linguaphilia | [Golden Peacock IC Inbox][un: scribe] (defunct)

[Something piques in Alhaitham's expression when Xie Lian talks about saving old books. It's something he would have done as a child - and often did, especially when the book would be difficult to find in anything but Akasha format otherwise.]

Ah... a man of culture, I see.

[High praise, coming from someone like Alhaitham.]

I have always preferred physical books myself. Nothing quite compares.

[ He blushes, pleased. ]

Ah, if you say so then it must be true. As for books ... I've never known them to be anything but physical, but you're obviously a little more technologically advanced than I am.

[ Xie Lian sets down his brush and walks around the table to Alhaitham, gesturing to his lap. ]

May I take a seat? I want to be closer to you.

[He studies Xie Lian for a moment, then tilts his head to the seat next to him.]

Sit there. I'm still eating.

[That's close enough, right? Alhaitham unfortunately doesn't reciprocate the desire the other man has to be draped all over him even if he understands, objectively, why Xie Lian would want to do that.]

I'll browse while you're finishing, there's no rush.

[ He doesn't want to be bossed around, instead opting to have a look at the shelves nearby while Alhaitham finishes his (very important, hah) meal. Xie Lian always feels a little too needy around him but it isn't Alhaitham's fault; it's just true, Xie Lian supposes, and the irony is the person he wants to be around not wanting him back. Things are so much easier with Hua Cheng for a hundred different reasons, he supposes, even aside from being soulmates. He has always felt awkward around other people since before he can remember.

He finds a book on sex positions (of course) and pauses in putting it back as he considers how many of them are feasible in general, flipping through the pages before the stacks in companionable silence. ]

[He doesn't rush to finish up, taking another few minutes to get through the rest of the pastry and once he's finished he neatly folds the packet into a slender strip and deftly ties it into a knot.

Then, after lightly brushing his hands together, he pushes his chair back and stands up.]

That was good, thank you.

[He might actually go and get one himself, some time...]

Mm? Oh, I'm glad you liked it!

[ Closing the book he has hold of, he folds his arms. ]

I was thinking it would be nice to buy enough for a picnic in the woodlands here sometime, but I don't know if there are bugs too. All in all, I much prefer the library to a lot of places in the resort, it's just ... reliable, I suppose.

With the other things people get up to in here [Including the two of them, as they both well know.] I don't think that a picnic is going to be something too many people bat an eye at.

[No one even has to see it, if it's done in one of the private alcoves.]

And less chance of interruptions.

We could have a library picnic ... and bring our favourite books that we've found here?

[ That sounds like a nice afternoon. ]

[Alhaitham studies Xie Lian for a long, silent few moments. There isn't anything particularly unkind about his expression, nigh-unreadable as it is, but simply a quality of someone mulling his options over.]

Fine.

[He shrugs one shoulder mildly.]

If you like, we can do that.

[ Xie Lian waits for that decision, not arguing for it to come faster. He wonders if this is how maids felt in Xianle when they had to wait on his own decisions, then thinks that's just him being unkind because he's impatient and anxious. ]

I would. I'll ... figure out the food and let you know when we could do it. When a basket's ready.

[Xie Lian knows him well enough by now to realise that if Alhaitham was not actually comfortable with or interested in a idea he would simply turn it down, not worrying about what feelings might be stung by his doing so. The scribe doesn't mind spending time with Xie Lian - he's intelligent and unintrusive, polite and understanding of Alhaitham's own boundaries, and altogether the kind of person that he can very easily tolerate being around.

So he nods slightly to the suggestion.]

All right. Then it's a date.

[Golden Peacock IC Inbox][un: scribe] (defunct)

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