In the context of their conversation, Darrow's question struck him as... well, bizarre, and the way he backtracked immediately after cemented the oddity of it. If anyone else in any other situation had asked the same question, Julian would have answered honestly and without reading into it any further. However, the abject look of regret on Darrow's face gave him pause. He couldn't not read into it.
The first explanation, of course, was that he'd decided he didn't love Zelda and just wanted to remain friends. It was the easiest assumption to make, given the cryptic comments about Zelda hating him and whatnot. But then again, Darrow had claimed it wasn't about Zelda, and he doubted Darrow would willingly admit something like that to him even if it was in the form of a philosophical, open-ended question. He leaned back in his seat and stared at Darrow, who looked like he'd rather be absorbed into the booth than face him.
He tried to come up with a second, realistic explanation, and the only one nagging at his mind was that Darrow had a woman friend, and... what? Had she made a move on him? Or did she have a man in her life that was accusing Darrow of being too close with her? Julian read enough romance novels to know that most people assumed the answer to Darrow's question was no, and Julian was tempted to give him just that in case Darrow's situation ended up coming back to hurt Zelda.
Julian was becoming increasingly aware of the silence that hung between them, and finally he decided to go with the flow and see what else he could deduce from the conversation.
"I think it's possible," he said honestly, because although most assumed not, Julian had met a number of women throughout his life that he'd describe as his "friends". Some were coworkers, old schoolmates, and people in the publishing industry who he'd never considered pursuing but whose company he enjoyed. (Of course, there were always those few who he had thought about pursuing, and he knew that, but he just - never did.) "But it's harder than friendships between people of the same sex. There's more issues to contend with: judgment from outsiders, the bounds of propriety, and, of course, possible attraction." He chose his words carefully, hoping to cover whatever scenario Darrow was currently working through.
He leaned forward again, one elbow propped up on the table and his cheek in his palm. "I assume we aren't talking in hypothetics." His voice was low and without judgment, not because he wasn't judging Darrow, but because he didn't want him to brush him off.
The first explanation, of course, was that he'd decided he didn't love Zelda and just wanted to remain friends. It was the easiest assumption to make, given the cryptic comments about Zelda hating him and whatnot. But then again, Darrow had claimed it wasn't about Zelda, and he doubted Darrow would willingly admit something like that to him even if it was in the form of a philosophical, open-ended question. He leaned back in his seat and stared at Darrow, who looked like he'd rather be absorbed into the booth than face him.
He tried to come up with a second, realistic explanation, and the only one nagging at his mind was that Darrow had a woman friend, and... what? Had she made a move on him? Or did she have a man in her life that was accusing Darrow of being too close with her? Julian read enough romance novels to know that most people assumed the answer to Darrow's question was no, and Julian was tempted to give him just that in case Darrow's situation ended up coming back to hurt Zelda.
Julian was becoming increasingly aware of the silence that hung between them, and finally he decided to go with the flow and see what else he could deduce from the conversation.
"I think it's possible," he said honestly, because although most assumed not, Julian had met a number of women throughout his life that he'd describe as his "friends". Some were coworkers, old schoolmates, and people in the publishing industry who he'd never considered pursuing but whose company he enjoyed. (Of course, there were always those few who he had thought about pursuing, and he knew that, but he just - never did.) "But it's harder than friendships between people of the same sex. There's more issues to contend with: judgment from outsiders, the bounds of propriety, and, of course, possible attraction." He chose his words carefully, hoping to cover whatever scenario Darrow was currently working through.
He leaned forward again, one elbow propped up on the table and his cheek in his palm. "I assume we aren't talking in hypothetics." His voice was low and without judgment, not because he wasn't judging Darrow, but because he didn't want him to brush him off.
— gorgeous set by MJ<3 —