"Ugly noises and strange ways by the tube rays" - Tricky

[morsus_et_mors]

Date: Friday, 2 March 2000 (Backdated)
Time: Evening
Location: Soho, mainly-- Old Compton Street
Characters Involved: Montague Morsus and Sidney Vaisey
Rating: PG-13 or more

Comments

[siidney]

These muggles and their awful mirth was going to be Sidney's undoing. he couldn't stand to see so many people happy, given the choice he would have preferred to watch them all suffer. The way they were pawing at each other, making such a horrible scene! It was absolutely uncouth and Sidney could only pray they wouldn't brush into him as he walked past. He had never liked being handled by anyone, whether accidental or on purpose.

In all honesty, Sidney was surprised Montague remembered his name, especially since the other man was a few years older than him and they hadn't attended the same classes. He was very forgettable in his time at Hogwarts, never having made the effort to reach out to anyone. Sidney was such a non entity he didn't expect even the professors to be able to recall him by name. However, he chose to deal with the matter at hand and pulled the unused chair over to the table Montague was currently dining at. The older man wasn't quite the same as Sidney remembered him; it was almost as if he was less intimidating. Perhaps it was because they were both older now, though Sidney highly doubted that. It must have been since his memories of school had long since faded and he and Montague were theoretically on a level playing field. Still, something about the man made Sidney awfully uneasy.

"Indeed," he replied, taking the opportunity to put out the last of his cigarette in an ashtray on the empty table next to them. Conversation was Sidney's downfall, he didn't know how to approach a social situation without at least a bit of that teenage awkwardness. And Montague, he was so formal! Sidney felt as if he was a child in the presence of one of his professors. Even his response, he was pretty sure that was the first and only time he would ever say indeed. "How are you?" he asked, if only to contribute something to the conversation.

[morsus_et_mors]

Montague took a few silent moments to observe the other in an attempt to refresh the faded memories of the boy from their schooldays. Before answering, that is-- although, it must not have come as surprise to Sidney, that silence of his. Montague was well known for his predilection for dramatic and well-placed pauses.

Sidney had changed, doubtlessly. But not quite as radically as some of his other peers, staying the same vulnerable and very comely boy that he was back in Hogwarts. A trinketly possession on someone's shelf, cute but not outstanding. (Which was, perhaps, his greatest charm.) There was quiet nervousness to him that also had not gone, now adding to the overall picture of intriguing fragility. Montague grinned warmly. "How nice of you to ask," he said, drinking of his hot wine, gaze fixed on the other's still. Sidney was palpably wary of him. (Oh but I wonder whyever for?)

"Which is sincere, I would think," Montague continued, setting the mug on the table and cocking head to the side again. "Life has been what it was: unbearably boring and mundane as always. You know how it goes- never an ounce of entertainment coming your way, unless you fuss about it yourself." He fell silent, as his waiter came back with a menu for Sidney, pointedly waiting for the servant to leave them. Which he promptly did under Montague's hawkish gaze. "You, on the other hand, seemed to have disappeared from earth's face. Oh, and have you managed graduating from Hogwarts with all that warring brouhaha maddening Britain a few years ago?"

Strange, that as he furthered their conversation, his interest in the other seemed to grow exponentially. Must have been the simple human curiosity. (Or not?)

[siidney]

Just as Montague predicted Sidney was anticipating his silence, he could recall saying simple things to him back in school, such as hello or how are you and waiting what seemed like ages for a returned greeting. The other was a strange man indeed, though not in an entirely unpleasant way. He was the type of person that took some getting used to. However, whether or not Sidney would speak to him often enough to actually get used to him was an entirely different matter altogether.

His line of sight fell to the table when Montague continued to stare at him. It was uncomfortable but not entirely unwelcome. When the right person was looking Sidney almost enjoyed the attention his pretty face and empty head earned him. Though, he highly doubted Montague's lingering gazes had anything to do with being aesthetically pleased, the other man seemed the type that would look at someone as long as he felt comfortable doing so, regardless at how his chosen companion felt about it. This, of course, couldn't be confirmed. There were a lot of things Sidney didn't know about the older man and he wasn't exactly adverse to attempting to figure them out.

"That sounds..." Well, what did it sound? Dull to be perfectly honest, Montague's life couldn't possibly be as boring as he made it out to be. "I'll take your word for it, but I don't think you're being honest with me." Sidney set about looking at the menu, he wasn't in the mood for anything substantial at the moment. He was about to say he didn't want anything when he noticed something called coconut pie, he wasn't exactly sure what a coconut was but came to the conclusion a few moments later that it was the thing chocolate was made out of it. It made sense, what with chocolate being referred to as coco sometimes. He ordered it when the waiter came back, then turned his attention to Montague.

Graduating was a sore spot with Sidney, he didn't like to tell people he never finished his education. He would have lied if he was sure he would never run into the other again. "No, I never finished. My father didn't want me living in Britain while the war was going on so I moved to South Korea and never had an opportunity to attend school there."

[morsus_et_mors]

"Ah-" was all of Montague's reply to the information on graduation. He had guessed just as well, considering how pathetically dire the situation had been made out to be by all the weakling wizards and witches. Which Sidney's parents were, apparently. He suppressed a mocking smirk. Crows were flying low above the ground, as the reddened horizon finally died and ceded the point to darkness.

"And of course, you are right. What a sagacious little kid," Montague continued with a barely perceptible smile. Amused! "Do I tell you of virgins I've spoiled, wine I've drunk? Or, perhaps, of days I spent enclosed in voluntary confinement for deeds I have done? Imagined, more like." He went on a soliloquy, sipping on his Glühwein from time to time-- feeling slowly how the liquid's power made more and more progress in fermenting his blood. "I killed reptiles, bugs, people, flowers-- spoiled everything I could, and yet I could not find peace within my inflamed mind."

Montague paused for a moment, looking at his interlocutor askance, a stony expression set on his face. It was not quite clear what he was thinking or feeling (although the latter did not matter anyway), but soon a small grin made its way unto his lips. Making him look extremely inadequate, or terrifying, depending on the observer. "You have changed, Sidney," he said, not changing his tone. "You have grown prettier: cherry lips and milky skin, such a combination. Or more like, blood and sperm-- how about that? Sanguine and pearlescent." Montague's grin widened, taking a few moments before erupting into husky, cold laughter. (He always laughed like that, regardless whether he was about to kill someone, or, on the contrary- kiss.)

"But I went off on a tangent too- I also got married," Montague said, quickly calming down and coming back to the usual facial expression of bland interest. "And you have not ordered anything yet. You must be cold, I would imagine. Since I'm feeling generous, you may choose whether you want to order hot wine as well-- or move out of here to a warmer place."

[siidney]

If Sidney had known what Montague was thinking he would have been highly offended, his father was certainly not a weakling, it was more like he wasn't an idiot. There was nothing wrong with wanting to keep your children safe, which was precisely why he sent Sidney off to Korea in the first place. As much as he wanted to finish his education in the end he was glad to have missed out on the blood and battles. No one in Sidney's family got their hands dirty so to speak. It was wizards like Montague who were the ultimate weaklings; they aligned themselves with a halfblood only because they couldn't seek power for themselves. They tore apart their world and for what? The balance of power was never going to shift back to the purebloods, the halfbloods and muggle borns were still allowed to carry on as they pleased. Voldemort and all of his pathetic hangers on had achieved nothing.

"I'm nineteen years old, Montague, I'm not a little kid." Far be it for Sidney to say that to anyone, he still lived off his father's money and did what he was told like a dutiful child, a fact which he was aware of but not keen on anyone else picking up. He silently judged Montague on the fact that he had murdered all of those living things, if he had committed the same crimes he wouldn't have peace of mind either! Especially knowing he would suffer eternally for all the terrible things he did in this life. He wanted to save Montague, tell him how much more fulfilling life was when one accepts Christ into their heart but he knew anything he said of the matter would fall on deaf ears. Perhaps there were people in this world not worth saving. "Spoiling virgins is a habit of yours?" he asked, raising one eyebrow. Being a virgin himself the situation was that much more terrifying, or maybe promising. he couldn't decide which.

Sidney didn't like that stony expression at all and the slight quirk of Montague's lips was even worse, too predatory for Sidney's taste. He was certainly making a habit of staring at the table by this time in the conversation, it made him feel much safer than returning the gaze of the man sitting across the table. "I think I prefer cherry and milk over blood and sperm. Thank you, though, you certainly have a way with words." He bit his lip, a nervous habit he hadn't been able to conquer since childhood.

"What a lucky woman," he said, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly. Honestly, he couldn't imagine Montague ever getting married, it seemed too dull and well, normal, for a man who spent his time as the other man had. "Oh, please. Spare my your generosity. Let me make this clear, I'll drink whatever I want to and I'll sit wherever I please and it won't be because you're feeling generous enough to allow me to make a choice." That was possibly the boldest thing that had ever come out of Sidney's mouth, he was usually painfully shy and pliant but there was something about the way Montague had spoken to him as if he was a complete idiot that Sidney couldn't handle.

[morsus_et_mors]

A time split, a flash of whiskey bottle in someone's lilly-white hand, and something else- an excerpt from someone's senseless conversation. Montague's lips stretched into a very wide smile, at first, before erupting (two in one evening, atrocious!) into irrepressible laughter. There was very little of coldness left in it now, as he seemed to be genuinely enjoying the other and his careless indignation:

If only he could know what Montague could do with that blood and sperm. In pure rapture, like captured streams of red, trickling between the fingers, and a quiet laughter in some corner far away. Association games? Well, something equally uninteresting.

"Sidney, Sidney... Siddie-kid!" Montague said, finishing on his thorough enjoyment of such amusement, still smiling widely. "How adorable, I almost want to pinch your cutesy cheeks," he continued, threading on the edge of a razor-- but how sharp that razor was? His eyes glowed with a lot more interest in them than even a few minutes ago, as he found himself yearning from curiosity. The little snakelet showcases his fangs! Montague resettled in his seat, simultaneously snapping his fingers seigniorially for their waiter. His mug of hot wine must have been drained by now by his hungry lips.

"Do forgive my insolence, dear friend," he said after catching the attention of their waiter. "I shall not surmise unflattering things about you anymore, here is my promise." Little it was known, of course, to anyone but Montague himself (and those few betrayed and long-rotted away) that his word had several shades of purity. Not the best of which was offered at that moment to Sidney. "Pace, darling--" Montague turned his head at the waiter, who had arrived by their table by then, and ordered a refill.

"Would you like to order or not order whatever you might or might not want?" he looked back at Sidney with a slight smile, almost hidden. "And while you are deciding, here is my answer: indeed, spoiling virgins is a habit of mine. Interested?" (Then there was an even wider trickster grin making an appearance on his porcelain face)

[siidney]

Sidney couldn't believe it! Montague actually laughed at him, no one had done that since he was in school and surrounded by his less than intelligent peers. It was astounding to say the least and quite rude at best. He stared at Montague for the first time since he had sat down, it seemed the other man was going to be absolutely impossible to figure out, not that Sidney was sure he wanted to. For all he knew it might have been best to get up and walk away right now, however, he kept his wits about him and his social graces in tact. There was one thing (and possibly one thing only) Sidney was very good at it, he spent the bulk of his short life learning to hide his feeling from other people, especially when they did something to hurt him. His demeanor immediately changed from the nervous sort of friendliness that had been to displayed before to one of quiet coldness.

"Well I'm glad my indignation is such a joke to you, at least it's amusing one of us." He paused, deciding what to say next. "You know, it's not very nice to laugh at people." It was the best he could come up with under these circumstances, he never had been blessed with any biting wit, he couldn't even develop it after spending so much time around the other kids who all seemed to know exactly what to say at the right time. Despite everything else, he was glad in a way that Montague reacted the way he had, he expected the older man to be quite a bit angrier. he somehow doubted very many people would dream of crossing him. It was all very arparent to Sidney why he found Montague so intimidating in the first place. Maybe he would hold his tongue next time but maybe not. "And I don't have cutesy cheeks so please refrain from pinching any part of my body," he added for good measure.

Sidney felt his previous anger ebb away, he found it hard to remain hostile when Montague was being positively nice, if not a bit condescending, which he didn't entirely mind because he was so used to it. "I'll accept your apology but I don't know how good your word is, you've already lied to me once," he said in such a way that Montague should know he didn't mean it. Entirely, that is. He ignored the others bad manners, just grateful that the lazy waiter was finally making his way back to their table.

"Yes, I would." He turned to the waiter and ordered the coconut pie he was looking at earlier, still thoroughly convinced that it was actually chocolate and a glass of water. He wasn't fond of wine and the only alcohol that should be heated was sake. He waited until their server walked away to answer the other mans question, when he was sure the man was out of ear shot he finally replied. "Why are you so sure I am a virgin?"

[morsus_et_mors]

Once Montague used to think what it would be like to have a sibling. That time had long been gone and he never dwelled on such issues for more than a few fleeting seconds, which went unregistered in his mind at that. It was just as subconscious a thought now that if Montague had one- he would be exactly like Sidney. And Montague would have had world-class fun torturing the little nuisance, making his life miserable in every way. (Adorable, really.)

"Of course not, Sidney, your cheeks are 18th century chiselled ivory from India in someone's beautifully architectured house," Montague replied, quickly concocting a serious expression on his face and recomposing himself. This conversation was getting shamelessly interesting, despite all the physical and magical rules of the universe. Or some such. "Your cheeks are beauty incarnate." And with that the older man fell silent, watching the other interact with the waiter, as he ordered his pie and water.

There was something about Sidney that Montague seemed to like, against all odds. He remembered almost all Slytherin students aged 13 and up, and Sidney was one of them. Despite his quietude and generally uneminent ways of existing, Montague had noticed him perhaps even more than a few other uncharacteristically solemn students of the house. (He fought the urge to cup his chin, as he studied the younger man- that would have been far too rude for the boy to take. Montague smiled at the thought. Sidney, Sidney, Sidney... kid.) Was that something his unusual lack of web-spinning skills? Or that open vulnerability, nay-- fragility? Perhaps, perhaps. And something else: the naivete. It was that naivete of a lamb grazing, unknowing of a hawk's steely claws already streaming down at him...

It was poetic, even.

"Are you not?" Montague countered, once the waiter was out of their vicinity, complying (for once) to Sidney's desire for privacy. Or perhaps it was just a mercurial shift in his attitude. Head cocked to the side, he looked the other over, up and down- the boy's own shift in attitude. Interesting.

[siidney]

Sidney, on the other hand, already knew what it was like to have a sibling and honestly, it wasn't that great. Perhaps things would have been different if his half brother was younger, with eighteen years between them they hardly interacted, James was much more like a second father than a brother. Thankfullly, he wasn't at all like Montague, no childish torture had ever been part of their relationship, he was just one more person to protect Sidney from all the nastier aspects of the real world. He was going to have a hell of a time trying to grow up, what with all the people expecting him to remain a child perpetually. It was a good thing Sidney wasn't quite ready to become an adult, if nothing else, it would be incredibly wonderful to avoid mortgage payments and work for as long as he could.

"I don't know if I would go that far." Even though Sidney knew Montague was teasing him he still enjoyed the compliment and the attention. He silently pretended the other man really meant it, only because it was the nicest thing another person had ever said to him, joking or not. He was really beginning to like Montague, he was different than the rest of the people Sidney was forced to interact with. He didn't make fun of him, he wasn't a terrible sycophant and he didn't constantly gloss over the truth of the matter. He was a real person with enough flaws to make him interesting but so much charm it made up for the fact that he probably wasn't quite right in the head.

Sidney knew he was the absolute furthest thing from poetic. There was nothing outstanding about his ability or intelligence. Even his beauty wasn't note worthy when compared with Montague himself. It was because of that he would have been flattered beyond belief if he knew that the other had noticed him beyond passing glances and a greeting here and there. He was so used to being ignored he appreciated when another noticed him much more than the average person. The kind of attention didn't matter as much as the attention in and of itself. Never mind the older mans flaws, it was quite lucky that he happened to stumble upon him here of all places.

He was a virgin obviously, he was far too awkward and unaware not to be. Sidney just didn't know how to answer that bold question. He could easily lie, it wasn't as if Montague would know the difference and Sidney, in general, wasn't concerned with the truth. he would take fantasy over reality any day. Still, what purpose would it serve? "Your assumption was correct this time, of course I am," he finished, a bit embarrassed about his lack of experience.

[morsus_et_mors]

Ah, even better. Montague made a half-carried through attempt at smirking at the memory of his wife's remark about seducing innocent choir boys. Not quite innocent, and not quite choir, he thought in mental response to her. But still a boy. How very cute.

"Why, 'of course'?" he returned, raising an eyebrow questioningly. "You vest it into such words, Sidney, as if being a virgin is a bad thing." Montague leaned forward, critically reducing the distance between them. "On the contrary, it makes you even more charming." He grinned, tearing his gaze away to look at the rare youthful homosexuals walking up and down the street from time to time. Going on their businesses, throwing surreptitious glances their way- wondering if the two young men dining outside of the Balans café were of their kin. "Especially in the eyes of gentlemen around here," he finished with a teasing wink.

Undoubtedly, Sidney would have been quite the catch for any of the permanent visitors of the 'gay village' as Muggles called it. Montague grimaced inwardly at the naming, which only reassured him of their utter lack of taste. Annoying technicalities aside, Montague found himself intrigued as to how exactly Sidney would react to a man with advances of a certain kind. (A little Imperio with his 'black' wand, et voila: rivers of blood and shattered smiles. And flayed knuckles. He wouldn't, of course, let filthy Muggles spoil the purity of this boy. He was such an egoist.)

"I have a feeling they would find themselves unable to withstand your irresistible charms, my dear friend." Montague flashed a smile at Sidney, as his attention was snatched away by their waiter drawing nearer and nearer-- finally bringing them their orders. With a nod he accepted a new mug of Glühwein, hands instantly wrapping around it. (He was getting cold, but he liked being cold. Masochism? No: Sadism.)

"But I would not worry: as long as I am here, I shall be the main attention detractor." Nobody ever said Montague was not a narcissist as well, even if right then and there he was merely teasing the younger man. "Cheers," he then said, taking a first sip of his wine. (Tasting like pomegranate, wine, and blood with crystal seeds, where pouty smiles of multiple Sidneys swam in circles- hypnotizing. He was provoked, unprovocatively: with a wand taken out, the winds blew harshly, as he whispered lovingly those words. 'Avada Kedavra.')

Montague liked Sidney. He wanted to show him how well the red paint could be juxtaposed against the perfect whiteness of snow. The very basics- the very substance of which Sidney was made. Red paint and snow, was it not? (Or was it Glühwein?)

[siidney]

"That's not the way I meant for it to sound, I was just pointing out that I have morals and I don't believe in having sex with someone unless I'm in love with them." Although, Sidney was sure love was merely a silly notion thought up ages ago by people who wanted to distract themselves from how perfectly terrible their lives were. All the same, he wanted to fall in love some day and he would be most upset if he lost his virginity to someone that cared nothing for him. It occurred to Sidney that he never had romantic feelings for anyone, he was all at once pleased with himself for being able to deny basic human nature and disappointed that he never had the opportunity to exert his self control.

As for un pure advances, Sidney wouldn't know how to react. He would probably be scared off if anyone tried, afterward he would, of course, feel rather good about himself. It would please him to know he was the object of someone's desire. It wasn't that no one had ever found him attractive, they had, unfortunately, considering who the person was. It wasn't the right kind of attractive though, he was tired of being cute, small animals were the only things that should ever be referred to in such a way, people were supposed to be desirable.

"That's very nice of you but not entirely true, if it was I would have had the opportunity to reject someone by now." Those were the terms Sidney thought of it in, being entirely sure he would never abandon his morals no matter how attractive the man was. Perhaps someone like Montague with his good looks and undeniable charm could make Sidney reconsider for the briefest of moments. Like the other man Sidney was definitely cold by now, he puled the sleeves of his jumper to almost the tips of his fingers to warm his hands. Sidney's refusal to wear a jacket despite constantly being cold was one of his many idiosyncrasies, he would rather layer his clothes and freeze.

For the first time Sidney smiled at the other man, showing off his small, white teeth. "Don't you know, I'm only here because sitting with you makes me look even better by comparison." He didn't mind narcissism when it was deserved. It was then that he noticed how horribly wrong that pie looked, chocolate was supposed to be brown, unless it was white, which it shouldn't have been in this particular case. "What is this?" he asked incredulously, looking up at Montague as if the other man was an authority on pie. He felt personally slighted by this grave miscommunication.

If Montague kept talking Sidney would have let him show him anything he wanted. It wasn't exactly difficult to take advantage of the younger man.

[morsus_et_mors]

Which the older man was intending to do. (Seducing is my hobby.) Even if he had battled hard with himself trying not to laugh out derisively at the mention of the silly emotion. How strangely divergent the boy was- so uncharacteristically naive and fragile and so prone to breakage it could be almost boring to seduce him. Almost. For Sidney still held Montague's attention quite strongly. (Strange, too.)

"This?" he repeated, taking a curious look at the source of Sidney's offence. "A coconut pie." With a quirk to his lips, he reached out for Sidney's cutlery and served himself to a bite of the pie. "Which tastes rather awfully." He grimaced. "Muggles cannot do anything even remotely resembling quality." With that he signaled to their waiter to come back, who was already inside the cafe. Still probably wondering if the two gentlemen outside were mad to be dining in the early spring frost.

"Anyway, Sidney, my dear friend," Montague said in the meantime, cocking his head to the side and wearing a very serious expression. (So serious it could be mocking.) "Sex is a wine that needs to be enjoyed apart from everything else, lest you like it rotten and spoiled. Mix it with emotions and you only get pathetic drama in return." He shrugged, sharp shoulders lifting elegantly, as he drank from the steaming mug. Uncharacteristically, Montague was being very honest, preaching his own philosophy. "Enjoying another's flesh merely for the sake of doing so- do you not see the unobtrusive beauty of it? A slight caress and a slanting smile, a passing sigh, a..." he grinned suddenly, as if reminscing. "Are you even understanding this?"

Probably not. Montague frowned slightly as he noticed how the younger man was trying to wrap himself up completely to evade the biting cold. It was time to be moving out of here.

"We shall be leaving here. Do you have anywhere you would like to visit?"

[siidney]

If Sidney was quite aware of Montague's intentions he certainly wouldn't be keeping him company any longer. As it was, he was sure the other man wouldn't try anything like that after he just told him how he felt about the general subject of sex. Perhaps Sidney was too naieve for his own good. In the back of his mind he had to have known what was going on and maybe he even liked it. All in all, Sidney had lived a very boring life so far. Being seduced, or whatever it was, would be different from anything else he had experienced. He would definitely be unhappy afterward, there was no doubt about that but still, he often looked for things to validate his misery.

"Oh? I thought coconut meant it was chocolate. Apparently not. I suppose I'm glad I didn't eat it." With a sigh, Sidney batted a stray piece of hair out of his eyes and resumed the bored, cold expression he usually kept on his face. He wasn't going to admit how stupid he felt. Really, he had felt stupid since he sat down, it went without saying that comparing Sidney's intelligence to Monague's wouldn't be worth the time spent. As for their waiters musings, he would have to agree, they probably were absolutely insane for sitting there in the cold for so long. If he ended up getting sick (which he would, as Sidney was very prone to upper respiratory illness) he knew exactly who to blame.

Sidney took everything Montague was saying with a grain of salt. He didn't agree with him but then, it was the other man's opinion and he wouldn't try to convince him of anything. "I don't agree. There's no reason for drama unless you invite it. Maybe you've just been having sex with the wrong people, what do you expect to happen when you sleep with virgins?" It seemed simple enough to him, avoid people and situations which were prone to drama and your life will be a lot less of a hassle. "I'm sure if you loved someone you wouldn't feel that way and no, I don't think that's beautiful. I think it's almost as selfish as you are."

Sidney looked at the older man incredulously. "You just did it again, you never asked me if I wanted to leave, you just assumed I did."

[morsus_et_mors]

Montague smirked. "Why yes, I did- and I hope you will not be scolding me for being concerned about your health, Sidney," he said over-politely. The younger boy could get obstinately capricious about his sovereignty, as all boys his age did, apparently. If only he knew how many concessions he was getting from Montague, he would have been simultaneously surprised and grateful. Irrational were sometimes Montague's motives and actions influenced by those motives - a source of his perpetual pride. For what fun was there in being completely rational and predictable?

"Regarding 'love', however," he continued, as they still waited for their waiter. "You have never loved yourself, as I can see. It only brings pain and frustration, and desire to destroy everything on your path, after it scalds your every pore with boiling liquid and leaves to choked death before someone's doorstep." Montague smiled coldly. "At least from what I've seen." He averted his gaze to look at some distant point behind Sidney's shoulder.

Silly boys with their silly notions of silly emotions, almost enough to rip into their flesh and break their brittle bones to accompaniment of a wailing piano. Somewhere to the north from where they were seated at the moment.

"Perhaps when you have lived more, you will understand what I mean." He looked back at Sidney. How very strange, such a quiet and cold boy-- still harboring utopian notions of 'love'. He needed to be salvaged. Or not. Montague thought it would be amusing to watch him suffer from that same 'love' he adores so much, once it hits him. What if he could even assist in bringing about that plague upon his pretty head?

"Anyway, shall we leave? I do not like you turning into a bluish copy of yourself - not as handsome as you should be."

[siidney]

Sidney highly doubted Montague was concerned about his health or really anything that didn't directly effect him. That seemed to be the way with Montague and people like him. Sidney had come to expect it, considering the place and people he had spent most of his young adult life around, it would almost be more unnatural to find out the older man was an upstanding citizen with a heart of gold. Sidney was certainly glad he wasn't, he would take cold and selfish over compassionate any day. "Not this time but don't let it become a habit," he said, without really meaning it. At this point Sidney didn't mind any more, it was easier to be told what to do and not to mention a total turn on.

Sidney merely looked skeptical as Montague spoke, he was sure it wasn't as bad as all that. "You're lying to me," he stated simply. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a lighter before continuing. "No one can know that without actually experiencing it them self. I think you're just bitter because you were in love with someone that either didn't love you back or you can't be with for some reason. Just because it didn't work for you it doesn't mean it's going to be that way for the rest of us. Honestly, the way you carry on. No one could ever say you don't have a penchant for melodramatics."

Sidney took a moment to light his cigarette and think things over. He wasn't interested in love that one would find in a sappy romance novel, he didn't need anyone to buy him flowers and hold his hand when he walked down the street. It would just be nice to have someone with him when he couldn't sleep at night, that unconditionally wanted to spend time with him. "Maybe I will. I guess there's no way of knowing." He shrugged, content to Let Montague have his own way.

"Yes. It's so cold, I can't believe you sat out here this long." Sidney didn't care where they went, as long as it was warm.

[morsus_et_mors]

"As you command," Montague mock-bowed to Sidney, before reaching out for emergency Muggle currency. He did not exactly care how much they were supposed to pay there- he had much more than any around the place could even imagine. So with a negligent toss of the small sack, he stood up and nodded at Sidney to follow him.

Once they left, he continued their earlier conversation with a turn of his head toward his younger companion. "Of course I lie, for is it not the only goal of my life: to delude Sidneys?" He scoffed. The other's point hit nearly the right chord, although it was to remain debatable whether it was actually a good thing for Sidney or not. Perhaps if he were very much in favour of having Montague eternally on his bad side...

"I have never loved and I do not have intentions of doing so in foreseeable future," he said with deceptive nonchalance. The nightly air was refreshing, if a bit too cold for their attire, so Montague decided the best course of action in their plight would be to deliver Sidney home, and then do so for himself. Not that he exactly knew where Sidney lived, but that did not matter for the moment. "Why would I want to spoil my life for something that does not interest me in any rational way? I have sex whenever I want and with whomever I want. Then, what else was there to love that I cannot have without having to be 'in love'?" Montague looked down at Sidney, who was shorter by quite a few inches. He was smiling, almost softly, almost older-brotherly-- if it weren't for the sharpness in his gaze. (He was, all in all, an excellent study in contrasts, this Montague.)

"And besides," at that Montague suddenly grinned warmly, as he remembered Sidney's earlier remark about his melodramatics. "Ha! Melodramatics? Moi? This stone-faced man with no heart and steely nerves is melodramatic?" He stopped in his tracks, facing the other directly now, hands wide apart. "You are so very mistaken, my dear boy, so very very very mistaken." The irony of it all was that, if only Sidney knew what Montague liked doing on hazy Sunday afternoons with razor quills and innocent victims, he would have been too passed out to even have the nerve to say so. But the very courage to say so, even if unintentionally, amused Montague beyond the expected, and he laughed out amicably. "Although, I have to say, this was a nice hit." He winked at the other one, before resuming their walk.

Sidney really was an interesting species.