Alcuin

[whispersoflove]

Anael had been keeping an eye out for Alcuin without noticing him - until, of course, he spotted him with Hannibal, his attention drawn by the love radiating from the alcove. They were locked in a lover's embrace, for all that only one of them felt the warm sort of love Anael knew to recognise. There had been a flicker of something else for a second, coming from Hannibal, but it was gone as soon as it had sparked. It both warmed his heart and seeped cold into his bones, and he turned away to get another glass of wine from a passing waiter.

He had found Julie again in the crowd, and she was just telling him about this other party she was off to, and that he absolutely ought to come to. It was then that he spotted a flash of white in the crowd, making his way towards the exit, and he leaned in to kiss Julie's cheek, and gave her his warmest apologies, but there was a friend here that he had yet to catch, and she should make the most of her night. He would catch up with her if he could, but otherwise, she truly ought to seize the day.

Not that she needed him to tell her that.

He caught up with Alcuin, dressed in a white suit as Hannibal had described, the better to make him look... well, angelic, Anael supposed humans would call him. "Alcuin," he greeted him warmly, assuming that the mask on his features would not stop the young man from recognising him, as it had not stopped Hannibal. "Tell me you aren't on your way out already. I've been looking for you."

Comments

[alcuin]

Alcuin lit up when he saw Anael. "Oh, I didn't know you were here! But I... yes, I was heading out, actually. I just found myself a bit tired."

[whispersoflove]

"Would you like some company on your way home?" Anael offered, without thinking anything of it. "I'd been looking forward to finding you. But I understand if you'd rather be on your own." He did not truly know what physical tiredness was, and could not imagine how Alcuin currently felt.

[alcuin]

"Oh," said Alcuin, and then smiled at him. "Actually yes, I'd like that very much. If I'm not pulling you away from the party before you were ready?"

[whispersoflove]

"Oh, no," Anael assured him with a smile. Julie was on her way somewhere else, and he had so been looking forward to spending more time with Alcuin. "I'd much rather spend some time with you."

[alcuin]

Alcuin looked pleased and a little surprised at that. "Really? That... makes me feel very good, Hani. I was just telling Hannibal that I was feeling lonely here."

[whispersoflove]

Despite the mention of Hannibal, Anael's smile remained no less genuine. "Then it is my fault for not having found you sooner. Come on," he offered, touching his hand to Alcuin's shoulder in an encouraging gesture, so that they might get out of the restaurant, and out into the street.

[alcuin]

Alcuin followed along with him happily. "I'm glad you found me," he said. "I'd been hoping to see you again."

[whispersoflove]

"I will try and find you," Anael told him honestly, "more regularly, if you like. And, hopefully, be better at it than I was tonight," he added with a slightly sheepish smile.

[alcuin]

"I'd like that very much," Alcuin said honestly. "I have so few friends my own age." And he was very fond of Hani; he was just so nice.

[whispersoflove]

They kept saying that, both him and Hannibal. At first, it would have made Anael smile. By now, no, there was only gentle curiosity sparked by that statement. "Is that so terrible? Having friends of different ages?"

[alcuin]

"Oh, it isn't that," Alcuin said with a little smile. "I just... I don't know, I've been trying to be more normal, I guess. So I should have friends who are my own age too, right?"

[whispersoflove]

"I don't - really know about normal," Anael stated, slightly apologetically.

[alcuin]

"Oh, we're a good pair then," Alcuin said with a little laugh. "Here, let's get a taxi. And you can come in for a drink if you like."

[whispersoflove]

"Oh," Anael smiled. He had not taken a taxi in decades. "That would be lovely."

They managed to flag down a black cab, and soon enough they were on their way to Alcuin's home, safely ensconced in the back.

"Did you have a good evening, Alcuin?" Anael asked, looking over at his friend.

[alcuin]

"Oh, well..." Alcuin hesitated, not sure if he should be be honest, but Hannibal certainly wouldn't begrudge him talking to someone, would he?

"Sometimes it can be a little difficult to be at events like this with Hannibal, because I don't want to be too... open, with our relationship."

[whispersoflove]

"So you have a relationship," Anael echoed, his expression one of open curiosity. Of course, he had seen the kiss, but he thought that 'relationship' entailed more than simple physical intimacy, but a certain... commitment.

[alcuin]

"Well, I mean..." Alcuin had already told Hani about his feelings for Hannibal, and that they were together in a sense. So after a moment he said, "He told me he loves me."

[whispersoflove]

Anael frowned slightly; he could not help it, for having felt no such warmth from Hannibal. "That's... unexpected." Both because of what he had felt, and from what Alcuin had told him, before.

[alcuin]

A brief expression of surprise and a touch of hurt flashed across Alcuin's face. "I suppose it was, a bit."

[whispersoflove]

"You've said he didn't feel the same way about you," Anael amended, to take the edge off of his remark. He could hardly tell Alcuin what he knew about Hannibal.

[alcuin]

"And I was wrong," Alcuin said quietly. "I think... perhaps he was surprised himself. It seemed difficult for him to admit."

[whispersoflove]

"So you are happy in love again," Anael stated hopefully, despite his own unease.

[alcuin]

"I wasn't not before," Alcuin said with a little smile. "But I am happy, yes. And as for what I was feeling tonight... loving someone does not mean that you're never lonely."

[whispersoflove]

"True," Anael replied, with a soft, echoing smile. "On both counts."

He ought not to meddle. These things never ended well, when he did. He had learned that lesson a long time ago.

[alcuin]

"Though." Alcuin sighed, a little. "I was a bit envious when I saw him dancing with other people. Not jealous - I don't mind even mind if he's intimate with someone else, I don't think it takes away from what he feels for me. But envious of their position because I would like to be more public in my affection for him."