LUCIUS.

                ^{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. 

lucius.

                  ^{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.  

LUCIUS.

                 ^{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.

LUCIUS.

                _{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. ❜  

HELP.

             _{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.