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[brainiest]

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[brainiest]

"I don't doubt it."

Her faith in Dorian is, even now, unwavering and solid, leaning into the touch of his fingers with a soft noise.

"The only captain I know is Cullen and I think he might be interested in someone else. Maybe I'll just be a bachelor, like Queen Elizabeth."

[depicted]

"Queen Elizabeth almost certainly had multiple lovers," Dorian points out. "What about a stablehand? Great muscles on those boys, and they're usually so sweet with animals. I can have one brought to your quarters, no questions asked."

[brainiest]

"I don't - Dorian!" Face pink, she shakes her head. "I don't want any, um. Stable hands or captains or anything of the sort. I'm not really interested in anything like that and I've never..." Ah. Perhaps that's too much information. She purses her lips. Never had sex is what she means, of course, and her dating history is hardly revolutionary.

[depicted]

Dorian gently pats her hand, completely understanding. "In that case, shall we start you off with some blind dates? If you like artist types, I know many eligible young men and women in Parrais who would love your facial structure. But I'd stay away from actors, so let's keep you away from the Cothromach."

[brainiest]

All she can really do is laugh.

"Dorian! I'm fine, really. I'm not desperate to be in a relationship, not in the least. I have enough on my plate without trying to manage worrying about boys and dating, don't you think? I am a Marchioness now, that means I have to focus. I don't need to be with someone to be happy. I just need my magic and my friends and I have both of those."

She squeezes his hand.

"Thank you all the same."

[depicted]

"You're missing out on an excellent source of stress relief," he answers, but he accepts the handsqueeze anyway.

And starts thinking about which of his friends in Parrais would make a good match for Hermione. Perhaps he can ask Fionn to help him brainstorm. And Orna has a good head for such things...

[brainiest]

"That's what reading and magic is for. In any case, I can't imagine the being too many people that would be interested in me now. I'm too busy and too... Me to be able to give them even half the attention they deserve."

Which is part of the problem, she supposes. It's nice to joke, though, to move away from the ring and the worry about protection - to just be able to relax and be with her friend for as long as she can.

[depicted]

"You can't just have reading and magic! And perhaps you'll find a made workaholic such as yourself to wed." He tugs on one of her strands of hair. "I've decided: we're going to Parrais. We'll find someone for you yet. I don't think they have clubs, but I could always start one."

[brainiest]

"I certainly can. Books and magic are very important, you know." She grins, reaching to tug at his hair in return, a gentle movement before her fingers card through it. "I don't need a club, either! Honestly, Dorian, I'm more than happy just as I am. I have you and my friends, my family, my work... I'm fine."

[depicted]

With a pout, he moves his hands so he can cover his hair.

Even so, he isn't deterred. "You didn't list 'fun' in that, so I'm not satisfied with it."

[brainiest]

And all Hermione does is grab at his hands, linking their fingers.

"Being with my friends and family is fun."

[depicted]

"It isn't enough fun."

[brainiest]

"And what, exactly, is so fun about kissing that I'm missing out on it?"

Her eyebrow raises and she gives Dorian a look, careful.

[depicted]

His expression becomes innocent. "Would you like me to show you?"

[brainiest]

"Dorian!"

Her hands drop, cheeks pink, her expression shocked and embarrassed.

"You - I really don't think that's entirely necessary, at all. You don't have to kiss me just to make a point."

[depicted]

"It wouldn't be to make a point." For everything that he has become, for all that he is—there is a purity in this. A candour of meaning, an earnest expression. A strange variation on the boy she once knew.

"It is pleasurable, kissing. Fun. I want you to have fun. If you won't look outside your friends, I would hardly be put-upon to give you that pleasure myself."

What's a little making out between friends?

[brainiest]

Her eyes flicker over his face, careful and unsure, her hands reaching for his before she hesitates. He makes it sound so easy, like kissing is just what people do - so different from the man that had taken a few months to be comfortable calling her by name.

"It - um. I have kissed people before. It might have been a few years ago but that doesn't mean I don't remember. I know that it's nice to kiss people, but... I mean, I, um. I don't think that's what you want from me, really. Is it?"

She's unsure. Dorian is her friend and she does love him, but kissing? That's another matter entirely.

[depicted]

Dorian huffs out a breath of air, exasperated. It's like she hasn't been listening. "I don't want it from you, Hermione. I want it for you. You can't deny yourself the world forever, Hermione."

[brainiest]

"I'm not denying the world! Just..." She hesitates. Hermione doesn't really know what she's doing; she just thinks it would be easier to be alone, to focus on work and protecting people rather than... Everything else. Her fingers flex a little as she breathes out, her eyes closing. "I don't know."

[depicted]

"I'll always be here," he tells her, and pats her once on the cheek before pulling back. "But I still think you should get out more."

[brainiest]

Hermione can't help but laugh at that.

"And your version of me getting out more is offering to kiss me?"

[depicted]

"It isn't like there aren't already rumours," he says, shrugging. "We can head out to a nice bench out in Parrais, make a real art show of it. The Lioness of the Citadel devours another!"

[brainiest]

... He does have a point. The freedom with which she allows him into her room - well, it had sparked a few talks, here and there. She ignores the rather apt use of the term 'devour' and shakes her head, lifting her hand to touch his cheek.

"Look at me a moment?"

[depicted]

He obeys, blinking at her with a wide-eyed innocence that seems to suit who he once was. "Yes?"

[brainiest]

Hermione pauses, her eyes flickering, before she leans in. It's quick, a very chaste peck against his lips, but then she is leaning back and grinning, as if she's won somehow.

"There."