Persuasion

It was late at night whenever the two primordial sins stepped into the McDonalds. It was a spur of the moment, want for food but nothing special, kind of thing.

Pride held the door open, ignoring the smirk Lust shot him as they stepped through. Pride had been dealing with Lust’s shameless flirting for centuries, so a mere smirk and side glance was nothing new.

Pride was a memorable figure commonly referred to as Eiswyn, dressed in silvers and black. Oftentimes, if any of the other sins glanced, just as Lust had moments ago, they’d catch a glimpse of the gold and purple crown that rested on his unkempt black hair, a streak of white working it’s way due to a incident involving an angry witch, lots of ale, and a really bad deal that Wrath likes to tease him about. A scar with unknown origins crosses over his dark brown eye, cutting at an angle that ends near his jaw.

Lust, sometimes referred to as Valonis, once, long ago, referred as Eros, walked with a subtle calmness, each stride purposeful yet thought out. His red—though, in certain moments pink-tinted—eyes, resembled that of a snake, with slit pupils. To those around him, to those who are mortal, his appearance changed to match whatever those around him wanted.

His favorite people were the ones who didn’t care for appearance. There was something relieving, not needing to match exactly what somebody else wanted.

In moments like this, however, he wasn’t against a little tempting.

With a sly glance to Eiswyn, a slight lift of his eyebrow, Valonis made it clear that Eiswyn better go along or he’ll never let him live this down.

As they neared the counter, Valonis and Eiswyn worked their charm, just as they oftentimes did. As the cashier’s gaze settled on Valonis, he couldn’t help but feel himself tense, the slight shiver that always followed, that always infuriated him. It’s how he knew it was working, but at times he wished he could turn it off.

Eiswyn couldn’t help but glance at his friend. There were moments, moments when it was clear what Valonis was feeling was real, not just him trying to get his way. All of the sins knew how to tell, and it was when the silver arrow appeared, the tip tinged red, his own heart pierced by it.

It’s how Eiswyn knew this wasn’t real, and he knew how to annoy Valonis more than anything.

“Could we get extra fries?” Eiswyn says, just as Valonis went to speak.

Valonis stops before he can speak, his head tilting slightly as he glares at Eiswyn, clearly annoyed that he wasn’t able to have a bit, even the smallest amount, of fun with this. The pink-tint of his eyes turned blood red in a split second.

Eiswyn smirks at him, unable to resist stealing the fun right from in front of Valonis.

“‘Course,” The Cashier says with a casual nod.

Eiswyn payed, to which Valonis couldn’t help but think, You better, after stealing my fun from right in front of me. But as Valonis watched Eiswyn payed, he couldn’t help but feel a bit of relief. He knew he was Lust, this shouldn’t be tiring. And yet, he felt a pang of relief that Eiswyn had stopped him.

As Eiswyn and Valonis settled into the booth, Valonis couldn’t help but sigh, crossing his arms and resting his head there. His head tilts as he glances out of the window, watching the cars drive by.

“What’re you thinking about?” Eiswyn asks.

Valonis only glanced before quietly saying, “I miss when… I miss back then. The greeks were pretty good time to be alive,” He admits. And if anybody else heard him, they’d assume it was because of all of the tempting he got to indulge in.

Eiswyn knew otherwise. “Want me to call you Eros from now on?” He says, leaning back in the book with a clever smile.

Valonis snorts, clearly amused as he shakes his head. “That’s not what I’m talking about,” Valonis says. “I mean… They had… different… loves… Does that make sense?” His brow furrows as he looks at Eiswyn, his shoulders tensing up at the thought that Eiswyn just thought he was murmuring midnight nonsense.

Eiswyn nods, leaning forwards as he listens to Valonis as he explains.

“It was easier back then, when there were different words for different… not different things, but different versions of the same thing?” Valonis continues. “And the greeks, they had different types, it was so easy back then. Like… nowadays, telling somebody you love them’s insane, even if you know each other really well and mean it platonically. But back then, they had Philia.” Valonis glances nervously from the lines he’d been tracing on the table, and groans as he meets Eiswyn’s gaze. “I’m not making any sense, am I?” He asks as he sat up.

“You’re making plenty sense, Val,” Eiswyn says with a soft chuckle. “But maybe the greeks were right on that. Maybe bundling all that up in one word’s too much. You can admit that something’s too much, I’ve admitted it.”

“When?”

“Here’s a hint, Alexander.” Eiswyn says, “Do you think that was easy? Of course not. I knew I did enough, but it was the bare minimum for me, because though it was pride, for him, it wasn’t working out for me, it was draining.”

Valonis sighs as he runs his hand through his unkempt blond hair, saying, “I won’t tell the others that’s why you gave up manipulating Alexander the Great, if that’s what your asking?”

“Thank you,” Eiswyn says, which get’s a soft laugh from Valonis, “But honestly, you’re doing fine, okay. You’re doing better than fine, and the world’s not going to end by you lightening the load, okay?”

“You should be a therapist.”

“I’ll look into it, but d’you hear me?”

Valonis sighs, his head hanging before he nods. “I hear you,” He says as he looks up, “You do know you stole that fun from me though.”

Eiswyn laughs as he leans back, arms crossing as he smiles. “Of course, your eyes are still the color of blood,” Eiswyn says, gesturing to Valonis.

Valonis couldn’t help but roll his eyes as he smiles. He knew Eiswyn was right, but couldn’t help but smile at the gentle teasing.