"Well, I have never tried to explain pizzazz before...uh...it's...sparkly? But not literally?"

"I think maybe I get what you mean."

"We have a dictionary, I should probably just look it up."

"That might help, yes."

She finds the dictionary and looks it up.

"'A combination of energy and glamour,'" she quotes. "Huh. Not quite what I was expecting."

"I certainly have energy. Not sure I've ever been accused of glamour."

"But you're a mysterious irrepressible stranger who's from literally another world and is going to be a Great Mage someday! I'd say that's pretty glamorous."

"You have a point. Context is everything, I guess."

"And you being excited over science is fantastic."

"Science is fantastic!!"

"You're so pretty when you smile like that."

He blinks, startled.

"...I did not make the conscious decision to say that out loud!"

"Um," says Milan. "I'm not complaining, but if you would prefer to strike it from the record..."

"...I don't want to make things awkward?"

"Well. Um. That's very understandable."

"...And you're really pretty when you're enthusiastic about things and when you smiled like that it was like being hit over the head so the words spilled out and, um, you seem like most people where you're from haven't, uh, noticed you're really cute and the whole subject is sort of weird for you? And the last thing I want is to be that jerk who's, like, 'I want to be friends with you but only if dating is on the table' because, uh, fuck that and also you're awesome and I totally want to be friends with you, like, whatever else. Normally I plan interactions of anything remotely resembling this flavor better."

"You're, uh - you're not wrong about the subject being sort of weird for me. But I think I prefer to be having this interaction than not. However badly planned."

"Uh. Okay. You're very pretty and I have a crush on you?"

"Well. Thank you," he says. "I - don't spend a lot of time thinking in those terms, because of the sort of weird - but I think you are very pretty too."

"...Thanks," she says, ducking her head almost shyly.

He smiles.

Eee.

"...If you're not used to, um, thinking about it, I could...drop the subject for a little while to give you time to think about it unpressured? Would that be a helpful thing to do?"

"Um. Maybe," he says. "Or I might think about it for two seconds, think 'well, that's complicated', and then go back to trying to stuff twenty years of education into my head in less than a week. "

"...Valid point."