Excuse me, I seem to have just run you over...(Eros)

Ed’s last few months had been a whirlwind of activity. After a falling out with the new manager of the French nation Quidditch team, he had asked him for his release from the staff. It had been incredibly an incredibly awkward break and word of it had made it back to his club in Paris. While Michel (no longer working with the national team) had no reason to expect that his work would suffer, pressure from the French Quidditch governing body required that a change be made. Michel had been quite the friend throughout the whole process, helping him to find a few options for work, but in the end, his time with Quidditch in France had to end or he would need to discover a new career as he wouldn’t be able to withstand the pressure the governing body would place on any club brave enough to hire him. Michel and Ed parted on good terms and the young man had packed up and moved to England to follow up on a few of the potential job openings that Michel had been able to help set up for him.



Getting settled in in England was anything but easy. While his English was good enough, he had no place to stay, no one he knew and little money to provide for himself. Scraping together what he had left and calling in a favor to his uncle for a small loan, Ed had been able to afford a small flat while he looked for work. Beginning immediately, Ed had reached out to the contacts Michel had provided him with. Hearing back from only two of the clubs, Ed began weighing his options. The Montrose Magpies, one of the tops in English Quidditch offered him a position as a Chaser trainer, a job he had little to no experience with; Puddlemore United on the other hand, had a position as an assistant manager. After an exchange of letters between himself and Mr. Williams of Puddlemore United, Ed had secured an interview with the manager of the club. The wizard was an old friend of Michel’s and had agreed to give Ed a chance to interview for a vacant position on his staff, assisting with the managerial duties for the main team but more importantly, managing the reserve team.



Ed had donned his best working robes for the occasion of his interview, a deep blue color and made of a rather durable fabric. He had bought several pair like these for his work in Paris with the national team, but now felt they would come in handy as they looked much more professional than any others he owned. Checking his hair once more in the mirror of the flat he had been staying in, Ed turned on the spot and, with a crack, appeared outside a handsome stadium; the home of Puddlemore United. The most recent owl that he had received gave him instructions for where he would meet Mr. Williams. Presenting the letter at the entrance of the stadium, Edouard was escorted to the changing rooms through which he would reach the managerial suite. Making his way through the deserted room, he found the manager’s office and waited outside for Mr. Williams.



The interview took nearly half an hour, but following it, Ed felt as though he had made a good impression. Mr. Williams informed him that he would be in touch shortly regarding the club’s decision. As he shook hands with the man, he smiled turning down an escort through the stadium, insisting that he would rather show himself around and then back out where he could return home. Heading back through the changing room, full of excitement and ideas, the young French man didn’t even notice as he barreled headlong into something, or perhaps someone he wasn’t quite sure. All he knew is that he had walked into a very solid object and now was looking around, hoping no one had noticed. It only took him a moment to realize what had happened, it was going to take much longer to get the image out of his mind.

hopefully this isn't the world's worst opener ever...

Modeling didn't always require posing in studio. There were days when Eros went places as well. Just like today. He was excited to have another good offer for a Quidditch related photoshoot. He always loved the sport, wanted to go pro even, and he would have if there wasn't the accident. His hip wasn't really immobile or anything but flying out there on broomstick was a bit too much in the end. Believe, he tried. More than once but as much as he wished for it to be alright, he was slower than before. He couldn't do anything with this fact, anything other than to give up on his first dream he ever had. Well, second, the first one was to have a family which turned out to be even bigger disaster than Quidditch. Basically everything in his life was a disaster apart from his job, having a nice place to live in along with money, being member of the Order and modeling. His private life sucked as much as it could. However, as long as he at least got to do the things he liked, he could pull it off somehow. That's what he'd been doing the whole time anyway so it was nothing new.

Today's photoshoot was supposed to be at the stadium of Puddlemore United team. Eros had to arrive early in the morning, was given clothes, and few people played with his face and hair. Then he was sent outside for the main action. The whole thing took around five or six hours but the people were pretty chill so the beast hunter enjoyed himself. He was in good mood, when the photoshoot ended and he went back to changing room to put his own clothes back on. He gave the borrowed ones back to the girl who also made his hair, sneaked it through a door cracked open. He then went to take a quick shower. He would have normally waited till he got home but the showers here looked quite clean and he still had some things to do, or places to go, and really didn't want to feel filthy for the rest of his day. It was simply the better choice.

Once he was freshly clean, he slipped out of the bathroom and quickly put on his underwear. He went to a mirror that was right next to the door he earlier came through and looked at himself. He dried his hair with a quick spell and fixed them a bit, though they still had a bit of a messy look. He made also sure there was no smeared make up on his face left from the photoshoot, then just stared at his two-colored eyes. Today he didn't wear eye-lenses, he usually didn't wear them to photoshoots, a lot of them were black and white anyway.

He sighed and turned away from the mirror. He should get dressed he though but before he could move away from the door a figure came inside, running right into him which made him loose his balance. Now he was lying on the floor, filthy floor, ew, almost naked and staring up at a handsome stranger. Yeah, one big disaster. As usual.

The next few seconds were a whirl of action. The young man felt a rather hard hit to his shoulder and the next thing Ed knew, he was on the floor. It seemed someone or something else was on the floor with him, and he hoped against hope that there was no one else who had seen the embarrassing fall, least of all his potential future employer. Fortunately for Ed, he was not tangled in whatever he had barreled right into, but it still took him a second to gain his composure back. Taking a moment to get to his feet, Ed looked down at what he had just run into and at that moment realized that it was not a what, it was most certainly a who; and a rather attractive who. Smiling awkwardly, Edouard extended a hand to the fallen wizard and hoped the young man would take it.

The other wizard was tall, well built and looked as though he could be either a beater or a chaser. The French wizard was confused by it though as he did not recognize the man. He had done a fair bit of research and knew the majority of the players faces well enough to know that he hadn’t seen this man before, or else he would have noticed. Holding his smile, Ed introduced himself in rather accented English, “Hello, I am Edouard Pontmerci. I just interviewed for the position here at the club. I am sorry, but I do not recognize you from the team. Who would you be?”

Edouard hoped that he was not being too forward, or too awkward. The man was, after all, nearly nude.  Ed took in the man’s form from his feet, to his arms, then his chest, all the way up to his face. He was an impressive specimen and Ed hoped that he had a few more like this man that would be soon flying for him in matches on the regular. It was then that the realization hit him. The young man standing before him wasn’t a player at all. He was a broom stick model. He had seen him during the last publicity campaign for the newest Nimbus model during one of his trips to wizarding Paris. Smiling once more, Ed took a step back, giving the man some space as to try to alleviate some of the awkwardness of the situation. He hadn’t given the wizard time to answer his earlier question, and there was now no need to.

“I am sorry that I did not realize it before, I recognize you from the broom adverts. You work for Nimbus yes?” He was sure that it was the man from the ad. He had seen the ads several times during his travels and his was not a face, or pair of eyes that was easy to forget. Looking into his eyes, Ed hoped that the man would think him rude for his staring while he waited the confirmation of his second statement.

Eros stayed sprawled on the floor for a few more seconds. He wasn't only sitting on his butt but almost lying since the fall on his side was a bit clumsy. That also meant there was more skin contact with the floor. Ew. Bleh. He moved to get up, pausing as the stranger offered him his hand. There was a hesitation on his side, few minutes, two-colored gaze burning into the other's dark one before he took the invitation and slipped his hand into the man's. He then got back to his feet, though he put too much energy into it, haven't really guessed the distance right and ended up invading the other's personal space. Hella lot. There was just mere few centimeters between them for a moment. "Sorry," he apologized quickly, taking few steps back to make this whole situation less awkward.

That's when he eyed the stranger before him, taking in his appearance for the first time. He noticed the other's eyes wander as well - over his almost completely bared body. The guy certainly just checked him out, Eros noted to himself. He was very handsome. Dark short hair, pretty eyes, young face, tanned skin, nice features and figure, standing almost at the same height as him. Basically his type, he realized, a sight for sore eyes. He could probably feast his eyes on him the whole day, he thought. Which was definitely a bad idea. He blinked as the stranger introduced himself, his voice hooded by a thick accent, guessing by the name he was probably French. His question, though, made Eros a bit confused. Recognize him from team? Did the man think he was a Quidditch player?

He opened his mouth to correct him but the man beat him to it. It wasn't the first time someone recognized him from media, somehow it still surprised him. He ran his hand through his hair quickly. "Yeah, I do. Though not only for them." He answered the French man. "If you don't mind I -" He gestured to his clothes, turning around with his back facing the other. He grabbed his dark jeans, quickly putting them on, then shirt and fancy looking robe which looked slightly as an elegant coat. It was a bit modified, showing off the normal clothes under it a bit but mostly just covering him up like normal wizarding clothes usually did.

When he was finally dressed, he turned back to Edouard offering his hand to introduce himself now. "Eros Maddox, model and ministry worker." He said shortly with a small smirk, being his normal confident self. It wasn't like he had to be ashamed by anything the other just saw. He knew he looked decent.

The other young man took Ed’s hand. It was somewhat awkward helping him up from the ground, as he was still practically naked, but Ed put that thought aside as quickly as it had come into his head. The young man was quite attractive and he had been quite clumsy in his knocking him over in the first place. He sensed a moment’s hesitation by the scantily clad man below him, but still the stranger had taken his offer of aide and a moment later was back on his feet. If the awkwardness of the situation was already enough, Ed had to suck in his breath as the wizard got to his feet and nearly jumped into Ed’s arms. The man apologized and stepped back quickly, making it much less awkward and giving Ed another great look at the man’s full form.

His waiting for a response to his question took only a few moments. Ed was glad when the other man asked if it would be a problem for him to redress as it gave him a little extra time to think over the man’s response regarding his work. He worked for Nimbus, but not only for Nimbus. There were not many individuals who were able to pull off working for multiple broom manufacturers without angering one or all of their clients. Ed had looked into testing at one point and had found that the manufacturers were much too competitive for his liking. The only way that he could see that working was if he were working for a publicity group. Many of those groups had several clients, often times even in the same production field.

Ed watched as the man dressed himself. He had a nice form and as he turned away, Ed saw the last few remaining inches of the young man’s body he had not yet viewed. It was quite the form, a nice chest, good stomach, a toned back and a chiseled face. He was very well dressed. A smart little robe jacket combo hung well on the young man, it was obvious that someone had either helped him pick out his clothes, or that this man had amazing style; something Ed had never really gotten into himself, preferring the rather plain styles.

The other man’s abrupt return to the conversation brought Ed back to reality. The name itself was even exotic and rather strange. The man didn’t sound foreign, but his the background of his name. Ed made a mental note to ask the man about it if they ever found themselves discussing such trivial things. His profession was even that much more intriguing. The Ministry of Magic was fascinating to Edouard. It was very likely that, had he ever found his way into a job there, that he would have done well; but he had desired to pursue Quidditch, something he thought would be hard to mix with a job seeking power and prestige in the Ministry of Magic. As he continued his introduction, Eros mentioned he also was a model. Not surprised at all by this based on his assessment of the man’s physique. Ed smiled and responded, “You certainly have the look of one who models. Again, I am so very sorry for having run you over. Is there any way I could make it up to you Mr. Maddox?”

Eros scanned the other's appearance once again. He looked him over, making it pretty obvious he wasn't just watching but more checking the man out. He wished for a second their roles were reversed so instead he could have a good view. Even through the clothes it was prominent that Edouard had a nice figure but with the layers on, it wasn't the same. That of course didn't mean those clothes couldn't go off later on, if the other was interested. And if he was into guys in the first place, Eros reminded himself inside his head.

Luckily, there was an easy way to find out this particular information. He fixed his robe a bit, making sure there were no wrinkles since he hated them with burning passion, then donated all of his attention back to Edouard. "Merci." He thanked the man for the compliment in Edouard's native language. "Tu es très beau, aussi." He then complimented the other, speaking fluently with only very light accent. "And there's no need to apologize for an accident." He said quite warmly, though his head had a bit different opinion. He wasn't angry at the man, no, it really wasn't his fault but at the same time if it wasn't for him he wouldn't have to pick himself up from the filthy floor. He really hated touching dirty things, so it was partly a big deal to him. He didn't want to imagine how many things, people or other unknown objects laid on the floor before him. It was positively disgusting. Bleh.

On the outside though, Eros didn't let anything slip out, approaching the other very friendly and playfully despites his standart behavior he mostly held towards strangers. He took a step closer to the other, looking behind him to make sure he didn't leave anything behind, then turned back to the handsome man. "But maybe a cup of coffee or a drink would be nice, if you'd want?" He offered playfully, small smirk plastered on his soft lips. It's true he had other plans, places to go, but it all could wait. The man was in Eros' eyes very interesting person and also maybe a promise of something more pleasurable than running around town to buy everything he needed. It was always the better option. His favorite.

[You're very handsome too.]

Edouard could tell that Eros was sizing him up. While he didn’t necessarily know why, Ed could only assume that he was more irritated than he let on and could be looking at whether or not he could take him in a physical altercation. Ed was always ready for the worst, just in case it came to be, and as he waited for the young man’s response to his question he felt his hand stray to the pocket in his robes where he kept his wand at all times, ready at a moment’s notice. Hoping that he wouldn’t need to jinx the attractive man’s face off, Ed smiled as he listened to the model try his hand at French.

Ed had gotten quite used to relying on translation charms when his accent was too thick to promote good, quick conversations. It appeared from the young man’s proficiency in French, that he would not be needing one today. It wasn’t often that one found a Brit who had any command of the French language, especially one who could pull it off with only the slightest trace of an accent. The transition to English was abrupt and sounded rough to one who enjoyed the soothing nature of the flow of the romance languages. He smiled and nodded his head as the young man once again assured him that he needn’t feel bad about nearly running him down.

The other man seemed to be rather playful, almost overly friend for one had just had a run in like that. Ed knew that he would not have been nearly as friendly should the situation have been reversed, that is unless he had known that the other man looked quite as good as he did. Ed was having trouble getting the nearly nude images of Eros out of his mind’s eye as he talked to him. He was going to have plenty to keep him occupied in the flat this evening, no matter how the interview ended up going.

‘A cup of coffee or a drink…’ Edouard played with the idea for a brief moment. What was the worst that could happen as a result of coffee with an attractive, successful man? The man’s smile was amiable enough, whether or not he was interested in the man physically. “Why yes, I believe a drink would be very nice Mr. Maddox. I am not, however, familiar with the area. Do you know of any establishments in the area that we might enjoy?” The man’s accented English left the question hanging, waiting for a quick response.

"I believe I do." He nodded. "There's a small café I visited once, when I was here before. Nice atmosphere and good coffee, clean place, and it's not too far away from here. Actually only around the corner, if I remember right." He answered the handsome man. "Also, just call me Eros." He added, winking at the other as he moved to exit the changing rooms. He led out the way from the stadium, staying in comfortable silence unless the other asked him something. He was in good mood today and it was quite noticeable on him. His eyes shone more than normally. The common cold expression was replaced by a look that could be positively described as almost warm. Truth was he was feeling a lot better in general these past few days, maybe weeks, after opening up to Alex. After he got all of those problems off his chest for the first time since he was born and then tossed around. His heart felt lighter. The world seemed just a tiny bit more brighter.

Eros made sure to hold the door open for the other as it felt right, when they entered the small shop. He "accidentally" brushed against the man, passing him to ask for free seats. The witch then led them into a corner of the shop, quieter space, with small table and loveseat. It made Eros hesitate for a second, would the other be comfortable like this?

Then he frowned. He was being too considerate. So he sat down, leaving space for the French man.

At least he would have his pretty face, eyes and body right next to him.

Ed wondered what it was about the other man that had him stuck, transfixed on his face, his body, really just the individual himself. He had seen plenty of attractive men, but this one seemed different, he seemed like he was as interested in Ed as Ed was in him. Whether it was his interest or the persona of the man, Ed couldn’t seem to wait for his response. He hoped that the pair of them would go for a drink, end up talking and getting to know each other a little bit. Maybe he would be lucky and the other man would in fact be interested in him for a relationship and he could start to settle down for the first time since he arrived in England. It had been quite a while since he had fulfilled any of his needs for companionship or relationship.

As he affirmed that he knew of a place, Ed smiled genially. He was glad that, not only had he taken him up on his offer of a drink, but he also knew of a place nearby. Ed didn’t really care much about the quality of the coffee, but it never hurt to enjoy a good drink if he was going for one anyway. Ed nodded as the other man asked him to call him Eros rather than Mr. Maddox. It wasn’t as though he was trying to be overly formal by calling him by his surname, it was just how he defaulted when it came to dealing with those he did not know well. “Eros it is then.” The young man said in his accented English, noticing the wink and taking mental note. Following Eros from the stadium, Ed wondered why it was they were walking rather than traveling by magic; but paid it no mind the other man was good company regardless.

As they arrived at the small shop, Ed watched as Eros held the door for him, a proper gentleman. Smiling, Ed said, “Thank you Eros. I can, after all, hold for myself the door” His English was suffering slightly as a result of his distracted mind. He waited just inside the door for someone to show them where to sit. The shop wasn’t quite what he had been looking for. The other man had said it was clean, but it appeared to have a mix of Muggles and wizards. Only about half of the other customers appeared to have any magic at all. Ed hoped that his initial assessment was mistake and followed as a woman who appeared to be a witch showed them to a quiet corner of the shop where the tables had a single booth rather than two chairs. Taking the seat next to Eros, he looked over at the other man and asked quizzically, “Do you normally sit in this way with people who run through you?”

The bench was not too tight, but it did put him a little closer than he would have otherwise been. Looking over, Ed waited to see what Eros thought about the close quarters that they would be sharing for their drinks.

Eros couldn't help but chuckle to himself at the reaction of him holding the door for Edouard. He found his behavior rather...cute to say the truth, how he stumbled over his tongue a bit, clearly distracted. He watched the other closely to notice any behavior on their closeness as they both sat down. He wanted to know what influence he had on Edouard, being right next to him. He ran his hands through his hair, shifting. He made sure to brush his knee against the other's thigh briefly as he set the bag he had over his shoulder down.

Eros looked at the attractive man. "Not usually but I prefer silence and privacy rather than sitting in the middle of the room," He shrugged, leaving the double meaning hanging, also remembering the day he met Tristan. They sat opposite each other. He could still remember the older man touching his thigh under the table as a first contact, when they sat down. He could only imagine how fast it would have went, if they sat in a loveseat, next to each other. Eros doubted he would have had any pancakes, if he had the bartender so close and easy to reach out for. They would have been all over each other. Or at least him since he really had no self-control around the bartender it seemed - based on the past experience. The though itself made him shiver slightly.

Somehow, Eros felt it wasn't the same case with Edouard. He didn't mean from his own side - there certainly was a strong influence. But Edouard seemed more cautious, hesitating and maybe a bit reserved. More sensitive? He didn't know, couldn't guess the other's true colors yet but that made him interested even more. More than he'd been with Tristan. "And I normally hex people who run through me," he paused chuckling as he watched the other intently, "or more like over me." He corrected himself. "But they're not you, of course." He added, his eyes once again grazing over the other's body more than obviously.

He smiled slightly towards the witch that came to take their orders. He got himself a black bitter coffee, nothing else, just the way he liked it. Turning to the other, he waited for him to choose what he wanted to get before asking another question. "So what do you exactly do in Quidditch?"

Ed was starting to notice the fleeting glances that he was receiving from the young man next to him. He had shrugged them off at first as more disbelief that he had run him over than anything else. Now he was starting to see, Eros was checking him out. He was, just as Ed had been doing, looking over his physical characteristics and studying his body. Had he looked him over once after bowling him over in the changing room, it would be one thing; but the pair of them had been talking for the past twenty minutes and still he felt the other man’s eyes raking over him. This, coupled with the accidental touches and bumps as they had found their seats, entered the coffee shop and throughout their interactions gave Ed the distinct impression that he was being sized up physically by a man interested in him in a more sexual nature.

As he felt Eros’ knee brush up against his leg he shuddered slightly. Ed hadn’t been in a physical relationship since he had left France. He and his boyfriend had broken things off shortly before he left the club in Paris and began looking for work in England. Since that time, he had been alone. Spending the little money he had looking for work and not having much time or money to devote to a relationship of any kind. His mind wandered back to the small flat that he rented, unsure of how long he would be able to afford the rent on the place and came back to the moment. There wasn’t much that he could do to sustain a relationship at this point, maybe it would be best to let this beautiful young man find himself someone who could commit to something more rather than drag him into Ed’s crazy life.

Eros’ comment about privacy took Ed off guard. He certainly hadn’t expected Eros to be quite this forward. He had simply meant to repay him for knocking him off his feet after the meeting and now it seemed as though the two were on some kind of a strange, undercover date. Ed’s smile was genuine but his reservations were real. The other young man didn’t know what he was getting himself into. Ed had no job, no family, next to no money, and was in a country he didn’t know much if anything about. As Eros commented on hexing him, Ed actually laughed out loud. “I would like to see you try hexing me Eros.” He paused, “I am fairly certain that I would be able to handle my own in any kind of dueling situation” The French wizard had been in several hex or be hexed situations and always come out better from them. It was highly unlikely that a modeling Hippogriff herder would be able to disarm him.

Turning his attention to the witch who had arrived to take their order, Ed listened to Eros’ order before ordering himself a Parisian Coffee. A little alcohol might help take the edge off of Ed’s nerves as he wondered what Eros would say when he told him he was interested in him, but didn’t want to drag him down into his uncertain life. And then it came, before the coffee and liquor had a chance to help ease Ed into it, the question he had been dreading. “I am actually out of work at the moment. I was interviewing for the position of assistant manager of the club here today. I worked once for the French league, but needed a change of scenery.” Ed didn’t need to go into any of the reasons for his departure from his former club. The man seated next to him didn’t need to be bothered with such nonsense. Eager to change subjects, Ed smiled and replied, “It keeps me quite busy, but not as busy as I am sure you are working more than one job. How can you possibly find time to be social with someone as clumsy as me?” 

Ed hoped that he was not prying too much, but he did wonder how a man with so much work would even have time to have any kind of non-work relationships.

Eros noted Ed's reaction as his knee made a contact, brushed against his leg. He noticed the man shiver slightly, this reaction giving him clear message. Visibly, his presence and brief touches had on the other strong influence which meant he felt towards him some kind of attraction. Physical attraction for sure. He was affected by his brief touches. This realization made Eros quite excited. He himself felt very lured in by the French man. The beast hunter was pretty sure it was safe to use the word mesmerized. His hesitation, how the man seemed also slightly reserved made him even more interesting for the Ministry worker. Weirdly, he wasn't put off by that behavior. He wasn't put off by the man hesitating, being reserved instead of boldly making moves on him. No. He would have been, looking back like two months ago, when he wasn't at the end of his strengths, wasn't fed up with how his life, beside his work, was going. When he just wanted some quick action, nothing more. When he still wasn't fed up with going for a different man each night. Before he met Tristan, who have messed him up in a completely different way, new way, than anyone before him ever did. Also before he met Alex and spilled out all the pain he was carrying inside his scarred heart his whole life. Before he realized that drowning in the past would mean loosing to David. Before he found out not everyone would leave him and that he indeed needed someone. The fact the man was a bit reserved was...refreshing - hard to describe why Eros found it so appealing. Though that didn't change the fact he wanted to take it away. He wanted to get closer, under the other's skin to make Edouard take off the coat of hesitation. The real clothes too, of course, but that would follow after. First, he was gonna make him want it.

Eros chuckled as Ed remarked on his previous comment about hexing him. He was surprised that the other laughed, he didn't think it was that funny but somehow the fact Edouard found it amusing made him feel satisfied. He had nice smile. "I duel on daily basis so," he smirked, "though not with people." He shrugged. "But if I did want to hex or charm you," he paused, looking the French man over once again, "it would be in a bit different way." He chuckled.

He then raised one eyebrow as Edouard confessed he was without an actual job right now. That was probably hard on the French man. He knew how it felt to be miserable but not really how it was to be without work. But he could imagine. "I'm sure it will go well." He offered, turning his attention to the witch that came with their orders before answering the other question. He took a small sip of the bitter dark liquid, then set it down on the table. "Well, I don't really go out with people that much." He commented on Ed's question. "Even though I do have time. I work at the Ministry as a Beast hunter," he explained, "but my cases are less frequent as I'm usually assigned to the ones with creatures rated as dangerous and above. Though during the war I had awful lot to do every day." He chuckled, reaching forward to take another sip.

As he set the cup back down, his hand suddenly moved in different direction, landing on Edouard's thigh. "I don't find you clumsy," He commented, his voice cracking but that wasn't anything surprising since it did that all the time, he had a rough voice. The beast hunter smirked slightly at the French man, running his hand over his thigh up before pulling away slowly. He had always been bold and straightforward, when he was sure there was mutual interest. 

‘Dueled daily but without people?’ Ed thought the idea was strange, but didn’t press the issue. Hopefully he wouldn’t find himself in a situation where he needed to find out just how good a duelist Eros was. He assumed that his work with the ministry might entitle him to some additional training if he worked with dangerous animals at all. Creatures hadn’t been one of the classes Ed had put much stock in. His marks in the class didn’t matter to the young man as he had felt his career ambitions laid elsewhere. He had known early on that he wanted to be involved in Quidditch. He had focused his efforts on flying rather than worrying much about his school marks. He had done passably well, but the air was where he felt most at home.

He followed up with a subtle joke about charming the French wizard. Ed knew instantly what he meant. It all clicked now. The touching, the gestures, the looks. Eros was, without a doubt, interested in him sexually. The other man was doing his best to charm the French wizard, he was used to that, but for some reason the physical advances were what took him off guard. He had never had problems in the past with his relationships when they got physical, but that was just it, they were relationships and not just someone that he had met on the street. He had not had a fling since his first time, and he still had not intentions of reliving that again.

The look that he received when he admitted to being out of work was a look that could have ruined everything had Eros not followed it up almost immediately with his assurances that the job hung and interview would go well. At least he had the tact to hope with him, even if he was unable to control his skepticism. The witch had returned with their coffees. Glad for a distraction, Ed pulled out a small money purse and handed the witch 3 silver coins and a few copper ones to pay for his coffee and turned his attention back to the wizard next to him. ‘Dangerous and above?’ Now those were much more interesting than your standard creatures. Ed racked his brain for a few of the creatures that he could recall from school. He had come across a few in his ‘other’ work with folks likes Nessa, but those mostly just resulted in him blasting the creature or trying to smuggle it out of one country into another.

Ed ignored the comment on the war. His thoughts were rarely shared by anyone else that he happened to accidently run into regarding Muggles and their relation to the wizarding world. While he hadn’t been on board with full scale killings and the obscene idea that magic could be stolen by Mudbloods like they had been in England, he was far from a sympathizer when dealing with Muggleborns. It was then that he felt it. The most pronounced movement or touch that he had experienced since meeting Eros. The Englishman’s hand was now caressing his thigh and it was hard to pay attention to much that he was saying. Ed had a longing for what the other man could offer him. He wanted to take him somewhere private now that he knew what he was interested in, but he had promised himself he wouldn’t do any more hookups. He wanted relationships not once off encounters. The touch was over almost as quickly as it had come and without saying a word, he reached over, took his hand back and placed it back on his leg.

Returning the smile the other man had given him, Ed shook his head at himself more than anything or anyone else. It was against his nature to want to do what his body craved right now, but he couldn’t deny it anymore, he was too far gone now. Leaning in, the man whispered so that only Eros could hear, “There’s no need to hide now I know what you are up to.  If you had just let me know a little sooner, we could have left this place a while ago.” He did not want to end things too abruptly, and he fully expected this to go further than just a onetime encounter, but for now, he needed what only the other man could give.

Eros' heart made a hard flip as Edouard took his hand, keeping him from moving it away completely. His breath hitched for a second at the touch and the Beast hunter felt like stuck in a daze. He was completely lost for this short moment, unable to understand why his body acted this way. Maybe not even his body, more like his head and his heart. The two things that usually felt completely calm, when around a potential sexual partner. This was a bit unexpected, new and - not practically bad. Not unwelcomed, just confusing for Eros. He didn't really understand, why was this happening, and why did Ed, and his closeness, have such a strong influence on him. With Tristan it was the experience, charm, friendliness and boldness with which he was approached, but here he was lost. This feeling wasn't really same, just almost as intense as with the bartender. Almost, because it was actually stronger than it had been with the other.

Eros felt his heartbeat speed up even more as the French man placed his hand back on his thigh. That little thing inside his chest didn't stop hammering but at least he, upon that contact, once again came back to reality. His boldness and confidence returned, and maybe calmed him down a bit, not leaving any traces after the small system crash he just went through. A small smirk once again grazed his plump lips and he let his fingers caress over Edouard's leg again, wishing there wasn't any friction standing in the way. He listened carefully to the other's whisper as the man leaned closer, his eyes drowning in Edouard's dark ones. His sudden intimate proximity made Eros want to kiss him and he couldn't stop his eyes from flickering down to the French man's lips for a quick moment before returning back.

"I'm not hiding anything," He then opposed playfully, his hand creeping up more higher across the other's thigh on purpose, "I just wanted to make sure there's a mutual interest first. I don't like to force myself on someone." He added. He wanted to say also that he wouldn't mind leaving simply to the men's toilets or some staff room they could find but he had a feeling it would ruin the moment, so he stayed quiet about this, biting on his lower lip instead. The man he was sitting next to didn't really seem as the kind of guy who would find comfortable these types of places for being intimate with other man. Eros did have a lot of experience with these kinds of surroundings, especially at a bar, since he really wasn't willing to invite everyone to his home or to creep up to stranger's home just to get something quick from the person. That was troublesome and waste of time. But this guy was different. He looked like he could be worth the trouble, Eros thought. So he restrained from letting this comment slip out.

He looked around the room quickly, making sure no one was paying attention to them, then leaned in closer as well, closing his eyes. He let his lips graze the other's jaw, kissing his skin gently yet hungrily. He dipped his head down, moving to his neck, running his lips over its length, the shape of it, back to Edouard's jaw before pulling slightly away. He opened his eyes to look at the other with his two-colored orbs. "Well we can leave now." He breathed out in a low voice. "I would like that." He purred.

Ed hated himself for what he had said. For some reason, he got the feeling that Eros was the guy who was better at hookups than at relationships; just the thing Ed needed to avoid. His first experience had been a hookup, he remembered how betrayed he felt when he went back, reached out for help, and found no one there to give it. He wouldn’t let this become a situation like that, whatever he had to do. He would make sure that his intentions were clear, but first he needed to do something about the longing that he felt for connection, for physical pleasure. His urges were proving to be too strong in this moment, in this place.

Ed rubbed the hand that he was holding in place on the upper part of his thigh. The other man was incredibly interesting to talk to, but it also felt good to have his hand resting against his body. He was sure that as the two got to know each other better over time that they could become something special, but at this point, he was mostly concerned that Eros would more than be able to meet the physical needs he had. He wasn’t nervous anymore. The awkwardness and nervous nature at the unknown touching and looks had vanished now that he knew, without a doubt, that Eros was interested in him sexually. It was then that the other man spoke. If Eros was only trying to gauge interest, Ed wasn’t sure how the next few hours would go. He felt like Eros had been rather direct and a little forward up to this point now that he knew what his angle was. Not having enough restraint to care at the moment, Ed brushed the thought aside as something to deal with later.

The way the other man bit his lip, held his leg it was all almost innocent. He was sure that Eros was anything but, but at this point, he looked and seemed that way. It was almost as though Ed had been the one pushing himself towards the man next to him rather than the other way around. It didn’t take him long to feel unbothered by this as he knew that none of this was the case. He could tell that Eros was one experienced in the ways of the world. He didn’t feel like there was anything that could happen over the next day that the beast hunter hadn’t already experienced.

The next moment was one of pure desire and passion. It was a moment of longing. Eros moved in and playfully kissed Ed along the jawline and neck. This was a warmup that Ed had used with his boyfriend in their apartment in Paris several times. The thought brought back hard memories for the young Frenchman as he thought of some of the failed relationships that had marred his past. This would be different, he would try harder he would do whatever it took to keep from losing his next partner and Eros seemed like he wouldn’t mind filling that role. His voice was soft, softer even than Ed’s had been in his whisper.

Having already paid for his coffee, Ed threw another silver coin on the table as a gift for the witch who had served their drinks and stood up, beckoning for Eros to follow. “I know a place that we can go for a little extra, privacy” The last word glided off his tongue. It was almost like a hiss that hung on the air. He didn’t want to take him by the hand, but he would if need be. He was sure that Eros wouldn’t need the extra prompting. Or at least he hoped he wouldn’t. Ed’s flat wasn’t anything special, but it was nice enough. The elf would have cleaned the room and remade the bed by now and Pharos would surely interest Eros after the boys finished their fun. While he didn’t have much to his name, at least he could have it all looking presentable.