"...yeah. You should go to mixers and have backup partners, though, just in case." Haru peers into the fridge for lunch inspiration. "Ren hardboiled some eggs, I could make egg salad... Backups would be good both for if you get into a backlash hole while I'm not available and also if you wind up scared of me but manage not to be scared of somebody else. But also if there's anything I should be doing to be minimally scary tell me. Possibly stalking you through the house was not a helpful thing to do long term there?"

"...Uh, no, that seems fine.  It was - pretend."  And also hot.  "I mean more like, tying me up in the field in case of dungeon-welfare insanity.  I should maybe also hire someone whose job it is to handle me in case of that, who isn't you."

"Yeah, when you have an agent they can find you someone like that. Egg salad?"

"Egg salad!"

"In your opinion does egg salad contain pickles?" Haru asks, setting about egg-peeling.

"In my opinion it can!"  Julien can assist in prep.

And presently they can have egg salad sandwiches for lunch. And then kisses? Zero backlash kisses, even?

Even that!

.......Julien tries a bite with pickle in it and then picks all of them out and puts them in a pile on the side.  But he does go back for them, once the rest is gone.

"Possibly egg salad should not have pickles in it after all? Pickles are a side dish?"

"Apparently.  I don't regret trying them, though."  Bug is maybe going to ?make fun of him forever? if he keeps not trying things presented to him as options.  Which he thinks might be good.

Anyway. Once the sandwiches are gone and so are the side dishes. Kisses?

Yeah for sure.

"So uh, are these regular recreational kisses or is this the start of the practice run."

"I mean in either case I would hope they would succeed at being recreational but I did have a view towards getting carried away and I suppose it was silly of me to imagine this happening wordlessly since you might experience curiosity that way."

"Yeahhh.  Should I take this to mean there's not anything on your end that particularly wants conversation first, that we haven't already covered?

"I mean I'm sure there are things that could be said but I can't think of things that require it."

"Well then."  Kissing.  With maybe some intentional actions that might help them get carried away.

And maneuvering up the stairs in the process?

Yeah that seems so important!  They should do that.

Haru's room? The bed's not a queen, it's a full, but that's room for two if they're all over each other.

Julien is perfectly happy to follow Haru's lead, here.

Now they can be making out on this bed. Also not wearing shirts. Who needs such things.

Probably like, girls, or something.  Julien doesn't know.

"So:  ....biting?"