Art knew he should leave, but he didn’t. He could leave now and take matters into his own hands back in the London boarding house, and then he could think back on this as the moment he had almost done something terrible. The thing was: he had always been bad at pulling out of bad decisions even when he could see them coming.

In the interim he talked to other guests, managed not to flirt too heavily with any of them, and finished the drink Selwyn had gotten him. He kept catching Selwyn looking at him. It took Art an almost embarrassingly long time to realize that the reason he kept feeling like he was catching Selwyn looking at him was that he kept looking at Selwyn.

Just leave he told himself, and didn’t. Even more of the clothes on the waitstaff were invisible now, giving Art another magnetic thing to try to avoid looking at. Just leave. He didn’t. He was nervous and radiating it, never mind that he tried never to radiate nervousness. The next drink he got was mostly a prop. He still didn’t leave. He kept thinking about the smell of Selwyn’s cologne.

Some people left, eventually — or maybe they had fled to some of the other rooms of the house. So eventually Art found near Selwyn again, and instead of leaving he walked towards the other man, and instead of offering excuses he said, ”Are you having fun, Mr. Selwyn?”

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   Emrys Selwyn

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set by MJ <3

The conversation with Pettigrew earlier had put an extra spring in his step as he'd gone through the rounds, socializing and supervising. He hadn't expected to have a chance to steal away at this party, and now he had something to look forward to. A party at his own home where he got to seduce someone, and he didn't even have up arrange for some sort of cover story to slip away from the guests. This was better than Christmas.

And Pettigrew kept looking, which was stoking that familiar anticipation in his chest. One might think this game of cat and mouse would lose its appeal, after so many years of playing it out with various partners, but it never did. Emrys lived for this. He was just beginning to wonder how much longer he could put off approaching the other man — the crowd was beginning to thin — when there he was, all wiry muscles and soft features and practically radiating tension.

Emrys' eyes lit up, and he let them drift over Pettigrew in a terribly unsubtle way. He'd been expecting to get Pettigrew alone sooner or later, but this was a pleasant surprise, being approached. There were still a few unknown variables in this equation, including how experienced Pettigrew would be with this sort of thing, how confident he would be with articulating what he wanted, and how reluctant he would be to actually commit. Sometimes these things fizzled out, even after a look in the eyes like that. If Pettigrew was here, though, asking whether or not Emrys was having fun, that tipped the scales in his favor. Not too inexperienced, not too reluctant.

"Not as much fun as I could be having," Emrys admitted with a cocky smile. He shifted his weight and moved his glass to his other hand. He glanced towards Pettigrew's wrist and wondered how difficult it would be to find an excuse to wrap his fingers around it, staking a claim before they'd even left the party proper. "But I thought I was going to be the one checking on you."

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Lou made this! <3

Selwyn was looking at him, really looking at him, and Art felt his stomach drop with a combination of excitement and dread. Just leave, he thought again. This party felt like it was occurring outside of his life but it really wasn’t, he was still Arthur Pettigrew, he was still married, and this — this was not something he could even begin to justify, if he went through with it.

(He had sort of forgotten that he hadn’t actually gone through with it yet.)

Art let his gaze wander over Selwyn, really taking him in, and swallowed. He was still carrying a lot of tension in his shoulders, but the look in his eyes was — a little hungry.

He grinned sheepishly at Selwyn. “I’ve never been known for my patience,” Art admitted.

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   Emrys Selwyn

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set by MJ <3

Emrys was reminded suddenly of their conversation in Ester's rooms. Too slow a payout, investing. Gambling you know whether you've got it right away. A marked difference between them, then; Emrys had always been patient, at least when it mattered. Patient when it came to the things he really wanted. Pettigrew wanted a rush of instant gratification; wanted to know right away whether he'd gotten what he was looking for. Well, Emrys could play that way.

He took half a step forward and wrapped his fingers around Pettigrew's wrist, tugging him gently towards the nearest exit. "Then let's stop playing around," he suggested, voice low. He could have kissed Pettigrew right here in the middle of the party, if he'd wanted to — this was the sort of crowd who wouldn't mind, and there were a few other couples who had been at least that indiscreet already tonight — but he'd always found such things too vulgar for his tastes. He wanted his partner guessing right up until the last minute, since he'd been so careful to cultivate this aura of mystique. He wanted them begging for it by the time they were finally together, if not with words than with looks.

There was a room on the bottom floor, hardly a dozen feet from the main party area, which Emrys knew was empty. He'd locked it before the party started, and had the key in his pocket — a sort of insurance policy, in case anything should come up that needed an empty room. A holding area for a hysterical debutante who had tagged along at the side of someone indiscreet and needed to be drugged before she could leave, maybe. A room to dump someone in without worrying about them if anyone made a drunken scene of themselves and then showed signs they were going to pass out in the middle of the party. A room, in short, to contain anything that might had disrupted Emrys' vision for the night. It hadn't been used so far, and he had a much better use in mind for it now.

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Lou made this! <3

Arthur felt another jolt of excitement-dread as Selwyn’s hand closed around his wrist. This was the point where things would shift, he knew — he could leave now and it would still be like nothing had ever happened. He would be just another man who almost cheated on his wife. There were plenty of men who almost cheated on their wives and didn’t. He could leave now and still be — not a good person, he had passed that point a while ago, but an alright person. Someone he could live with.

He let himself be led out of the main room of the party. As soon as they were out of the main room, Art had an impulse to push Selwyn against the hallway wall and kiss him — guilt over Desdemona quelled it, but not enough to have him pulling away. Instead he was hovering close to Selwyn, closer than he would have stood under other circumstances, close enough to catch the smell of his cologne again.

”Where are you taking me?” Art asked, tone a little playful — in a rich person big country house like this one, Selwyn could be leading him anywhere, but he had a suspicion as to the type of room. He knew where he would be leading Selwyn, if this was his house — if he was the sort of person who did this regularly. (He wasn’t supposed to be the sort of person who did this at all. He wasn’t unfaithful. He’d flirted with Valerian but that had been habit — had that just been habit? had it meant something? — but if he touched Selwyn, actually touched him, then he was the sort of person who would be unfaithful.) 

(Except — if he wasn’t an unfaithful person he would have backed out a while ago, right?)

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set by MJ <3

As if he didn't know. The unknown variables in this equation were shrinking with each passing moment, with every word out of Pettigrew's mouth. His tone wasn't nervous or embarrassed, wasn't full of trepidation. It didn't sound like he was having any second thoughts, with that playful quality his words had, which meant this probably wasn't his first time doing something like this. Emrys was surprised, but pleasantly so. He'd made all the wrong assumptions about him, it seemed, but he was correcting them now.

"Wherever you like, darling," he said suggestively. His hand was still on Pettigrew's wrist, and he pulled the other man's arm around his waist as he turned his attention to unlocking the door, almost as though he was afraid if he dropped the contact that Pettigrew might drift off back to the party. There was no chance of that, of course — everything he wanted lay ahead.

Emrys hadn't had much to drink tonight (he hadn't even finished the drink he'd poured for himself and Pettigrew earlier, but had flirtatiously handed it off at the halfway mark to a middle-aged woman) so his hands were sure in the lock. Click, and the door swung open. Before it had even finished its arc Emrys had his hand on Pettigrew's arm again, pulling him into the room. It was a bedroom, of course — a lavish bedroom, because Emrys didn't have any other kind — but the type of room didn't matter much at the moment. As soon as they'd gotten far enough inside to close the door Emrys was pushing it closed, and then he was pushing Pettigrew, too, so that the man's shoulders hit the wood only an fraction of a second after it clicked back into place. Emrys followed him in the same fluid motion, his hands on Pettigrew's shoulders, one foot edging just to the other side of Pettigrew's feet, his hip up against his — but his lips hovered just off of Pettigrew's, inviting him to start the kiss and set the tone.

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Lou made this! <3

A pleased little exhale escaped him as Selwyn pressed him against the door, and one of Art's hands moved to the outside of Selwyn's hip before he was even thinking about it.

This was, Art knew, the last chance he really had to back out of things. This wasn't the sort of thing he would be able to rationalize, if anyone asked him about it — he'd been faithful to Dez for years, there was nothing in his head making him do this, people who were unfaithful were really just hurtful to their spouses. He was better than that. He should be — had been — better than that. This wasn't even habit-flirting, like with Harriet Prewett (bad, but who could blame him) or Valerian (bad, but just letters.)

Dez loved him.

He wished that Selwyn had just kissed him, had taken this beat of having to decide away from him. Arthur couldn't pretend he wasn't involved here.

Dez loved him, but — they had not touched each other for months, and even when they had she was not pushing him against doors. A decade ago he would not have let time pass at all, would have just gone for it — and maybe that was what decided him, because he moved his other hand to the lapel of Selwyn's jacket, tugging him closer, and closed the space between their lips.

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The following 1 user Likes Arthur Pettigrew's post:1 user Likes Arthur Pettigrew's post
   Angelica Selwyn

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set by MJ <3

There was a longer pause that Emrys would have anticipated, given that Pettigrew had approached him back at the party, and given that he'd been teasing a moment earlier. He'd said he wasn't patient, but he'd paused — but there wasn't really enough time to think about it before things started up again. Pettigrew's mouth was just what he'd been hoping it would be, warm and wet and inviting. Pettigrew was kissing him as though he were a drowning man desperate for air, which probably had more to do with Pettigrew than it did with Emrys, but nevermind that. He hadn't brought Pettigrew here to continue dissecting him, trying to figure out his life story and how the pieces fit together — he'd brought him here to fuck him. He could pretend this desperation had something to do with him and feel flattered.

Emrys returned the kiss and kept Pettigrew pinned to the door with the pressure from his hips, while his hands moved to work through the layers of clothing between him and the other man's chest. He'd never slept with a Quidditch player before. He wondered how the muscles there compared to other types of sportsmen. How delicious that he would soon find out.

"How do you want to do this?" he asked breathlessly when he finally left off kissing Pettigrew, after working through the full set of his shirt buttons. One hand drifted to the top of Pettigrew's belt buckle, fingertips tracing the skin below his navel. Usually in these sorts of situations Emrys asked is this your first time doing this? so that he could adjust his level of support and coaching appropriately, but — the answer to that question was, he had decided, pretty obviously no.

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   Arthur Pettigrew

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Lou made this! <3

It was like Art pushed all his nervous desperate energy into the kiss. His hands wandered over Selwyn’s hips and shoulders and back, and the other man was halfway through Art’s shirt buttons when he remembered that, oh, he should undo Selwyn’s buttons too. His fingers fumbled and caught as he worked through them — Art’s motions were more graceless than he remembered.

Oh, he was out of practice. He hadn’t had sex with anyone since before Desdemona’s miscarriage, and he hadn’t had sex with a man — or like this, in a flurry of motion in a back room — for even longer. He wasn’t used to this anymore. And now that he was in it it was easy to lose his second thoughts in bursts of physical feelings, easy to simplify the universe to the door at his back and Selwyn’s hips against him and to putting everything into kissing him. 

Selwyn was asking how he wanted to do this and doing something intoxicating with his fingertips. Art traced a line with his thumb down Selwyn’s chest where he’d gotten the other man’s buttons undone. He was out of practice, but he didn’t think Selwyn was — he wasn’t sure if that made this nerve wracking or more appealing. Art’s hips rocked forward. ”Fuck me,” he said softly, undoing another of Selwyn’s buttons, ”I want you to fuck me.”

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The following 1 user Likes Arthur Pettigrew's post:1 user Likes Arthur Pettigrew's post
   Emrys Selwyn

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set by MJ <3

Emrys' eyebrows shot up before he could stop them. Quite the response from a man that he'd assumed was straight a few hours ago, but not one Emrys was complaining about at all. He didn't let himself be on the receiving end with someone he didn't know well, and it was always mildly shocking to him when he found someone who didn't mind, or even seemed to get off on letting themselves be that vulnerable spontaneously. Mildly shocking, but decidedly arousing. He might have obliged Pettigrew right there against the door if they'd been less dressed, and if he'd had a lubricant more readily at hand. The nearest bottle was in the bedside table, though, and at that point they might as well continue towards the bed.

"Gladly," he agreed. He leaned in to kiss Pettigrew's neck as he moved to undo his belt. That done, Emrys pulled him off the door and shoved him in the direction of the bed (a little roughly, but he was a professional athlete; presumably he was quick enough on his feet to keep his balance).

Emrys smiled at Pettigrew as he moved towards the nightstand, simultaneously working through the rest of the buttons and discarding his shirt and jacket. "You keep surprising me, Pettigrew," he said. "In the most delightful ways."

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   Arthur Pettigrew

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Lou made this! <3

Art grinned at the shove, wavering on his feet but keeping his balance. He shed his jacket and his unbuttoned shirt, and stepped out of his shoes and trousers. Immediately, Art felt exposed — this was another way he was out of practice, he hadn't been naked somewhere this well-lit for sex in ages, and he was consciously trying not to look like he was, suddenly, nervous.

He grinned back at Selwyn. "Good," he said. I keep surprising myself, Art thought, although he was — decidedly less delighted by the ways he kept surprising himself this evening. He ignored this.

Selwyn was more toned than Art would have guessed, although he also hadn't been thinking about getting the other man naked until partway through the party. He stepped towards Selwyn and the nightstand, and pressed an open-mouthed kiss to the other man's shoulder. "You're surprising, too. But I think you know that."

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set by MJ <3

Emrys chuckled at the remark, and reached one hand over his shoulder to touch Pettigrew's briefly to confirm that he liked where Pettigrew had his hand and his mouth. "I should hope so," he muttered, as he found the bottle he was looking for and tossed it onto the bed. It wouldn't do to have a reputation as the sort of person who prowled their parties looking for men he could seduce. That was the whole point of this wife-hunt he didn't want to be engaged in, continuing to distract from the reality of him. Smoke and mirrors, so that no one saw the sleight of hand beneath.

Emrys slipped his own belt off, then slid his body around beneath Pettigrew's kiss so that he was facing the man once again. He took a moment to run his hands over Pettigrew's chest — muscular, indeed, how delightful — while he kissed his neck again. After a few seconds one hand drifted down to Pettigrew's exposed cock, wrapping one hand around it and stroking appreciatively. Arousal was arousing in and of itself, he had always found. Maybe that was just his vanity showing its colors, but he loved seeing (or better, feeling) the effects he could have on someone else's body.

But Pettigrew had said he wasn't a patient man, and he'd already said I want you to fuck me, so maybe it was time to stop dawdling. Letting go of Pettigrew and moving his hands to the man's hips, Emrys pushed him down onto the edge of the bed. He kissed him on the mouth again, deeply, then pushed his shoulders back so that he was laying down. Emrys moved to his knees briefly and gave Pettigrew a mischievous, flirtatious look from between his legs. He had always found the preparation for anal intercourse sort of inherently unsexy, for all that it was necessary for both of their comfort, and this was one of the tricks he'd picked up to keep the mood alive: he kissed Pettigrew's thigh once, twice, then briefly took him into his mouth while his hands were busy with the bottle of lubrication.

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Lou made this! <3

Art was consciously trying not to compare this to his intimacy with his wife, because guilt was — not a turn-on — but for a second as Selwyn stroked him all he could think was she would never do this.

The thought left him almost as soon as it arrived, because Selwyn was pushing him onto the bed and it was entirely too easy to just focus on the man in front of him. He'd given up so much of his control in this situation on purpose, it was entirely arousing, and Selwyn very clearly knew what he was doing and that was arousing too.

"Ohh," Art breathed, reaching one hand up to tangle his fingers in Selwyn's hair. The nervousness that had ebbed and flowed ever since he realized he was out of practice was almost entirely gone — the world had effectively narrowed to this party, this bed, and Selwyn's mouth on him. He ran his other hand over Selwyn's shoulder. This moment of preparation was necessary for this to be good, but it also had Art's impatience renewed. And — he wasn't sure if Selwyn would find this arousing or not, some people didn't, but he'd seemed to like it when Art asked him to fuck him so — "Please."

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   Emrys Selwyn

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set by MJ <3

Oh, that was certainly attractive. Again, maybe just his vanity, but the rush he felt when one of his lovers started to beg really couldn't be paralleled. Emrys couldn't get his trousers off fast enough and left them bagged around one ankle as he stood and got himself into the right position, one hand wrapped around Pettigrew's thigh. "Since you asked so nicely," he teased, then pushed his way inside. He stopped just a fraction of a second once he was in, letting Pettigrew adjust to him and giving him a window to protest if anything was uncomfortable. When he heard no complaints he started fucking him properly, gently at first but gaining speed and force until the headboard started banging roughly against the wall in time with his thrusts. Well, no one in the next room was going to be shocked, at least; everyone was here for the same thing tonight.

By the time he was finished Pettigrew's leg had worked its way up to his shoulder. Emrys lingered inside the other man and reached up to pat his thigh appreciatively, with the same air he might use to pat his horse's neck after a long ride before dismounting and handing him off to a servant to be tended to. He took a second to catch his breath, then withdrew. He retrieved a hand towel from the same bedside table and tossed it lightly onto Pettigrew's stomach, for whenever he was ready to clean himself up, then he turned and dramatically flopped down onto the bed, arms stretched out above him.

"Delightful," he murmured. "Come back anytime."

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   Angelica Selwyn

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Lou made this! <3

He wasn't really thinking about anything in more than a flash of feeling until he finished with Selwyn still fucking him, and even then Art was mostly thinking about the sound of the headboard and running his hands up and down the other man's body. It was somewhere in this window that he grasped it, oh — maybe it was as much about intimacy as it was about sex.

Or maybe it was just about sex; it wasn't particularly intimate, and Art certainly didn't feel warm and fuzzy about Selwyn, just attracted to him. He still wasn't sure what to make of his choices here when Selwyn finished and they were done. And at what point would Art cross the line from being a person who made mistakes to being a person who just hurt the people who cared about him? Had he already crossed it?

None of this consideration showed on his face; he stretched out his limbs when Selwyn flopped onto the bed next to him, like he was stretching after a lengthy practice to try and gauge where he'd be sore later. "Maybe I will," Art said with a grin, grabbing the towel to clean himself. If he ignored everything else — and he was trying and mostly succeeding at ignoring everything else — then at the very least, it had been good.

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set by MJ <3

There were a myriad of ways this sort of thing could get messy, both before or after the event itself. Sometimes men could get insecure about themselves and either start blustering aggressively or breaking down — particularly if they were new to this sort of thing, and particularly if they'd been on the receiving end and enjoyed it. Sometimes married people could have a crisis of conscious when they started coming to terms with what they'd done. Sometimes people (mostly women) could become clingy and overly sentimental after sex, which was always awkward to navigate. Luckily, Pettigrew didn't seem to be spinning down any of those rabbit holes. Maybe I will was about as good of a response as Emrys could have hoped for, given the circumstances and how the evening had unfolded.

He edged a little closer to Pettigrew on the bed and reached over to run the backs of his fingers over the muscles in Pettigrew's upper arm. Emrys hoped he did come back. There was a lot of potential here that they hadn't explored, he felt — things that a strong, flexible man might be able to do that not every lover could.

"Maybe," he repeated in a teasing tone, with a smile that was a little lopsided and decidedly less guarded than his usual expression. "If there's anything I can do to turn that maybe to a yes I hope you'll let me know," he said, before leaning over to kiss Pettigrew again. When he finished that, he moved to prop himself up on his elbows. Affecting a brisk tone but obviously still teasing, he continued, "I've a reputation to uphold as a good host, you know. I'd hate to think any of my guests came and went without fully enjoying themselves." (The double entendre of came and went was not lost on him).

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Lou made this! <3