"Exactly," Emrys agreed, somewhat gratified to have his opinion confirmed from an independent source, even if the subject was rather depressing. Maybe this had been part of why he'd asked Pettigrew here in the first place. Ostensibly it had been because Pettigrew was the only person who came to mind who might possibly have any experience admitting to a woman that he sometimes slept with men, but perhaps part of it had been this: Pettigrew embodied so many of his insecurities on the subject. That wasn't a very charitable thing to think, particularly about someone he'd spent considerable time trying to seduce. It occurred to him, not for the first time, that airing his personal problems in an opium den in the middle of the day was a supremely unflattering thing to do. Hopefully Pettigrew only thought him ridiculous and wasn't actively uncomfortable.

"You've got me, though. That's a bit of an escape," he pointed out, tone aiming for levity. "Or it would be, if you ever visited."

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Lou made this! <3

Arthur grinned at Selwyn, happy for the excuse into humor. "If you're going to get married, I ought to start visiting more often," he said, raising his glass in Selwyn's direction, "Before there's a person to avoid, that is." Really, Art wasn't sure how long he would keep up this affair — he kept surprising himself by continuing it — but if the logistics became more annoying than the sex was worth, he would probably stop just because of that.

Sort of a depressing reason to end an affair, especially when he had a wife to think about, but sometimes things couldn't be helped.

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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

"You really should," Emrys agreed, purposefully not dwelling on the issue of someone to avoid. "I'm an excellent host. There's much more on offer than just the sex," he teased. He had been thinking periodically about nudging things into the direction of more than just sex with Pettigrew — not towards anything serious, of course, but something more fun and flirtatious and interesting — but he hadn't happened on the right opportunity. When they mostly saw each other at parties where half the guests were already messily drunk, the options were rather limited. Men could be particular about that sort of thing, too, so he wasn't really sure whether or not Pettigrew was interested.

"Though of course," he continued with a wolfish smirk, "The sex is excellent, too."

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

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Lou made this! <3

Arthur was more comfortable trying to distract Selwyn by flirting with him than he was offering marital advice, and so this was easy, at least in comparison. So of course he grinned back at Selwyn, especially because the sex was excellent. "And what other things would be on the menu?" Art asked, quirking an eyebrow at Selwyn — even if this was easier, this question was dangerous, because incorporating other things into his whatever with Selwyn was certainly even worse than just having sex with him.

But the thought was appealing.

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set by MJ <3

Emrys wasn't sure whether the question was asked sincerely or only because it was the easy response when one was being flirtatious, and therefore didn't know exactly how to respond right away. He felt like he wanted to be touching Pettigrew when he responded in any case, but their current seating arrangement made it inconvenient. He opted to refresh his glass of wine, even though it wasn't empty yet. He walked behind Pettigrew's chair to do it, which gave him an excuse to trail his hand along the top of the other man's shoulder.

"I'm a fair masseuse," he began in a playfully seductive tone. "I usually have better drugs on hand than a place like this. And —" This was a bit of a risk; Emrys had been thinking about how to bring this up for quite a while and hadn't settled on a good way to do it, but had the sense that bringing it up the wrong way might close that door forever. On the other hand, this was hardly riskier than telling Angelica he slept with men, and he'd done that less than twelve hours ago. "— I've been thinking someone ought to paint you."

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Lou made this! <3

Art tilted his head back so he could better look at Selwyn behind him; he grinned at the other man. The grin faded a bit at Selwyn's suggestion, although the shadow of a smile remained. Art quirked his eyebrows upwards. He wasn't sure what to think; no one had ever asked him something like that before. "Am I aesthetically pleasing, then?" he asked, half in jest — it was as close as one could get to why without exposing the vulnerability inherent in actually asking why.

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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 caught the shift of Pettigrew's expression and internally winced — one step too far, probably. This was edging past the limits of Pettigrew's comfort zone, at least for the moment, and while that didn't mean he necessarily had to give up on the idea entirely it did mean he needed to follow the other man's lead for the next few moments. Half-smile, make light of it, play it off as a joke. Emrys could handle that.

"Mm." He bent down to kiss the edge of Pettigrew's mouth, where he was still sort of smiling. When he pulled back it was only midway, so that he was still leaning over Pettigrew's shoulder and could comfortably reach down to rub a hand over his shoulder as he continued. "Particularly when you're covered in sweat."

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Lou made this! <3

Arthur smiled into the kiss — this was the first time the conversation had matched the cadence he was used to. "Mm," Arthur hummed. No one had painted him before, although he'd been photographed more than he cared to remember, sometimes without his permission. He kept his head tilted back. "You're handsome yourself," he added.

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set by MJ <3