"Done," says Bella, adjusting the enchantment with a tilt of her head and an eyelash-flutter.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

She squeezes his hand. "That helps."

Squeeze.

Squeezeback.

"Is there anything else in this general category of things that I should learn now rather than later?"

"...Which general category? People I've slept with since we started dating and not told you about? No," he says. "People I slept with before we started dating? Plenty, but none of them is Rayne, they're not going to come looking for me."

"Were you expecting Rayne to come looking for you?"

"I wasn't, but I should've been," he says. "It's something he'd do. It's not something most people would do."

"People do just sometimes move to Saturn. You could run into any number of them that way."

"Yeah," he says, "I've run into an ex in a pub before, it can be awkward, it doesn't result in this. Rayne is the only person who results in this."

"Okay." She shakes her head, sighs again. "Why does he result in this, what is it about him?"

"He knows me, he knows how to talk me into things, and I keep falling for it," says Ripper, frustrated. "He's mostly benign about it, but you saw his definition of benign when you met me."

"Yes, harmless, killing a man to make you think he was dead so you'd get my attention."

"Exactly. He means well, but it's a very special kind of well. And he doesn't care about anyone but himself and me."

Bella shakes her head. "Well. He can't get in here anymore. If you run into him the next time a beach visits your bubble, or something - then what?"

"I'll tell you when I see him," Ripper promises. "And I'll try not to get drunk with him again, that seems like a bad plan."

"I know technically all I asked was that there not be surprises, but - Rayne in particular seems like a bad idea whether I wind up literally surprised or not."

"He is a bad idea," says Ripper, "but he's my bad idea."