Basil’s heart was pounding in earnest now. Every twitch or movement from the pretty redhead atop him sparked more haze in his mind and less restraint. How long had he been wanting this? How long had it really, truly been since he’d kissed Gus - or anyone - with such abandon? Basil didn’t know if the answer was even in this decade. He didn’t resist as Lissington pulled his hands back, startled for a moment that he’d gone too far. The other only pressed further into his groin however and Basil couldn’t help the groan that escaped him. It was an unfamiliar noise, one that caught him entirely by surprise even as the other made quick work of removing his own robes. Yes, Basil’s mind supplied needily. This was much more effective.

The brunette eyed Gus as his shirt came unbuttoned and he was intrigued as the former cursebreaker’s rather athletic chest and shoulders came into view. That was certainly new. Basil reached up to touch him gently, one hand sliding over Gus’ collarbone and up around his neck while the other pressed against the redhead’s abdomen and snaked under his shirt around Gus’ back to tug him down. It was no wonder the other was so heavy if he was carrying… all this about. Grey hues held blue then, a smug little grin stealing across Basil’s face as Gus studied him. (Well, if anyone had won this hand of cards, it was certainly Basil.)

As Gus slid long, warm fingers under the hem of his shirt then, Basil flinched. Either from alarm, or surprise, he wasn’t sure. It wasn’t an active reaction and luckily the other seemed non-plussed by it as he gently untucked Basil’s formerly tidy shirt and pressed his hand fully against Basil’s own abdomen. The kiss that followed was relentless and Basil sighed into it, wrapping the arm around Gus’ neck tighter. He could feel Lissington’s neediness as it surged through the other’s kiss and all over his body. When the other pulled away just enough to breath something into his ear, everything inside of Basil cried out in the affirmative. Let me touch you.

It was like something out of his waking nightmare turned daydream. So many stars and planets and solar systems had to have aligned for this moment to become a reality. Basil could feel the world turning on its axis, Mercury in retrograde above them, even as he tilted his chin up a fraction and a playful little snarl took over his lips. “Let’s see it then,” he hummed back, a small challenge.

Granting such a permission was vastly extraordinary for Basil, and the moment did not go by unnoticed. He could sense the slight change in his own behaviours, even from when they’d danced the first time around. He’d been a scared, anxious little seventh year then, brain filled with so many concerns and dreams and frivolities that he didn’t know up from down. These days not much had really changed, but this… This was something he’d never quite been able to wrap his head around before. An evident detriment to them both.

It would be a lie if Basil didn’t admit to some trepidation however. He was concerned, about a lot of things. He didn’t want to think presently about what happened… next in their lives. Or about what happened even in the next few hours. He trusted Lissington for the next few seconds, though, even if that fear was the peak of them all.

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