DRABBLE: Don't Listen (Rodolphus/Narcissa)

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Title: Don't Listen
Pairing: Narcissa/Rodolphus
Prompt: Not Listening to a Word
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 200
Summary: He can hurt her, but she loves him and cannot explain it.

When Narcissa came home from a night with Rodolphus with both eyes blackened and an ache in her jaw to match the ache in her heart, Lucius was waiting for her. She glanced at him when she first came in, then turned away and started up the stairs to wash.

"You were with him again, weren't you, Cissy?" he called after her.

Narcissa didn't respond. She struggled to hold back the tears that came to her eyes when Rodolphus lost control and hit her, tears that she had to hide, because cold, aloof Narcissa Malfoy never cried in front of anyone, but Lucius caught her arm and spun her around on the spot.

"Why are you doing this to yourself, Narcissa?" he demanded. "What do you see in him?"

"I love him," Narcissa snapped, doing her utmost not to betray how difficult it was for her to say that. "I love him and he loves me, which is more than you could ever say!"

"More than I- do you think this is about me?"

Narcissa stood silent, stoic.

If she could have, she would have put her hands to her ears so she wouldn't have to listen to a word.