- so does the possibility of psion-induced marriage buy us a grace period if we are found out and if so does it require actually getting married to take advantage of it -

Possibly and yes, though - if that's not something you'd want - if psions can do marriage they could do divorce, too -

It seems very premature and I wouldn't bring it up if not for its potential practical import but I'm not opposed in principle?

Would you want children someday?

No strong feelings either way.

Nod. 

I feel better about it with a backup plan for handling - things getting out - and a plan to eventually not need secrets -

Yeah, me too.

I don't think we got farther than vague optimism on our actual compatibility?

We did not. You also haven't said if you even want -

I have not been pining because I parsed you illegible but if I make the right mental adjustments my brain goes 'whoa'?

...okay. Eartips very very red.

Although I'm not totally sure if the mental adjustments should be 'okay, apparently I'm into subs, switches, and one really hot alien' or 'Maitimë is a dom with an exception and it's me'?

Either of those are fine? 'One exception' is a weird framing because you're straight-up the only person I've ever wanted -

... really?

...yes? 

I'm flattered.

You are a very exceptional person.

So - compatibility -

Yeah, that. There's been a lot of ink spilled about how lots of things people do as markers of dominance or submission could go either way - do, in different cultures or just different couples - with only little cosmetic details changed - like, in the United States it's a thing for doms to hand-feed their subs but in a lot of Middle Eastern societies it's the other way around, and if you had people compare pictures they'd figure out which was which based on subtleties of body language and not just go off who's feeding whom. It seems unlikely on the face of it that we'd have strong incompatible needs on the level of who feeds whom but likelier that some of the subtleties would wind up feeling weird, if we were both interpreting some thing differently -?

Plausibly, yes - or, like, I wouldn't mind wearing hairstyles that read sub to humans, my people won't parse it that way -

Yeah.

Fundamentally I think my role has a lot more to do with getting what I want than with specifically getting it by way of issuing instructions, which is why the terrifyingly-competent-agent-of-my-dom's-will spin on what you described was so promising, but - I like it when people are mine - it's not even specifically a romance thing, like, Alex is 'mine'.

I think I know what you mean but since parsing small distinctions might be relevant - what makes someone relevantly yours -

...Someone is mine if it is unrealistic that I would ever have to put significant effort in to avoid being at odds with them, and they love me and have my interests among their top priorities, and if I can - plan with rather than around them?

That definitely wouldn't be a problem. I - already feel like that's true.

Okay, another reason to have this conversation not loitering by this portal is that at some point I may feel overwhelmingly tempted to tell you to kiss me.