"Hmm? Not at all."

"All right. Thank you for introducing me to Minor."

"My pleasure. Let me know if you need anything; I'll be doing setup elsewhere but the travel isn't bad."

"Thank you, I will."

He leaves.

When he goes back to Milliways Cir can also tell something is wrong and looks at him expectantly.

"Installations are going really well," he says. "Cefax is having a big ceremony. I think very highly of your Queen."

"Mm-hm, and?"

"I don't think she thinks similarly well of me. Not that it's interfered with anything, exactly."

"Why doesn't she?"

"Well, she's far too diplomatic to say."

"But you have a guess."

"I know what I'd be judging me for."

Hug.

"All the more reason to think highly of her, of course."

"But not in a fun way. I'm sorry."

"Nothing you should have done differently. I would have done some things differently, if I'd been more thoughtful."

Snuggle. "What things?"

"Well, I said to her 'I want him exclusively' instead of 'I want to pay to get him out of all his contracts', for one thing."

Nod. Sigh. Kiss.

"Are you happy?"

"I love you." Pause. "...How would you feel about it if you went to some planet and made friends there and it was for some reason really socially unacceptable there to want expensive presents, and you explained to somebody you made friends with that not only do you have a ridiculous amount of money so 'expensive' isn't the thing they think it is but also you don't have that norm and they mostly believed you but still tried really hard not to act like they would enjoy an expensive present and especially not let you find out what they wanted for their birthday?"

"I would be super frustrated. I'm sorry, it's just -

I'm sorry. 

There are lots of people back home. None of them magically love me but some of them fall in love with me, and we have telepathy, I can still know it. And yet I didn't want any of them. It isn't something I'd given a lot of thought before but I think I am more tempted than I would be if all of the - horrible coercive bits - hadn't ever been there at all - do you see why that worries me -"

"Yeah. But I know you and I love you and I trust you."

"Well. If I throw out the part of me that tries to do right by people, and just think about if I were trying to arrange myself a fantasy - so you could know what the one'd look like and then make more informed decisions - anyhow, if we imagine me who doesn't care about doing right by people, he takes you home and flies you into the city from the peninsula so you can be thoroughly dazzled by how pretty it all is and how wealthy and powerful we all are and doesn't mention Milliways - so you can still take trips home, you know, they're just a lightleaper trip and a mild imposition - and orders a very pretty apartment made up and then takes you to Taniquetil to get made immortal and is delighted and curious the whole way and confesses himself a little bothered that you know him so well while he knows you not at all and it's a shame how he can't read your mind but he can be so so happy if you'd share it, all the time, everything.

And then once he's satisfied that you don't on any level secretly hate him for this he would want you in bed and not do everything in his power not to show it, and then he'd check from there how you felt about everything else he might dream of, and want it at you, and be so happy, and assure himself you were happy because he was.

Do you see the problem now -"