Another Old Friend (Eros/Michael)

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael crossed his arms and leaned back in the chair. "It's just a way to play with her," he said, shrugging. "She actually fell for it a couple of times when we first got her." Of course, back then she had been a little ball of fur that all but bounced all over the place whenever she tried to walk. "She is smart, though." Especially when he thought of her favorite shopfront to deface on their walks.

[Eros d'Avonderre]

She actually fell for it. That sounded more like the Michael he'd used to know. It was a relief to hear even that small similarity after everything else that had changed so much. It was a very small similarity. He was envisioning one of the photos in particular now, the one in which Michael had nearly attacked his pet, only to roll over and pass the reins.

"Indeed," Eros said noncommittally. There was a moment's pause before he spoke again. "To turn back the conversation a bit, you seemed surprised at my comment about staring. Care to let me in on why?"

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael raised his eyebrows and looked at Eros for a moment. "I just didn't know where the question came from, what you meant," he said. "I mean...staring is a rather negative term, don't you think?" Watching wasn't nearly as bad as staring, or at least that was what Michael thought. He thought it was a perfectly rational thought.

[Eros d'Avonderre]

Eros wasn't entirely certain he believed that explanation, but he didn't push for another. "I only used that particular word because you had used it, but I suppose I see what you mean." He saw very well, but his hunch was that it was little more than a parallel to the previous discussion.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

"Well, when you asked, I went straight to Dare and me, but that didn't really make sense," Michael said, not knowing what else was in the stack of pictures other than the top one. If he had thought about it, he would have been able to guess, but he hadn't thought about it yet, so he hadn't drawn any connections between Eros and his and Dare's interactions with each other.

[Eros d'Avonderre]

"Ah, I suppose I understand better now. Or, at the least, I understand your confusion." It amused Eros to hear that Michael immediately thought of himself and his pet. Did they really stare at one another so much that he would leap to that conclusion? It was positively juvenile, something a young boy did when faced with the subject of his wet dreams. Until he got a zap to recall him to his lessons.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael didn't completely believe Eros, and wouldn't have been surprised if he was holding something back. But he had nothing to back up the thought so he said nothing. A little fuzzy pygmy puff fought its way sleepily from the inside of a scroll of parchment and hopped down to Michael's lap. He absently played with it as he thought. "You know, you didn't bombard me with questions like I thought you were going to," he pointed out, glancing over at Eros.

[Eros d'Avonderre]

Eros's brow arched again. "Not that I wasn't dying to, Michael, but my sense of propriety is far greater than even my curiosity." He prided himself on his politesse. "Besides, contrary to what you might think, I truly did not come to London to gather further gossip about you to take home." He had come for the very reasons he had told Michael at the beginning of this little visit; to see what all the fuss was about.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

"I'm almost surprised I haven't seen the Sotas come here trying to find out something," Michael said, eying Eros. He couldn't quite believe Eros completely, but he found nothing to say he was lying. "I think you were the last person I expected to show up." Not that he had expected any of the others, but it still floored him that Eros was the owner of the candy shop. "It's very strange to think of you putting yourself willingly in the company of...the lower classes."

[Eros d'Avonderre]

Eros's nose wrinkled slightly before he caught himself. "I'll admit that I didn't think this through as thoroughly as I could have, but the summer months are too short to be spent debating. Once I made up my mind to see how it all worked, I purchased a store and had it filled to my specifications." His flat, at least. He had only really said that the shop should be suitably stocked, which it appeared to be. "It was, in fact, Mano who pointed out to me the likelihood that I'll be peddling sweets to snotty-nosed children."

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael grinned at that. "Snotty-nosed children are probably the least of your worries. There are hags there, too, and-" he lowered his voice slightly and leaned in a little. "Muggle-borns." Then he shook his head and sat up straight again as someone else came into the shop. Yes, Eros would have to deal with Muggle borns.

[Eros d'Avonderre]

Eros gave a slight sneer at that, even though, or perhaps because, Mano had already warned him. He'd said the place was overrun with them! Eros told himself that as long as they didn't bandy their ancestry about, he would have little trouble ignoring it long enough to be polite. He might have said something, but decided that the appearance of another person in Michael's shop was enough of a diversion that he could hope for a change of subjects.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael recognized the man that had come in, the same man that had been oddly supportive of him and Dare after Mabel had come in, and so he gave a friendlier smile than he had given for the rest of the day's customers before he turned back to Eros. "It's not as bad as you think it is. I did have more time to get used to it all, though."

[Eros d'Avonderre]

"That's what I'm afraid of," Eros said under his breath, though it was likely audible to Michael. He didn't want to get used to it, and even the idea pricked his nerves. Michael had been here a matter of years and decided not only to consort with Mudbloods, but to give everything up in order to marry one. Or whatever it was he'd said. Then there was Emilian, who said that one only had to look past the blood. If Mano turned as well, Eros was leaving. "Thank you for those reassuring words," he said, a bit sardonically.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

"I'm sure you'll be fine," Michael said, glancing over at Eros. "It's not nearly as bad as you think it's going to be." When the man came up to buy a bag of food, they exchanged polite greetings, during which the man gave a strange look to Eros. Michael quickly explained that it was an old friend of his in town for the summer. The man accepted the explanation with a nod, though it was obvious he was still a little uneasy, and left. Michael glanced over at Eros, just glad it hadn't been one of the more gossip-prone customers.