2 July 1892 — Ty's House, Wellingtonshire
If Tycho asked, Ford planned to say he'd spent the past thirty minutes cleaning up. It was a stretch, but believable; there had been an array of papers on the desk that had been strewn about the room when Tycho, in avian form, swooped by them. In reality, the mess in Ford's room was exactly as it had been when Ty had left it. He'd needed the time to make himself presentable. He'd found a bottle of cologne, although he normally didn't wear any. He'd dressed fully (a necessity if he was going to go out through the floo without arousing suspicion) and then taken a moment to consider how each of his various layers would look if he were undressed that far and no farther for a time. He'd fussed over his hair, only to end with it looking much the same as it had five minutes earlier when he'd started.
Of course, while he was doing all of this physical preparation he was also trying to mentally prepare himself. Prior to tonight Ford might never have considered that Tycho would ever kiss him, but now he had become, at least in his own mind, an expert in Ty's romantic overtures. Tycho might very well do something blindingly sweet and apparently sentimental, but (Ford lectured himself) Ford should take such things only with a grain of salt. After all, it wasn't as those types of things were unique to this moment. Ty had invited him to go stargazing in his homemade observatory before, while talking grandly about how they might travel together to see distant constellations. They'd shared cups of cocoa on a balcony and watched fireworks together on New Year's Eve, just the pair of them. These sorts of gestures were not inherently romantic; they were just the sorts of things Ty did. The same went for how he spoke or the almost tender way he had touched Ford in his bedroom. Ford could call up half a dozen examples of similar things happening before, so they could not possibly mean anything now. They looked different with the context of a kiss, but they weren't.
This was purely physical; he couldn't let his imagination run away with him and complicate things.
He was still nervous when he flooed in, but that was probably natural. It had been months since he'd been with someone, and he certainly had a much narrower range of experience in this area than Tycho did. Ty must not have been too disappointed with Ford's kissing if he'd still asked him to visit that night, but there were still plenty of ways the night could fall flat.
"Caw if you got stuck as a bird in a suit," Ford called as he made his way out of the fireplace, stripping off his coat.
Of course, while he was doing all of this physical preparation he was also trying to mentally prepare himself. Prior to tonight Ford might never have considered that Tycho would ever kiss him, but now he had become, at least in his own mind, an expert in Ty's romantic overtures. Tycho might very well do something blindingly sweet and apparently sentimental, but (Ford lectured himself) Ford should take such things only with a grain of salt. After all, it wasn't as those types of things were unique to this moment. Ty had invited him to go stargazing in his homemade observatory before, while talking grandly about how they might travel together to see distant constellations. They'd shared cups of cocoa on a balcony and watched fireworks together on New Year's Eve, just the pair of them. These sorts of gestures were not inherently romantic; they were just the sorts of things Ty did. The same went for how he spoke or the almost tender way he had touched Ford in his bedroom. Ford could call up half a dozen examples of similar things happening before, so they could not possibly mean anything now. They looked different with the context of a kiss, but they weren't.
This was purely physical; he couldn't let his imagination run away with him and complicate things.
He was still nervous when he flooed in, but that was probably natural. It had been months since he'd been with someone, and he certainly had a much narrower range of experience in this area than Tycho did. Ty must not have been too disappointed with Ford's kissing if he'd still asked him to visit that night, but there were still plenty of ways the night could fall flat.
"Caw if you got stuck as a bird in a suit," Ford called as he made his way out of the fireplace, stripping off his coat.
Set by Lady!