Raju's grin softens. There's a certain boundary past which annoying Francis stops being fun either of them, and Francis sounds as if he's nearing it; in the interests of easing Francis past his own frustrations Raju crawls up Francis' body again, settling on one side with his cheek against his fist. For a second Raju's quiet, studying the very close view he's got now of the arm Francis has thrown over himself and trying to spot the expression hiding beneath it.

"I'm laughing because I like it," he says, the amusement still there in his voice, but gentler. His own free hand starts rubbing long circles over the chest and stomach that are bothering Francis so much, and he kisses the wrist Francis has got dangling over his face. "Look at me, won't you? You've got too lovely a face to cover it up this way."