[An innocuous grin. Now that she's loosening up, he drops his arm to loop around her waist instead. He relishes the bare strip of skin peeking out from between her shorts and crop top.]
A studio. I think that’s a fine idea.
[For a beat he allows her the notion that she’s successfully diverted the subject for good. Then he sighs.]
As cute as jealousy is on you, Alinochka... [When it’s centered on him, that is.] Are you going to pout every time I so much as speak with General Nazyalensky?
[His tone is carefully light, but the implication is obvious: this is going to become a problem if so. Nikolai values the sense of home they’ve built together — it's precarious, but it's theirs. He doesn’t take for granted that he may retreat into her when things get heavy, when things get dark. But he cannot trade away his friendship with Zoya. That’s precious to him too. She is the main force that kept him slogging forward when things got heavy and things got dark in Ravka.]
no subject
A studio. I think that’s a fine idea.
[For a beat he allows her the notion that she’s successfully diverted the subject for good. Then he sighs.]
As cute as jealousy is on you, Alinochka... [When it’s centered on him, that is.] Are you going to pout every time I so much as speak with General Nazyalensky?
[His tone is carefully light, but the implication is obvious: this is going to become a problem if so. Nikolai values the sense of home they’ve built together — it's precarious, but it's theirs. He doesn’t take for granted that he may retreat into her when things get heavy, when things get dark. But he cannot trade away his friendship with Zoya. That’s precious to him too. She is the main force that kept him slogging forward when things got heavy and things got dark in Ravka.]