He is sitting cross-legged on Telumë's bed, singing to himself quietly.

Telumë puts down a plate with some fruit and pastries on the bedside table and sits down beside Maitimo, putting an arm around him. 

Hug. "I really don't like how the empathy bond -

- you gave me a thought-protective amulet once mostly because it wasn't useful, how much the knowledge you could read my thoughts was constraining them - I am very tempted to start doing the same thing with my emotions, getting them to be more convenient - but that's not the place where I like to intervene on myself, right, I like being able to act how I choose and feel however I feel..."

"I would also not like for you to feel you had to do it - or to end up doing it whether or not feeling you 'have' to is accurate. I like knowing how you feel, but...only because it is a true reflection of you." He frowns. "This might do the opposite of help, but - what would you think about it if the empathy bond were symmetrical, and I was also sharing my emotions unfiltered? The Shadow-Lover offered once. To try making a bond from my side as well. He offered during the war when it was the worst idea and would not have solved any of our problems, but I always thought, maybe someday..." 

"Huh. ...maybe? I mostly feel like I know anyways, but - it'd at least stop feeling -"

Sure, he'll just try sharing thoughts. He has feelings about the bond being one-sided. It helps that the magic-senses are sort of the opposite, but - in general the bond is a magic fact about Maitimo belonging to Telumë and there is no symmetric magic fact at all and - and Maitimo has been very decidedly steering this relationship away from anything that reminds him, at all, of that, because it will be a long time before it stops being interwoven in his head with the absolute conviction that it is unsafe to think about anything other than what Telumë wants from him.

All of that makes sense. Telumë hasn't felt like the bond itself is necessarily a fact about Maitimo belonging to Telumë rather than the other way round, but...also he really does want to belong to Maitimo, he wants Maitimo to feel like that's true. He's concerned about the downsides of a standard Velgarth lifebond, but Quendi marriage bonds have somewhat fewer downsides, and he actually talked about this with Foundation a few years ago, in the abstract. 

"I think I would like it," he says. "It ought not be a rushed decision, but...it would make me very happy, to feel as though I were even more properly married to you." 

Hug. "We can keep thinking about it. But - maybe someday, yeah."

Telumë leans on him while they eat, mostly quiet, deep in thought. 

He doesn't have much to say either. 

Eventually: "I want to do this again tonight."

"I would like that." Telumë leans in, very gently, and kisses his cheek. "Would you join me on a walk by the water around sunset? We could climb the big tower again and see the view." 

"I will think about it." He kisses him back. "Hmm - yes."

"That cannot have been very much thinking, I am concerned you are not treating our date night activity with the weightiness it deserves, but - oh, I suppose I will take it." He stands up. "See you tonight. I love you." 

"I love you."

There are some mood swings during the day but by sunset he is calm and happy and affectionate. They can go walk around the edge of the water, look out at the icebergs, climb the tower. 

Telumë leans over with his elbows on the rail around the tower's rooftop, looking out at his city. Was something bothering you today? 

Maitimo will stand beside him and rest his head atop Telumë's. 

Just thinking through how sure I am of things I'd want to tell you I was sure of, stuff like that. 

That makes sense. I was worried maybe... What was he even worried about? I think I was worried that maybe on reflection you did not feel good about spending last night with me. 

No. I enjoyed it very much. And in fact one of the things I want to assure you of is that - that I have put enough of me back together I'll just leave, if I need to, that we don't need to be afraid we will make any mistakes worse than that. I feel very sure of this. But I was trying to - poke it, trying to figure out whether you might accidentally scare me enough I could be wrong about that - because I don't want to assure you of it if I might be wrong - even if wildly unlucky coincidences mostly don't happen here -

I understand. Is there a particular shape of thing I might do by accident, that would scare you? Whether or not it would scare you enough to - be bad in that way - I would rather not do that to you. 

I know. Lean. I trust you. There's - the fairly obvious? If you threatened me or if you used magic at me or if you - told me how to conduct myself in your company - I would get upset. You won't do that, so I have spent no particular effort addressing that. There might be - random words that I feel like I've heard before, or the feeling of staying in your bed while you go away to do things - I think I don't like that, and should get up too - but I don't think you should reasonably be trying to avoid that. I would - rather be here with you and some bad echoes than lonely someplace that reminds me of nothing.

All right. I do wish for us to be able to talk about it, when that happens. Also I am wondering if we should actually schedule some times for me to share memories with you? Possibly not at the same time as date nights, it might be mood-ruining. 

We should probably schedule that. Later this week?

That seems good. He proposes a time, earlier in the afternoon so that they could take a break after and still have some evening together if Maitimo wanted, although of course it's fine too if he ends up not wanting it. 

Then they can plan on that, and try to think about less upsetting things until then, like how Telumë's city is pretty and how Telumë is pretty.

Telumë is so proud of his city and especially of the fact that Maitimo likes it even though it's not quite up to Quendi aesthetic standards. He's never considered whether he's pretty, actually; this body is a pretty reasonable one, he thinks, he's pleased with it, but he doesn't exactly spend a lot of time on his appearance. 

It's pretty. Maitimo likes it much better now that it's not a child's - he used to spend a lot of time reminding himself that this was Leareth, and he doesn't do that anymore. Pretty eyes and a pretty nose and a pretty smile. And someday, when they're both ready, Maitimo will learn how Telumë looks safe and relaxed and happy, and he expects it will be very very pretty.