"Where are you planning to live?"

"We're colonizing a planet! We haven't named it yet."

"Is it safe?"

Who does he think he's talking to, fruit flies? "Yes."

"And you're its empress?"

"We were planning on sharing the title, but yes."

He nods. Stiffly. "Well. It is not as if she'd be happier without you."

"If she would be I wouldn't try to hold her, but I love her and she loves me."

"I can tell. 

You ended the threat of war in Arda. I want nothing more than for my daughter to enjoy its peace."

Nod nod.

That is about as nice a thing to say as he can muster. He stands there looking deeply unhappy.

Well that was awkward but not the worst possible outcome at all shall we go literally anywhere else.

Thank you Dad I love you, she says, and they are back on their planet.

Hug.

Hug.

"It would eventually be nice to have a working strategy for interacting with him that isn't 'be really bland' but I don't know if that's realistic."

"He's hard to interact with even when he's not really scared and upset."

"Sounds hard to grow up with."

"Yeah. 

It was okay because I mostly wanted what he wanted for me."

"I guess that's sort of lucky as far as it goes."

"I'm just so glad I met you."

Squeeze. "Me too."

Kisses!

Ooh, kisses!

Speaking of kisses -

So apparently that's a thing.

I am going to make a public announcement, says Maitimo, but Lúthien wanted me to wait. Until the announcement is made and more data points become available, I think it'd be wise to abstain from exploring -

-the fact you have a body back?

I realize you've been very very patient.

That's not the point at all. 

Once we're either confident it won't happen by accident or content that the political situation's sufficiently stable that it can handle both of Finwe's sons disowning their firstborns -

I feel like that's the wrong terms on which to consider it.

Oh?

Maitimo, do you want to marry me?

Not if it'll cause a war!

That is the wrong spirit in which to be answering the question!

I still do not believe that you exist! I believe it less than I did a few weeks ago, magic powers that come with turning your soul into a rock are not plausible at all -

If this were real - 

If this were real you'd never have forgiven me and if you did forgive me there'd still be far too much in the way of having that back and we'd be good friends -

Can you give me a little more credit than that?

If this were real of course I'd want to marry you. 

Okay. 

But we really can't afford to, politically. 

Is that your reason or is it that you're pretty sure I'm - someone else - 

Accepting the premise that you're my Findekano and have patiently waited for me for all these years then if we get married we destabilize the current implausible situation which I'm also accepting as a premise and that seems not worth it. Separately I do not believe you are my Findekano and the Enemy doesn't exactly gain anything from me marrying you anyway but it'll be unpleasant and absent a really good reason to do it if this were reality -

- if we were married you'd know that this was reality. Enemy can't fake that.

I don't know that.

Yes you do, Maitimo, think. Things Eru does, Melkor cannot imitate.

I would know I'd married someone, yes.

You'd know it was me.

Could just mean you'd been captured. 

Now you're stretching.

A wish-granting magic rock from another world letting me wish the Enemy dead and get exploding-things powers is the premise here.

What I'm hearing is that if this is real you want to marry me and you have nothing to lose by it if it's not real -

- I don't think you know quite what it's like, thinking it's you and then realizing it's not -

- I'm sure I don't. But if it would mean you knew this was real - or knew it was fake, if you like - one way or the other, for sure...

Intellectually I agree with you. I think marriage requires one muster more than intellectual agreement. Unless you want to take me while I lie curled up in a ball imagining I am anywhere else - you wouldn't have to restrain me, I unlearned that impulse -

Maitimo -

Drop it. Please.

Okay, he says, okay. I'm sorry. 

No, I'm sorry. I never deserved you and now I am not even trying to. 

I will wait ten thousand years.

I know. 

I love you.

I know.