- he wouldn't - if we have a transition of power it won't put you in danger, promise -

Okay, but also I wouldn't flirt with Maitimo.

Suit yourself. Picky about hair color? Should I not make plans to loan you out to anyone unreasonably tall?

If he asks to borrow me you can hand me over, just. Ummmmm.

Yeah, he wouldn't. The doing-what-people-trust-you-to-do thing is like breathing for him.

Anyway I'm not just flirting with you 'cause of the crown. Like you are not a hundred percent wrong but you're like seventy percent wrong?

I don't have hurt feelings over it, promise. 

I didn't say you did, I said you were seventy percent wrong! I am mostly flirting with you 'cause you're sweet and you sing prettiest.

I do sing prettiest! Is the rest 'insurance in case we've been lying about our willingness not to hurt you' or more 'power is hot', Maitimo said he should have warned me about the second thing but he was - joking? Or being faintly ironic, at least.

The rest is, like - reflex. I could explain it more but it would probably make you sad.

I think I sort of want to know anyway, if I'm going to be - playing along -

Okay, like, the thing I am used to doing is comparing ways I could be spending my time? Sometimes I could get away with doing things that are just nice, even in Angband - watching sparks fly or designing myself an art or telling my foster siblings stories or something - but, uh, until I was pretty seriously pregnant I kind of had this torture quota? My foster parents weren't solely responsible for it any more once I wasn't so little and fragile but that just meant anyone else who thought I didn't look recently injured enough would have a go. So I'd go - bother - whoever would get that over with nicest, and that almost always meant ones who wanted to fuck me, especially if they also kind of liked me, people who are into straight-up torture or who were motivated by their duty to make sure I was an adequate orc-baby-having-machine are so much less fun to kill an afternoon with. And now practically everything is nice or at least okay and it doesn't honestly look like that is going to stop if you have anything to say about it but I still kind of go 'oh gosh someone who likes me and might conceivably want to have sex with me that is the best news I have heard all year'.

Nod.

Thank you. I - ugh.

But mostly I just like you!

There are also other ways of expressing affection for people and doing nice things for them, besides offering them sex? If that wasn't clear.

Yeah I know I am also writing you a song but it is not done yet. Seriously though I know that, I don't know much but I have, like, family, I am familiar with liking people I'm not gonna bang! I like you in the sex-offering way specifically!

Okay. Long as that's clear. 

I like the way you react when I sing and I like your resourcefulness and I like the way your whole face changes when you're happy, but - among Elves it is considered vaguely dishonorable to dissociate sex and romance, or to pursue someone just out of desire -

Gosh, it would be awful if you romanced me, I would probably expire of dismay or something, better call the whole thing off.

And now we're back to the thing that would have to wait for peacetime.

Still can't get married over here. Do people who are already dating have to break up?

I think they mostly put that on hold, yes.

Wow, poor Elves.

It has its disadvantages. I really think we are less motivated by sex than you. We don't have it less often once we're married, and some people are in an awful hurry to get married, but - when it's the wrong time it's the wrong time.

Maybe you are less... time motivated?

That sounds like it describes it.