"My house isn't big enough for the fridge you're going to need," Sunny murmured.

I stared at her, waited for the light remark to sink in, smiling as her eyes widened when it did. She turned bright pink and glanced up at me, looking immediately away.

"Not that you'll want—"

"I will want," I said, wondering if it would interrupt her appetite to continue our discussion on mating. "The bond is permanent, but we'll take the developments at your pace. And I'll make do with your fridge when you're ready."

It was small and charmingly vintage, but I could always get us an industrial freezer. Sunny had a decently sized basement.

"Your bathroom, however," I said, patting Sunny on the back as she choked on her sip of grapefruit juice. Too pushy?

"Oh god, how will you even fit in the shower?" Sunny muttered, shaking her head.

I tried to take a bite of food, grinning at my plate at how easily she asked the questions. Sunny worrying about how I would shower wasn't exactly long-term commitment, but it wasn't refusing the idea, either.

"It's like marriage, isn't it?" Sunny asked softly, taking a bite of her waffle and chewing it slowly.

"When that's what you want it to be…yes," I said, just as quiet. "It's…it's the knowing, Sunny. Knowing where the path leads."

Sunny stared into space, and I wondered if she'd paid attention to my answer, or if maybe it had shorted out her brain, or—

"Okay, so we start with dating," she said, her words clear and her shoulders squaring like she was about to go into battle. "Like we skipped the awkward first dinners and coffee, and we sorted out the conversation where we're exclusive, and now we're in that committed but not—"

I caught her chin in my fingers and planted the kiss over her words, humming with her as our lips connected and helped themselves to sips and gentle sucking. Dating was the tip of the iceberg of mating, perhaps, but at least it wasn't a rejection.

"I accept," I said, fighting the urge to corner her and draw her onto my lap, make a mess of her in front of everyone in the restaurant.

Sunny blinked at me, cheeks swelling with her smile, and leaned up for another peck. "Okay. Now let's eat, I'm starving. My orc boyfriend wore me out."

Sunny squirmed in her seat as I purred for her.

* * *

Sunny started five projects in a day and finished two. She shed her socks in random places throughout her house—at the stove while she was cooking pasta, the dining table, tucked inside of the bathroom cabinet—and then put on whatever pair was closest the next time her toes were cold. She scowled as she used a power drill and smiled any time she got to pick up a paint brush, whether it was for a canvas or a wall.