William was dressed differently than usual; and something about him seemed off in a way Nova couldn't place. It was only when he kicked his leg up to adjust his boot that he realized it was because he was wearing a much lower heel. The seam of how they met his ankle looked strange as well.

" Nova! You came," he said cheerfully.

" Yes. I supposed that it would be cruel to deny you your last words."

... It unsettled him, how small and slender William was.

It felt sick to him that Diurn would so thoughtlessly kill this thing just to humiliate him.

" I was thinking about our differences before I went to sleep last night," William said.

" And?"

" The days and months and years on the Starka home planet are double the length of the DASS standard calendar," William said. " So if you're like twenty or twenty-one on Sturm, that's like forty or forty-two? Right? So you're practically middle aged. And I'm half that. The current Emperor is like one hundred fifty. So I was wondering if that was the problem? If I'm too young for you?"

He stretched.

" Masterson," Nova asked, " what the fuck are you talking about?"

William tipped his head, looking over him.

" You care for me, don't you?" he asked. " I was trying to figure out in what way. Like maybe you're looking at me like a little pet or something. Since you adamantly refuse any romantic intent."

Nova felt. Significantly irritated.

" Do you have anything of actual significance to say to me?" he asked.

A pause.

" I'm not going to die, so I'm not really concerned about that," he said. " I haven't used a sword in a while, so I've been practicing since yesterday. I started wondering if you were jealous of Kirie."

Nova set his lips in a thin line.

" To believe that this morning I was thinking I would regret going back home," he said. " I can't listen to this nonsense. I'd rather be dueling Lanta than putting up with you for even another second."

William flitted over to him, tiptoe. Annoyingly close.

" I think you speak harshly to people you care about, to cover for yourself if you get rejected. That's strange, to me. But, either way, could you at least pretend to believe that I can win?"

" I'm not in the habit of lying," Nova replied, flat. He stepped away from him. " I'm going to go join the crowd in the gymnasium now. I'll be impressed if you can last more than fifteen seconds."

William just smiled at him- the same smile as always.

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