"You can't put that lantern there."
"I can."
"No, you can't."
"Of course I can."
"You can't, its right at the top of the stairs."
"So?"
"Someone could trip."
"They won't."
"They might."
"So it's not definite then?"
"...When you fall down the stairs and break your neck, don't come crying to me."
"Shan't."
"Well... good."
"Good."
"Good."
Tayend looked up at Dannyl. "I don't see why we need lanterns anyway."
"Well, y'know, they produce light."
"You produce light." Tayend contemplated the lantern. "Although this is a lot more decorative than you are."
"Thank you dear." Dannyl shifted a couple of boxes of books into his bedroom. His new bedroom. In their new house. It was strangely unreal. "I won't always be around to provide light for your every waking minute."
"And yet you call yourself a magician and claim to be of some use to society!" Tayend shook his head. "If you're going to make me have a lantern, can't I at least leave it at the top of the stairs?"
"You can do whatever you want, but I'm warning you, someone will trip and probably die a horrible death."
A servant staggered up the stairs between them, carrying a stack of Tayend's cases. Instead of going into Dannyl's room, he carried on to the end of the corridor before disappearing into a doorway.
"Hey- where are you- where's he- what?" Tayend frowned. "Why's he taking my stuff down there?"
"Well, that's, um, y'see, that's..." Dannyl trailed off, looking guilty.
"Pardon?" Tayend raised an eyebrow.
"It's where your room is."
"Ah." He peered down the corridor. "All the way down there? Why don't I just go and sleep down the street? Or in another city?"
"No one said anything about you sleeping down there," the magician replied quietly.
Tayend smiled slowly up at him. "Oh... I see. I suppose I might wander into your room by accident, some nights."
"It is easy to get lost around here," Dannyl agreed.
"Lots of corridors."
"And corners."
"A labyrinth, some might say."
"A maze."
"Completely understandable, if I were to lose my way."
"Oh, yes."
Tayend grinned, looking around the corridor, then down at his feet. "I'm... I'm glad we're living together."
"Me too. I'm, um," Dannyl blushed very slightly, "I'm glad you said yes."
"So am I. But. What do you think about this wallpaper?"
"I don't. Think about it, I mean."
Tayend snorted. "Very clever. Seriously, what kind of person puts a flower patterned wallpaper all over the corridor? What kind of flowers are those even suppose to be?"
"I'm not sure." Dannyl peered at it. "They look... They could be daisies?"
"If you take a step back, they look like angry faces. Angry frog faces."
Dannyl laughed. "Sorry, we can always change it if you don't like it."
"I didn't say I didn't like it. For all you know, I might be a fan of angry frog face wallpaper. Especially in this delightful shade of mustard yellow."
"Alright, alright! I'll get someone to change it!"
"And ruin our memory of this special moment, where we bonded over wallpaper?"
Dannyl looked at him sideways. "You're in a difficult mood today."
"I am, aren't I?" Tayend grinned. "I think I'm annoyed because you didn't carry me over the threshold."
"Carry you over the threshold?" Dannyl repeated.
"Sure. All newly married couples are supposed to carry each other over the threshold."
"We're not married!"
"Well, we've got a house, it's just as good!"
"It's not the same thing at all!"
"Yes it is! I don't care if I'm not in a white dress, I expect to be carried over the threshold into this lovely mustard frog face corridor!"
"Excuse me, my lord," the servant murmured as he pushed his way between them to get back down the stairs, pausing only to give Tayend a very funny look.
They both watched the man hurrying away from them.
"He heard everything I just said," giggled Tayend. "Didn't he?"
"I'm pretty sure he did," Dannyl sighed.
They watched him disappear out of the door.
"I don't think he's coming back."
They stared at each other for a couple of moments, and then broke into peals of laughter.
"I've completely terrified him!"
"Tayend, you shouldn't be so bizarre in front of the servants." Dannyl tried to look scolding, but couldn't quite stop himself from smiling.
The scholar snorted. "I wasn't being bizarre, I was just being me."
"Sometimes it's rather the same thing."
Tayend glared at him. "Just for that, I'm not getting lost and ending up in your bedroom any time soon!"
Dannyl raised his eyebrows. "I never said I wanted you to."
Tayend sniffed and looked away. "You're just going to have to invest in some less sensitive servants."
"Hmm?"
"Ones that don't scare so easily."
"Oh, am I?"
"Definitely." Tayend looked up at him, his eyes sparkling with mischief. "There are going to be all kinds of scandalous goings on under this roof."
"May I enquire what nature of scandalous things, so that I can be better prepared?"
"You'll just have to wait and see!"
Dannyl scrutinised the scholar. "I really will, won't I? I get the feeling you're going to be making my life very interesting, Tayend of Tremmelin."
"Oh Lord Dannyl," Tayend replied in a theatrically low voice. "You have no idea."
He turned to slink down the stairs, but the effect was ruined when he promptly tripped over something. "Bloody lantern-!"
Dannyl heard a series of crashes, then a lot of cursing.
"Very interesting," he repeated, and went to help Tayend up.