"He was substantially less..." What word will he find for this person. "...pink."

"We're similar where it matters."

Beat. "—not, uh, I don't mean anything dirty by that. Just that we're extroverted, loud, somewhat obnoxious, surprisingly introspective and thoughtful, et cetera."

"Mr. Tarleton I assure you I had not been thinking about whatever you are meaning to imply, here," he says, like a liar.

Don't say it don't say it don't say

"They are though," he says. Then, with steam practically whistling out his ears, he clarifies "Not - not that it's anything you need to know - just - that was such an opening -"

"I'm bigger," Pete says, because now the can has been opened.

Now it's his time to blush. Just a bit, his ears and up his neck getting slightly coloured. "I believe we are quite done discussing students' anatomy," Eric says.

"Mr. Jones, forgive my impropriety, but you don't look that much older—"

"Mr. Tarleton, I do not believe my words were at all unclear."

"He wasn't asking about your anatomy, though. It was more of a comment than a question."

"...Mr. Pevensie, are these young men corrupting you?"

"I really don't think you need me to answer that."

He will not flirt he will not flirt he will not flirt even though Eric is clearly kind of into it that would be so inappropriate—

"I think we are just helping him realize his full personality. The fact that the librarian is gorgeous can't be helping."

Eric blinks.

He... doesn't have a comeback. Whatever comments about the inappropriateness of that he might've had are being drowned by being called gorgeous.

He is just, actually, kind of confused.

"How's Eric's - sorry, Mr Jones' fervent sex appeal relevant here?" Edmund wonders. "He's not the one corrupting me."

"He's causing you to make borderline flirtatious conversation that you might otherwise feel too inhibited to make."

"We are ending this conversation right now, Mr. Tarleton."

...okay he guesses he crossed a bit of a line. "Sorry."

"...sorry, sir."

Awkward silence.

"Um - Eric. Your shift's up in a minute, right? D'you want to go to the cafe with us? My treat, to make up for. That comment."

And that's not meant to be flirting???

"No, thank you," is what he intends to say. "...alright," is what comes out of his mouth instead.

"Oh, fantastic!" Edmund bounces a bit. "It's been ages since I got you out anywhere - at least without Peter, but, well, we've got sort of an auxiliary Peter, don't we - Pete why don't we go sit down before I embarrass myself - Eric, come get us when you're leaving, won't you?"

"...sure." Sometimes he gets used to Edmund being a diligent well-behaved student and forgets he's a Pevensie, and then Ed is Like That and Eric remembers.

"Sure," Pete echoes a lot more cheerfully.

Ed drags his boyfriend off to sit in one of the seating areas, where there are armchairs and couches and such.

His boyfriend is very draggable. Is there space for snuggles? He wants those.

"So, hi, how're you, how was your afternoon?"