There it was, the reaction he was looking for. If they hadn't been in the middle of the (albeit quiet) club, this would have been the moment he downed the rest of his glass before pulling himself out his chair to climb on top of Greengrass' lap. He felt the urge in the tingling of his lips and he sudden itching in his leg. He could have—would have, too—if they just had the one very important variable of privacy.
But they didn't, and he couldn't, and although he would have liked nothing more to lead Greengrass to one of the empty rooms in the club he knew it wasn't just that easy. It was easy to daydream about—and he was sure he would once he returned to the privacy of his bedroom, but for now he would have to settle for the little expressions and Greengrass' stumbling of words that made his heartbeat quicken. The pink flush in Greengrass' cheeks was especially damning, and it was the first moment Valerian felt the crotch of his pants tighten. It helped that he had his legs crossed; it helped hide the evidence, but it also made it difficult to shift in his seat without making it all the more apparent. Instead he shifted his upper body, turning slightly towards Greengrass and holding his eyes.
This time both of his brows quirked up at Greengrass' words, notably at the not in the way you're saying, and if he hadn't been blushing just a moment before he might have taken it as an objection. But he was not so easily swayed, not now. "And here I was thinking the boggart took the form of myself because I wasn't afraid of anything else." The words left his lips with a smooth confidence, the corner of his lips twitching in amusement, not because he didn't think he wasn't afraid of anything else, but because of the underlying meaning to his response: I'm not afraid of this.
But they didn't, and he couldn't, and although he would have liked nothing more to lead Greengrass to one of the empty rooms in the club he knew it wasn't just that easy. It was easy to daydream about—and he was sure he would once he returned to the privacy of his bedroom, but for now he would have to settle for the little expressions and Greengrass' stumbling of words that made his heartbeat quicken. The pink flush in Greengrass' cheeks was especially damning, and it was the first moment Valerian felt the crotch of his pants tighten. It helped that he had his legs crossed; it helped hide the evidence, but it also made it difficult to shift in his seat without making it all the more apparent. Instead he shifted his upper body, turning slightly towards Greengrass and holding his eyes.
This time both of his brows quirked up at Greengrass' words, notably at the not in the way you're saying, and if he hadn't been blushing just a moment before he might have taken it as an objection. But he was not so easily swayed, not now. "And here I was thinking the boggart took the form of myself because I wasn't afraid of anything else." The words left his lips with a smooth confidence, the corner of his lips twitching in amusement, not because he didn't think he wasn't afraid of anything else, but because of the underlying meaning to his response: I'm not afraid of this.
