Damen was glad that they could always seem to find common ground in a comforting embrace. He tilted his head against Laurent's, nose buried in his fair hair. Both arms encircled his husband. He could not have put into words just then how much this was what he wanted.

A breath like the hint of a laugh followed Laurent's commentary. Damen cupped a hand around Laurent's bare shoulderblade. "If I was not so 'impatient' to you, where might we have gone?" He sounded curious, no frustration in his tone. It was easier, somehow, to talk about it after the fact when there seemed little likelihood of resuming just then, than it had been negotiating things during the fact.