from simple. But it’d not be put out by interruption, either. Vivian said the bar man had interrupted and Rabastan felt a devious smirk cross his face. He watched as she seemed to look around again, and he wondered what she was thinking. But she soon made it very, very clear exactly what she was thinking.

She came and seated herself on his lap, wrapping her hands around his neck, playing with the hair on the nape of his neck. His breathing got heavier and he closed his eyes, allowing her fingers touching his skin to tease him lightly. Everywhere she touched turned to fire. Everywhere she touched, no matter the manner, only made him want her more. But she knew what she was doing, with her hands on his neck, and her lips pressed against his. The kiss was slow, deliberate, teasing, and Rabastan closed his eyes and took in a sharp , deep breath as she pulled away, his hands landing on her thighs, squeezing, caressing, making circular patterns with his thumbs.

She asked him if that scratched the itch. He smirked.

He brought his arms up and wrapped them around her, pulling her closer to him. One hand rested on the back of her neck, the other exploring her body. There was no cloak anymore which made things infinitely easier. His hand, which seemed so large and rough in comparison to all of her body parts, gently lifted her shirt. His hand traced around her bellybutton lightly before landing at the rim of her jeans. He placed his pointer finger just barely inside the inner rim, dragging it back and forth across her lower stomach. Every nerve ending he had was exploding with pure desire as he lifted his hand away from her jeans and brought it to her face. He held her face in place as it was his turn to tease her.

The kiss was slow, and deliberate as hers had been, and when he pulled away his tongue lightly traced her lips before he moved to her neck. Each kiss he placed was slow, deliberate, succulent. His hands rested gently on her lower back, still trying to tug her closer, even though he knew it wasn’t possible for them to be any closer.

”Not quite,” he replied simply, his voice a low, deep, breathless kind of whisper, before he kissed her once more. For a brief moment he thought about what his son would say about all of this. He surely wasn’t going to be happy about it, but somehow that thought didn’t seem to bother him like it probably should have. He was too lost in desire, too lost to turn back from the path he’d created. ”I’m already buying your drink. I’m sure I can spare a few more galleons for some place more comfortable than this booth,” he said, his eyes staring straight into hers.

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[VIVIAN HOPE BLACKWELL]

Rabastan's sharp intake of breath as Vivian pulled away from him sent shivers through her whole body. She should have known better than to think he would let her get away with teasing him like that. She had barely pulled away when his hands started to explore her body, running under her shirt and playing with the waistband of her jeans. She closed her eyes, feeling like she might explode from wanting him. And then his hand was on her chin, pulling her face towards his, and he was kissing her again. All too soon he pulled away, and she felt his lips on her neck. Vivian let her head fall backwards, and wound her fingers in his hair. She closed her eyes again, every place he kissed felt like the very centre of her being. He was pulling her closer to him, and she felt herself moving against him without consciously deciding to.

Vivian Blackwell was completely lost. She spent her days lost in numbness and her nights locked in pain. She wasn't prepared for feelings like this, and they swarmed her like an army taking an undefended castle. Vivian had had sex before, but only once. Usually she never wanted anyone. But two years ago, when she had been in her fifth year, at the time when she and Theo had started to stop their little 'experiments', there had been a boy, a Slytherin two years older than her, and all the girls had wanted him. And so Vivian had taken him for her own. She had enjoyed it, but had gotten bored soon after, and then he had left Hogwarts. Since then no one had taken her fancy, although she had allowed some boys to snog her from time to time. But there had never been anything that could have possibly prepared her for this.

Rabastan stopped kissing her neck, and Vivian opened her eyes, looking down at him as he stared her straight in the eye.

”I’m already buying your drink. I’m sure I can spare a few more galleons for some place more comfortable than this booth,”

This was her last chance to turn back, but it didn't even feel like an option. She felt like she would go insane if she walked away from him now. Her body was completely outside of her control. She couldn't even list the reasons why she should say no any more. Inexplicably, she felt nervous; under his gaze she felt almost innocent. But the nerves only added to her excitement.

"Okay," she said, breathlessly. She didn't have the presence of mind to come up with anything else to say. Well, maybe 'god, yes,' but she felt like she got her point across just as well.

[RABASTAN RORICK LESTRANGE]

Okay. The two syllable word was all it took before Rabastan rose from where he sat, holding Vivian as he rose and carrying her up, throwing the bar man a few galleons on the way upstairs.

---

Rabastan lied there, his arms wrapped around Vivian's shoulder, her head lying on his chest. He pressed a gentle kiss against her forehead, his heart still beating quickly in his chest. There was a small part of him that regretted what he'd done, but the larger part of him was more than satisfied with his actions. He looked down at her, a smirk across his face.

"So, did that scratch the itch?" he asked, using her own language from earlier against her. He squeezed his arm the slightest bit around her in a partial hug as he glanced back toward the wall in front of them. His thoughts began to wander, about what he'd done... But more about what his son would think. He didn't regret his actions. Not entirely, but there was a part of him that knew this was wrong. But... was it wrong? Was it really? Was age really such an important thing in this life? Or was the connection more important?

Somehow his thoughts lingered on Theo. Theo felt like the big elephant in the room. He was the reason that they'd been brought together in the first place. And this girl was Theo's best friend.... and he was Theo's father. Who'd just come into the picture. How did Rabastan expect Theo to react to something like that? Not well, that was certain. His eyes drifted back down to Vivian, his eyes meeting hers.

"I'm assuming we're both under the agreement that Theo won't be finding out about this little... event?" He wasn't sure what plans Vivian had, or how much of her life she'd told Theo. Rabstan was sure Theo knew about her parents, and yes they'd been friends for a long time. But would she really tell Theo she'd met with his father and then shagged him? No doubt Theo would ask one of them, or both how the meeting went... Rabastan didn't want to think about what it was going to feel like when he was faced with that question.

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[VIVIAN HOPE BLACKWELL]

Vivian had never felt more relaxed- or worn out- in her life. She lay with her head resting on Rabastan's chest, his arm around her, and smiled as he planted a gentle kiss on her forehead. She could feel his heart pounding in his chest.

"So, did that scratch the itch?"

Vivian laughed slightly, and looked up at Rabastan.
"Most definitely," she said, before pressing her lips gently against his. She didn't have the energy for anything more passionate, but it really wasn't necessary; they had done passionate, and then some. "What about you?"

She saw him look away, and could tell his mind was wandering to the implications of what they had just done. Now that she was no longer caught up in a fog of lust and Firewhiskey, the consequences seemed so much more real. It wasn't so much that he was older than her; she was of age, in fact she had been of age for a while now, so the only problem there was the social stigma. And Vivian didn't really care too much for what other people thought. The real problem would be Theo. Both she and Rabastan cared very deeply about what Theo thought. His father had only just come back into his life, and Vivian had known him all of a few hours before they'd fallen into bed together.

But Rabastan brought up Theo before she did, and she nodded her agreement.
"No," she said. "I don't think telling him would be a good idea at all... he wouldn't understand." she sighed, and looked away. Theo would definitely not understand. He would be upset, and he'd take it at face value; his dad had shagged his best friend, probably because she was pretty. How did they begin to explain what had happened between them? How did they tell him that they were both so desperate to find an escape from their nightmares, and that they had found comfort in each others arms?

"I hate lying to Theo," Vivian said, staring at the wall. "I never do. I usually tell him everything... but I don't want to hurt him." She looked up at Rabastan. "You're not going to kill me if he's pissed off about this, are you?" she said, winking, despite the fact that a sick guilty feeling was creeping to her stomach.

Vivian stared at the ceiling for a moment, and then propped herself up on her elbow so she could look at Rabastan properly.
"I meant what I said, you know," she began. "I do care about him. I don't know if you had any sort of repeat performance in mind, but... if he finds out, and it really causes a problem, then that will be the end of it." she didn't like the prospect of it at all, but she wouldn't be the one to take Theo's father away from him. "I'd do anything for Theo." She repeated her earlier statement, and she meant it. You didn't screw over a friend that had been there for you like Theo had, just because someone new came along. She felt bad enough as it was.

But it was hard to keep feeling bad when she was lying here with Rabastan, with the prospect of a night where she'd have someone to hold her if she had bad dreams, maybe even keep the dreams away all together.

[RABASTAN RORICK LESTRANGE]

”What about you?”

Rabastan smiled for a moment before nodding. A simple yes didn’t quite get the point across, but he’d never been one to be very good at flourishing descriptions, so he simply left it at that. They had practically devoured each other in that bedroom, and there wasn’t really a proper way to describe that kind of desire, or how good it felt when the thirst was finally quenched.

Vivian mentioned that Theo wouldn’t understand what happened between them, and Rabastan nodded without realizing it. He’d only just met his son, but he knew him well enough to know that this was something that Theo wouldn’t even come close to comprehending. He had witnessed great tragedy, and he had seen terrible things, but Theodore Lestrange (because Rabstan refused to allow himself to think of Theo as Theo Nott) did not know what it was like to truly suffer. And Rabastan hoped that he never would.

And then Vivian mentioned that she hated lying to Theo, and Rabastan nodded again. It didn’t exactly make him feel all warm and fuzzy inside, either. This was his only son, his only son that he’d just met, and he was already keeping secrets from him. What kind of father did that make him? Rabastan wasn’t sure he wanted to know the answer. She said she didn’t want to hurt him, and that was something Rabastan understood completely. Theo would likely feel confused, betrayed… He would probably begin to dislike Rabastan for their actions. But if the time should come when Theo ever found out about this, Rabastan knew he and Vivian both would try and explain the best they could, and hope to Merlin that Theo found it in himself to understand.

”I know. I don’t want to hurt him either,” Rabastan said, his eyes focused on the wall in front of them for a second before he felt Vivian look up at him. He moved his eyes to look down at her, their eyes, meeting, and he let out a laugh at her question, smirking at her. ”I have no plans to kill you Vivian unless you truly hurt my son… without my help,” he said, feeling all the more guilty about his actions. He wasn’t sure if Theo would be more hurt or angry, but either way, he knew this situation, should he ever find out about it, would not go over well with Theo. But still, there was a smirk on his face until Vivian sat up and began speaking to him directly. His face became serious as he listened to her words. He didn’t like the sound of ending whatever this was, especially not so soon after it had gotten started, but he knew every word Vivian spoke was right.

”I know you do. Care about him, I mean. And I do too. He’ll always come first, before any of this. I don’t want to lose the only son I’ll ever have. For anything,” he said, his words simple and true. His voice was deep and steady. ”So when he asks about how the meeting went… What exactly are we going to tell him?”

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[VIVIAN HOPE BLACKWELL]

Vivian let herself lay back down when Rabastan had replied. She pushed her hair out of the way, and rested her head on his chest again, her arm laying across him.

The next question he posed was really their most immediate problem. What did they tell Theo?

"He probably waited up for me," she said, "he'd want to know how it went. Incidentally, what exactly was the plan, if you'd decided you couldn't trust me?" She had been curious about that all night, because she didn't think Rabastan would have killed her. That could cause a bigger problem then just simply letting her live with the knowledge she had, even if he was uncertain about her.

"I suppose we tell him the truth, we just leave out some parts... we tell him you decided you could trust me, that we talked for a long time, that it got late. I'll have to find out just how long he waited up for, but I doubt it was all night." Once she found out how late Theo had stayed up, she'd adjust her story accordingly. She could say she'd gotten in late, but if she ran into him before she managed to get upstairs and change she wouldn't be able to pull that lie off. She could tell him she had spent the night at the Hogs Head, because it had gotten too late... she just wouldn't tell him she hadn't been alone.

"I won't be able to tell you what story I went with, though," she said, looking up at him. "I have no way to contact you... you'll have to play it by ear."

She wondered how the two of them would meet up again, how they would communicate. It would be close to impossible. They couldn't owl each other, and Rabastan couldn't be seen by anyone at Hogwarts. And of course, Theo couldn't find out. It was a veritable minefield. But she did want to see him again.

Vivian looked over to the bed side table, where their two wands were lying side by side. They were both black as night, and Vivian smiled; they had the same wand wood. She reached over and picked up Rabastans- his was the longer one- and turned it over in her hand.
"We match," she said, a slight smile on her face. "What's in yours?"

[RABASTAN RORICK LESTRANGE]

Vivian explained that Theo had probably waited up for her, to see how the meeting went, which made perfect sense. When they’d discussed his meeting Vivian the qualifications for the meeting didn’t exactly sit well. And at Vivian’s question Rabastan looked at her, heaving a small sigh. Did he tell her what their agreement was? Would it make her angry with Theo? Surely not. Theo had a term of condition of his own, and it was all to help Vivian, not to hurt her. He looked at her and attempted to shrug, as if it were nothing.

”If I didn’t trust you, I would have erased your memory. You wouldn’t remember meeting me, or the letter, or anything…” he admitted, feeling absurdly selfish at the thought. He couldn’t imagine erasing her memory now. He didn’t want her to forget him, just like he didn’t want to forget her. Vivian Blackwell had made no small impact on him. But he realized as he was lost in thought that he’d forgotten to let her in on Theo’s part of the bargain. ”But if I were to erase your memory, Theo made me promise to try and erase all that stuff with your parents, too. So you could be happy.”

And then she suggested they tell him the truth. Rabastan smirked. It was such a simple answer. But, truth was rarely pure and never simple. She said she thought Theo would wait up for her, and of that Rabastan had no doubt. He remembered Theo seeming nervous about the meeting when they discussed it, he was probably sick with nerves waiting for her… but she was right. There was no way Theo could wait up all night if he wanted to. Not if he was anything like his father, anyway. Even on his most desperate nights, when he was sure the Dementors were coming to deliver their kiss, he would always fall asleep. It wouldn’t be an easy or dreamless sleep, but his eyelids always eventually closed. He nodded toward her as she said she’ll have no way to tell him what she’d told him, smirking.

”Believe it or not Vivian I’m pretty good at reading people, and I’m an excellent liar. You don’t get one of these marks for being a good person,” he admitted, gesturing to the scar on his arm. It was true. He was well aware that he hadn’t been a good person the in past, and that by no means was he a good person now. He had just slept with his son’s best mate, after all. And yet still, somehow – he knew he was capable of trying to be a better person, in some ways. The capability was there, but was the desire? Not particularly. Rabastan Lestrange had accepted who he was, and he would not go ‘round apologizing for it.

Vivian looked over to the sidetable where both their wands lie, and she picked his up, examining it. He grinned as she said they matched. The blatant similarities between the two of them were almost impossible to deny.

”Dragon Heartstring,” he replied, ”And in yours?” he asked, reaching over and snatching up her wand. It was infinitely smaller than his own, so much more dainty. It felt clumsy in his hand.

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[VIVIAN HOPE BLACKWELL]

Rabastan told her what would have happened if he had decided he didn't trust her.
"And Theo agreed to that?" she asked. She couldn't see Theo putting her in harms way like that, even if it was for his father. He had only just met the man, where as he'd had years of looking out for her. That wasn't the sort of habit you broke easily. But then Rabastan went on to tell her Theo's side of the deal, and she sighed, understanding.

"Oh Theo..." she said, rolling onto her back and shaking her head at the ceiling, understanding fully now. Yes, that was exactly what Theo would want for her. To forget all about her parents. Even if that wouldn't have been possible. "That would never have worked," she said, looking towards Rabastan. He couldn't have erased that much of her memory without causing damage. And who would know if the mental and emotional scars would have gone with the memory? They could have remained, without her knowing why. "He must have known... but he probably just wished it would." In a perfect world she would forget about her parents, and Theo would forget about seeing his mother die. It was sweet of Theo to want that for her, though. She'd thank him for it, when she saw him next. Let him know that she didn't begrudge him for bartering with her memory.

"He's probably assumed the worst by now," she said, putting both her hands in her hair. "He'll think you modified my memory and fucked it up, that I've forgotten the way back to the castle..." the guilty feeling intensified, but there was nothing she could do about it, so she ignored it, for now.

Rabastan told her what a good liar he was, and that he was excellent at reading people, letting her know that he would be able to lie to Theo, and not let their secret slip. She was able to read people too.
"I'm pretty observant myself," she said, smiling slightly, "I've had to observe people a lot, to learn how to fake emotions. I needed it to survive." If Vivian allowed herself to be perceived as a threat, her own survival rate dropped. "Theo usually knows when I lie to him, but he'll believe what I tell him. He wouldn't expect me to lie..." if anything that just made things worse, and Vivian let her sentence trail off.

Vivian looked at the scar on Rabastan's arm, where the Dark Mark had once been. You could still make out the shape; a skull, with a snake coming out of the mouth. She rolled back towards him, positioning herself so she was lying directly on top of him. Her blonde hair fell like a waterfall over her shoulder, brushing against his shoulders and pooling onto his pillow.
"Good and bad are relative," she said, before she kissed him. She had no interest in good and bad, right and wrong, in who was 'evil' and who wasn't. Vivian had seen too much horror and too much pain to put her faith in the goodness of people. She'd put her faith in the man beneath her instead.

She looked at her wand as Rabastan picked it up. It looked tiny in his huge hand, and it wasn't a small wand at all, 11 inches in length. He told her his wand core was dragon heart string, and she smiled slightly.
"I could have guessed..." she said, and it was true. If she had had to guess, she would have gone with the dragon core. It suited him. "Mines unicorn tail hair," she said. Their wands were like the opposite of them; the wands both looked the same from the outside, but inside were different. Vivian and Rabastan looked like they were from different worlds, but inside they were the same.

[RABASTAN RORICK LESTRANGE]

Vivian seemed offended at Theo’s intentions at first, and Rabastan was relieved that she seemed to calm after he explained Theo’s wants for her. She sighed out that Theo had to knew that it wouldn’t work, and Rabastan nodded slowly beside her.

”He probably did…But he cares about you as much as you care about him, you know,” he said. They all had to know that erasing that much of Vivian’s memory would likely have disastrous consequences. Rabastan had done many an unforgiveable thing in his lifetime, but he would not do that. He would not erase this girls memory only to send her back to her parents completely unaware of what might happen, only to traumatize her all over again. That he could not do, especially now after… after everything. He didn’t want her to forget about that, or him.

Vivian mentioned that Theo probably assumed the worst and Rabastan let out a laugh as she said Theo probably thought he’d taken away her memory and couldn’t find her way back to the castle. He couldn’t help but conjure a staggering Vivian wandering all about Diagon Alley, looking for the castle door.

”Oh I doubt that. He knows where we’re meeting. He would’ve come looking for you by now. He’s probably fallen asleep seomwhere,” Rabastan said. For a moment his thoughts went to the mirror he’d given Theo, a way for them to keep in touch. He’d left his mirror at home, or perhaps he would have snuck a glance, to see what Theo was up to. But the mirror was undoubtedly hidden. Theo may have told Vivian about everything else, but somehow Rabastan knew that that mirror was still their shared secret .

Vivian said she never usually lied to Theo, and a part of him panged with guilt. He felt guilty and bad about lying to his only son, especially so soon after meeting him. But sometimes lies were far easier to accept and understand than the truth, and this was certainly one of those times.

”I know you don’t like lying to him, but would you really want to see his reaction to all of this? He’s so unprepared, so… pig-headed,” he said the last word with a smirk, knowing it was true. Rabastan only had to think of himself at that age to understand how Theo would react. No, it would not be pretty or pleasant by any means.

But then all thoughts were lost as she rolled herself on top of him, staring at his scar. He grinned at saying good and bad are relative before her lips were on his. He brought a hand to her back, hoping to keep her there just the slightest bit longer. It was where she belonged.

Vivian admitted that inside her wand lie a unicorn tail hair, and Rabastan smirked.

”Such an innocent creature supplied the core of wand for such a vicious girl,” Rabastan mused with a grin before placing her wand back on the table and kissing her. She was a vicious girl indeed, but she was his, at least in some sense.

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