The Heartwood let's talk about you and me

When Burke said 'I figure you know that', Cicero's lips twitched with an amused smile. Cicero did not share his inner thoughts - Burke had said that sometimes wolves loved another of the same gender, in which case it did not come with breeding. Besides, there was so much more than basal sex to romance. Perhaps it was because he was young and had not fully passed the holding-hands stage of love yet, or perhaps there were other reasons to this pattern of thoughts. Cicero kept this to himself; he had already given Burke enough assumptions to work with. There was no need to multiply those assumptions even further.

The following words confirmed what Cicero previously thought: it's okay, as long as there is no breeding. Burke had never seen his family in that manner, which explained why he seemed somewhat irked by the subject. "Why is there a special word for this? Is it a bad word?" It was evident from Cicero's voice and expression that he did not understand the reason that romantic love between family had a special word. Love was love, was it not.

When Burke asked his last question, the amused smile tugged at Cicero's lips again as he looked at Burke and mysteriously said, "Maybe."