Hyde Park,
Around 8PM

Aria, the witch, was out and about, celebrating the most dreadful holiday of the year in her own specific little way, taking the night clubs by assault and for Circe knew what incredibly unbelievable reason, Éloi agreed to take Cyril over the night. 'You're not going anywhere tonight, so you might as well take care of him' were Aria's sole words regarding the matter, and knowing his cousin was a force to be reckoned with, he'd reluctantly agreed. And, while Cyril proved to be a rather stoic pet - if anyone could call a pet such - the young Desrosiers was abysmal at caring for animals.

So, here was one pale skinned and delicate boned aristocrat, walking through Hyde Park, on the evening of Valentine's with a fennec fox following in his steps. To say he made an absolutely ridiculous image, in his long velvet coat, long blonde hair blowing in the wind and the aura of pure contempt flowing from him, was a severe understatement. And yet, his evening wasn't even at his worst. One moment, Cyril was calmly walking alongside him, the next he was dashing off ahead of him, leash slipping from between his fingers and Éloi was left stunned in place, not exactly knowing what had exactly happened.

"Ah, merde" he exclaimed through clenched teeth, rolling his eyes as he set to run after the fox. It wasn't enough that he was made to visit a public space, a park nonetheless, now he had to chase down Arianne's ridiculous pet? Éloi couldn't even remember the last time he'd had to run anywhere, for any reason whatsoever. "Cyril! Allons donc" he started shouting in a threatening, annoyed voice as he was attempting to make out the white-beige animal in the barely lit park. Seeing as he had absolutely no luck spotting the fox, he stopped in the middle of the road to catch his breath, leaning  down with his hands on his knees.

"Je m'en fous" he eventually gave up, raising his hands in an exasperated gesture. And just as he was about to start thinking of excuses he could present Arianne, and still hope to keep all his limbs attached to his body, he noticed a bushy beige tail with a black tip on an alley quite ahead, peeking from behind a bush. He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and quickly made his way over there. It was only when he rounded the corner that he realized Cyril had... acquainted himself with—well, a tantalizingly stunning specimen of the human race. He supposed, at least, because Éloi was certain the man was a wizard, but he was so incredibly beautiful he might as well be a Veela.

He hadn't realized it, but his breath caught in his throat, but he soon remembered that he was Éloi Desrosiers, and he couldn't possibly just stare in awe and not take advantage of the opportunity. Opportunity, which, surprisingly was kindly presented to him by the very animal he was cursing just a few minutes ago, and the blond suddenly had all the respect for Cyril and his dear cousin, of course. He cleared his throat and walked closer to the two, fabricating a perfectly worried expression. "Pardonnez-moi—Ah, I am truly very sorry" he quickly changed languages, smiling tightly as an excuse "And very thankful, kind monsieur, I was worried he was lost forever" he pointed at the fox, that was now seated at the man's feet, as if he wasn't the cause of this entire debacle. "My cousin would've had my head mounted on her bedroom wall" he muttered with an exaggerated sigh.

"Cyril, stop bothering the poor man" he said, glaring at the fox that was completely ignoring him. He shook his head disapprovingly and took a few more steps until he was face to face with the alluring man. He flashed him a perfectly polite smile, and if his eyes might've raked over him from head to toe with a hungry sort of glitter in them... well, who could blame him? "Éloi Desrosiers" he said extending his hand. "You have truly made me favor, Monsieur. Is there any way I could ever repay you" he asked musingly, with only a hint of fevered interest in his voice.

Nightingale had gone quietly into the cool evening air, with only his cloak and a lantern to light the path between his flat and the park. His entire being hurt, the way that only a lover’s quarrel could hold him in contempt, but the cold evening air did it’s best to soothe away the disaster of the past few weeks. With his heart heavy, and his very soul feeling as though it was frozen beneath the park’s fountain water Gale felt as though he had been walking for hours. One by one the hours passed and the path beneath his feet felt old and stale, yet he couldn’t quite go home yet. He couldn’t face the empty sheets, the empty rooms and empty promises.


The downtown lights had once been a comfort, the neon signs and stale smell of cigarettes reminded him of his youth where tongues were as loose at the noose around his neck, but tonight he’d found little that pleased him in the concrete jungle of the muggle world. He longed for trees, the way the crystal ice that formed on bare branches and illuminated his path with the lantern that once hung on the end of the caravan he called home. The bit of fallen snow crunched under his feet, and for a moment if he closed his eyes Gale could pretend that he was home again.

Cyril! Allons donc! … Je m’en fous

The voice carried over the winter night like a song, even with the sound of the frustrations at the vengeful words. It sounded familiar by way of tone, spoken out of anger and least of all spite he had to smile a little at the other’s frustration only because it sounded as though the end was coming, but just as he started down the trail again in search of how he could be of assistance Gale was hit head on with a rather beautiful little creature. He laughed with the fox, happy to see it just as much as the animal seemed to be with him.

A mixture of French and English followed behind, and though Gale could easily follow both he found that neither of his native languages seemed to work on his lips. The man was a flurry of excitement, desperation and gratitude; yet all Gale could think about was how absolutely beautiful he was, and how he would never be able to form a complete sentence while standing here before him.

Cyril, stop bothering the poor man, Gale didn’t mind, and he should have said so but instead all he could do was feel the redness on his skin, and hoped that it could be mistaken for the cold.

Éloi Desrosiers

The name, he knew the name, he knew it well. He missed having Arianne in the castle, she brought life to the cold halls when the students all went to bed, and gave him something to stare at out of envy when they were in the dining hall. He cherished their dance, thought about it often, and in many ways wanted nothing more than to find her again and beg her return to Hogwarts. This man...he had to be related, and now that Gale had a topic to relate upon he parted his lips to speak a little but as soon as Éloi  said his next bit his mouth closed to bite the inside of his cheeks to try and fight back a deeper blush. He was totally just checked out, or so he thought. And it was enough to nearly have him want to melt on the ground just to be away from it all-- Gale was never very good at this whole thing. Had he not spilt a drink on Chaz they would have never made it this far.

“Oh...” He realized it was his turn to talk, “Gale,” he took the other man’s hand and gave it a firm shake, “A-and, there isn’t any need to repay me.” Gale was staring, but he couldn’t help it. He felt starstruck, as if this man was a dream come to life. Idle hands went to pet the fox, who thumped it’s tail as if he knew Gale well.

“But you are right...” He said with a small smirk forming over his pale lips, “Arianne would have your head mounted.” And what a waste that would have been.

Seeing as the man hadn't yet let go of his hand, Éloi took the opportunity to softly and subtly draw circles in his palm and further to his wrist with the pads of his fingers, still smiling serenely at the man. "Well, Gale, it's an absolute pleasure to make your acquaintance" he drawled absent-mindedly, eyes firmly focused on his lips as the man continued to talk, politely reassuring him there was no need to be recompensed, but Éloi couldn't have that.

"No, monsieur, I insist" he said in faux-seriousness, a little bit of worry in his features. "You have actually saved my life, Gale. I cannot possibly let such a feat go unrewarded. You name it and it's yours" this time, he actually did smirk a little predatory. He felt discomfort when his hand left his in favor of petting Cyril, of whom he had completely forgotten for a few seconds. He scowled at the fox, when he was sure Gale wasn't watching.

"Oh" he asked intrigued, having him say he was right, while the blond did not actually know what he was right about. Despite the fact that he was always right. He only looked surprised for all of five seconds, before he finally made the connection in his mind and his face brightened visibly with a radiant smile. "Gale as in Nightingale, I take it?" he asked musingly, looking downwards to hide a little chuckle, only to come back to watch him intently with a quirked eyebrow. "Well, well, what a small world. Arianne has been speaking—" he paused for a second, smirking ever so impishly "fondly of you. And yes. Yes, she would... She actually would" he frowned, shaking his head at his harpy of a cousin.

"With this new development, I must once again insist... There must be a way to repay you. And we couldn't possible miss such an opportunity. Coincidences shouldn't be tread lightly" he smiled radiantly, tilting his head to get a better look at him.

Gale was a little overwhelmed by the whole thing, and felt the heat on his face despite the cold. It warmed him to think of what Arianne would be saying, and the forward nature of this man had his heart skipping a few beats in his chest. He should have just said his good-byes and ran. There were so many couples out tonight that he hardly had the chance to even try to recover from he and Chester's latest fight. It was the weekend of Valentine's Day and he should have been trying to make amends with his lover, but instead...instead here he was on a winter walkway with probably one of the most beautiful beings he'd ever laid eyes on.

"Oh, has she?" Gale looked up from the ground that he was staring at with another blush, "I do miss her very much around the castle. It's not the same." He could hardly believe how weak his words sounded, and tried his best to get himself together. He wasn't that shy little boy anymore, not after the war. No, now he was a man in love, a grown adult with a big boy job, and children who depended on him.

"With this new development, I must once again insist... There must be a way to repay you. And we couldn't possible miss such an opportunity. Coincidences shouldn't be tread lightly"

When had he started shaking? A nervous hand came to tuck a few strands of his silver hair behind his ear and he looked around a moment for an easy way out. Perhaps if he just made an excuse saying he was busy that he had things to do. Perhaps then, but he doubted he would get away that fast, and frankly looking at the Éloi how could you even want to?

"A-actually," He started straightening his spine and catching the other man's eye with his one, "There is an ice skating pond right around the corner. The muggles dress it up for Christmas, but it's not as populated now. I've always wanted to try. And I am afraid I will have to insist that it's the only sort of repayment I shall take." Without giving Éloi any sort of chance to say no, Gale offered his arm.

The blonde would make sure to notify his cousin in regards to being missed at Hogwarts, at which Arianne would probably throw him a rather unimpressed look and go about her business as usual. She still referred to her short period at the school as by far the most atrocious faux pas of my life. Éloi couldn't even begin to imagine how she'd lasted so long in the castle... Sure there were 7th years he could at least amuse himself with, but dear Circe, the children.

Éloi would never in a thousand years admit to the small lapse in judgement that made him actually show his mortification for a second at hearing the words ice skating. Because he was actually mortified by the idea. The young Desrosiers was not at all a man for sports, sure he did yoga once in a while, and had his fair share of physical activities, tho not in any ways one might call traditional... But ice skating? Merlin knew this was going to be a disaster. So he settled to smile politely, yet skeptically, rethinking his life choices for all of the fraction of a second, and wondering if really, this was all worth it for a piece of arse? It was a rather fine piece, however. Very fine, if he may say so, actually. There was also the thing about bringing a fennec fox into a heavily muggle populated area and Éloi wasn't even sure if in the muggle world it was even legal to own one. This could be his salvation, actually... Wouldn't hurt to try.

"What shall we do about dear Cyril, however?" he asked, curious and almost worried, not at all swallowing around a tight knot in his throat. "He might prove a rather odd sight in the current.. environment."

He could see the doubt on the other man's face and found it rather endearing. Gale like pushing people out of their comfort zone into friendly little wars and worlds apart. He would never force Éloi into anything he didn't want to do, but part of his job was to keep people on their toes and to see them excel forward. Plus, this one was far too pretty to have such doubt ever on their face.

"He might prove a rather odd sight in the current.. environment."

Gale smiled as if he were looking right at one of his students, and was half tempted to get his glasses out and give his best Professor face. However, as he ran a hand over the foxes neck he looked back at the younger Desrosiers and challenged him,

"Are you afraid of what people might think of you Éloi?" He narrowed his gaze playfully, "I hadn't expected that out of you at all, despite your name." With that he lead them both down the path to a practically vacant rink, the rental fee paid the shoes acquired he laced them while stealing a few glances at his new found friend.

"Of course not" he quickly spluttered in response to the man's words. Éloi Desrosiers could not give a dead rat's arse about anything the plebes might say of him, as long as it was scandalous and adoring, of course. But it seemed his words were for nothing as Monsieur Kesali continued on his path towards the... circus on ice. The blond followed reluctantly in his steps and if anyone asked he was not muttering his displeasure at the turn of events.

The thought of having to wear rented footwear had him thinking of quickly making some excuse and just getting the hell out of Dodge, but feeling the man's furtive glances upon his person, had him mutter a curse and just suck it all up. He set about putting the skates on his feet, lacing them with violent moves and occasionally muttering something about the things he did for—well... not love anyway.

With the skates in their place, he carefully got up on his feet, wobbling for a few seconds before regaining a sense of balance and turning to watch the beautiful Professor. "Well, kind sir, if not a few broken bones, I hope my complete embarrassment will be repayment enough" he said tightly, with just a smidge of red in his cheeks - which was caused by the cold, thank you very much. He was expecting the Prophet or perhaps Le Parisien to be hidden in the bushes, just waiting for the moment he'd be sprawled on his back after a certainly ungraceful fall.

Well, kind sir, if not a few broken bones, I hope my complete embarrassment will be repayment enough"

"So that is a blush on your cheeks and not just the cold?" Gale asked with a sense of mirth in his voice, and skated up to the side of the rink to offer the other man a hand. He didn't care that they weren't the only ones on the rink, but he did care if he fell. It worried him greatly, and Gale offered the other his arm.

"I am sure you will be fine, Mr. Desrosiers, you seem eager and nimble on your feet," He mused at the last thought, wondering if perhaps that last bit of wine he had before his walk was a good idea or not. It made him strangely...forward.

The thought of  Éloi Desrosiers  clinging to the side of the ice to regain his composure tickled him, but the way the other man charged right through to this made rather pleased. It wasn't every day you found another wizard who was so willing to take risks, but had it simply been his pride that got him here?

"So tell me about yourself?" He waited to see if  Éloi was going to fall before he let him go, skating in a smaller circle a moment before watching for his new found friend. Somewhere that fox, was laughing.

Éloi only blushed further, slowly and shakily skating past Nightingale, with one hand on the rail and without even a glance at the man's extended hand. "I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about, Monsieur" he said as casually as he could muster, suddenly feeling like a petulant seven year old... Which, in truth, he'd often been compared with. Only the second he'd gone around Gale and abandoned the rail, his feet played a trick on him and so he ended up grabbing his hand, anyway. The mortification...

At Gale's next words, however, his embarrassment simply flew out the window, only to be replaced with a smug little smirk. "Oh, I am definitely nimble" he said a tad cryptically, turning to look at the silver-haired man "and I've been told I'm quite—eager" he drawled with a hint of amusement in his voice. As he regained his balance he was almost sad to let go of Gale, but nonetheless he took a deep breath and with small movements started sliding along the rail.

"Well, I wouldn't want to bore you with my history and curriculum vitae... And I think it's only fair that this goes both ways" he hummed looking back at the man. "How about a little game? Hmmm? Say—21 questions?" he laughed softly, raising his eyebrows in question. "Whatever might a gentleman such as yourself, been doing all alone in a park at this time?" he asked sweetly, tilting his head sideways.

"No?" Gale asked with a grin, still keeping his hands up for Éloi so that he knew he was there should he be worried of falling. Strange how nice it was to find someone so eager and willing to just dive right in, despite how strange a request it was to a stranger in a park. Though, it was very charming to see Éloi attempt seduction while fumbling over the ice, it made Gale wonder of his character. Was he really that lonely that he had any interest in talking and skating with the typically frowned upon Charms Professor? Perhaps he didn't know. Maybe his cousin had put him up to this? Or perhaps it was a cruel joke, but  regardless Gale ran his fingers through his hair to tuck a few of his wild strands behind his ear nervously.

"I..um, well I normally always take walks. I enjoy the open air, and the trees, especially this time of year when they are bare and covered in ice. It helps me clear my head and give me strength for the coming week." The stupidest answer that ever was, but it was his own. He didn't want to admit that he normally wasn't alone, as things with Chaz were so strained that he could hardly keep those thoughts to himself. However, Éloi had a laugh, soft as it was, that made his lips curl along with his and Gale turned to face the same direction as the other skater. He put his hand over the small of the other man's back to both act as a guard and to steady their pace. When he was sure that Éloi had the pace down, he returned his answer with a question,

"What about you? Is it your habit to lose a fox in the middle of the night?"

On the other side of the rink there was a group of men who seemed a bit too interested in their skating, and Gale was quick to keep an eye on them as they passed. Maybe he was just being paranoid, but he just couldn't shake that something would come of that particular group.

Éloi watched Gale tuck a strand of his stunning silver hair behind his ear with a sort of fascination, and he really wanted to be that hand... Or, might as well find a reason to touch his hair, see if it was as silky as it looked. He wondered how it would look cascading over his chest or whether Gale would frown upon carding his fingers through it to grab firmly, but reverently? Ah, well, it was question time. Maybe he'd ask later.

He couldn't help but roll his eyes a little and shake his head at the man's response. Éloi would rather spend as little time in places without four walls—the open world was noisy, nosy and rather depressing, he thought. Not to mention dreadfully grey and lacking in any sort of glamour or grandeur. When Gale's hand came to rest on the small of his back, his lips curled into a small 'o', before they spread into a satisfied little smile.

"Bien sûr que non" he said with a little chuckle and a huff, fondly exasperated. "I'm usually at work at this time and I am not very fond of animals or the big outdoors for that matter, so no, not really" he turned his head to smile at Gale, which wasn't quite the best decision seeing as he'd lose track of where he was going and as such ended up having to clutch at Nightingale a little desperately, when some lost person bumped into him. He muttered a curse under his breath and took a steadying breath.

"I'm sorry" he offered through clenched teeth, intently eyeing the man that had dared to cross his path as he was skating away, still holding Gale's arm captive and gliding slowly over the ice. "But, as I was saying, Arianne has a way of making you do things you don't really want to" he smiled politely, a vein twitching at his temple. "So... what do you do when you don't teach the future generations, Professor?" he asked with a sly smile, drawling the last word with perhaps a bit more emphasis as he turned his head to watch him slowly.

The moment that Éloi was bumped Gale's defenses went up. He was quick to tense and even faster in casting a dagger like glare at the man who dare so touch his new found friend. The entire length of the rink, Gale watched him and narrowed his eyes when he went back to that earlier group of men to laugh. It had been on purpose then? Or was Éloi's stumble truly to blame. What had he been doing so close to them anyway?

"I'm usually at work at this time and I am not very fond of animals or the big outdoors for that matter, so no, not really"

"Yet here you are," His voice was very dry in comparison to his softer tone earlier, his concentration like a solider on the other parties in their space, "Outside, chasing an animal through the night, and trying your best to keep your composure so to impress me while doing something you are clearly uncomfortable with." It was damn near robotic the way he was recited his observation, but when he glanced back at his companion he smiled, and it warmed his whole face--pleased.

"Arianne does have a way of making you do things you don't want to, but again here you are. Do you even really want to be here in the cold? Breaking laws with me?" Those counted as his questions right? And by laws he meant the tripping spell he cast on the skater again as he started his round again with determination and his buddies giggling behind him. Was a shame to let that happen again.

"As for what I do on my spare time, I spend it outside as much as I can, with as many animals as I can find, and craft." He truly was a crazy cat lady. "I just bought a home, actually. A farm house outside of the city. I had planned on taking my boyfriend there tonight, but well...we are not seeing eye to eye. No pun intended."

Éloi couldn't help notice the way Gale seemed to glare after that individual, and he thought it was oddly endearing in a strange way. He smiled minutely and shook his head a little. "Oh my—" he said a little more seriously, ending with a little chuckle. "And here I thought I was being subtle in my attempts to charm you" he continued, the absolute face of innocence as he winked at the Charms professor with a little knowing smile.

If he had been intending to be subtle, he would've been. But subtle wasn't really the Éloi Desrosiers way, now was it? "And I'm not necessarily uncomfortable, merely unwilling to be bested by a pair of  shoes with a blade" he said with a little huff, looking down at his feet. He couldn't possibly feel what was surely an uncomfortable activity in such company.

"I certainly didn't want to—" he turned to watch him carefully, eyelashes lowered just a fraction and eyebrows raised a little. "Not until a few moments ago"he smiled slyly and shrugged a little. What was a little cold in the face of such entrancing company? "And dear Nightingale, I fear laws are meant to be broken" he added with a soft laugh. If that was his understanding of breaking the law, Éloi felt he'd best not share what his own was. Not yet, at the least.

The blond sighed softly at hearing the professor's favorite pastimes. He sure was a sweet man and they probably held almost nothing in common, but it was precisely what made him even more charming. That and his gorgeous face. And arse, he supposed. Tho he wouldn't be able to give a proper verdict on that one, until he really got a good look at it. At hearing the word boyfriend, Éloi tensed a little, not so much because of the existence of one - it was a shame, indeed, but that certainly never stopped him before - but the... wording used.

Weren't boyfriends for hopelessly in love hormonal teenagers? Well, he supposed, not everybody shared the same view on intimate relationships as he did. "Oh?" he asked feigning complete interest. "Trouble in paradise?" he raised an eyebrow and batted his eyelashes with a sweet, charming little smile.

"I'm a Professor, Beau Soleil, do not think you can pull the wool over my eyes that easy no?" He kept the other man close, enjoying the warmth and the sound of his small laughter, but he worried that he was boring him. Éloi looked like the sort of man that was more akin to Darian Morgan's type, with interesting stories to tell and nights filled with wild fire, and Gale simply wasn't that sort of card. He liked his quiet evenings at home, he cooked is own meals, did all the washing, and did all of his law breaking while half asleep.

"I would hardly call it paradise, but it's not my turn to answer another question. This is a game after all hmm?" Gale skated a little ahead of Éloi to turn and face him, skating backwards a moment to better see the other man. He could tell the relation to Ari, but this one...he was as beautiful as she was yes, but almost enough that it made Gale uncomfortable to even be close. He didn't think he could be trusted.

"Tell me what you do for a living?"

"It wasn't my intention, professor" he said with a smile and a chuckle. He was certain he could if he wanted to, but mixing your intentions in somewhere through the subtleties was always more fun, wasn't it? He seemed like such a curious man, all wrapped up in his idyllic lifestyle, and Éloi really wanted to see if that was all there was to him. He was certain something a little darker and more dangerous his right beneath the surface.

He smiled cryptically at Gale's dismissal of his question, burning for a more detailed reply but not quite eager to be deemed tedious or nosy. He watched Gale's form as he skated ahead of him with admiration, lips parting slightly as his beautiful hair faced the air currents when he turned to face him. Morgana help him, he was ridiculously pretty. And yes, not dashing, not handsome, but pretty. Éloi wanted to keep him in a gilded cage in nothing but a silk sheet and have the moon reigning over him. Although, he supposed, that might be frowned upon.

At the question about his occupation, the Desrosiers frowned a little, and skated a little closer to the Charms professor. "It depends. On one side I represent Desrosiers Entreprises Familiales and the trust of the corporation, as I am to inherit it one day, on the other I have my own little amusement on the side"he smiled cryptically. "We specialize in entertainment venues and culinary and drinking establishments. One of them has been running marvelously for the past year, and we are currently building the second one and have plans for a third" he replied airily, and perhaps a little bored.

Catching up to him, he smiled at Gale and arched an eyebrow. "Lonely at the new home?" he asked softly, perfectly interested. "With the boyfriend troubles, I mean?" he added, skating a little further from him.