:That's good. --Would it be weird for you if I went for it? I don't want to change my never-been-kissed status more than I want to not make things awkward with you and Vanyel.:

:No, I–: He stops. :It'd be a little weird for me. I think Van will just be happy for you. I don't mind, figure it's the kind of weird I'd get used to in about a day: 

:Do you want to talk about it?:

:...Does talking about it help?: It seems like the sort of thing that could help in theory but he has no idea what to say. 

:It frequently does! It might not always? Your friend doing kissing-valence things with your brother might not be the kind of thing improved by thinking about it more.:

:Hmm. I'm trying to figure out what's– Oh. I think it mostly feels like you're, um, a grownup? In a way Stav and I aren't? I don't know if that makes sense. But I think that's why it feels a bit weird - which doesn't mean that it's bad!: 

:Oh! I'm not a grownup, I promise. I'm just, uh, I don't know, good at advice? Or something? And not very, uh, traumatized of a form that makes itself super evident day-to-day? I have been interacting with people I'm not related to for little over a year.:

Tylendel giggles. :Well, all right, I'll take your word for it: Yawn. :I'd better sleep: 

:Sleep well.: 

She pecks Van on the cheek and stands up and walks over to Staven and sits down beside him. She is only a little bit nervous, honest, please ignore any flushing in her cheeks. 

"So, um, I have never been kissed, and 'Lendel says you might be interested in helping me fix that." 

Startled wide-eyed look! "I, um, I..." He turns bright red. "You're very beautiful!" 

--She ducks her head and giggles a little. "Thanks. I, um, I did that on purpose? I like looking nice. It's good. It feels good."

"Huh. Sometimes girls are funny about that kind of thing, they don't want to admit that they're pretty - or that they make an effort to be - but I think it's good too." He reaches out and puts his hand on her knee. 

"Do we? I mean, they, I don't--I admit I feel a little silly to care about my appearance, but people are allowed to be a little silly, and I don't think that when it's other people so probably feeling like it's silly is sillier--but I don't see any reason at all to lie about it. But then, I don't see any reason to lie about most things people don't talk about openly, honestly. Maybe there's something I'm missing. Or maybe I'm not the one who's silly." She smiles at him. 

He smiles back, then reaches out to sort of pet her hair, sliding his hand down to her neck. "...May I kiss you?" 

She grins brightly and nods. 

The next morning, whenever Lucy emerges, Donni is sitting at the dining table with Mardic. She immediately grins and waggles her eyebrows. "Had some fun last night, did you?" 

"Oh, not too much. But, yes." She smiles at Staven. "It was nice."

Staven smiles back at her. "It was!" 

"Well?" Donni waits a moment. "Come on. Spill. Is he a good kisser?" 

"How should I know? I hadn't kissed anyone else before."

"That's fair! Maybe you should compare! You can kiss 'Lendel and Van can kiss Staven." 

Tylendel, in the middle of wandering out of his room, stops in the hall. "–er, what?" 

"Donni's just being obnoxious!" Lucy calls to Tylendel. "Donni, leaving aside the part where 'Lendel has a boyfriend, I imagine people are better at kissing when it is a person they are remotely attracted to, I refuse to contaminate my data by kissing people who don't like girls."

"Fiiiine. Then maybe Mardic and I co–"

"No," Mardic said without looking up from his plate. "Sorry, Staven, she's always like this."