Fic: Pains of the Past (Harry/Lance)
Title: Pain of the Past, Be Healed
Author: loonie_lupin (ff. net)/nilitara (livejournal)
Fandom: HP, Bones
Rating: PG
Summary: Lance too has scars.
For: crossovers100
Prompt: 074. Dark
Disclaimer: The characters are the property of their respective creator. I own nothing.
041. Shapes.
Harry had been given an unexpected day off. Normally, he tended to be overbooked, being one of the very few people in the Bureau with his capacities, but it seemed that, for once, supernatural perpetrators had taken a vacation. He certainly wasn’t going to complain. It gave him the time to clean the place and even write a letter to Hermione, telling her all about what had happened in the last few weeks. She, of course, knew already about Lance and now Harry could tell her Lance knew all about her too.
Finally, he let himself fall on the sofa, dead tired. He wasn’t used to do things like that anymore. Strange how he was more easily exhausted after a day of domestic chores than he was after a day of fighting crime; it was ridiculous really.
He heard the front door open and knew that Lance was back. He frowned. He was, of course, more than happy to see his boyfriend but it seemed way too soon and, strangely enough, coming home sooner than usually tended to mean that something was wrong, not right. He didn’t have to wait very long for confirmation.
He was hardly a confirmed psychologist like Lance but one look at his face and he knew that something went very from and that Lance was far from alright. It was, of course, always the risk in their line of work. Still, he hated seeing his boyfriend with such a look in his eyes.
Lance sat down right next to Harry, as if in a trace. It worried Harry quite a bit and the wizard put a hand of his boyfriend’s arm, trying for comfort, but only succeeding in startling Lance. The man turned to him, as if he hadn’t seen him before, and now Harry was freaking out.
“Lance, what happened?”
Lance swallowed. He could see he was frightening Harry with his behavior and it had been the very last thing he had wanted to do. Of course, he had known all along he wouldn’t have been able to fool Harry into thinking everything was alright. He wasn’t that good an actor. Nevertheless, he hadn’t thought he would still be so out of it when he arrived home. He wasn’t sure how to explain it.
“The case,” he began but was at a loss on how to continue.
For someone always trying to get his patient to open up, he had difficulty putting his thought into words himself. He turned to Harry, as if to ask him to help him out.
Harry seemed to understand but he wasn’t sure how to phrase it.
“Did it hit too close to home? Remind you of something that happened in your past?”
Harry was only guessing there but that was the most likely explanation he could find and it seemed that it was also the right one because he saw relief wash over Lance’s face, relief that Harry had understood what he meant even when he had been unable to say it.
“You never asked about the scars,” Lance said, out of the blue, and Harry knew automatically what he was talking about.
It had been impossible for Harry to miss the scars once they started sleeping together. They were on the upper part of Lance’s back and he had been able to guess it had come from a whip, or at least an object used as a whip.
He had never asked. He knew it wasn’t the kind of things you just talked about unless you were the one that decided to do so. He had decided to wait for Lance to share and it seemed that the time had come.
"I’ve always told you that my parents were wonderful people and that was the truth."
The sentences came one by one and, while Harry wasn’t exactly sure where Lance was going with that, he could be patient in certain circumstances. He knew it had to be hard to share so he stayed silent, encouraging Lance only with a look.
Lance was very grateful to Harry for not making him go any faster. He knew he would have to go all the way in the end but, at least, he could do it at his own pace. It was already something that helped a bit.
"They were my adoptive parents."
And now Harry knew exactly what had happened but, still, he would let Lance tell him himself because, in the end, he knew that was what the other man needed. He needed to say it out loud, not being cut off.
“My biological parents, on the other hands, were not good people. They used to punish me and… you saw the result of their punishments. Social service intervened and I was taken away from them. Then my parents adopted me and, well, my childhood got a lot better. It was a very long time ago and, usually, I don’t think about it much but… the case, what he did to his victims…”
Harry nodded. He understood. The victims were probably sporting the exact same scars and Lance had known what they had gone through. It was only too easy for him to imagine their suffering and Harry knew that it would have been difficult to stay objective during such a situation. That was why Lance had had to come home early instead of going back to his office. There was no way he would have been able to stay professional and take on other patients after the case was over.
He took one of Lance’s hands in his and squeezed, letting him know he was there for him no matter what. Lance tried for a smile and didn’t exactly manage but his eyes showed understanding about what Harry wanted to say and that he was grateful.
“What do you say about an early night?” Harry asked, knowing that Lance must have been tired, if not physically, at least mentally.
Lance blinked at the non sequitur and frowned, looking at his watch.
“It’s not even five thirty.”
“A very early night,” Harry smiled and Lance didn’t even try to change his mind.
“Okay.”
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