Misery Loves Chocolate (Eros/Jory)

[Eros d'Avonderre]

"Simply curious," Eros replied. He set the bag down and swept the knuts and sickles into the cash register with a flick and swish of his wand. When the drawer clicked shut, he turned his full attention back onto the young man standing across from him.

"Lest you accuse me of taking without giving, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Eros," he said, bypassing his surname in the hopes of putting his guest at ease. "I myself was tutored, but was fortunate enough to mingle regularly with my peers. Some of whom have made rather impressive spectacles of themselves." He gave a playful quirk of his lips. "And I cannot help but adore them for it."

Perhaps he didn't adore Michael for the spectacle so much as in spite of it, but that was his own business. He was hoping the boy would relax and put off leaving for a while.

[Jory Addison]

"I'm Jory." And he couldn't help but let his lips curve just a little at Eros' smile. Jory was quickly becoming comfortable with this man and he shifted his weight to his other foot as he tilted his head at him. "You were tutored?" he asked. Wasn't that something that only very rich people had? Well, the very rich or those whose parents thought the schools wouldn't do a good enough job.

[Eros d'Avonderre]

Eros inclined his head in assent. "Yes," he said, "and rather strictly at that. But I can find no fault with the results, as the original Malecrit en Français has quite a bit of humor that is lost in translation." Yes, he was trying to impress the boy, but why shouldn't he? They both deserved a bit of fun. "I am a rather avid reader," he added, his smile widening infinitesimally.

[Jory Addison]

Jory had never had the opportunity to be around someone quite like Eros, and even though they had just met he could see that the man was learned and, quite possibly, rich. He certainly held himself much differently than Jory had ever seen anyone hold themselves. "I never read much, unless it was about divination or astronomy or something," he said. One hand came up and pulled out the chain around his neck to play absently with the colored ring on the end of it.

[Eros d'Avonderre]

Eros allowed one brow to arch at that. "You enjoy divination?" he asked, seizing upon that as a workable topic. "I personally don't put much weight on the results of such things, but did for a time dabble in palmistry." For exactly the reason he was bringing it up now. It was just this side of acceptable to entertain the sweet young misses at the balls with a brief reading, and no one was likely to watch him do so. Which made slipping into an empty corridor after that much easier.

"I have a sudden whim to try it," he claimed, "now that I've thought of it." He gestured lightly to Jory's hand. "May I?" he asked, keeping his expression as innocent as he could manage.

[Jory Addison]

Jory's teeth momentarily found his bottom lip and his eyes hovered on Eros' hand before he nodded and held out his own. He had looked at his own palm before, read it with a book in front of him, but had never memorized any of the specifics. "I've liked it ever since I was allowed to take the class," he said. "Before then I had a stack of tarot cards my aunt taught me to use."

[Eros d'Avonderre]

"Tarot cards?" Eros asked, sliding one hand beneath Jory's. He paused a moment to think, then gave a brief nod. "Ah, yes. I have never witnessed a tarot reading, actually," he said. "My divination tutors thought them a Muggle toy, like their Ouija boards. Hm, this won't do," he said, then released Jory's hand slowly. "Please forgive me," he pleaded, "but it's been ages and I'm afraid I'm not quite up to reading upside-down." Eros gave an apologetic look, then rounded the counter with a reassuring smile.

[Jory Addison]

Jory watched Eros come closer to him, but if any alerts should have gone off in his head, he wasn't aware of it. He had forgotten his troubles for the moment to focus on the present. "I never used a Ouija board, there doesn't seem to be a point when there are ghosts at school. Besides, those are more interested in the past, the cards are about the future." There was a little about the present and the past, but most of it was the future and what it held in store.

[Eros d'Avonderre]

"The past can tell us a great deal about the future," Eros said, stopping beside Jory. He looked at the boy a moment, noting the stunning shade of his eyes and the soft sweep of his jaw before bringing his hand up to catch the one he'd only just released. "Palmistry is almost entirely the past you know," he said softly, lifting Jory's hand to expose his palm. He dropped his gaze then, taking in the shape of Jory's hand, the length and shape of his fingers. "It is one's interpretation of the past which shapes the future."

[Jory Addison]

Jory's mind ignored the first bit of whatever it was that Eros said, instead deciding to focus on the feel of him so close. He tuned back in when Eros' voice dropped slightly. His eyes moved from Eros' face down to their hands, only to move back up to his face again. "There's no point thinking about the past all the time, though," he said. "Better to figure out where you're going."

[Eros d'Avonderre]

"Oh, I agree," Eros said, "but now and then a visit to the past reminds us why we are as we are. We mustn't live for the past, but we must learn from it or we will repeat the same mistakes time and again." He lifted his free hand now and lightly traced the edges of Jory's fingers, pausing at nails and knuckles as he examined them. "Hmm," he hummed softly, as though deep in thought. Palmistry was one branch of divination where the theatricality was nearly everything.

[Jory Addison]

Was it wrong to enjoy the feeling of Eros' fingers against his own? No, Jory decided, no, it wasn't. There was nothing wrong in enjoying attention, especially not when it came from an older, very good-looking man. His teeth found his lip again as his eyes followed the path of Eros' fingers. His mind was floating off, taking those hands other places that they didn't belong.

[Eros d'Avonderre]

Eros glanced up at Jory when he didn't hear any questions, and sparked when he saw the look on the boy's face. Was he already affected? He decided to play it safe for now and turned his gaze back to the hand he held, tracing the outline of his palm.

"Your hand is a water shape, Jory. It says that you are an introvert, creative, sympathetic, and intuitive." Also emotional and inhibited, but Eros was dealing with that already. The length of his index finger said that he tended to let others control him, and his little finger that he lacked the ability to influence others, neither things that he would say aloud.

He traced the young man's fingers again as he described the traits they spoke of, a down-to-earth quality, honest and clear-headed. He traced each knuckle, neglecting to mention the passive qualities there, but suggesting the impulsiveness that went with them.

"This is the past," he finished softly, "and the present. Am I terribly mistaken? He would wager otherwise, if only from the brief time they'd spent together.

[Jory Addison]

Jory nodded along with what Eros was saying without really listening to the words themselves. "No," he said, though his voice turned up slightly at the end, unsure if it was the right answer. He probably should have been paying better attention. It was so hard to pay attention with Eros so close, though. Why was he even being affected like this? It had never happened before! He had never been this close to a guy before, either, and especially not since he had sex. Could that really have such an affect?

[Eros d'Avonderre]

Eros's lips curved gently, hiding the excitement he felt, and the sense of impending victory. The look in Jory's eyes and his absent-minded response said that they were much farther along than he might have expected to be. "Are you quite all right?" he asked softly, quietly amused by all this. "I haven't yet gotten to the future, but if you could spare a few moments more, I'd gladly offer you something to drink. You might rest a bit before we go on." A light sweep of his fingers down the side of Jory's palm hinted that he would quite enjoy continuing.