Relapse (Dorian & Aria)

Dorian let a smile work its way into his gaze. Something about the no-nonsense-ness of Aria made being with her like an adventure. He tried to be carefree, not wanting to scare her off, but it only seemed to confuse her. As if she was from another world. It...intrigued him.

"I know what it means, love. I was trying to get to know you, that's all."

He couldn't help but stop in front of Olivander's Shop. Memories flashed before his eyes, some of them not so good. Idly he started stroking the back of Aria's hand with his thumb, loving the soft feel of her skin.

"So, what's your story?"

Aria looked sharply at him as the endearment came out. Endearments usually meant familiarity and for her that was not the case. Why was it used on her? Was not friendship needed for that to occur? Was this friendship? Why was living in this society so hard?

She forced herself not to pout at all her thoughts jumbling together. This experience involved a lot of new things for her, some that made her uncomfortable and some that simply confused her.

"My story?" she repeated confused.

She looked down at their intertwined hands and wondered briefly if he was taking comfort? Wizards were too complicated. Why would he want to learn of her story, after all she was a mere stranger. Still she figured she'd play along.

"My father is a retired Ministry worker, my mother a woman caring more about the materialistic society than my brothers and I. There's nothing that interesting but a normal home."

She didn't understand what more he wanted but she figured that he'd clarify it a bit more.

Dorian noticed a slight twitch between Aria's brows. He didn't understand it, and his hand itched to smooth the worry away, but he held back. Something about this woman made him want to touch her, but he didn't want to scare her away. It hurt though, knowing she'd shut him down if he even tried more than their dance.

Shaking himself of his thoughts, he focused on her story. It was very fact driven, and the truth, but it lacked anything about herself. Curious. Pulling himself away from the shop front, he guided them slowly down the lane. They passed the apothecary and an interesting smell wafted out of a window. It was rather sweet, but with a strange tang to it.

He stopped again, turning towards Aria. "Well, that's well and good for them. But what about you?" His gaze locked with hers, wanting to read the secrets he knew she wouldn't give up. "What do you do?"

Aria was oblivious at the fact that Dorian was having all these thoughts and emotions. For her feelings weren't something that she ever paid attention too. She closed herself off during moments that made her uncomfortable or she panicked and became a recluse.

Looking up towards the sky, a hint of a smile was visible as she stared at the stars shining brightly. She always liked staring up at them, she once wanted to be a pirate to travel towards the North Star. All those were silly notions and soon wiped from her thoughts as her father soon told her it was idiotic. Her smile dimmed.

"Me" she murmured.

She lowered her gaze from the skies to his face for a second only to lower it immediately to their hands.

"There's not much on me, I'm a freelance potioneer I suppose. I do whatever keeps me entertained, father never approves, but so long as I do something that's not illegal."

She bit her lip and closed her eyes smelling the sweet smell of vanilla wafting from the building in front of them.

Dorian couldn't believe Aria was selling herself so short. In the short time he'd known her tonight, he couldn't imagine her being anything but interesting in all aspects, from her sharp wit to her vocabulary. Even her facial expressions had him entranced. She spoke so little, but her face said so much.

Potioneer. That made sense. Especially with her obvious delight in whatever was wafting out of the shop. He bet she could name at least a dozen potion uses for whatever it was and not bat an eyelash. He hummed in agreement at the need to be legal.

Taking the opportunity, while she was distracted, he stepped closer to her, hoping she wouldn't hex him. Gently he brushed his knuckles along her jaw. "What was the smile for?" It really had him intrigued. She was so guarded.

Aria was oblivious to it his thoughts. For her, she simply repeated whatever was said to her as a child. She wasn't particularly heartless, nor particularly manipulative, she lacked the social aspect of it all. She wasn't surprised anymore.

The silence made him furrow her brow and lifted her gaze towards him. Her eyes widened a bit, as she felt him touching her jaw lightly. It was barely a graze, something that no one would really mind, but for her she was hypersensitive.

Her cheeks reddened and her pupils dilated, but she was oblivious to these reactions. To her it was just the warmth of the night causing her to feel the warmth. She took in a soft breath and found herself replying in a quiet tone.

"The stars" she murmured. "I always loved looking up at the stars as a child, some silly notion that hasn't really disappeared even now."

Dorian couldn't miss the physical reactions flitting across Aria's face. He'd been in this game far too long for things like that to go unnoticed. But he'd never enjoyed them quite as much as in this moment. He was caught off guard, however, by her apparent refusal to give in to them.

Hell, he was surprised she'd let him get this close. But Dorian was never one to back down when he had the advantage. He wouldn't be where he was as an Auror if he had. Plus, he couldn't ignore the strange pull he had towards this woman he'd only just met.

Letting his thumb trace under her bottom lip, he looked her in the eyes, trying to read everything he could about her. Her words made him smile softly, not what he expected at all.

"Not silly at all, in my opinion. Sometimes you need to stop and appreciate the beauty around you." He resisted the urge to lean in and kiss her. Just barely.

Aria felt her heart beat faster; he was too close. Her natural reaction would have been to run, to be rude and to push other's away. But now, she felt trapped, she had no where to run, it felt like she was going too choke.

She lowered her gaze, ignoring the warmth radiating off of him. It was almost too warm, too unusual for her to feel. She took a step back, immediately feeling the wind blow her jacket to the side. She shivered and looked up at him in a mixture of confusion and curiosity.

"Yes, quite right" she murmured looking back up to the sky.

She moved a few strands of hair away from her face and wondered if this was normal, all these reactions to little things. Being hypersensitive was not really working for her at the moment.

Dorian pursed his lips, knowing he'd overstepped. He couldn't help a small part of him celebrating that he'd even gotten that close. But his heart, the part that was screaming at him as if from a dead slumber, told him to back off. She looked like a deer in headlights, after all. He wasn't a bastard, no matter what others may think.

He pulled back just a bit, as she had, not wanting her to feel guilty for doing so. Feeling the wind pick up a bit, he took Nature's hint. "Well, thank you for the walk...and the dance," he let his usual smirk slide easily into place. "But we should probably call it a night."

At that, Dorian was quite beside himself. He never ended things before they got good. Really good. And with Aria, he couldn't even fathom how to say goodbye. His smirk faded as he realized he may never see her again. Though the magical world in London was a small one, you never knew if fate would bring you together again.

Aria nodded, surprised that she had even spent so much time with a person as she had. The only person that was a constant in her life was her roommate, and that was hard enough considering that the girl was shy.

She took in a deep breath and nodded, pulling the coat tighter around her. It was a foreign feeling, it wasn't as if she had told him something too personal, or went too deep, but she felt as if she had shown something different.

Sentiment, you're just being foolish Logic told her.

Not knowing how to say bye, she simply pulled out her hand, hoping he'd shake it with, bright confused eyes. This was social protocol right?

"Goodbye" she whispered softly. "It was...a...a pleasure"

Dorian smiled softly at her confusion. He couldn't understand how someone so beautiful would ever feel confused. Her deep brown eyes had entranced him from the start. So much so, that he couldn't imagine her not getting her way in all aspects of life. It only made him want to know her more.

She could never want you like that, the evil voice in the back of his mind chided. It was probably right, he mused. A woman like her would never go for a man like him. He lived day by day. Night by night. And his relationships....no, relations...were the same way. Ending before they started.

Deciding to do the right thing for once in his bloody life, Dorian took her hand gently. Never leaving her gaze, he brought it to his lips and placed the lightest of kisses on her knuckles.

"Goodbye. Aria."

Tearing himself away from her, he walked away, though every step hurt. He chided himself, just as that inner voice had. He was acting like a fool. He needed a cold shower and even colder liquor to forget all of this.

Her hand twitched as she felt his lips on her hand. Her breath hitched for a moment and her pupils dilated once more. She couldn't find herself to really say anything. Because, despite all that she knew, all the books she'd read, she knew nothing of what life really was. She knew nothing of life, being so sheltered and there she was, letting someone initiate something...intimate in her opinion.

She placed her hand on her chest, as her other hand was around her waist, holding herself, in an almost lonely manner. She night had turned immediately from the warmth from his lips, to cold as he walked away.

"Goodbye" she whispered, knowing he wouldn't hear her.

She closed her eyes and disapparating, needing to play her violin, and probably a few patches. Maybe she'd try a new experiment, anything that would get him out of her head.