Dan does expect, but the joy of having to partition his mind so thoroughly is that he can hold onto that faint thrumming of anticipation and keep the core of the surprise. Something to be said for sheer force of will to give this to Marcus however he wants to do it, that counts too.

He settles down beside Marcus, their knees touching; he finds he'd like to be a lot closer, but it's too early in the evening to just drape himself over Marcus.

"Yeah, it has been," Dan agrees, smiling slow and sweet. "I think I've come to grips with being almost willfully ignorant since then."