the absence of the retreat of laurence’s hand does not process, though it’s not something he cares to notice at the moment. the only thing lucius can find himself looking at is the man before him as he thinks of what he wants to say. the dual meaning to his words is only just now understood, but he doesn’t retract anything.
he smiles at the answers that are given, knowing that he hasn’t pushed the man past his boundaries yet. it means he has some wiggle room, a bit more time to find what he can get away with – if this turns out to be a grand game at all. maybe the prize itself is what he’s hoping for.
leaning in towards laurence slightly, their lips barely ghost each other before he pulls back, his hand still keeping hold and even squeezing a little. ❝good. maybe we should go get a coffee sometime. i hardly think a church is the proper place for any pda. ❞
holy shit. holy shit. HOLY SHIT. his brain shuts down entirely. no thought lasts more than a few seconds, zipping out before he can even begin to process them. what. what. it’s barely a brush of lips, definitely not anything that could be described as a kiss. and yet– and yet–
❛ that– that’d be– ❜forward, he thinks. this is very forward. he is very forward. brown eyes skitter over to where joseph and a customer are pointedly Not Looking. ❛ it’s not the best place, no. they tend to get– weird. i’d like that, though. coffee. sometime. it’d be– nice. ❜ they’re still holding hands, he realizes. he looks down at their linked hands, loosens his grip but doesn’t truly pull away.
it’s almost a game now, how easy he can launch the man into a stuttering fit. he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t having any fun, especially with the comments that somewhat came out of laurence’s mouth. the grin keeps to his lips and he chuckles, reaching up to pry one of his hands away from his face.
❝ i’ve been told that once or twice. i’ve also been told that it’s an endearing aspect when it doesn’t border on irritating. which way do you lean? ❞ was that meant to be taken suggestively as well? maybe.
fingers curl around his, pulling one had away from his face. he doesn’t put up much resistance, just glances up at lucius and tries to shove down the absolute MORTIFICATION welling in his chest. goddamn it.
he isn’t sure if lucius is throwing him a line or hitting on him AGAIN. his other hand dropped ( though he notably doesn’t let go of lucius’ hand. or– not notably. because he doesn’t notice. at all. definitely doesn’t realize after enough time has passed that pulling away would make it weird. )
❛ en–dearing?? ❜ it comes out as a question though he realizes it’s true. despite the ceaseless embarrassment, it’s not actually too bad. ❛ i lean toward endearing. ❜ and leans forward, apparently.
the expressions as they pass along laurence’s face make lucius want to laugh – nothing whole hearted, just a small chuckle that actually passes past his lips as the man bites his lower lip. he doesn’t mind the way the man’s gaze dodges his, shaking his head at the comments as they were made. now that was… well, partly true.
❝ i happen to think you have the aesthetic. you just don’t know it. and it’s not a bad thing to have. i think your smile is adorable. ❞
thoughts scatter and laurence presses his tongue to the point of one canine tooth. that laugh. distracting. his eyes dart to the side before drifting back up to lucius’ face. he’s pretty, laurence realizes. not helping the concentration. not helping at all.
❛ i– what?? that’s not– how?? ❜ oh dear, there goes his coherency. ❛ it’s not– has anyone told you you’re too much?? not!! in a bad way!! i mean– oh god. ❜ he buries his face in his hands.
he was impressed the stuttering and skipping around thoughts had ceased, a brow raising as complete and coherent sentences were given as a response. the smirk on his lips broadened some and he let out a low laugh, resting one hand against the table top.
❝ i’m an adult human male as well and i’d gladly be called adorable. but you are handsome and cute, i’ll give you that. ❞ a wink accompanied his comment and the smirk slipped to more of a grin.
his face does that thing where it all goes tense and he highly suspects that if he was a cat, his ears would go flat back in surprise. teeth sink into his lower lip and he takes a breath. brown eyes trail down to were lucius leans against the table, focuses on the long spread of fingers. he has nice hands. okay, maybe not best place to look. somewhere in the chest vicinity?? better.
❛ but see, you can pull adorable off. me?? not so much. takes a certain kind of, ❜ he gestures vaguely, ❛aesthetic. ❜
perhaps he should ease up a little bit, raising a brow to the complete look of sheer panic on laurence’s features. it’s a bit funny how so little actually got to him, but it almost seemed to be a bit much.
though the man kept responding and lucius was never good at practicing certain forms of self-restraints. ❝ donations are considered to be an act of altruism, so this definitely seems like more of an exchange. and i wouldn’t say shades of grey… more shades of red. you’re adorable when you blush. ❞
laurence makes a sound in the back of his throat, clenches his jaw slightly. okay laurence, it’s just flirting. you can do this. you’re not a terribly awkward person who sticks his foot in his mouth every other sentence.
pep talk done, he meets lucius’ eyes. ❛ really, if you think about it, we’re the ones being altruistic. those brownies are to DIE for and you’re only spending a couple dollars on them. ❜ a coherent sentence, wow. doing good.
❛ i am an adult human male, hardly adorable. handsome, maybe. cute, sure. adorable is for toddlers and puppies. ❜ he nods with certainty. not exactly smooth but it’s better than the stuttering mess from moments ago.
the slight color change to the man’s ears is enough for lucius to smirk a little more, leaning against the table as he takes another bite of the brownie. it was good, and if laurence wasn’t there, he would tease joseph about putting holy water in with the batter. but he refrained. ❝ he should call in a favor from every time he’s got a bake sale. i think i’d end up stopping by more often. ❞ not that he didn’t before to donate to the church. but the teases could only keep flowing.
oh. oh, it just keeps coming. laurence shoots a ( slightly ) panicked look at joseph, but the man is occupied giving a brownie to a delighted looking child.
❛ ah– i’d like– WE’D like that. you know, for more donations for the church. is it a donation if you’re buying something?? i think that makes it Not A Donation anymore, right?? shades of grey, i suppose. ❜ laurence. laurence WHAT ARE YOU DOING?? please shut up.
❝So – I know you said you helped Jo-boy over there in baking these, but it must have been all you, right? They taste much better than the last time he tried to do it all on his own. ❞ As well as teasing Joseph, seeing he was in earshot, Lucius couldn’t help himself from flirting with Laurence, holding up the brownie he had just bought and started to eat.
laurence jumps slightly when lucius starts talking to him, blinking up at the man like a startled deer. ❛ i– uh– ❜ he stutters, ears burning at the flirtatious tone. ❛ i mean, he helped. but he ended up– wrangling christie most of the time. kids. it’s not– i don’t usually bake but– favors. ❜ he gestures vaguely and tries to hide his wince. will he ever manage to not completely embarrass himself in front of others?? probably not.
