Eros | Eric Eleutherios

Eros stands outside of apartment 111, and waits. And winces.

"Hub bub bub bub."

"I hope you're not drooling again," he says, hesitantly.

"Bub bub bub bub."

"You are, aren't you?"

"Bub bub!"

"What did I tell you? If you're going to argue then you're going to have to use normal words like everyone else."

There is a long pause. Then, the voice which had previously been speaking nonsense says, "Down."

"Fine."

Eros complies, kneeling down and swinging the small child off of his shoulder, letting her stand on the floor. She wobbles slightly but stands upright, using one hand to grasp his trousers. Apparently pleased with herself, she turns to look up at Eros, fixing him with a stern look through her golden blond curls.

"Bear."

Brushing off his knees as he stands upright, Eros reaches for the pocket of his finely-tailored suit jacket, which is bulging in a most unfashionable manner - stuffed as it is with plush animal. After a brief moment of wrestling and one or two snapped stitches, he, grumbling, pulls out a teddy bear. It's not quite a regular teddy bear - for one thing it's been modelled more on a grizzly than anything else, and its tiny plastic fangs and claws clearly state: Serious Business.

The child takes the bear and immediately sticks its head into her mouth.

Eros continues his wait, watching the door and looking pained.

A minute or so passes.

Finally the little girl takes the bear's head out of her mouth again. "Open," she says firmly.

"It's not quite that simple," Eros mumbles.

The girl seems to consider this. "Open!" And she swings the bear like a weapon.

"No, wait, I'm not quite ready to -!"

But it's too late. The bear strikes the door three times with surprising force, resulting in a tone that could only be described as a knock.

Eros sighs, and covers his eyes with one hand. "Oh, here we go."