"He really did a number on you didn't he?" Lucius whispered quietly upon seeing Severus' position. Severus couldn't even manage a sharp retort, as the tears came again and wouldn't stop. Moving carefully so as not to alarm his friend, Lucius unclasped his ankles, then slowly removed the bamboo poll and lowered Severus so he was full on his stomach. Trying to sooth Severus' near-hysterical sobs, he ran one hand lightly across his back in small tender circles as he undid the bonds holding his arms to the bed. Once free, Severus' rolled into Lucius' lap and cried unabashedly while his long time friend stroked his head and rocked him back and forth.
"Come now. We have to get you clean for dinner." But Severus was unable to move, so Lucius carried him to the bathing room and eased him into the warm water.
"When did it come to this?" Severus choked when he could breathe again. "It didn't used to be like this..." Lucius only sighed. He agreed with his friend and fellow 'pet'; their master had been kind to them once; really kind. Even his ideals had been different when it was just the three of them. Then Voldemort changed and forced Severus and Lucius to change with him; they had been happy to do so at the time, but no longer.
Naked but for a lose pair of green pants, they waited for the servant that would summon them when their Master was ready for them. Severus looked down at the silky green fabric, pulling at it lightly, then his fingers trailed back up his chest to the silver bejeweled collar resting lightly against his collar bone; they had put them on each other without even thinking about it.
"How quickly we revert to old habits." He commented quietly, not really to anyone but himself, but any response Lucius might have made was cut off by the soft knock on the door. They stood, gave each other a once over, then moved to the door and followed the house-elf out of the room. Severus cast a glance at Lucius from the corner of his eye. After the Dark Lord's initial fall, they hadn't seen each other anymore than necessary in order to hold bad memories at bay, but looking at Lucius now brought them all back. Certainly the other man was older - just as he himself was - but his body was still toned - either from habit or physical pride, Severus couldn't guess. His long blonde hair still tumbled freely down his back, currently unadorned, but Severus knew Voldemort wouldn't let that slide long. He had always made them keep their hair long; he liked to play with it. Severus shook his head, took a deep breath and removed the expression from his face as the great dinning hall came into view. Lucius had done likewise, so they walked through the doors shoulder-to-shoulder like moving statues.
"Ah! There are my lovely pets!" At the announcement, the whole room rose and bowed their heads in respect. Lucius Malfoy and Severus Snape were once again the master's favorite, and the assembled Death Eaters gave their proper respects to the pair with their silence and their cast down eyes. It was a position every one of them envied, and that used to make both Lucius and Severus swell with pride, now they walked like ghosts through the land of the dead. "My darlings! You are looking absolutely stunning tonight!" Voldemort proclaimed, awarding each with a kiss before leading them to their seats on his either side. "Sit down, all of you!" He snapped a little more roughly, and the assembly took their seats, keeping their curious glances on their food; conversation had died. Voldemort sighed in exasperation. "Oh, you damn idiots...go ahead, look at them, talk about them if it makes you happy!" Severus closed his eyes for a moment to compose himself, then opened them and glued them to Lucius who was sitting across from him. The looks were furtive at first and the comments whispered, but the guests were slowly growing more and more bold and were now openly pointing to them and making comments on their beauty.
"Oh, you two don't be so uptight. They're just curious." Voldemort told them when he noticed their discomfort. Immediately picking up on the commanding tone in his voice, they forced themselves into careless chatter and pleasant smiles while the rest of the room continued to talk about them in awe. Voldemort seemed pleased with this and sat back to watch everyone eat, a secretive smile plastered to his nineteen year-old face.
After an hour had gone by and the conversation had shifted to other topics, the eating and drinking slowing to a trickle, Voldemort stood. Just the gesture brought the room into silence and everyone turned their faces up to their master, giving him their full attention as dogs might.
"Now, I have a surprise!" There was a soft murmuring throughout the hall and Voldemort waited until it had quieted before he continued.
"I would like everyone to meet our newest member, and the newest of my little regime of little pets!" He smiled broadly reaching out absently to his right. Taking the cue though his eyes were filled with confusion and distrust, Lucius leaned foreword so his master could stroke his cheek, nuzzling into his palm until Voldemort removed his hand. There was a general 'aww' and a few 'how sweet, they just adore him don't they/!' mostly from the ladies, then the door swung open and as one unit the room turned to see who the newest member of the Death Eaters was. As if to confirm what he was seeing, Lucius turned to Severus. The professor’s face had gone the color of ash and his bottom lip was trembling slightly. Lucius' heart jumped to his throat and he thought he would faint. A rush of dizziness came over him and he held onto the edge of the table to keep himself from falling out of his chair.
/God no.../