"I will not do this.

"I - sort of have an intuition that wanting lots of things from someone who cares about you, and telling them about it, is - rude, or annoying, or hurtful, or something, because - they care about you and wouldn't want to say no, but that doesn't mean they don't wish you needed fewer things from them - "

" - remember the model I'm working with is that if a man and a woman get married she needs everything from him, and it'd be awful if he were inclined to resent her for it -"

"Oh.

" - I guess I am sort of unclear on whether models where one person needs everything from another are - also models that make it really difficult if the first person ends up needing a lot of things."

"Maybe. I don't think they're very good models. For that reason and other ones. But - 

- I wish I were better at words -

- it's like if where I'm from you are supposed to give your wife as much money as she needs, and this sometimes causes problems when she wants four houses and a full staff in each of them, and people tell you 'it's very important to provide for your wife and not to make her feel like she can't rely on you', and some people are in a corner grumbling 'two houses is plenty' and you're from a place where people don't give their wives any money and feel like you're pathetic and contemptible for wanting five gold? Only the currency isn't money.

I wish I was better at explaining things."

"I guess that's possible. 

"It's not - weird or pathetic or contemptible, where you're sitting, for people to want - kind of a lot of affection and reassurance and stuff - "

"No! People are supposed to! That's how you build - the ability to count on each other!"

Snuggle.

"I guess so. Maybe."

"I'm pretty sure."

"I guess I can - try to believe that and see if anything horrible happens."

"I feel like I understand a bit better why Connor concluded slavery was the solution here. He was wrong, of course, but - I can see what the idea was -"

"Pff. I guess it's possible we're all like this. All decided to be afraid of the new one right away when we heard she could make people do anything she wanted - "

Nodnodnodnod. "At first I was confused because it didn't seem like you would even want a slave but - someone it's not pathetic to rely on, that seems like something you need a lot and have a hard time believing you have -"

"Yeah.

"'S nice. If I can believe for a bit that it's - safe to lean."

"I love you. I'm gonna take care of you. Sometimes you might need lots of taking care of and so I will take care of you lots."

Snuggle.

"That sounds - very very good."

Forehead kiss.

Eee. Snuggle.

"Although I do feel terribly self-centered right now."

"I don't - actually think I want anything that'd be a good idea right now. I like kissing you and making you happy, it's not a chore."

"Mmkay. I'm glad of that. I guess it's easier to think how I'd be good to you if we were married."

He leans against her and makes a vaguely curious sound because words are suddenly hard.

Snuggle.

"I would kiss you, just about whenever I thought of it. And I would be very certain that I loved you, and I would tell you so, all the time, because you deserve to have that. And at some point we would make a baby, and I would be so, so good to all of your babies."

"You would. You're very good to Verita."

"Mhmm. I like kids. And babies."

"I guess we can decide how many we want, with all this stuff from other worlds."

"I guess we can. 

"Other stuff about the future's kind of hazy right now. Sort of depends on where we'd end up living and what we'd end up doing. I - kind of feel like I have a duty to help rebuild Cheliax, if Elizabeth does succeed, but I'm not entirely sure what that'll look like. Or what'd be fair to ask of you."