The Only Constant

Draco was nervous.

It wasn’t an emotion that he attributed to himself very often, and when he did, he often diluted the severity of it by calling it anticipation or even anxiety. But there would be no sugar-coating it this time. He was definitely nervous.

And all because he had a secret.

He had, of course, had many secrets over the course of his life, the last major one almost destroying him. Thinking back to sixth year, Draco knew that there was no comparison now. That secret had been the difference between life and death—first his, then Dumbledore's, then his again, once he'd failed. He'd survived, though, unscathed—relatively speaking.

This secret was different. No one would die; no one would even be hurt. Still, it ate at him.

In his entire life, Draco had never cast a spell against his father. Not in defence against the sometimes cruel things Lucius had said whilst Draco had been growing up, thinking he was turning Draco into a strong, powerful young man. He doubted he would have even raised his wand to Lucius if the Dark Lord had ordered Lucius to hurt him.

Some things just weren’t done.

So casting the contraceptive spell on his father while simultaneously spelling away his clothing went against everything Draco believed in. The spell would last three days, and during those three days, Draco would do his damnedest to get Hermione pregnant so he could then break down and confess.

To make it worse, Hermione, usually the triad's moral barometer, didn’t seem to have the same qualms about keeping something from Lucius that Draco did, but then, she hadn’t been raised with twenty-four years of fear thy father as he had. She was nervous about the spell working, nervous that Lucius would catch on, but other than that she had no compunction about the plan.

Draco could not deny it was necessary. The first child had to be his, had to be the eldest in order to inherit. After that, Draco planned on casting the contraceptive spell on himself so Lucius could father the next child. Draco hoped it would be a girl for his father’s sake, but he knew Lucius would be thrilled regardless. After that, though, Draco didn’t plan on knowing who the father was. It wasn’t important to him. In his head, they would all be siblings, and they would all be his.

Knowing he had to cast the spell when Lucius was most unaware, he did it at the first opportunity, which just happened to be the first time they'd been alone together in a few days. Hermione had gone to visit Ginny and Harry at the Burrow leaving Draco alone with Lucius. They knew she was hoping to talk to Ron Weasley and get things sorted out between them. From what she'd told Draco, he knew the long-ago break-up hadn’t been ugly, just unfortunate. They'd remained friends; until, that was, she'd told him about her life with him and his father. The fact that Weasley's opinion mattered so much to Hermione had bothered Draco at first, but he knew better than anyone that Hermione couldn’t bear for anyone to be angry at her. She had to settle things or it would continue to bother her.

And if Weasley didn’t pull his head out of his arse and get over it, Draco was more than willing to help him along.

"Your mind seems to be elsewhere," Lucius said, putting his hand on Draco's jaw as it clenched with his thoughts, forcing him to look at Lucius.

Lying in their shared bed, clothes off and contraceptive spell cast, Draco couldn’t help but feel that he was doing something wrong. It was both amusing and frustrating that he felt that way in reaction to casting a spell and not the fact that he was cavorting naked with his father.

Draco tried to reason with himself yet again: Lucius would be happy to be surprised. And Hermione was right in her assumption that Lucius would be devastated if Hermione wasn’t able to conceive. Draco had noticed Lucius… not pulling away, exactly, but just not being as emotionally available as he had been before. Draco had tried to talk to his father about it, as had Hermione, but Lucius insisted nothing was wrong.

"I'm just worried about you," Draco said, telling the truth and a lie all at once.

"Worried about me?" Lucius repeated, a small smile on his face. "Why?"

"You've been distant." Draco resisted the urge to bury his face in Lucius' neck to avoid scrutiny. He still felt that this sort of talk was better suited to Hermione. He hated sounding like a nagging wife—and that was giving wives a bad name, because Hermione never… hardly ever nagged.

Lucius sighed, but Draco could sense that it wasn’t directed at him. "It's the Ministry. It's so… tedious. Nothing I do makes a difference except when I least want it to. I find myself exhausted early in the day, and the only thing that keeps me going is knowing what I'll be coming home to." Lucius stroked Draco's cheek and slid his hand into Draco's hair.

"Why don't you quit?" Draco asked, leaning into the gentle touch. "We don't need the money, and our name's as good as it's going to get. There seems to be something of a glass ceiling for former Death Eaters."

Lucius chuckled and then heaved another sigh. His caresses grew broader, his fingers sliding down Draco’s shoulders.

Hearing him so listless made Draco angry. This wasn’t the commanding man he'd known as a child. Lucius shouldn’t let himself be brought down like this. If he didn’t like the way of things, he usually just changed it.

"And what would I do?"

Draco shrugged. "Anything you want. Retire. Write. Work for Outreach, if you want. We could definitely use you." It was a casual suggestion, but Draco had thought about it before. It would be amazing, he'd always thought, to have both his husband and his wife home with him all day. He knew he spent much more time with Hermione than with his father, and that bothered him. Things were supposed to be equal.

Lucius was quiet for a long time, so Draco broke the silence. "I mean, you don't have to. I just thought it would be better, especially once Hermione—" Draco tried to trail off after that, looking away. The words were out there, and Draco knew Lucius would pick up on Draco's slip of the tongue.

When Lucius raised his eyebrow, Draco knew he was caught out. Instead of confessing like some Hufflepuff, Draco leaned forward and kissed his father, pressing their lips together and forcing a reaction.

When he pulled back, Lucius gave him a look that said he would not forget about Draco's comment and that an explanation was expected. But Draco had bought himself some time, more than enough to think of an excuse for what he'd meant.

"Wouldn’t you like being able to see me and Hermione whenever you wanted?" Draco prodded, pressing his body closer to Lucius'. There was still something uncomfortable about being in contact with his father this way, but that feeling was becoming weaker the more time they spent together. He knew he was blushing when his cock brushed against Lucius'.

"Of course I would." Lucius' hand gripped Draco's hip, pulling him even closer. "But I wouldn’t want you to grow weary of me."

Draco laughed. "If Hermione and I have been able to work together every day for a year, I think we could handle having you around, too."

"I don't know anything about charities except how good it looks to give to them." Lucius gave Draco a wicked smile as he pulled Draco's leg up and over his hip, bringing their erections in full contact and making Draco realise just how much he wanted Lucius at that moment. What had begun as a conversation was quickly spiralling into something more needful.

"That's not true," Draco protested. "You were invaluable when we set up the programme. You know all about the business side of it."

Lucius tried to end the conversation by kissing Draco, and Draco almost let him. The kiss was too good; it was hard in the ways Hermione was soft, and demanding in the ways she was accepting. It made Draco feel like he could be two different people at once; both desirable, both wanted.

Still, now that he had voiced his thoughts, he couldn’t let it go. "What do you think?" Draco pressed, panting a little as he pulled back from the kiss.

Lucius looked surprised. "You're really serious about this? You're not just trying to make me feel better?"

"Well, that too. But, yes, Father, I'd love for you to quit your horrible job and spend more time with Hermione and me. What isn’t there to like about that plan?"

"We'd be around each other all the time, Draco." He seemed intent on pushing that fact home.

"I realise that. But I also think that would be a good thing, not the negative you seem to be painting it as."

"I just think that you two need your space."

The words stung, and Draco pulled back. "You think we need space from you? Is that why you never seem to be around these days?"

"Now, Draco, don't twist this around. I only meant that, as contemporaries, you and Hermione have the most in common and therefore need to spend more time together."

Rolling onto his back, erection totally deflated, Draco threw an arm over his eyes. "I cannot believe you're pulling this again. I thought we'd gotten past all this a year ago!"

Lucius leaned over Draco, bracing himself with his elbow as he lightly touched Draco's cheek. "It's not like that, I promise you."

Draco caressed Lucius' shoulder and neck, taking a moment to try to understand why Lucius kept them at arm's length. "I wish you would understand that we need you as much as we need each other. This triad thing… you pushed for this, don't you remember? We all wanted it, but you were the one who really made us see what an amazing thing this could be. Are you saying you were wrong?"

"It is an amazing thing," Lucius said, his eyes falling closed. "I'm honoured to be a part of it."

"Then stop this self-sacrificing bullshit, because it doesn’t look good on you." Draco knew his crude language would get through to his father even if nothing else did.

"Draco," Lucius said in a scolding tone.

"No, don't Draco me. I've had enough of you pulling away. From now on, you're going to cut that out because we need you. I need her and I need you, and I need my father, too. You've two roles to fill with me now, and if you're not here enough to fill even one, how can we ever be happy?" Draco asked earnestly, his voice low and insistent.


During the ensuing silence, Draco sat up and pushed Lucius onto his back. Uncaring about his nudity, Draco straddled him, pinning his hands to the bed beside his head. "And you know what else?" he continued, settling his body over Lucius' groin and trying to ignore the thrill that rushed through him. "You're going to quit your job. You hate it, we hate having you gone, and the time will come when we'll want you home all the time. When we start our family."

"You would want me to stay home with our children?"

Draco rolled his eyes. "Of course. We're lucky that we can afford it. I want to be there when my children grow up. I want to see them turn into the young man or woman that we helped shaped them into, don’t you?" Draco knew a part of him was referring to his own childhood, when neither parent had been around very often, and when they were, it had been all lessons and rules and fancy dinners. He didn’t want that. His children would feel comfortable and free in their own home, in their own skin. He'd make sure of it.

Lucius nodded, seeming surprised but newly confident. "Then I will quit as soon as Hermione becomes with child."

Draco bit his lip; it wasn’t good enough. He wanted his father home now; he didn’t want Lucius to have the chance to pull away again. He had to hold his tongue, though, since Hermione wanted to keep the entire thing a secret until it was certain.

Still, he pressed on. "No," he said, hoping Lucius wouldn’t demand an explanation. "Just… quit now. You said would stay home for your child, right?"

Lucius nodded, his expression sincere.

Draco took Lucius' hand and placed it over his heart. "Then stay home for this child. I need you." Draco swallowed audibly.

"Draco," Lucius whispered, sitting up and pulling Draco tight against him. "For you, for my son, there is nothing I wouldn’t do." He pulled Draco's face down for a kiss, and Draco returned it with fervour, hoping to express through his lips how much the promise meant to him.

"I want you," Draco gasped, almost shocked by the sudden rush of blood to his cock from the powerful kiss. He wandlessly summoned the lubricant and watched his father's face as he smeared it over Lucius' cock. His heart was pounding—it was the farthest they'd gone, and just touching Lucius that intimately was enough to make Draco burn with shyness. But this was what he wanted.

He reached behind himself to slick his arsehole; he didn’t have much experience in that arena, but Hermione'd rather surreptitiously given him a book on what to expect. He hadn’t made it very far, but lubrication had been repeatedly stressed, so he made sure to take care of that. He reached behind himself and gripped his father's cock, biting his lip as he pressed it against his entrance. The position was somewhat difficult, but he knew when he had it right.

Draco tried to sink down, holding Lucius steady, but a sharp pain assailed him and he gave a soft cry. He'd expected pain, but this was a type he wasn’t familiar with. He tried again, and the pain intensified and yet Lucius' cock didn’t breach him.

Lucius reached out and stilled Draco's hips. "Stop," he said, sounding strained. "Lay back."

Angry with himself and hot with embarrassment, Draco did as he was told, manoeuvring onto his back and opening his legs. Lucius sat up, running his hands over Draco's thighs, soothing him.

"I don't think I really need to ask, but have you ever done this before?" Lucius asked, voice pitched low as he reached for the lubricant.

Draco shook his head wordlessly, flushing. Despite the soreness in his arse, his cock was hard and eager.

"I didn’t think so. Just relax and don't tighten up on me, all right?"

Calmed by the familiar tones of his father, Draco inhaled deeply, letting his legs part more naturally. He closed his eyes and breathed through his embarrassment. This part of the evening was definitely not going to get transcribed to Hermione, no matter how she begged.

When Lucius' slick fingers prodded at Draco's hole, he jerked reflexively before relaxing as he'd been instructed. Lucius circled the tight ring, and Draco began to see how something like this might be pleasurable. When Lucius' finger slipped inside, there was barely any pain, just eagerness.

"All right?" Lucius asked, his other hand rubbing Draco's inner thigh in soothing circles.

"More." Draco tilted his hips up, one hand stoking his cock in time with Lucius' shallow thrusts. He groaned as another finger joined the first, and a stretch that bordered on uncomfortable had him squirming. But after a few moments, he felt he was ready, and he told his father as much.

"You'll tell me if it hurts," Lucius said, and he waited until Draco nodded to continue. A third finger made brief acquaintance with the first two, and Draco moaned when Lucius prodded what he knew to be his prostate. He wondered briefly if he could convince Hermione to touch him in such a way the next time she went down on him.

"I'm ready," Draco said, and a spill of precome from his cock confirmed the truth of his words.

Removing his fingers, Lucius brought Draco's legs up onto his shoulders, and he never stopped touching Draco all the while. Lucius leaned in, one hand guiding his cock to Draco's hole. There was an initial, near-painful resistance, but once Lucius slid past the tight ring, the pain diminished almost entirely.

"Oh, gods," Draco moaned as Lucius' slow slide brought his cock against Draco's prostate.

Once fully seated within Draco, Lucius leaned forward, folding Draco almost in half, but Draco didn’t care—the position meant Lucius' cock was constantly pressed against his sweet spot, and it brought his father closer to him.

"You feel so good," Lucius said, closing his eyes. It was the closest his usually stoical father got to dirty talk, and Draco revelled in it.

"Fuck me," Draco ordered once he had his breath back. He was, after all, the conductor in the triad's lovemaking, and that didn’t have to change without Hermione in the bed.

As always when Draco became vocal, Lucius followed his orders, seeming content to obey. Draco cried out with every thrust, surprised by the pleasure that came from the slight pain. When Lucius moved quickly, there was only pleasure, but whenever he slowed down, the pain returned. Draco used his hips to encourage a merciless pace. All the while, Draco stroked his own cock until he was desperate to come.

Lucius pulled back and shifted Draco's legs around his waist, leaning farther forward and kissing Draco hard on the mouth. Draco was too lost in sensation to do more than accept the kiss, but Lucius didn’t mind, moving his mouth over Draco's neck and collarbones, biting and roughly sucking until Draco knew he'd be marked for days.

With his father so close, Draco gripped his upper arms, little gasps escaping him—something else he'd omit from the version Hermione got told.

"Please," he whispered, overwhelmed as Lucius continued to pound into him. "Gods, please."

Lucius reached between them and took Draco's cock, stroking it roughly in a way Draco wouldn’t have been able to abide from his own hand. He cried out as he came, blood rushing through him and pounding in his ears.

He was able to float on the endorphins until Lucius came as well, his hand gripping Draco's hair and his mouth tight over the skin of Draco's neck.

A few moments to catch their breath and then Lucius pulled out. Draco winced as he felt Lucius' come follow, but when he clenched his muscles, his body didn’t quite obey. He wondered how long until he was back to normal down there. Knowing Lucius' girth and having experienced his power, Draco suspected never.

He didn’t really mind.

*

For the next week, Draco had more sex than should have been humanly possible, he was sure. During the day when his father was at work, he and Hermione made love. It was different, having sex with the intention of making a baby. It was more sacred. He felt like he couldn’t just bend her over the table or take her against a wall. He wanted to make every time special so they could always look back at the conception fondly. Hermione poked fun at him for it at first, but she'd seemed a little grouchy when he refused to even pin her hands over her head.

He felt like he should be able to feel when it happened, the moment, the instant. He kept asking Hermione if she felt any different, but she just laughed at him.

Lucius, on the other hand, gave Draco all the intensity he normally craved from sex. Whereas with Hermione it was sweet and slow, with Lucius… it was like a dam had burst. Whether it was just the two of them or all three, Lucius was demanding and passionate. Draco knew Hermione enjoyed it as well, especially since Draco refused to go as hard as she usually liked. Draco wasn’t thrilled, but he couldn’t very well tell his father to take it easy with her.

For the first time, Draco really understood how Hermione felt, being in the middle, so to speak. He was Hermione's top and Lucius' bottom; he both fucked and got fucked. He'd never felt so complete, so whole. Any lingering awkwardness between him and his father was diminishing every day. The more time they spent together, they became more lovers and less father and son, though there was always that paternal protection and love from Lucius. Draco wouldn’t trade that for anything and he was glad he didn’t have to.

Lucius had spoken to Draco more in detail about quitting his job. There was a lot of work involved; it would be a major transition. There were many projects Lucius would have to complete before he could leave. He'd also have to train someone to replace him. All in all, it would take no less than a month. That disappointed Draco, but he understood that the bureaucracy of the Ministry wouldn’t be rushed.

So they didn’t tell Hermione of that plan. Lucius wanted to wait until it was closer to the time he could leave. Another surprise.

Draco loved being in the middle, but these times made him hate it, too. The only positive thing about the new development was that neither Hermione nor Lucius could get angry at the other for keeping a secret, for they both were.

And Draco had to keep them all.

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Author's Note: Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing! This chapter was really exciting to write, so let me know what you thought!

Huge thanks to my betas, Krystle Lynne and she-who-must-not-be-named. My heart belongs to you two. :D

Also, my amazing fellow author and friend, labibliographe, made an awesome photo manip of our two delicious Malfoys in bed. Click on the link to see it! (It goes to my LJ, but be sure to leave some love there for labib, who is amazing). http://literaryspell.livejournal.com/46380.html?#cutid2