Curiosity (Indigo/Jory)

[Indigo Noble]

The Three Broomsticks was just close enough to the bookstore for Indigo to pick up their Wi-Fi without having to be around Anna. His battery wouldn't last forever, but it was warm here, he had a mug of foamy butterbeer, and he had people he could talk to. They counted, no matter what his parents thought.

He'd posted in his personal blog, the one no one could see unless he approved them, and he was waiting on comments. He didn't know what to do, didn't know what to think about anything, but he'd done his best to put it into words.

Is guys kissing really hot? the post began.

That wasn't the question it went on to pose, but he'd tried to inject some humor in it where he could. It was normal for people to have thoughts, but what happened when you stepped over the line? What happened when you gave into curiosity and got more than you'd bargained for?

[Jory Addison]

Jory loved being back in the school, but without the common room he felt much more lonely than he typically did and had ventured out rather than stay locked up. He wasn't quite sure how the professors could stand it, not that he had ever been overly friendly in his common room, anyway. Lacking the option of talking to someone sitting in front of the fireplace was a strange feeling.

Being in Hogsmeade was nice, it was a beautiful little town especially when it snowed, but it was cold and he nipped into the Three Broomsticks hoping to warm enough to make the trip back up to the castle. He didn't expect to see Indigo in Hogsmeade already, though it really shouldn't have surprised him. "Hey," he said when he sat down, degloved hands wrapped around a steaming mug of some chocolatey drink with whipped cream on top. "What're you doing?" he asked, though he didn't try to look over at the screen.

[Indigo Noble]

Alt+Tab. Indigo's blog was quickly covered by his Facebook page before he even managed to look up. "Blogging," he answered. He looked back down at Facebook, and his brows drew slightly together. "Um, doing Facebook stuff," he corrected. He didn't need to tell Jory. He didn't need to tell anyone, even if he'd told some online friends he'd never actually met in real life. Somehow, icons just weren't as intimidating as flesh-and-blood humans.

[Jory Addison]

Jory raised an eyebrow but didn't question Indigo. "How was your first night back?" His own had been incredibly boring, though he liked his quarters. They were small, compact, without much room for growth, but he didn't intend to have any reason to grow, at least not any time in the foreseeable future. He brought his mug, still wrapped in both hands, up to take a tentative sip.

[Indigo Noble]

"Um, fine..." Indigo stared blankly down at his computer screen, wishing he could pull his hood forward further than it already was. How was your night? It was confusing. It was so freaking confusing, and he couldn't get it out of his head, no matter what he did. They had kissed, and they'd touched, and there was no denying in any way that he'd enjoyed it.

[Jory Addison]

Jory tilted his head at Indigo and his eyebrows came together. "You alright?" he asked. Indigo wasn't really the chipper sort, but he usually wasn't gloomy, either. He wasn't used to seeing his friend somewhat down, the guy wasn't even looking at him, and that in itself was strange. The steam from his drink hit his chin as he leaned forward, tucking his crossed ankles under his seat.

[Indigo Noble]

Indigo blinked and glanced up, but his face turned red the instant before he looked back down. "Yeah, I'm fine. I mean..." He shook his head. "I don't know. I don't know." He looked into the room, but his gaze skipped over other people, just wanting to move. Why was he making a big deal out of it? He'd just kissed a guy, and Jory was gay, and here he was making it out to be some horrible thing. He was being a tool about this, he just needed to say something.

"You remember that guy, Mari, from the train?" he asked, his gaze returning to the cheerful blue and white of Facebook. "He kissed me. And I didn't stop him." Couldn't he even look at Jory? What was wrong with him, he wasn't a homophobe!

[Jory Addison]

Of all the things that might have been bothering Indigo, that wasn't one that had crossed Jory's mind. "Really? What happened? I mean, do you think you're bi?" he asked, making sure to keep his voice low out of respect for his friend. Though he had always known about his own sexuality, even from a young age, he could understand wanting to keep things quiet. He wasn't quite sure whether or not he was surprised that Mari had made a move.

[Indigo Noble]

"I don't know," Indigo said. "I guess, I mean... We were sitting by the fire talking, and I caught him looking at me, like, looking at me, and it was like the second time I'd caught him. He said he was sorry, and then said we should try, and he just... kissed me." Indigo brought his blog back up and refreshed it, but still no comments.

[Jory Addison]

"Well, can you blame him? You're kind of gorgeous," Jory said. He looked away. That was something he shouldn't be saying anymore, right? Ah, it was just words, and it wasn't like he had anything to do with Indigo's schoolwork, anyway. "Did you kiss him back?" He rarely had the guts to be so forward and thought it said something about the guy that he was able to do it.

[Indigo Noble]

Indigo looked up at Jory, and his gaze stuck a moment longer, confused and torn, before he finally looked back down. You're kind of gorgeous. And Jory had never tried, and he'd wondered, and now, even if he was curious, it was too late. He paused, trying to remember what else Jory had said. Did you kiss him back? He nodded, then nodded some more. Yes, he had most definitely kissed Mari back.

[Jory Addison]

"Okay so...you liked it?" Jory asked. From Indigo's actions it seemed like he had. "Do you think it was just 'cause it was him or what?" He'd heard of people being interested in something they normally wouldn't for the right person, and Mari was really androgynous, and Jory couldn't help but wonder if that had something to do with it.

[Indigo Noble]

"I've thought about it before!" Indigo admitted, cutting off Jory's questions. "I've thought about it before, but people think about things all the time and never do them. It wasn't just him, he just... like, actually kissed me, and we kept going 'til this fourth year's cat came and interrupted. And yes, I liked it." He squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them and tried to focus on his blog. Refresh. Nothing.

[Jory Addison]

"You could've talked to me about it," Jory said. Maybe if Indigo had brought it up before he wouldn't be panicking now. "It's okay to be curious, you know? What are you going to do about it?" Maybe he didn't want to do anything about it. It was hard for him to understand where Indigo sat, since he had almost never questioned his own interests.

[Indigo Noble]

Indigo brought his hands up, dropping his face into them. You could've talked to me about it. Why? Why would he have talked about it? They'd avoided any kind of talk like that, and Indigo had been telling himself for as long as he could remember that curiosity was normal, it was perfectly normal. "I don't know."