"Oh?"

"Early days of the whole wretched business and the size was an unpleasant surprise."

He smiles.

"Almost wish I could've seen it."

Snort.

"I like you."

"I like you too."

"—I am really very tempted to kiss you right now."

"Awww," she says. "You're sweet."

He grins at her.

She giggles and pecks him on the cheek.

He looks startled and utterly delighted.

"You are too cute," she accuses him.

Giggle. "That's really not a common complaint!"

"Probably because you keep torturing people! See, this is what happens when you don't torture people, you get kissed on the cheek and called adorable."

"If only I'd thought of that three thousand years ago."

"It would've made everyone's lives so much easier." Hug.

—hug.

"Mm. I'm not sure I could have built my immortality any other way, and I do like being immortal. But I think if I'd met you in the first few centuries, I might've put more work into making the whole thing self-sustaining."

"Maybe there's some kind of convenient interaction with my magic system," she suggests. "If you had met me then."

"I still am working on making it self-sustaining. I don't prefer to have to torture people even when the minimum is a light enough burden that I hardly ever have to think about it. But I'd probably be much farther along by now if I'd had more reason to try from the start."

"That makes sense." Have some more hug.

What an excellent hug.

"It's nice to be touching someone without--you know," she sighs, a little wryly.

"—Do you really not—?"

"I don't never touch people voluntarily, but I spend a lot of time wandering alone in the wilderness."

Nod. Hug. She's very huggable.