Hugo was interesting to look at. He seemed very imposing, partly thanks to his size, but also, and for as much as it was joked about, it was true, because of his eyebrows. They seemed almost cartoonish the way they went in perfectly shaped diagonals up his forehead.

Ian was obsessed with Hugo's eyebrows. He kept having a very strong urge to reach out in the middle of a conversation and run his thumbs along them, feel the way the hair ruffled if he ran his thumbs against the grain, feel the way it smoothed down when he ran his thumbs the other way. He wondered what it would feel like to kiss them, feel those oddly attractive diagonals under his lips.

"Ian, you're staring again." Hugo was smiling from across the table. They were waiting for a set-up for the next shot and playing cards. "It's been your turn for four minutes."

"Oh." Ian looked at his hand and realized he didn't even remember the hand being dealt. He muttered a few unsavory names at himself and set his cards down. "I keep staring because you're interesting to look at."

Hugo spent a moment looking like he was trying to decide if Ian was joking or not. He set his own cards down. "Oh?"

"I just would like to..." Ian trailed off and bit the inside of his lip. Finally, he reached out a hand and touched his thumb to Hugo's left eyebrow. He followed the line of it with a careful, even stroke. "This."

"My eyebrows are not that odd." Hugo looked vaguely amused.

Ian smiled at him. "They're not odd at all. They're interesting."

"Are you trying to seduce me, Mr. McKellen?"

"A bit, yes."

Hugo grinned. "About damn time." He leaned across the table and kissed Ian.