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"I have to..." The words were out of his mouth before he could stop himself, and he let the rest of them come after a brief pause. He told himself this wasn't stalling. Even if he was to stay here forever, these things would have to be addressed at some point. "My hammer and poscutas are still up there. I was in a hurry to see you when I realized you hadn't gotten my letter, so I stored them. Well, I boarded the poscutas, but... you know what I mean." He sighed through his nose, ruffling her hair.

"Xariy, I came here to stay, if you'll have me. But I'm worried about what happens if I settle. I don't think I'm a good person when I'm restless." Kauff slid his hand higher, lightly rubbing her neck. It was as much for himself as it was for her.

"Let's start with... a month." He chuckled, but somehow it sounded sad. "See if you still like me after that."

"A month," he repeated. "I promise to stay that long at the absolute minimum. I won't feel forced and I won't be bound." A whole month was time enough to meet all the kids and help out around here. Time for her to realize that she wasn't as enamored with him as she thought. Kauff leaned into her hand again. On the brighter side, there would also be time for them to get to know each other as something beyond two forces of nature inexorably and helplessly drawn to one another.

He could tell her his mother's name... which she already knew.

His favorite food! Nope. She had watched him eat it on at least three separate occasions. Once he'd been so drunk that he'd tipped a whole bowl into the furry neckline of one of his tunics. It had looked like he'd killed a man for weeks until he could wash it all out.

His poscutas' names, maybe? Scratch that. She knew those too.

All right, fine. Between letters, coincidental meetings, and pillow talk, there was probably very little of importance that she hadn't learned. And she still wanted him around. He pushed that thought away.

"You know what's good for stress," he said, turning to catch her mouth as she moved away from his cheek. His kiss was slow and undemanding, and when it was over he stretched like a cat in the sun. "Should we get up or stay here?"

"We should." Kauff watched her for a short while longer, eyes full of amusement and lazy satisfaction, then squeezed her hand and sat up, looking for his pants. He tied back his hair and pulled on his shirt, but stowed the belt and dagger in his bag. Right. His bag.

"Should I leave this here?" Maybe later he could unpack... somewhere. It was going to be very weird to keep his clothes in a closet or drawer. He felt a little embarrassed, like some stray dog invited to live inside, but he wasn't entirely unaccustomed to civilization, he'd just been away from it a while.

He was beginning to greatly appreciate it when she was the one to pull him close and just... stare. It gave him a reason to do the same without potentially putting her off and Kauff relished the opportunity. Ever since they had first met, there had been some secret part of them that clicked, and over the years he found himself changing—caring for Xariy more and more and becoming a better person because of it. As much as he wanted to be here, as determined as he had already been to stick around for a while when he'd arrived, he still worried that he had exchanged an addiction to self-destructive behavior for an addiction to her, and she deserved far better.

"I... I don't think you should have to thank me for that," he said, voice nearly a whisper. "I'm not doing anything I don't want to. But, you're welcome." She would see. Eventually the day would come when she realized just how pathetic he was. But until then, they were going to have some fun. He circled his arms around her, sliding his hands low and hugging her against him as a grin tugged at his mouth.

"Do you think we should leave the room separately? Make it seem like we just happened to be in here at the same time, but were doing completely different things. Just in case anyone's watching." That really only worked in public when there was the possibility that they might have had unrelated agendas in the same room, but Kauff still thought the suggestion was kind of funny.

"Liyn seems like a great kid, but he didn't have a chance," Kauff said, grin widening. He caught himself staring again and stood straighter, loosening his hold on her. If he kept this up, everyone would be able to tell exactly how he felt without him saying a word. "I'll let him know I won't be running off, but I might wait a few days before I try talking to him." He had no idea how to begin a conversation like that with a kid he'd barely met.

"Your worst is a million times better than mine," he said with a shake of his head. "But it's not a competition. And you're welcome again." He could say the same about her. His family loved him, he knew that, but in many ways they were as scattered as he was. He'd once thought finding them would give him insight into who he was supposed to be, but only Xariy had done that. "We'll always have each other." It was a foolish statement, considering just how quickly life could be snuffed out, but Kauff wanted to believe it was true for them.

Forever. The word itself still made him antsy when spoken aloud, even though he had expressed the same sentiment in hundreds of different ways at this point. Kauff took a deep breath, focusing on the feel of it expanding his chest, and said, "Yes. I do."

He exhaled again, slowly. Nothing happened. No great, oppressive hand of the gods reached down to cage him with its fingers. Everything was just as hopeful and frightening as it had been all day. He mirrored her smile, the expression unconscious. "Where would you keep me?"

"Oh, really?" he said, glancing at her bed as well, at least until he felt her arms around him. He looked at her and nodded slowly. "Sounds nice." Though he was far too tempted to take advantage of the privacy of her room again right now, they had a month—a whole month—to do just that. For probably the first time in his life, Kauff chose responsibility. He kissed Xariy on the cheek and chuckled.

"I could never mind being by your side. Now, come on. We should probably make sure no one's busted any more walls."