“...Do we have any plans for how to not die at the hands of creepy worm lady?”

"...I'm not sure she meant to imply that she was the one bringing about my crimson fate. It felt more like... she was saying a thing that was going to happen without her involvement.--I'd suggest talking to her to find out what she knows but I don't fancy being eaten alive by bugs."

(He scratches himself unconsciously.)

“I’m.... not sure if that’s better or worse. 
...You could text her back?”

"You're right, I could. --I should probably think of something more diplomatic than 'do you have any information about this other than vague ominous foreshadowing.'"

"Yeah, gonna say that that probably wouldn't go over well."

"I was thinking my crimson fate was, like, blood, but when I reflect on it it's not obvious. Remember Blake's dreams? Where Gertrude was about to die and the tendrils were red and the whole institute was pulsing crimson?"

"Yeah. You think it's--something about that, or like that? I guess we don't even know what that is, really."

"I mean, it's red, and involves the Archivist's death, so there's... an obvious conclusion. --Mostly my plan is to try to learn more and avoid doing anything that seems obviously dangerous. Which is not like a great plan but I don't know how to improve on it."

"I... guess that makes sense? I can't think of any ways to improve on it either. Maybe I'll get a pocketknife or something. Not that I'd know how to use it, really, but it seems like the kind of thing that might come in handy?"

"You could learn how to use it. They have classes and stuff."

"Probably a good idea."

Mmmm snuggles. 

Lev is going to put his hands up under Martin's shirt.

Confused blinking!!!

As blinking does not actually cause Lev's hands to be less under his shirt, he ends up relaxing into it and resting his head on Lev's. He considers asking if he can put his hands under Lev's shirt too but cannot think of any way of asking that is not unbearably awkward and, besides, he snuggles Lev shirtless weirdly often as it is. "You're really good."

"Love you."

Martin is very nice to touch actually. Also it is kind of thrilling to touch someone who is really into him. Lev has never really experienced being a tease before and he is pretty sure he's enjoying it too much. 

"--you know I don't mind if you sleep with somebody else."

"...O...kay, I guess? I wasn't really planning on it, to be honest, even if--none of whatever this is--was happening, I'm not really... interested in sleeping with other people?"

"I just figure that if I'm going to be a horrible tease I should... let you seek out other, less tease-y people. If you want to."

Shrug. "Fair enough, I guess? I mean, I'm not going to, but I can--see why you'd want that."

"I um. --I don't know how likely this is to happen because I am clearly extremely picky and I don't trust anyone except you and not that many people want to date me in the first place but if I did meet someone else I wanted to date I would want to be able to do that?"

“Can’t be that picky, you’re willing to date me.”

"Am too! I have wanted to date two people ever! And you are extremely good!"

“...You have wanted to date two people ever and one of them was Asher Kane and, uh, I am really not as good as Asher Kane! I don’t even think that’s a matter of opinion, I don’t—I’m sorry, I probably shouldn’t bring him up just to make a point.”

"...Asher has the property of making everyone else around him feel insecure but this is not actually a great trait in a person I am dating? And also I don't pick my partners based on their dancing ability or how many papers they've published or their number of friends or how absurdly rich their parents are or how big their dick is. I don't... actually care about any of those things that much."

“I guess.

I just... don’t really get what you see in me? Aside from, uh, me being minimally likely to be secretly evil, and you being trapped with me, because you already told me stuff that you don’t want to tell anybody else, and those seem like kind of bad criteria. I guess ‘not secretly evil’ is a good thing? But—you know.”

"Well, for one thing, you're very tall."

Spluttering! “And that’s—what, a qualification?” Mmmmm Lev is very huggable. Also his forehead needs kissing.