Tiberius had been picturing such an interaction since she'd introduced the concept half a moment ago. The stages of confusion, realization, shock, horror — and then the knowledge that they had been chosen to survive, and that their sibling's death allowed them to continue on. Yes, it would be quite educational to watch their child go through that process, he had to admit.

But entertaining? The idea had never occurred to him. Tiberius didn't really pursue things for the sake of entertainment, but sometimes there was a certain allure — the curiosity associated with being able to try something new, the pull of a unique experience.

And it seemed to him that the concept of a dark social experiment being entertaining wasn't entirely foreign to him. It seemed the sort of reaction he might have heard from Valeria, or Seneca. But when had Antigone's personality taken this turn? She had never been particularly maternal, but there was quite a gulf between not wanting to cuddle a baby and finding it amusing to put that child through a form of psychological torture.

Tiberius kept looking at his wife, his expression taking on a look of subtle appreciation. "Come here," he commanded softly.

  

He was acting strangely, this was definitely abnormal. Why else could she not gauge what his intentions might be, even to a point as simplistic as whether he meant her harm or not. Antigone was determined not to seem hesitant, however, she was suspicious not frightened.

For once she didn't question him or object, although she did make sure her movement seemed anything but urgent. Words seemed risky, Tig suspected she'd never find out what this odd behavior was if she verbally acknowledged it as she very much wanted to. Instead she forced herself to be content with the vaguely bemused expression she was exhibiting.
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Tiberius reached out as she approached and rested his hand on her arm, but for another moment he said nothing. He merely examined her at this closer distance. Her eyes looked particularly bright. Was that due to the dress she was wearing, or the expression she had, or something else entirely?

"Sometimes the woman you are hardly resembles the girl I married," he said. The words themselves could have been taken any number of ways, but his tone made it clear he intended it as a compliment. "I don't know when that happened," he admitted, then he reached out and pulled her towards him, intending to kiss her.

  

The uneasiness she felt intensified when she felt his hand on her arm and between that and the intensity of his gaze she was almost regretting coming closer. He finally spoke and it was like he had thrust a knife into her gut. As much as her mind tried to reject what was unfolding, no amount of denial could reverse the visceral reaction he had triggered. It was a trick, it was definitely a trick. He was testing her. He was getting a measure of her, how easily he could manipulate her, she couldn't afford to fall for it. He was pulling her closer and the knife in her gut seemed to twist sharply. He was going to kiss her, he was going to kiss her and she couldn't tell whether she was rejoicing or revolting more at the notion of it.

By now her limbs had gone rigid and her hands had curled into half fists while she fought herself. An impulse just about won over and she met him in a kiss, albeit a little stilted and awkwardly as half of her was screaming at herself to pull away.

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This may not have been the first time in their marriage that they were kissing each other, but any previous occasions could probably have been counted on one hand. Certainly, none came to mind at the moment. Any degree of physical intimacy was typically something he forced on her — either in the polite but insisting Victorian way, or more forcefully in the heat of the moment — and it seldom included any inkling of affection. This was... a change, to say the least. It left an unfamiliar feeling tingling in his chest.

He wasn't sure what to do next. This was unfamiliar territory. He tentatively moved his hands to her hips. Their kiss was ending, but he wasn't sure he could bear to look at her at the moment — he didn't know why — so he tilted his head to the side and kissed her neck instead.

  

What was happening? Well, Tig knew in a very literal sense what was happening but she had no reference point to draw from on what was happening. She couldn't think of one instance where she had kissed him and not wanted it over with, unless it had involved mind-altering magic but that didn't count. Surely she wasn't under the influence of something now? It was true she felt strange and even uncomfortable but it didn't strike her as the sort of weird that might suggest she'd ingested a potion of some sort.

It was a relief to her that she could continue to avoid eye contact with him even after the kiss had ended, she was sure the look on her face was odd at best and she wasn't sure whether she could even look at him without feeling... Embarrassed? Tig tensely knotted her hands into his clothes because, she told herself, her hands felt clammy and she didn't want them touching her dress. "Tiberius-" She cursed herself even as she felt the last syllable leaving her mouth and hoped he hadn't heard her; it was one thing to be confused and another thing entirely to talk about it. Not to mention the longer she didn't have to look him in the face the better. 

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If Tiberius was uncomfortable about the idea of looking at her, the concept of having to have a conversation with her at the moment was even more unsettling. What did she want to talk about? Was she going to ask him why he'd kissed her? He didn't have an answer that he could articulate. The answer, he supposed, would have been because I admire you, but there was no way in hell he was going to actually say that. It might have been true right now, in the moment, but he wasn't going to have her lording it over him and holding it against him for the rest of their marriage.

Maybe it was possible to distract her. She'd kissed him too, after all, and probably not just from shock — she'd never returned his physical attentions from surprise before, anyway. So she wanted this, too, on some level — and she probably couldn't (or at least wouldn't) articulate why to him, either. Whatever she wanted to say could wait. "Shhh," he murmured against her neck, before kissing her again just above the collarbone. He pulled her closer and moved his hands up slightly, wondering how difficult it would be to get her out of this particular dress.

  

So he had heard her but to her relief he seemed to be on the same page as her. For once.

Faint relief gave way to awkward restlessness as he resumed whatever this was. Not that she was oblivious to where things seemed to be heading but this not the usual way of it. That coupled with the shifting of his hands lead her to the concern that her new dress was in grave danger and while it was starting to seem highly unlikely that she'd ever make it to the luncheon now that didn't mean she wouldn't ever wear it again. At least not as long as it remained in one piece.

If he ripped her new dress... Tig twisted her arm behind her back to investigate the unfamiliar fastenings. But found none. Ah yes, this new dress was supposed to look remarkably seamless which Tig had been very pleased about until this very moment, how could she have forgotten! The damn thing belted at the front right around where his hand was because of course it did and there was at least one hidden button. Merlin's beard he'd never figure it out, she'd have to do it.

Trying to be discreet about it, she grabbed his right hand and tried to move it further up so she could get to the buttons on the belt. As soon as she'd managed to undo those (which was a little more fiddly than she had expected) she moved on to the hidden button at her bosom she thought was most likely going to be damaged if she didn't get there first.
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   Tiberius Lestrange

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Tiberius didn't know what to think when she moved his hand. Was she... actually trying to encourage him to touch her? Was she enjoying this? He had almost entirely written off the idea that women were even capable of enjoying sexual activity after he'd made a disastrous attempt to please her during her birthday one year. But... he supposed he wasn't opposed to the idea of letting his hand be guided by her, at least for a moment. Gliding his hand up to her bosom (where he assumed she had been indicating she wanted it placed), Tiberius gave it a gentle squeeze, wondering what was going on in Antigone's head.

She was moving her own hands, and at first he couldn't tell what she was doing. Then the belt at the waist of her dress fell away and he realized she was getting undressed, in the middle of the day and without even any direct prompting from him. Was she really interested in just stopping everything and doing this now? By all appearances, yes.

He could feel himself getting hard (and, because of their proximity, he was certain she could as well). This was... unprecedented, to say the least... but not entirely unwelcome. Raising his free hand to her face, Tiberius drew her chin towards his so that he could kiss her on the mouth again — but more forcefully, this time.

  

If she had known how her preciousness regarding her dress was being perceived she would have buttoned it back up again in an instant and taken the risk of damage rather than allow him to think she was offering herself up on a platter. However, she was far too wrapped up in saving her dress to consider how it might come across. She almost had an inkling for a moment when she felt him considering the timing but didn't linger on the thought.

As she headed for the hidden button, she found his hand was once again in her way and pushed it aside just enough that she could slip her own hand beneath the upper layer of fabric to release it. Her hand froze, the button halfway through the hole, as his other hand found her face. She flinched very slightly in surprise but otherwise made no movements to resist.

Afterwards she would likely be unable to fathom why she'd been so compliant. She would insist though that the only reason she kissed him back a second time was because she'd been distracted by sorting out her dress. It wouldn't be entirely inaccurate, Tig was distracted by her dress and it was possible that had she not been she might have had the forethought to put a wall up and dig her heels in for the sake of her pride. Possible, just not probable.

Somewhere in the midst of their kiss she accidentally pushed the button all the way through.
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