October 1st, 1892 — Hotel in London

The seduction that evening had left Victor seeing stars, so that he had needed a few minutes stretched out naked on the bed before he felt composed enough to even think of other subjects, much less bring them up eloquently. Perhaps he ought to have started with the news, given that he'd written Leo and arranged this meeting specifically to share it, but what was the rush? They had all night together, unless Leo decided to leave early. There was no sense in ruining the mood — and when Victor hadn't had too much to drink, he was thoughtful about these sorts of things. Now was probably the time... although he might also forego it for a few minutes to see if he could entice Leo to a bath.

No, it was probably best to get on with it. Any more dallying risked being taken for avoiding the subject, which would do Victor no favors.

"I'm glad you were free tonight," Victor said, rolling over and propping himself up on his elbows. He walked his fingertips over Leo's bare chest. "I had something to tell you and I wanted to do it in person." He paused a second, then added with a smile, "That, and I missed you."

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