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.