Don Juan had been careful not to hold his breath, to preserve his escape route if he'd misjudged — act casual, pretend Hudson had misheard him, change the subject, act as though Hudson was the weird one if he insisted on dwelling on it — but he still exhaled a little more heavily when the other man mentioned his flat. They had the same idea, it seemed — or at least, Hudson was amenable to skipping a party in order to spend more time with him in a more private location, which was several steps in the right direction. He wouldn't really know if they were after the same thing until they were alone together... really alone together, not the sort of alone you could get from being the only people within earshot in a ballroom or walking along a half-empty street together. He'd let Hudson make the first move once they got to the flat, Don Juan decided. He'd taken one risk tonight, and he'd given Hudson the signal he needed to act confidently.

"Yeah, let's go," he agreed. He was already smiling, almost involuntarily — the familiar high that came along with the certainty that the night was going to get better from here. "Got all the company I need."

---