Not an advantage I'd care to pursue, and I'd be surprised if her answer is any different.
[Here, at least, there's no hesitation. It was a point he'd thought through long before their current configuration was something he'd even faintly imagined; if he'd wanted distance, he'd have needed to talk it through with Petrana months ago, as her friendship with Marcus grew. It's not that Marcus is wrong that there's a calculation to be done. It's just been finished long before.
He lifts their hands to press a kiss to the back of Marcus's, still charmed that he's allowed. It feels somehow daring in its intimacy, which he can recognize is a bit funny after how their morning began.
He adds:]
Petrana is the first time I haven't had to be lying about something, with a lover. Inside the Circles, obviously, it was hiding the affair itself. But outside them I was lying about parts of myself. I don't think I realized how much a relief it would be, not.
no subject
[Here, at least, there's no hesitation. It was a point he'd thought through long before their current configuration was something he'd even faintly imagined; if he'd wanted distance, he'd have needed to talk it through with Petrana months ago, as her friendship with Marcus grew. It's not that Marcus is wrong that there's a calculation to be done. It's just been finished long before.
He lifts their hands to press a kiss to the back of Marcus's, still charmed that he's allowed. It feels somehow daring in its intimacy, which he can recognize is a bit funny after how their morning began.
He adds:]
Petrana is the first time I haven't had to be lying about something, with a lover. Inside the Circles, obviously, it was hiding the affair itself. But outside them I was lying about parts of myself. I don't think I realized how much a relief it would be, not.