For a moment Eliot's too startled by the assumption to respond, other than a rather nervous laugh. He feels annoyed, and then irritated at himself for feeling annoyed, because of course it isn't Jack's fault that he doesn't know these things. It's just a little absurd that Eliot now has to explain himself, here and now in this retail space, when he thought he was safely past this sort of horseshit at this stage in his life.
Jack keeps talking, though, and it takes Eliot a bit to catch up, managing a grin as Jack describes himself as a villain. There's an insecurity, he thinks, something more than just the temporal displacement, that's familiar to Eliot even if they go about it differently. A desire to be seen and understood, and Eliot feels the need to offer reassurances.
"Well," he says, trying to sound light, "you certainly look like the Platonic ideal of a pirate to a modern audience, anyway. You could do a lot worse than romantic and dangerous, though I'd...steer away from a boot-cut. They're for a completely different type of boot," Eliot explains. "And they're just generally not good, makes for an odd silhouette and a lot of fabric bunching up around your legs if you tuck them in."
It's a natural point at which to move on, to take stock and direct Jack to the fitting rooms and consider this leg of the quest, as it were, complete. Eliot fidgets for a moment before he speaks again. "Just to be clear," he says, hating that he has to do this, "because this is one of those things that people in the current day just seem to be able to tell about me and obviously you're at a cultural remove, but...I've only ever been attracted to men." He smiles, trying to be polite and hopeful, but it's a brittle thing. "And, well. It's really nothing personal but I don't know what the...the social norms were like in your time. And if the thought of associating with a sodomite bothers you, I'd prefer to know now and we can just...go our separate ways. I'd rather not try to carry on a friendship with someone who thinks I'm a degenerate sinner, you understand."
Eliot feels a little sick after he's said it, and part of him wants to apologize for issuing such a sudden ultimatum, but for his own peace of mind he needs to know where they stand. He risks a glance at Jack, hoping that it'll somehow just...be all right.
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Jack keeps talking, though, and it takes Eliot a bit to catch up, managing a grin as Jack describes himself as a villain. There's an insecurity, he thinks, something more than just the temporal displacement, that's familiar to Eliot even if they go about it differently. A desire to be seen and understood, and Eliot feels the need to offer reassurances.
"Well," he says, trying to sound light, "you certainly look like the Platonic ideal of a pirate to a modern audience, anyway. You could do a lot worse than romantic and dangerous, though I'd...steer away from a boot-cut. They're for a completely different type of boot," Eliot explains. "And they're just generally not good, makes for an odd silhouette and a lot of fabric bunching up around your legs if you tuck them in."
It's a natural point at which to move on, to take stock and direct Jack to the fitting rooms and consider this leg of the quest, as it were, complete. Eliot fidgets for a moment before he speaks again. "Just to be clear," he says, hating that he has to do this, "because this is one of those things that people in the current day just seem to be able to tell about me and obviously you're at a cultural remove, but...I've only ever been attracted to men." He smiles, trying to be polite and hopeful, but it's a brittle thing. "And, well. It's really nothing personal but I don't know what the...the social norms were like in your time. And if the thought of associating with a sodomite bothers you, I'd prefer to know now and we can just...go our separate ways. I'd rather not try to carry on a friendship with someone who thinks I'm a degenerate sinner, you understand."
Eliot feels a little sick after he's said it, and part of him wants to apologize for issuing such a sudden ultimatum, but for his own peace of mind he needs to know where they stand. He risks a glance at Jack, hoping that it'll somehow just...be all right.