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"Thank you." He glanced at the sandwich in his hand, resisting his first impulse to pull it apart and see what was inside. Kauff took a bite, looking at Xariy over the bread and watching her until he had swallowed.

He backtracked a bit in his mind, going over the things he had said. It didn't take long to find something of note. Made for each other. Yeah. He had said that. If those words reassured and excited her, then his own stomach-dropping reaction should probably be examined further. Maybe it was excitement too. Kauff considered making a comment, but every one he could think of had the potential to sound truly genuine or deeply snarky with no in-between. Instead he nodded and smiled in a way that hopefully just seemed happy. "Warm and fuzzy. Noted."

He turned to the girl. "Niyna, this is a masterpiece! The meatiest!"

Kauff was careful to keep his sandwich hand away from the kid as he gave her a brief hug in return. He had been terribly worried that he might remain some intrusive and unwanted presence in these children's lives forever, but this outing had proven that wasn't true for at least one of them. He was done by the time Xariy stood, and he followed her to her feet, stretching his arms toward the sky.

"So official." Kauff grinned. "Yeah, we should get back. I've got to at least try to cover up that hole tonight."

"The wall can wait a day." For once Kauff didn't chuckle or grin at Xariy's teasing, but he did smirk and raise his eyebrows as they strolled. It wouldn't be any trouble to put aside his housework if she had more exciting activities planned. "I am at your service."

He didn't want to be too suggestive around Niyna, but he couldn't help responding in kind. "Without those repairs to worry about, I'll be free all night."

Okay. That was probably still a little too much.

She was smiling, but her words made him falter. Not physically—he continued to follow without missing a step—but his thoughts veered away from her room and back to the ones he'd had during the picnic. Was now the time to be an adult rather than falling into bed like always? Did he dare to possibly ruin a perfect day with discussion?

"We... do," he said, saving his response from being a question at the last minute. "That was fun." He smiled, rubbing at the crystals where his neck met his shoulders.

"Like there was any doubt," he said, unable to stop the snort that escaped him in his amusement. Kauff nudged the door shut behind him and joined her on the bed, leaning back and propping himself on one palm. "But seriously, I like her too. It's a relief." It was comforting to know that he wasn't going to somehow mess a kid up just by being around them.

He watched her in silence for a time, using his free hand to lightly comb through the hair near her ear before leaning down to kiss her once. His reply was a whisper as he pulled away. "Yeah. I'm fine."

Kauff swallowed, shallowly nodding in response to some question his subconscious had posed. This couldn't go on. He had to stop being afraid of putting down roots when the last thing he wanted to do was leave.

"What if the time we had was infinite? Well... not really infinite infinite, but you know... what if I stayed put for as long as I've got?" His smile was small and brittle, but still sincere. "I could learn to do more around here than fix the wall."

He swore he could feel her worry melting away as they kissed, and he was a little shocked that he had never noticed the effect it had on her before. It would have been appropriate to feel bad about his indecision, but he felt nothing but a numbing joy that tingled at the tips of his fingers.

"That settles it then. I think we should celebrate." He raised his eyebrows with a giddy chuckle.