Victor's hand hadn't moved from where it rested against Elias's side, his thumb tracing idle, unhurried patterns like he had nowhere else to be.
"Careful," Elias said after a moment, voice light but threaded with dry amusement. "You keep this up, I might start thinking you like me."
Victor's mouth curved slowly in that devastating smile that gave Elias butterflies despite his better judgment. "Took you long enough."
Elias gave him a look over the rim of his glasses, the kind that could strip varnish. "So this is you being patient?"
"This is me being polite," Victor said, the warmth in his voice at odds with the sharp precision of his gaze. "If I stopped being polite, you'd know."
Elias let the corner of his mouth tilt, but he didn't give him the satisfaction of an actual smile. "This is your definition of being polite?"
Victor's eyes gleamed, the faintest flicker of mischief breaking through the composure. "You're still upright, aren't you? That's polite."
