Closed Room to Grow

[Felix Styx]

Felix felt battered and bruised beyond his physical limits to accept. He still hadn’t told Lanithro about his extra curricular activities, but because of them he’d found the need to bulk up and so he’d managed to work some kickboxing classes into his already busy schedule of being Lanithro Styx’s boyfriend, which was already hard work on its own when he wasn’t adding other things to it. He didn’t exactly hide his activities from his boyfriend, but he didn’t make them well known either, because he knew what people thought of groups like that, and he didn’t want to put Lanithro in a difficult position, not when it could get them both into trouble, it was why he’d managed to avoid spending a lot of time with James of late, in case his best friend caught wind of his illicit activities. He longed for the day when it could all be brought into the light, but until that day, he had to watch himself. These particular injuries were caused from other members of his group, but not out of malice, they called it training and honestly, spells hit just as hard as fists when required. It was fairly late and he thought Lanithro was in bed and so he headed directly for the bathroom, running himself a bath before carefully pulling his aching body out of his clothes. It wasn’t easy, the rippling of his still emerging muscles causing the pain to stretch to previously un touched parts of his body and his hissed in pain as it did, but he was getting more used to it these days, which was good. He hoped Lanithro was still asleep, he usually tried to hide this stuff from him until he could get to the bruise paste in the morning.​

 

[Lanithro Styx]

The blonde man tossed and turned, not sleeping entirely well that evening. Sometimes, Lanithro Styx simply had odd dreams that he didn't speak about. Who would want to hear about spooky lion-clowns that danced around? No one. Golden eyes opened to see that his bed was empty. He hadn't been asleep but for a couple of hours. Felix still wasn't here? However, he heard the water running in the master bathroom. A breath of relief released from his lungs. Lanithro never knew that he was this attached to someone when he was just worried over something so small. Lanithro rolled over off of the bed, and grabbed his robe. It hugged his form as he walked into the bathroom to see his boyfriend in the tub. Lanithro's eyes washed over Felix's form, his soft smile disappearing when he saw the bruises. He knew that he wasn't that rough with the Hufflepuff, so it wasn't from him. Lanithro trusted Felix enough to not ask until he was ready. Instead, Lanithro walked over to the tub and sat down next to it. "Misery loves company, you know," Lanithro smiled affectionately toward him.

 

[Felix Styx]

Felix sighed when he heard Lanithro enter the bathroom. Not that he was unhappy to see him, he just didn’t want to be explaining anything tonight, not whilst his mind was on healing his bruises anyway. “And company is always appreciated.” Felix replied, letting himself relax more easily now. He always worried about his relationship with Lanithro, though he was secure enough not to question what they were, he constantly compared their relationship to other couples and sometimes wondered if they had moved too fast. They never seemed to fight, which almost concerned him because that was the kind of relationship he was used to, and not fighting was not something he knew how to handle, it was strange that they got along so well and they seemed to have the same opinions or were able to talk it out well enough for it to be solved before it became a problem. “Could you get the paste ready please? I’ll need it.” He said, hissing again as he sank further into the water.​

 

[Lanithro Styx]

Lanithro smiled a little more as Felix welcomed his company. He was tempted to disrobe and crawl in himself. His tub was big enough for two and more. In fact, that was what Lanithro did. He crawled into the hot water, and rested across from his boyfriend. He nodded, as he reached for his wand, and summoned the paste non verbally. Lanithro caught it with his other hand and set it on the rim of the tub. “I’m not going to ask you where your bruises came from. I figure when you are ready, you will let me know on your own time.” Lanithro spoke, as he found the soap he was looking for on the other side of the tub. He lathered his hands, scooted over to Felix and gently massaged his torso, careful not to press on the bruises. “But, promise me one thing. If things start looking too rough, notify me. I’ll come and help you out. Death Eater, criminal, Auror, a child, I don’t care.”

 

[Felix Styx]

Felix appreciate Lanithro more than he felt words could ever fully express. He was patient in ways Felix never had been and he supported him no matter what. It was so vastly different to the relationships he’d had in the past and there were times when it scared him immensely, but he enjoyed Lanithro’s company, in more ways than one and he liked that they could have these kind of conversations without shying away from anything. It was true that in the beginning their relationship had been converging of a more physical nature, that was how they’d started of course, but over the course of the time, Felix had really grown to understand and appreciate Lanithro for the person he’d become, changing so much from the image Felix used to have of him. “It’s not that I don’t want to tell you,” he said, making more room for Lanithro as he was joined in the tub, “it’s just... complicated, but I’m careful, I swear, these are... hazards of the job I guess, less and less each time.” He didn’t mean to reveal that this was not the first time he had returned with bruises, though he supposed Lanithro knew that, he was usually just far more careful about letting himself be caught by his boyfriend. “I’m okay, I promise.”​

 

[Lanithro Styx]

Lanithro frowned a little bit, but instead remained supportive even though he was dying to know what it was. He wanted to be there to protect him. Lanithro wrapped his arm around Felix, and smiled, “As long as it is less and less. I don’t want to see you hurt, too much anyway.” Lanithro wondered if it was the same type of danger that he was in. Lanithro was hit with bludgers at least once every game. Perhaps it was something similar. He decided that since his own job could kill people if a bludger hits just right, he couldn’t lecture Felix. “I worry about you a lot. But maybe that is normal when you love someone.” Lanithro didn’t catch what he had said until three seconds later. He turned as red as a quaffle and hoped to Merlin that didn’t scare Felix away.

 

[Felix Styx]

Felix relaxed back into the bath, sighing as the water rushed over his bruises. The bathroom from his apartment was not like this and he’d definitely not missed it in the time since he’d moved in with Lanithro. Of course he hadn’t had much of a chance to worry about it since he had moved in since he was busy doing everything else, helping Georgi with Victoria, the work with Keye and the Scitorari stuff. It all kept him very busy, so much so that he wasn’t even sure when the last time he’d seen Lanithro’s kids was. The path he’d put himself on was not easy, but it was the right one for him for now. “I know how to take a beating, I grew up with Falon, remember,” Felix joked, grunting when his laughter jostled a bruised rib. What stopped Felix dead was the next words out of Lanithro’s mouth, words he wasn’t sure he ever expected to hear. He knew Lanithro enjoyed his company, that much had been obvious for some time, but love? Lanithro had gone beat red, it was clear he was not as used to declarations as Felix, who’d made a few others in his life, granted they had all been to the one person, as long ago as that was. He smiled lightly, “I keep telling you you’re going soft on me, Styx,” he said, laughing again, lightly. “I love you too, you’re a keeper.”​

 

[Lanithro Styx]

Lanithro thought over Felix’s comment, and ended up agreeing. Falon was rather hot-headed, which made sense. It was a miracle that he and Falon never really crossed paths, considering both of them likely would have fought back then in school. “I am glad I never got on her bad side. Hell, I don’t think I am on her good side either.” It was also disgusting how Falon hated the thought of Felix and Lyra, and yet is now dating (he assumed) Lyra’s twin, who also had children with his own twin. It was a mess and Lanithro wanted to keep out of it. When Felix also declared his love, the moment was perfect. It wasn’t even ruined by the god awful pun. “Going soft is an understatement. You make me a better person.”

 

[Felix Styx]

There was just something about Lanithro that always managed to make Felix feel safe, regardless to the fact that there were a lot of people out there and in Lan’s own family who didn’t approve, it obviously wasn’t enough to make too many waves since he was still alive, which was a feeling he definitely enjoyed. “Falon is... well, she’s been through a lot with me, most of it to do with how badly I treated her in the whole Lyra problem,” he said, sighing. “But we’ll get through it, we’ve always got each other’s backs and for now, that’s as far as it goes, which is fine since that’s all I need too.” He told Lanithro, sucking in another breath as his bruises were moved along with the lines of his muscle. He leaned forward and carefully, painfully, wrapped his arms around Lanithro, crawling into his lap with great effort given how weak he felt in the arms and shoulders. “Lan, you made yourself a better person on your own. If you hadn’t been, we would never have gotten past the tangled sheets of my bed that night.” He said, smiling as he leaned down to kiss his boyfriend.​

 

[Lanithro Styx]

Hearing about Felix's relationship with his twin, it made Lanithro feel a little bad considering that he and his own twin weren't on great terms. In fact, Lilith and Lanithro pretty much hated each other. "I wish my relationship with Lilith was better than it is. She would rather put a dagger in my back rather than watch it." Lanithro chuckled, since it was definitely true. Literal or figuratively. It did not matter though, since Lanithro thought that his relationship with Lilith was far too damaged to make repairs, especially since she thought that him being with a muggle-born was similar to being a flea. Felix adjusted himself until he was sitting in his lap, looking at him. He smiled as Felix told him what seemed like the truth. He did make himself a better person, as he aged. He pressed his lips against Felix's, kissing him eagerly. He pulled back for a moment, and murmured, "Then you bring it out of me."

 

[Felix Styx]

Felix looked sadly at Lanithro, feeling sorry that he and his twin couldn't share what he had with Falon, though they were still rocky at the moment and he had a feeling she wouldn't appreciate his illicit activities if she found out about them, but he didn't have any intentions of telling her anyway, so it was fine. "I've met your sister, no you don't." Felix said, half jokingly. She seemed like a complete nightmare and he was almost positive, had she had her way, Felix would have been strung up by his heels by now, Lanithro too. After all, You only had to be part of things like the Scitorari for a short time until you started hearing things about the great families, including all sorts of rumours about his parents and grandparents. Probably other relations too, not that he could keep up with them all. He barely remembered which ones were Lanithro's siblings and which ones were his aunts and uncles and cousins. Jesus. His family was super simple compared to Lanithro's. Even Lyra's had been a little bit complicated. "But at least you know what she's like, you know you can't trust her." He pointed out, though he supposed it didn't make Lanithro feel any better. Felix sat back a little and sighed. "We should probably get out, but you may need to help me, the muscles in my shoulder are the worst pain-wise," he said, wincing as he tried to pull himself up.​

 

[Lanithro Styx]

Lanithro could not help but just laugh about how true that actually was. His sister was a complete nightmare compared to his other siblings. Though, Hades was weird on his own, but he wasn't so much a nightmare than a sociopath. Then Draegan was a freak. "I'll agree to that. Maybe one day I will bring you around some of my more friendly siblings." He knew one that was nice. Nicolas, one of his older siblings. Patricia was too but he didn't know what she was doing. Kaleb was also a nice one. But the others were different though. They would likely either ignore Felix, or tear him apart. Hades especially. Lanithro would never see his beloved again, so he would never risk that. He knew that he had some siblings and people in the family that he could trust. "I have a few people I can count on, thankfully. I'll count my blessings with that," Lanithro chuckled, as he started to get out of the tub, to summon a bathrobe to him, put it on and wrap it around, before going to help Felix out of the tub. "I should also put you to bed too. I woke up a little lonely." Though, with Felix beaten up, Lanithro wouldn't do anything but cuddle anyway.