DRABBLE: Gentle, Sometimes (Rodolphus/Narcissa)

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Title: Gentle, Sometimes
Pairing: Rodolphus/Narcissa
Prompt: Without Warning
Rating: PG
Word Count: 200
Summary: He changes so much, so quickly
Link to Prompt Table: http://gamma-x-orionis.livejournal.com/38275.html

Rodolphus could be so gentle with her.  His caresses were soft, his hands warm, though pleasantly strong, when he touched Narcissa.  When she curled in his arms after they made love, he held her as lightly as though she were made of spun glass, and at times like that, she knew, beyond a shadow of doubt, that he would never hurt her.

But she was wrong.

Without warning, he would turn, sink into one of his all-too-frequent fits of brooding melancholy, and for all Narcissa’s attempts to raise his spirits, she would only be met by harsh words.

Sometimes, the words were accompanied by blows – not full-blown beatings, but just enough to make Narcissa cry.

Sometimes, the sight of her tears would bring him out of his foul moods, but more often, he would simply glare down at her with a look of contempt.

“How dare you cry?” he would ask, his voice shaking with suppressed tears and anger.  “You haven’t half the reason to cry that I do!  It isn’t as if you’re the one in love with someone who’ll never love you back!”

Oh, but I am, Rodolphus, she would think, though she dared not speak.  I am.