Of Various Woods

[Gaius Ollivander]

11/14

Gaius had spent his time after work alternating between embarrassment and indecision. Even he was not quite sure what he was doing, and he really was not fond of the floo network anyways, and if that entire encounter in Ollivander's had him so unsure of himself what would being alone with Ozias Lovegood do to him?

Of course there was always his perpetual, damned curiosity. Mr. Ozias Lovegood was interesting and Gaius had always liked interesting, new people - this was why he was in love with Rosalie and why he was friends with Anders Howe .

So when the time came Gaius had steeled his nerves, stepped in his fireplace, and threw the fistful of floo powder at his feet. "Lovegood Residence, Irvingly!" he spoke clearly, and before he knew it he was hurtling through the network of fireplaces and remembered exactly why he hated the floo network.

Gaius stumbled from the fireplace with after brushing the ash off of his pants.

  

[Ozias Lovegood]

Oz really, really hoped that Ollivander had been sending the signals he had been receiving, because Gaius Ollivander was rather attractive and Oz wanted to — well.

The elves alerted Oz to the arrival of his guest, and Oz took a moment to make sure that his suit was looking good and his radish-shaped cuff links straight before he went down to meet Mr. Ollivander.

"I'm glad that you came," Oz said with a warm smile. He would not simply go in for a kiss, no matter how much he wanted to. Ollivander needed a bit more feeling-out first.

  

[Gaius Ollivander]

Gaius straightened and smiled back, much more at ease than he had been earlier. He was still unsure as to what to make of Ozias Lovegood - there was a huge question mark over the man's motives in Gaius' head - but they were not in the shop anymore, so there was that.

"I'm glad you invited me," Gaius said. The floo network would, he thought, be worth the liquor and the conversation - he hoped. Not knowing what to think was still more than a little unnerving.

  

[Ozias Lovegood]

Now that Ollivander was here, Oz was starting to feel a little self-conscious. It was all well and good while they were in the shop, but now — now it was either time to fish or cut bait.

"I have that firewhiskey in the parlor," Oz said, then impulsively reached out to grab Ollivander's hand and lead him towards the parlor. Touching, even a semi-innocent touch, made it better. Maybe Ollivander would be interested and Oz would not entirely humiliate himself.

  

[Gaius Ollivander]

Gaius could feel his pulse thrumming nervously, but he did not pull his hand away - it would have been awkward if he had, and he was still determined to wait this out for the sake of his curiosity.

He could not help but glance at Lovegood's hand, maybe to find out if 'PLATONIC' was written on the wrist or something, but the answers were not nearly that obvious. "I like your cufflinks," Gaius said instead. The moment after the words left his mouth they felt silly, childish, but he did not feel like spending energy on taking them back.

  

[Ozias Lovegood]

"Thank you," Oz said with a little grin. Olive had gotten them for him. Olive had been the only one in the family that had understood Oz's love of odd cuff links.

Once the reached the parlor, Oz reluctantly released Ollivander's hand and went to pour the firewhiskey, then he held one of the glasses out to his guest. "I hope you like this," he said ... but did he dare try for a kiss? No, not at the moment. He just, for now, held the glass so that Ollivander's hand would hopefully brush his when the other man took the glass.

  

[Gaius Ollivander]

"Thank you," Gaius said. He felt a slight shiver go down his spine as their fingers touched. This was followed by a small wave of guilt - he had spent the better part of fifteen years actively ignoring his attraction to men, and he knew exactly why he had done that.

It was easier, than the inevitable self-loathing.

But curiosity - and the sheer thrill of it - was winning out. Or so Gaius thought.

Gaius took a sip of the firewhiskey and grinned.

  

[Ozias Lovegood]

Oz definitely wanted to kiss Ollivander. It was hard to remember that Ollivander didn't necessarily feel the same way, but Oz knew he had to be careful. He'd only actually had to obliviate someone once, thankfully, but that was not a mess that Oz wanted to get into again.

So he didn't just swoop in for the kiss. He rolled his lower lip between his teeth briefly, then took a sip of his firewhiskey. "So you — work with wands." Merlin, that was lame.

  

[Gaius Ollivander]

Don't look at his mouth, Gaius thought, and failed. He took another sip of the burning liquor and said, "Mmn. Since I finished school, but I've been around the shop since I was born, practically."

He wasn't even going to try and tackle the potential innuendo there; he was not in the mood to struggle with blushing, nor did he want to start counting off heartbeats or breaths or taps of his fingers against his leg.

  

[Ozias Lovegood]

Dammit, this was hard. Oz sometimes wished he liked women; not only did he have a beautiful wife, but he also thought it must be much easier to attempt an affair with a woman than a man.

Unfortunately, he was a freak.

"You must have very talented hands," Oz said coyly. If only Ollivander would give him some sort of signal, then Oz would feel safe kissing him.

  

[Gaius Ollivander]

Maybe it was the firewhiskey - it was said to embolden people, after all - or maybe it was just his need for something to happen. The anticipation was killing him.

"Yes. Or, well - so I've heard," Gaius said, brushing his thumb against his lower lip. It wasn't much in the way of an advance - rather half-assed, really - but it was significantly more than he had ever even attempted.

  

[Ozias Lovegood]

The thumb across his lower lip was not much of a sign, but Oz was at a point where he would take 'not much'. He quickly placed his firewhiskey on the table, then caught Gaius by the wrist and kissed first that thumb, and then the other man's lips.

Please, he thought, let this pay off.

  

[Gaius Ollivander]

Success mixed with guilt swirled in his lungs. Gaius used that had been kissed to grab hold of one of Ozias' lapels, and kissed the other man back. This is wrong - but it felt right, and hadn't he always wanted to know how it would feel?

"I've never -" Gaius admitted, conflicted, with his hand still on Ozias' jacket.

  

[Ozias Lovegood]

Merlin it had worked Gaius had kissed him back. It had been a long time, at least for Oz — months, and Oz didn't do months. Then Gaius spoke, just two words, and Oz smiled lazily.

"Really?" Oz asked. He had known what he was for a very long time now, and he was always vaguely surprised that wasn't the case for everyone. "Well, did you like it?"

  

[Gaius Ollivander]

"Yes," Gaius said rather wryly. He could - he could ignore the guilt for now, and deal with it later, when he was alone and could think things through properly. "I've suspected that I would for ages -" Merlin, how old had he been, thirteen? Fourteen? "- but never..."

  

[Ozias Lovegood]

"Taken the plunge?" Oz suggested. He had not been at all shy about doing so himself, not once he'd found someone he was sure of. Not, he thought guiltily, that Niall should have been anywhere near as sure of me.

That was the past, though, and now Oz was standing with a very charming wandmaker who obviously did feel some sort of attraction towards him. Oz gently took Gaius's glass and put it down beside his own; then he slipped a hand into Gaius's hair and kissed him again.