Raju looks surprised and then his hand curls into a fist, he leans even further forward, then lets out a hard breath through parted lips. My love was the last weight on a scale Raju didn't know was there, and he knows for certain now that he can't allow himself to move at all. If he did, it'd be to do something he can't allow himself. It'd been a matter of course at home, sometimes more or less often but never a surprise, the affectionate words. He realises, vaguely, that he can't remember the first time he and Seetha said something like that to each other. Whenever it was, it surely wasn't a surprise then either. But Francis is an adult whose life could have taken him anywhere else, and that he'd want to call Raju my love now wasn't ever guaranteed. It's an odd feeling. Not surprise, exactly.

"I want everything." The serious, intent way that it comes out wasn't something Raju planned, but it's true, and there's no reason for Francis not to know he means it. His gaze moves over Francis' body, down and then back up again. He starts to smile. "And I like danger. I like a challenge. Show me."