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[theshabbiestofmen]

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[theshabbiestofmen]

[And the thing is, he genuinely can't tell if she's gently winding him up or not. She must be, she really must be-- and yet her expression is so firm and serious that he doesn't want to laugh, just in case.]

And what will you be doing, māma?

[thoughts]

[ everything - everything - is a game to her. it makes life easier to play. ]

I'll be working. Someone has to pay the bills around here. But I won't let the thermonuclear astrophysicists keep me too busy, I'll still come home for dinner and cuddles and I'll make breakfast every morning. Gōu xiǎozhǐ.

[theshabbiestofmen]

That one I don't know. What's it mean?

[Of course she has slang in Chinese-- not a romance language, not something he's marginally familiar with.]

[thoughts]

It's a promise.

[ she grins and plants her feet on the cold ground, leans over the armrest of her chair to offer him her pinkie. ]

[theshabbiestofmen]

Ahh--

[Gently, as if one of them might break should he move too clumsily, Remus hooks their pinkies together.]

But we shan't be stealing, you understand.

[thoughts]

[ she makes her best affronted noise, but doesn't break their pinkies apart and can't quite hide a laugh. ]

Cheater! Can't put addendums in the middle of the swear.

[theshabbiestofmen]

I'm sorry, I'm terribly honest. I've been told it's a fault. But you must have known that when you married me, mama.

[He keeps their hands linked, his grin widening. He loves making her laugh.]

[thoughts]

[ she tries for a put-upon sigh but ends up shaking her head with a smile instead. ]

Yuàn shàngdì bāngzhù wǒ, but I did. How did I get so lucky?

[theshabbiestofmen]

[He lets out a lame little laugh, a stuttered haaa ha ha that sounds absolutely pathetic.]

Ah-- why-- er-- what does that mean, then? Can you teach me how to say it?

[thoughts]

[ it's a good sound, sounds of life. she likes it. ]

I can teach you all of it, if you want. Taught Simon everything he knows.

[ you know. her brother that's ten years older than her. ]

[theshabbiestofmen]

I, um. I'm not particularly good at languages. I mean, I know conversational French, but.

[thoughts]

Ça va, don't worry. We'll start small.

[ but he specifically wanted to know the last, so she'll scoot her chair closer to fold her feet up beneath her legs and face him directly. ]

Repeat after me.

[ and she'll just go syllable by syllable, to try and teach him the sounds before the words. ]