[ He laughs, body shaking in Verso's hold, against the palm that's now lying flat against his belly, and reaches back over his shoulder with his right hand to card his fingers through Verso's hair. ]

If we start with that, we'll never get anywhere else.

[ And maybe that would be all right, if they can meet again tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that. If he can convince Verso to join the team and be with them in the camp, on the trails. Maybe they really do have time, however little of it Gustave has left. ]

Which isn't to say I don't want to hear it all.

[ Hear it all, let Verso do it all, and do everything he himself had dreamed of doing to this man in the times when he'd let himself imagine it. He turns just enough to find Verso's mouth for a kiss, then gently coaxes those arms to unclasp from around him so he can turn and step back, make a little space between them. ]

But first...

[ He reaches into his jacket, retrieves a little bunch of... yes, flowers, the flowers he'd selected late in the day, trying to keep them as fresh as possible. There's a delicate purple one, but it isn't the only blossom he offers: it's accompanied by a few pink, a few yellow.

His cheeks, too, have a faint dusting of pink on them. He feels slightly ridiculous, but he doesn't care. ]

I did promise.