"...Thank you."

"You're welcome?"

"I'm sorry, I don't... know how to... be around people."

"...Fair. Feel free to tell me to go away if you don't want to interact with me anymore."

"I am not very good at finding out whether I want things."

"That seems like it must be very inconvenient."

"I usually have plenty of time to think about it."

"True. Well, if at any point you figure out that, like, me talking to you for more than a certain period of time is annoying or something, you can tell me and I will not do that."

She nods. "Okay."

"Good. Even apart from the potential awkwardness of being generally annoying to one of a single-digit number of other people in the castle I like you and do not want to annoy you."

She smiles slightly.

"I should probably get back to my Ansati. I'm making good progress, I think, I should be able to start trying to decipher the simpler magic books soon."

"Good luck."

"Thanks."

She goes off and studies Ansati for most of the rest of the day, and spends a chunk of the next day doing so as well, but then puts the books away and says, "Tanaikon."

He appears!

"Hi."

"Hi! I got bored. And should probably not just leave my ribs alone long enough to heal by themselves, they could scar."

He grins and hugs her.

She kisses him.

Mm. Kisses.

"There's something about going around with broken ribs all day that gives me ideas," she breathes when she has to come up for air.

"Ideas, you say? I want to hear all about them," he says, settling his hands on her waist and giving her a gentle yet agonizing squeeze.

She is briefly too distracted by the squeezing to say anything, but: "I want you to stab me somewhere that would kill me slowly but inevitably without healing magic and take me with the knife still in."

"I love you."

He kisses her.

Kisses! "I love you," she says when she has to come up for air again, and goes back to kissing.

"I think I am going to drag you off to bed," kiss, "and grant your wish." He picks her up by her waist, which involves squeezing her ribs again.