Redsand Canyon temptatio

She didn't turn back, but she stayed where she was as he continued. Maybe she should have, but she didn't think he would appreciate her making this more than what it needed to be. The entire thing that let them work so far was that they both understood when conversations were objective. Keeping the distance helped her a bit with that too.

She'd lost the feeling that he was stepping around something and now felt, more clearly, that he was trying to find words for something he didn't know how to describe. Fennec finally relaxed some, lowering her head slightly with relief.

I didn't ask for more than this, she replied, with just a touch of humor. It disappeared a moment later. I think you're probably the one who needs more. So you should do it, just for yourself instead. Whatever that meant. She wasn't entirely sure what he was referring to when he said 'more', but if it meant being more open with her, she was game. Otherwise any improvements he made would need to be good enough to pass his own inspection - she hardly knew him well enough, with their (essentially) shotgun marriage, to say she'd even notice the difference.