He likes to call inclemency what I call charm

insufferable hedonists

The late afternoon sunlight spilled in through the space in the half-drawn curtains, staining the air a rich golden hue as it swirled through the dizzying swell of the scents of cigarette smoke and the late season flowers that were fighting for the dominance of the senses. The day had, as autumn days had the habit of doing, made the point of dragging itself out in a way that was not wholly dissimilar to that of the fine honey one might drizzle over their teacups to add a dash of sweetness to their morning. It was, as anyone could tell at a mere glance, perfectly lavish and decidedly excessive in all the ways one could ever dream of, or at least they could dream of it if they found themselves lucky enough to be able to imagine it. 

The partial silence of Dorian Gray's sitting room, partial only because there was the occasional crackle of the fireplace as it took up the vital duty of chasing away the reaching fingers of the winter that already found home in the more shadowy corners of London, was broken by a laugh from the young man, clear as a church bell ringing from the devil's lips. He tossed his head back in a way that was almost artful, a liquor glass cradled lazily in one hand, the other tossed over the back of the couch, subtly opening his self up a little in doing so.

"Really, Harry," he exclaimed, a waver of amusement carrying through his words, "I cannot imagine what he was expecting of me! What, to take his arm as we take our afternoon stroll? For me to play at being some bashful bride as I get more and more bored of it all?"

Lord Henry Wotton let out a disapproving tsk as he raised his glass to his lip, an eyebrow raised to urge the younger man to continue. He was, after all, intolerably fond of getting to hear the tales of the lad's transgressions after the fact. Especially if they were transgressions that he could recall playing around with in his own youth, and even more so if they had been transgressions that he, himself, had introduced to the lad in one way or another. 

"He really was taking the whole thing far too seriously and it spoiled the whole thing, so naturally I brought the affair to an end the other day." It was Dorian's turn to take a sip of his drink. This was a very pointed movement and managed to make him look even more smug and insufferable than the pretty boy already was, his rosy lips curled in a smirk. 

"You were quite right to do that," Wotton returned in a decidedly rumbly manner, a curl of smoke snaking from his lips, his fingertips brushing the other fellow's thigh in the sort of way that would certainly not pass in the sterile daylight, "The most certain way to ruin any charm a romance could have would be to tarnish it with seriousness. There was a scene then, I would not wonder?"

"Oh certainly, it was quite disgraceful," the younger returned with a sharp grin and enough of a shuffle that the other did not need to merely tap at his thigh, "Declared for all to hear, we were alone but I am sure he was hoping for an audience all the same, that I destroyed all the love he had ever held in his heart and that he'd never forgive me for it. He cried, of course, and I am pleased to admit he looked perfectly wretched and unflattering as he did so."

"Naturally, not everyone is as fortunate as you are in that you can look perfectly lovely when you cry, an art that very few have honed to any real success," the elder of the two hedonists remarked, pausing just long enough to note the subtle roseying of the lad's cheeks at the comment, "You've seen him since then, of course?"

"Once or twice," came the dismissive reply, "I'd hoped he was as miserable as he claimed he would be if I left him, but he refused to speak to me at all the first time. The next he hadn't a choice, as chance would have it we were both invited to one of those tedious soirees that Margaret and, oh you know, her sister, whatever unfortunate name she was burdened with. It was quite clear that he had wanted to make a scene about it, but I suppose he must have seen the sense in playing nice. Of course I did want to see just how much he could take, and he did excuse himself relatively early in the day."