Isabella notices, next time Sadde's in her room for an evening. "Pet?"

"Yeah. That's me."

"C'mere." Head on lap conversation time. "Tell me what you're thinking."

"I'm thinking it's Wednesday," he sighs, going to her lap pretty willingly.

Pet, pet, pet. "Mm-hm."

"And soon it'll be Friday, which means the semiquarter will end, and summer break will start."

She starts rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah."

"And... d'you remember the thing Tobias said last time?"

"Which thing, lovely?"

"About... expecting me to go home and tell him all about school and such. Expecting me to be well-behaved. P—pretty much the exact same thing he said in an email he sent me today."

Pet, pet, neckrub, neckrub. "If I recall right, after that you said you'd be able to do it if I told you to."

"Yeah. Y—yeah I can probably do it. If you tell me to. I'd—rather you didn't, though. Right now, I mean. W—wait until the last moment. Um."

"I wasn't going to jump the gun, pet." She kisses his temple.

"Right. Of course." He sighs. "I hate him so much. And I kinda hate myself a little for wanting you to have figured out telepathy with me."

"I'm sorry, lovely. I'll miss you." Pet pet pet pet.

"I'll miss you, too. I wonder if he'll even give me internet access."

"I was kind of assuming he wouldn't."

"Yeah, me too, but if I'm particularly well-behaved..."

She wraps her arms around him and squeezes.

Well, being squeezed is certainly very nice. "I love you."

"I love you too, pet. I don't want to let you go. I wish I didn't have to."

"Me, too. I'm yours, not his. That won't change, no matter what he does."

Nuzzle.

"Yeah, I think I'm coming up on the last or maybe second to last breakthrough." Snuggle.