He thinks it's good! In a kind of confusing way, but from his notes on his previous life and the start of his relationship with Maitimo as Leareth, it was confusing then as well. (It's not even that it wasn't confusing before when he was a very young Telumë, even, it's more that he was ramming past his uncertainty because the loneliness and desperation were louder.) 

I am glad this isn't that. Confusing is - okay, right, we're not going anywhere, we can just - do things while they're nice. 

He thinks it would be nice to take off Telumë's shirt, though.

Probably that would be nice? Telumë suspects that Maitimo might actually have a better model than he does of what he'll enjoy, here, since apparently he has a decade worth of various mental barriers in the way of even noticing it. He's definitely willing to try and see if Maitimo taking his shirt off is, in fact, nice. 

In that case he will for the sake of information-gathering take off Telumë's shirt. 

Ooh, he likes that. And now he definitely is wanting to kiss Maitimo some more. 

And in that fashion they can work things out, maybe, slowly and carefully and gently with Maitimo stopping short of anything that feels like it might still be a stretch.

It feels sort of odd that it's still happening that way, with Maitimo being the one who's very patient and gentle, his fragmentary notes on their very early relationship mention that as well. But it's very good, and Maitimo is very good, and he's so glad that they're together now. 

And a few weeks later they get a letter from Vanyel. (There's a very fast and efficient mail system between the countries now.) He asks if they would be interested in visiting Haven. Some people are back. Queen Karis in particular, and she wants to thank Telumë in person for his work that led up to Foundation existing and helping bring her and her daughter back. 

"Oh good, that's got to be good for Van."

"I think so! He sounds very happy in the letter. Anyway, would you like to accompany me on a state visit to Haven? It has been several years, I ought to go again anyway." 

"Yes, I would!!"

- embarrassedsadstressed nostopthat excited cheerful.

Telumë reaches for his hand. Hey. I know you do not prefer to tell me all of your feelings without meaning to, but - if this is going to be stressful, I would like if we could speak of it. It seems important to be able to talk about. 

It's just - 

- they all know, and I don't like people knowing. And they don't just know in the abstract from having figured out how the dates line up, Jisa watched, Melody helped, Dara was called in to cast a Truth Spell on him in his bed after the marriage - 

- also I'm going to need to apologize about the attempted murder - 

That makes sense. I am sorry. I think - it will help, probably, with making that less salient in their story of our marriage, if they see you and interact with you as you are now. It was a long time ago, as humans reckon it, and - many other things happened, afterward. 

Nod.

Then they can prepare for the journey. There are permanent Gates everywhere now; they can't get all the way to Haven in a single leap, the network is segregated into lots of little sections like they'd discussed once in Arda, but they can get there in half a dozen hops with barely any travel actually on foot.

And he is, despite some complicated feelings, excited! It is good to see Valdemar starting to rebuild.

Vanyel comes out to meet them at the Gate-terminus, without Stef. He looks visibly older (he's fifty now), but overall quite healthy and spry, and he's smiling very brightly. "It's so good to see both of you! Thank you for coming!" 

"It's good to see you too! Oh, this is lovely, there's so much city back for people to come back to -" and a little bit scoldingly - "Did you do far too much of it yourself -"

"...Maybe a little. We're still shorter on mages than is ideal. I promise I've been outsourcing, though! A lot of it was built without magic entirely."  

"You'll have to show us around."

Vanyel will happily do that!

The style is a lot closer to Haven of old, with low-contoured stone buildings forming the core of the Palace, but everything is very clean and extremely well-made with some tasteful carvings as extra decoration, and there are statues. Vanyel steers a wide berth around one that appears to be of him. 

He will ask questions about the architectural features that are not enormous statues of Vanyel.

Well, that one is an enormous statue of Telumë instead! (He does not look fifteen, though, the sculptor has made him look at least twenty.) 

A good choice! Maitimo thinks that puberty improved his husband significantly. He ruffles his hair and says as much.