Part of Me Knows (Tom/Alecto)
Title: Part of Me Knows
Prompt: 021. Lovers (y'know, I always knew this prompt would go for Tom/Alecto)
Rating: PG
Word Count: 857
Characters: Tom Marvolo, Alecto Carrow
Summary: Tom has noticed that Alecto has something quite like a tattoo on her arm...
Notes/Warnings: This was requested by shotgundivorce. Set in the wonderful world of Founders and more the sort of claim of Tom!muse doesn't tilt his head at.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters, they belong to J.K. Rowling. But quite modified in most cases by their individual writers at Founders or my perception of them.
The room was quiet - when Tom wanted to be alone it was easy enough to keep his roommates from intruding no matter the time of day, or night in the current case - but for the sounds of their breathing. Alecto's eyes were closed, left arm draped loosely over her forehead. Tom glanced down at her, noticing again the design inked on her forearm. He did not remember her saying anything about getting a tattoo that summer and knew that it had not been there the previous year. He was not the sort to miss such a mark. He pressed a finger against it, feeling the strangest sensation tingling in his own arm. It was almost like a pull, but it was beyond faint, almost as though it were the pain from a cut given long, long ago.
"Don't do that," Alecto mumbled, eyes still closed as she tried to pull her arm away. But Tom's fingers closed over her wrist and she did not try to remove it, though her eyes opened. "Please don't touch that, Tom."
"I have never seen it before," Tom remarked. "When did you get it?"
"This summer." Alecto's eyes looked away, avoiding his, knowing that the vague statement was not enough to satisfy him.
"What is it?" Tom asked, a bit of the commanding edge he had begun using in childhood sliding in. He very rarely used it with Alecto, knowing that it was unnecessary, but she seemed more skittish about this mark on her arm than she should have been. Why she would have allowed a mark on her skin was perhaps the first question in Tom's mind, the one that he really wanted answered, but he would not give voice to that. Let her think that he was simply curious about why she had gotten inked. She did not have to know the real reason he wondered... though perhaps, perhaps she did. Of everyone at the school she knew him best. He had trusted her with more than he had intended and wondered if it was too much... only she had never, not once, betrayed his confidence to anyone. Tom did not think that she ever would.
Alecto shifted under him as though she were uncomfortable. "It's a mark."
"That much I can see. Why do you have a mark?" From someone else. Someone not him. Was this her way of getting back at him for the previous year? He had thought that being ignored and then the marks on his back... she had only just stopped digging so deep... but maybe she had only lured him into thinking that so it would... hurt. Did it hurt? Yes. That Alecto might simply have wanted an inking was not there, not in that location, such a visible one. And she had called it a mark.
Her eyes went wide, as though she could sense his building unease. One hand went to touch his arm and she flinched when he pulled back. "Tom... you don't understand..."
"No," he agreed, "I don't." That was all that he said, all he felt the need to say. He did not understand and he wanted to and that meant that she should tell him. He had told her about them, nothing could be worse than that.
"I... can't tell you that."
"Cannot," Tom repeated quietly, rolling over onto his back. "Then you can go." He could have forced her to tell him, he had the ability and it worked much more often than not, but he did not want to make Alecto. She should have told him on her own because he wanted to know, that should have been enough.
Alecto was not moving. "I promised I'd never tell," she said, her voice as quiet as his, but with a waver in it.
A flicker of irritation crossed his face. "It must have been an important person for you to make such a promise you will not even break for me."
He glanced over and saw that she was rubbing at the mark, almost as though it were giving her some sort of pain. "He is very important." She licked her lips unconsciously. "The most important man in the world."
That was it. Tom pushed the curtains aside and stood, turning to give her something as close to a glare as he ever got. "You can go to his bed then." He was not second best to anyone, not now and not ever.
Alecto made a noise that seemed almost a giggle, but not quite, the look in her eyes making it not even close. "I am in his bed," she said at last, looking right at Tom. "A younger him... but it's from you. It's your Mark." She removed her hand and held it out towards him. "It only gets this dark because of you... this you and that you... it's confusing."
"But true."
"Yes. It's how we can prove our loyalty to you. No one can deny it once we're Marked."
"Loyal to me." Tom liked the sound of that. "You're loyal to me."
Alecto snorted. "Was there really ever any doubt?"
Prompt: 021. Lovers (y'know, I always knew this prompt would go for Tom/Alecto)
Rating: PG
Word Count: 857
Characters: Tom Marvolo, Alecto Carrow
Summary: Tom has noticed that Alecto has something quite like a tattoo on her arm...
Notes/Warnings: This was requested by shotgundivorce. Set in the wonderful world of Founders and more the sort of claim of Tom!muse doesn't tilt his head at.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters, they belong to J.K. Rowling. But quite modified in most cases by their individual writers at Founders or my perception of them.
The room was quiet - when Tom wanted to be alone it was easy enough to keep his roommates from intruding no matter the time of day, or night in the current case - but for the sounds of their breathing. Alecto's eyes were closed, left arm draped loosely over her forehead. Tom glanced down at her, noticing again the design inked on her forearm. He did not remember her saying anything about getting a tattoo that summer and knew that it had not been there the previous year. He was not the sort to miss such a mark. He pressed a finger against it, feeling the strangest sensation tingling in his own arm. It was almost like a pull, but it was beyond faint, almost as though it were the pain from a cut given long, long ago.
"Don't do that," Alecto mumbled, eyes still closed as she tried to pull her arm away. But Tom's fingers closed over her wrist and she did not try to remove it, though her eyes opened. "Please don't touch that, Tom."
"I have never seen it before," Tom remarked. "When did you get it?"
"This summer." Alecto's eyes looked away, avoiding his, knowing that the vague statement was not enough to satisfy him.
"What is it?" Tom asked, a bit of the commanding edge he had begun using in childhood sliding in. He very rarely used it with Alecto, knowing that it was unnecessary, but she seemed more skittish about this mark on her arm than she should have been. Why she would have allowed a mark on her skin was perhaps the first question in Tom's mind, the one that he really wanted answered, but he would not give voice to that. Let her think that he was simply curious about why she had gotten inked. She did not have to know the real reason he wondered... though perhaps, perhaps she did. Of everyone at the school she knew him best. He had trusted her with more than he had intended and wondered if it was too much... only she had never, not once, betrayed his confidence to anyone. Tom did not think that she ever would.
Alecto shifted under him as though she were uncomfortable. "It's a mark."
"That much I can see. Why do you have a mark?" From someone else. Someone not him. Was this her way of getting back at him for the previous year? He had thought that being ignored and then the marks on his back... she had only just stopped digging so deep... but maybe she had only lured him into thinking that so it would... hurt. Did it hurt? Yes. That Alecto might simply have wanted an inking was not there, not in that location, such a visible one. And she had called it a mark.
Her eyes went wide, as though she could sense his building unease. One hand went to touch his arm and she flinched when he pulled back. "Tom... you don't understand..."
"No," he agreed, "I don't." That was all that he said, all he felt the need to say. He did not understand and he wanted to and that meant that she should tell him. He had told her about them, nothing could be worse than that.
"I... can't tell you that."
"Cannot," Tom repeated quietly, rolling over onto his back. "Then you can go." He could have forced her to tell him, he had the ability and it worked much more often than not, but he did not want to make Alecto. She should have told him on her own because he wanted to know, that should have been enough.
Alecto was not moving. "I promised I'd never tell," she said, her voice as quiet as his, but with a waver in it.
A flicker of irritation crossed his face. "It must have been an important person for you to make such a promise you will not even break for me."
He glanced over and saw that she was rubbing at the mark, almost as though it were giving her some sort of pain. "He is very important." She licked her lips unconsciously. "The most important man in the world."
That was it. Tom pushed the curtains aside and stood, turning to give her something as close to a glare as he ever got. "You can go to his bed then." He was not second best to anyone, not now and not ever.
Alecto made a noise that seemed almost a giggle, but not quite, the look in her eyes making it not even close. "I am in his bed," she said at last, looking right at Tom. "A younger him... but it's from you. It's your Mark." She removed her hand and held it out towards him. "It only gets this dark because of you... this you and that you... it's confusing."
"But true."
"Yes. It's how we can prove our loyalty to you. No one can deny it once we're Marked."
"Loyal to me." Tom liked the sound of that. "You're loyal to me."
Alecto snorted. "Was there really ever any doubt?"