Amici ed Amanti

Amici ed Amanti

~*~

Roman Holiday – Part 5

The flat was quiet when Lucy Ann awoke very early the next morning. Try as she might, she was unable to fall back asleep. Her racing mind picked up right where it had left off once she’d finally drifted off to pleasant dreams - all the possibilities and implications of the previous evening came flooding back to her. She decided it was best to just see how things went over breakfast.

Yes, breakfast, that's it! She'd fix him breakfast since she was up so early. A nice, hearty English breakfast - bangers and mash, fried tomatoes, yes. She was quite sure that he hadn't had a breakfast like that since he was last in England. Bella didn't strike her as the domestic type.

She slipped a robe on over her butter yellow silk nightgown, loosely belting it before heading out the door. She picked up the diamond choker he had loaned the evening before, fingering it fondly as her stomach fluttered at the mere thought of him.

The first thing she noticed once she reached the bottom of the steps was the closed terrace doors so Liam wasn't up yet. That would give her time to check the kitchen for supplies and make a Floo call to Stephie.

After sending an owl to the grocer for necessary supplies for a grand breakfast and giving Costa instructions, she finally made her way to the study. Her sister-in-law was going to go absolutely nutters when she told her about what had transpired the previous evening. They together with mutual friend, Meredith, had only been plotting to ensnare Liam for her for years. She had to remind herself not to read too much into it.

She was just about to throw the Floo powder in the fire grate in the study when she discovered him.

Liam was asleep in the tall winged back chair by the fireplace. His tuxedo jacket was lying in a crumpled pile near his feet, the vest was undone, the now wilted white dress shirt open at the throat and his tie was no where to be seen. He looked terribly uncomfortable in her opinion. The dark purple smudges under his eyes attested to his much too late evening. His knitted brows and fitful attempts to get comfortable told her this was more than just falling asleep in a chair.

Lucy Ann put the Floo powder back in the ornately carved little rosewood box that sat on the mantle before trying to decide what to do. She never dreamed he would have stayed holed up in the study drinking all night - it just wasn't like him. Although she was pretty sure that Bella could drive a saint to drink…

Only that little Italian bint wasn't there to cause problems, this was all her fault. She started to leave him be, but a groan stopped her dead in her tracks.

"Liam?" she asked softly, returning to his side.

His face was contorted in pain as he shifted once more in the chair.

"Liam," she said again as a sense of dread settled in the pit of her stomach as she tried to shake him awake. "Are you all right?"

He groggily came awake, mumbling incoherently as he tried to focus his eyes on her, using his hand immediately to block out the bright morning light.

"Liam, look at me," she stated firmly. "Are you all right?"

She didn't think she'd ever seen anyone turn as green around the gills as he did when he tried to slowly shake his head.

"My head hurts," he managed to whisper after closing his eyes and sucking in a couple deep breaths.

"Do you have one of your awful headaches?" Lucy Ann knew he suffered from debilitating headaches from time to time that, according to his Da, he had inherited from his Grandmother Malfoy. He was prone to get them when he worried too much or didn't get enough sleep. His Uncle Serverus had concocted a potion that helped with the worst of the symptoms, but having dealt with this before while at school, she knew the best thing for him was to sleep it off some place cool and dark. "Can you make it to your room?"

He looked liked he wanted to raise a questioning eyebrow at her, but it wasn't worth the effort. "I dunno," he slurred.

"Come on," she urged, pulling on his arm trying to get him to stand up. "I'll help you."

He swayed a bit after he managed to get up out of the chair. She wrapped her arm around his waist after pulling his arm over her shoulder. His head lolled back as he drew in deep breaths.

"I don't know," he whispered, "Dizzy."

"I've got you," she coaxed, "you'll feel better once you lay down."

They slowly made their way up the steps, stopping every few so Liam could rest a moment. Lucy Ann never thought she'd ever been so happy to see the top landing in her life. He was very heavy and needed lots of support.

"Just a little more." She pushed open the door to his bedroom. "See, there's your bed."

His eyes registered the massive intricately carved mahogany bed made up with deep green bedding. "My bed."

"I'll get you some pyjamas if you can manage to get undressed," she said, leaning him against one of the tall bedposts. He nodded so she turned to rummage through the drawers of a large chest to find where he kept his nightclothes. The top drawer was full of bras, knickers and small scraps of material that were obviously for something she'd really rather not think about. The second drawer was full of boxers and undershirts. The bottom drawer held what she was seeking and she just randomly pulled a pair of pyjamas out.

Lucy Ann turned to hand Liam something to change into only to be treated to a view of his arse covered in silver dotted black silk boxers as he crawled wobbly over the bed to his side before collapsing upon the pile of pillows. She felt a bit guilty for enjoying the view and had to remind herself that he was very sick at the moment.

"Are you sure you don't want to change clothes?" she asked, going around to where he laid sprawled out, but got no response from him. Her eyes wandered down the broad expanse of his bare back to the small area the boxers covered then down his long lean legs. He really was perfection, not that she'd seen that many almost naked men to make a fair comparison, at least not up this close and personal anyway. She tenderly brushed the hair from his closed eyes. "I'm going to see if I can find your potion."

The house elf was very helpful in locating the medicine and mixing it correctly. "Costa look after little master for Miz Ginny," she said proudly as she went about her work. "Out of trouble I keeps him."

Lucy Ann snickered at the thought of anyone calling Liam little - he was anything but.

The elf looked around warily before continuing. "I like you. You's good witch. Good for little master." She looked around again. "That other is a bad witch. Miz Ginny'd be very not pleased."

"I won't tell her I promise," she responded.

Costa bobbed her head before handing the witch a goblet filled with a vile looking bright yellow potion. "He must drink it all."

"I'll make sure he does, thank you," she said giving the little elf a warm smile.

Lucy Ann returned to Liam's room after retrieving her wand only to find that he'd not moved a muscle. She closed the curtains with a flick of her wand, making the room dark, before she knelt by the bed. He groaned when she tried to shake him awake. "Liam, sweetheart, you need to drink this."

"No," he mumbled, trying to turn away. "Nasty."

"Yes, you are going to drink this," she demanded, pulling him back towards her.

"No," he whined.

She forced the goblet to his lips. "Yes, it will make you feel better."

"No," he said sullenly, grabbing the goblet from her and drinking it down in a few gulps before nearly gagging. "Bah, nasty stuff."

"Yes, but it will make you feel better. Now, come here so I can put you under the covers." He didn't protest as she pulled the covers up over him and whispered a charm to cool the room. "I'll check on you in a little bit."

"Goosey?" he asked in a small voice, fisting his hand in the material of her robe before she could move away. "Don't leave me." He pulled her to the bed as he slid over to make room for her.

There was no she could walk away from that. She slipped in beside him, propping herself up on a couple pillows as he settled his head on her stomach and threw an arm across her. His morning whiskers would occasionally prickle her through the thin material of her nightgown making her want to giggle. She hoped he couldn't hear the butterflies fluttering in the pit of her stomach, but he didn't seem to hear anything as he drifted almost instantly to sleep. Her fingers tangled in his hair, gently playing with silvery blond strands.

She couldn't believe how right it felt being with him like this, not just right, but comfortable and natural. This was how she'd always imagined a romantic relationship with him would be like - full of quiet moments just enjoying each other's company. She couldn't think of anything more perfect as she drifted off to sleep.

It was early afternoon before Lucy Ann managed to slip from his embrace. She dressed for the day in a pair of blue and white plaid Capri pants and a matching blue tank top before heading downstairs to amuse herself until Liam woke up. Instead of breakfast, she decided to make him a supper of Shepard's pie and Yorkshire pudding and made the proper arrangements with Costa before settling in the library for the remainder of the day.

She was thoroughly engrossed in reading a book of Celtic myths and didn't see him enter the room. "Afternoon," he said a little sheepishly, causing her to jump.

"I see you're awake." She watched him walk around the settee she was stretched out on, lift her legs, sit down and settle her legs over his lap. She noted he was dressed in a pair of well worn jeans and a grey Falmouth Falcon t-shirt. His feet were bare. "Are you feeling any better?"

"Yes, much, thank you." He ran his hand up and down one of her calves. "I'm sorry about this morning, I'm sure I was a mess."

"It's quite alright. Oh, I'm fixing you dinner."

"You are? I'm starving."

"Yes, Shepard's pie and Yorkshire pudding. I figure you haven't had a proper English meal in ages."

"I love Shepard's pie!" he said, grinning.

"I know, and don't forget the pudding," she giggled.

"Keep talking like that and I'll have to marry you."

Lucy Ann looked away quickly as a hot blush burned her cheeks a bright scarlet. She batted his hand away when he tried to reach for one of hers. "Stop being so silly."

He finally managed to secure one of her hands despite her protest. "I was thinking-"

"And we all know how dangerous that is," she cut him off, giving him a smirk.

"I was thinking that I would like to make this up to you."

"You don't have to, you know."

"I know, but you won't be here too much longer and I wanted to do something nice so I thought I'd take you the coast for the weekend. There are all kinds of little fishing villages where the food is fantastic, the beaches are nearly empty and we can even go sailing if you want." He watched her intently.

"I think it sounds like a lovely time," she said, smiling at him. "I can't wait."

~*~