( he takes the wine, with an easy smile and a nod of his head, the words: thank you, love just as simple, just as easy. if anything he invites himself to perch on the bed, even pats next to him ‐ he's not shy by nature, nor by species inclination, though certainly not something he could explain so much as understand as inimical — and lifts a shoulder in a half shrug.

swirls the wine in glass, and breathes in without bringing it closer: too much more, the alcohol will simply burn his nose. he can appreciate the vintage more without that. )

That's the question now, isn't it? I thought it sounded fierce, the bane of men, as you'll have to understand that a great number of the people inclined toward the violence I'm hired to guard against tend to be men, of whatever inclination. Also an invitation for less violent, more intimate reasons. A bane of any man so inclined toward jealousy or envy.

( boiling down to sex and fighting, but not the intermingling of both. he makes allowances when it comes to people's preferences, rises to the occasions such as they are, but it isn't his own inclination. he takes another, slower sip of wine. swallows. )

Delightful vintage. Where's you find it?