Al attempted to look up, feeling the subtle twitch of his hair every time Plato climbed and conquered another strand.
"Amor platonicus didn't have the same meaning in Plato's times," Al informed Severus, as he offered Plato the tip of his finger before the spider tumbled onto the frame of his glasses. "Examples in Plato's original works define the concept as the relationship between a man and a boy, often in the roles of teacher and student. Divine madness, according to Phaedros," Al tilted his head, moving Plato carefully from his temple to Severus' head. A silver strand of cobweb stretched between them but Al didn't remove it. "Or a path to wisdom, according to Symposium."
Al kept still, watching Severus, and waiting to see whether Plato would accept this new exploration grounds. If not, the spider still had a thin hanging bridge back to cross.
"The later meaning of asexual affection was attributed to the term later on, as a misunderstood ideal."
Al glanced up, finally asking a question his explanation lead to. "By 'Platonic', did you mean amour platonique or amour platonicien?"