"Master, this one has a question," she asked suddenly. Most of the trip had been taken to nothing more than the sound of footfalls, and given that he heard it within his head of all places, it was still startling. Perhaps she noticed, because she added, "This one apologizes." Her head bowed and she curtsied. "She should have realized that this communication must still be awkward."

He shook his head. "No, it's not that; it's just been really quiet for the last few hours so I didn't expect conversation." Viola smiled politely and nodded. "And, please, call me Johannes. Master sounds..." He paused. "Creepy."

Viola cocked her head. "This one is in direct service to you, as she is an asset under your ownership," she chimed in his head, "It is not inaccurate to call you Master." At the look on his face she added, "But very well, this one will do as you wish, Johannes."

Johannes chuckled, more to ease his discomfort than anything. "It's fine, I only bring it up because of...well, just how things are between us. I wouldn't expect you to still see yourself as er, an "asset" as you put it."

The Gardevoir tilted her head again, wrestling to comprehend the subtleties of his statement. At last she relented, and settled for cheating by reading his thoughts. There were moments stolen away in the lonelier places of the towns they had traveled to, the steam of a shower obscuring a lithe figure standing before him, the musical chimes of her own moans and the constant pulsing undercurrent of lust swirling gently in each scene. At the center burnt the unmistakable flames of affection.

"This one believes she understands," she began, "All of that intercourse has a strong meaning within it for you, yes? It seems to be a portion of our relations you highly cherish."

"Er, yes, but I think it's a bit more than that," responded Johannes. He scratched his head and frowned. "I mean, it's not like it's the only reason driving the relationship." Viola tilted her head again, and to it he continued, "Well I mean, is it for you?"

A delicate hand came to her chin – body language he'd taught her to express thought. In her head played a long stretch of images from her travels. Soft linen twisting in her hands, a balcony at sunset, a pair of chopsticks dangling a piece of food before her teasingly, the warmth of his embrace, the delicate touch of his hands as he lifted her off the ground – a soft smile crossed her face as he looked him in the eyes. "No, this one feels it is far more than just sexual relations that she appreciates in her relationship with Johannes."

It was a remarkably precise (and rather unusually worded) way to express herself, but he smiled brightly nonetheless and put his hand out towards her. "Beautiful. Let's keep moving then." She took his hand and walked beside him in silence for a minute or so before curiosity got the better of her.

"You explained the implications of holding one's hand – this one understands that. However, she wonders why this action has such an implication in the first place," she asked.

Johannes bit his thumb with his free hand and mumbled through it. "Jeez, you really know how to pick questions Viola." He hummed absently as he mulled the question over. "I guess it's just literal togetherness. When you hold someone's hand you show that you are close to them in some way both figuratively and literally." He sighed. "I mean, that's how I see it. Other people would probably see it differently." He paused. "I didn't really decide to give the gesture meaning. I don't know who did, honestly. It's just something that is. Something we do."

Viola nodded and said slyly, "As a mentor on human interactions you seem to have difficulty answering questions concerning the reasoning behind the meanings of actions. This one finds it amusing."

Johannes rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I know I don't always have the answers, but at least I explained kissing properly. That one was really easy to paint you a picture for."

"This one doesn't remember a painting," she began.

He sighed. "No, it's an expression. A figure of speech. It means that explaining it was very easy to do. But anyway, that's besides the point."

"This one agrees – you were very...thorough," said Viola at last. She felt color rise in her cheeks, brought on from embarrassment at a sudden rush of desire. She wrestled with the thought for a moment before saying, "This one would like to kiss."

Johannes poorly suppressed his chuckle. "How formal of you," he said. He stopped walking and turned to her. With a gentle hand he lifted her face up towards his and bent slightly over to kiss her. He pulled back slightly and whispered, "I've told you a few times already that you don't exactly have to ask for these." He kissed her again and added, "You just, er..." He straightened up, a look of mild confusion on his face. "Well, you just do it? I guess? No, that sounds odd. You make it obvious the way you look at someone or the way you get closer to them. It's written on your face and in your posture, you know?"

Viola's mouth curved into a smile and she said gently, "No. This one has very little understanding about what you mean. She is capable of levitation – would it be acceptable to float before you and reach out to grasp your face?"

"I mean, yeah, you can do that. But there's plenty of ways you can ask for it," he responded. The conversation was becoming progressively stranger to him by the minute – the number of ways a person could ask for affection were countless. "But you could also..." He trailed off and shook his head. "Just do what you think is appropriate. Maybe copy stuff you see out in the world."

The Gardevoir's face fell into a slight frown. "This one felt asking was the most polite method of engaging in an act of affection." She looked away from him in embarrassment. This was a half-truth – she also found it intensely embarrassing to be forward. "Sh-she will attempt to be more forthcoming in the future."

It would come to pass the "future" meant some five minutes later, when she abruptly floated before him and took his face into her hands. She drew her face close to his but turned her face away at the last moment as she erupted into a fit of embarrassed giggles. Johannes grinned and turned her beet-red face back to him and kissed her. "You'll get it in time," he said bracingly.

Amid another fit of giggles, Viola replied, "This one hopes so. She can hardly manage the embarrassment."