"In case I later set my sights higher than whoever I'd previously been kissing?"

"In case you weren't in the habit of hubris." Swoop. "Just the harmless kind that says 'I deserve to be happy and safe', it hadn't occurred to me to worry whether I'd distract you from becoming a space empress."

Bella does a barrel roll. "Okay, that explains the first Year, then."

"After that I decided that I'd say something if you seemed interested!"

"Ah. And then Iobel's cat came along..."

"Well, and Kib found it helpful to add that I was being totally unreadable-to-a-Bell on the subject and should take more initiative."

"Oh gods, he did? What did he say?"

I still can't actually tell if you need this advice or not but for whatever it's worth while Bells can in fact discuss our feelings we also enjoy cultivating narratives of being effortlessly irresistible and as such prefer not to be the initiating parties. Loki's an exception, Boots isn't.

"Oh."

"I will follow you across as many galaxies as you like but I'm probably not going to employ Kib's boyfriends' strategies of behaving like ridiculous children, so consumed were they by desire for the fascinating Bell they met. I can't help but feel like that has got to be one of several possible approaches."

"I wonder how Kib's husband managed it, actually, he seemed kind of timid."

"Perhaps I should have gone to him for advice. Bit of an invasive question, though, from a stranger -"

"A little bit. I could ask Kib. But it's kinda beside the point because we are a little past the point where you can just copy somebody..."

"Indeed! My place in the multiverse is at your side and if you are interested in that involving dating it totally can, I shall have to stick with that."

Bella looks at him speculatively.

He will hover a little and smile at her.

She swoops up to him and kisses him.

He kisses her back and sends her absolute delight and admiration and happiness.

Eeeee! She can lob back some delighted affection.

Kissing in midair is nice but at this rate he is going to get distracted and fall out of the sky.

Oh dear. Then she will have to chase after him and catch him and set them down on the ground.

The ground has some advantages for sending bursts of adoration at people.

It does make the fact that he is a foot taller than her a little more inconvenient, though.

Hmm. He could pick her up, or she could hover, or they could lie down on this nice grass they planted several months ago...

The grass is pretty great. Bella votes grass.