Dangerous games men will play

Being left with only an order to stay put is humiliating.
The humiliation cuts through the sea of pain.
The casual disregard with which Severus has left him is worse than being made to perform in front of the Dark Lord. At least then he had the potions master’s full attention.
Lucius wonders if he can stand the next few months without Severus’s full attention.
His back hurts, a deep throbbing pain, somehow worse than if the skin had been broken.
The fact that Severus left without even a fuck is unusual as well.
Lucius wants to be angry about being left high and dry. Only reminding himself that he’s doing this against his will allows him to bring the anger back under control. There will be time for anger later when he is free of all his masters.

He turns on to his stomach to avoid aggravating his back further and wonders what he’s supposed to be doing until his master returns. If he can’t leave the bed some things are going to be problematic depending on how long Severus plans to be away.
Leaving the bed will bring punishment. But then almost everything he is likely to do will bring punishment since that’s the purpose of the exercise.
The only thing to consider is whether the discomfort of a wet bed now will weigh up to the discomfort of no bed at all later. The issue isn’t pressing and as many other things the aristocrat ignores it.

Curiosity finally makes him sit up and look around. Except for the grand bed the room is almost bare. There is a large wardrobe in a corner beside a door which might lead to the bathroom. Against another blank wall there is an elegant roll top desk empty of papers and a matching chair. There are no windows and no art on the pale green walls.
There is no way for the blond to orient himself in the house. There are no clues to Severus’s motives to be had from the furniture but the fact that it’s expensive tells Lucius that the potions master is higher in the Dark Lord’s graces then he had expected.
Money isn’t something the Dark Lord lacks but he rarely uses it as a reward. Too much old money in his fold makes cash an inadequate reward unless he’s rewarding someone who had grown up in an industrial slum. Lucius remembers the greed he saw in the younger man’s eyes when they were still in school together.
He also remembers the resentment he was faced with after trying to help by offering Severus new robes. The blond remembers his then lover being particularly vicious after said offer he had been lucky that it was right before a holiday.
Severus could have become less touchy about money over the years but Lucius doubts that. The only reason the potions master would have to accept it would be because it came from the Dark Lord since his gifts could not be refused.

He lies down again this time slipping under the covers. He hasn’t received any orders not to, so he takes initiative as it were. The sheets still hold the potion master’s sent. Lucius closes his eyes deciding that the time will go faster if he sleeps.
Even with the pain in his back sleep is easy, lying there wondering what is going to come is not. At least if he sleeps he can dream.
If he’s dreaming he won’t have to worry about the situation. There will be enough time to do that after Severus returns and makes clear what he expect of his pet.
Even if he isn’t sure what he wants to dream off the future or the past Lucius is sure that he wants to dream.