Marius blinks, deliberately and slowly, as he attempts to catch up with his own breath, a whirlwind just barely contained in his chest as he laughs with Freddie above him. He smiles at the kiss to his skin, savoring it as he lets out a long breath, caught up at last. A lazy haziness hangs around them in the afterglow, like a curtain, cutting them off from the rest of the world. This, Marius finds, is just as pleasurable as the act itself, and he enjoys it greatly.

"Yes?" He says, still letting his hands wander, soft and aimless, across Freddie's heated skin, as warm as the steam rising above a kettle of tea. He watches Freddie, still smiling, takes in the flush satisfaction of his appearance. "Well, you probably don't need to hear it from me, but the practice has clearly paid off. You're wonderful." And he means it, truly. He might be excessive in his compliments occasionally, but Marius is especially earnest in the wake of fucking.

Marius hasn't had as much practice with different people as Freddie has, but with the one person he'd previously been intimate with, they'd had sex enough times for him to know what he's doing. But he appreciates the compliment, feels it unfurl in the burst of confidence he feels. "Thank you," he says as Freddie moves to his elbows again. Marius smiles again at that touch, leaning into it as he brings one hand up to smooth through Freddie's own tangled hair.

He's surprised by the question, though he supposes he shouldn't be. Marius has never been one for subtlety.

"No," he answers honestly. "I can't say that it is 'my style,' so to speak. But I thought, what's the harm in trying something new?"

"Not that you're just 'something new,'" he adds, not wanting to cause offense. "I've really enjoyed our conversations, on top of everything else."

Possibly, he is ruining what books have called 'the moment,' but Marius finds he can't help himself.