:I hope I did not make you neglect any critical work: Leareth is less worried about any work he neglected, it's unlikely to have been urgent. 

Me? Work? I don't see what being royalty is for if it's not lounging around all day seducing men and having servants bring you potato fries.

Leareth laughs and leans on Maitimo's shoulder. :We do eventually need to fix the multiverse. But it does not have to be today: 

Vanyel's been hoping it's possible to draw a Maia out of the Void. Since we lost Olórin when we used the device. I know you have a long list of research projects already but that should probably be on there.

:It is on the list: This is a good reminder, though, he hasn't specifically thought about it that much lately. :There were avenues that were not worth pointing Vanyel at before since he lacks too many component skills, but now that I have my magic again, I can request more records from Velgarth and see if my idea pans out at all: 

Sounds good. 

A servant brings a plate of seafood and potato fries.

Leareth shifts over and leans against Maitimo's shoulder to eat. :I am so glad that today happened:

Oh good. It can probably happen again, if you'd like, sometime.

:Good! I would like. Sometime: 

He clips his amulet back on. And it's - important to me people don't notice. I'm sorry.

:I know that: It would have been hard not to notice. :I understand and I will be careful. ...Is it all right if I tell Vanyel, though, in private?: 

Yeah. You tell him everything. - though he'll tell Stef who has lots of good qualities that don't always include shutting up about things -

:Hmm. I do think that Stef is capable of being strategic about when to shut up. I do not think he would see it as advancing his goals, to spread this around, and Vanyel will make it clear how angry you would be: 

All right. 

Leareth nods. Spends a minute or two mulling on how to tell Vanyel, it's - really big, actually, he can't even imagine what face Vanyel is going to make, does he even know Maitimo likes men... :Vanyel does not know about Findekáno, does he?: 

No. You are the only person who has ever learned that about me. 

:You are very good at keeping secrets:

It's - really important. It'd go over so badly - they'd wonder about the mind control first off, actually -

:...Oh, with us, not with Findekano. That makes sense. I - hope it will change, eventually. With exposure to more worlds. This is - it is a strategic consideration now, but not a fundamental fact about morality, right? Though it makes sense that is seems as one, given your people’s history. But we already knew Eru’s values are not identical to ours:

I mean, probably marriage is more virtue-encouraging for people than - whatever it is I'm doing with my life. But I guess I've warmed up to the idea that the way marriage works in our world is kind of bad and we should shop around for better models, and also that virtue-encouraging is not .... actually what everything is for.

:No, it is not what everything is for: Now doesn't seem like the time to go on his usual speech about how virtue is fake, and besides Maitimo has to know all of it by heart at this point.

He does. He is not entirely sure that he agrees but it's good to have a Leareth in your head even if you are not one.

He goes back to work. He is very good at not acting the slightest bit different, not even a bit happier.

Leareth doesn't trust himself to do the same so he checks in briefly with Vanyel, apologizing for his absence today (without explaining, yet, he hasn't gotten there), and stays in his room. Reads, takes some notes. Finds himself daydreaming more than usual.

He's tired enough that he goes to bed earlier than usual after bidding Maitimo goodnight over Mindspeech, part of him faintly wistful that Maitimo isn't there next to him. It's not really practical, Quendi need less sleep, and today's not a good day for it anyway since Maitimo was here half the day and is probably running behind. 

"Well?" Jisa says, finally at the end of another day and squirrelled away in her shielded room with Stef. "I'm starting to think you're just wrong that it worked and he–"

"Pretty sure I'm not wrong," Stef says smugly.