"Then I guess one needs to learn to listen," Octavia replied mildly. "Or better yet, ask."

"You made me feel pressured to pick a favorite out of things I don't have a favorite one of right now," Octavia replied. "Your insecurity made me feel like you thought I was doing something wrong."

Octavia gave him a (still slightly exasperated) nod, like 'yes, thank you'. Sometimes bruised feelings needed her to go digging for an apology.

"You never asked why, but I'm gonna tell you anyway," she said. "I don't have sexy preferences right now, because they change, they come and go, they're based on -- whatever I feel like at the time, whatever was hottest most recently, that kind of thing. And I don't... That's a distant thing right now. There's nothing anchoring me to any preference, right now."

Tiny nod.

"It's theoretical."

"Not as strange as it would be for you," Octavia replied with another tiny gesture, though it was a shrug this time. "It's not like this is the first time I've just... not had sex."

Octavia's gaze dipped towards the table between them.

"Yeah."

"I know."

Suppose she should have said more, but more didn't seem to be coming to her.

"I know that, too," Octavia replied.

Also softer.

Octavia's hand was slow to move, but it did.

"Sure," she murmured, "okay."

Octavia got up just a second later.

It wasn't so much a squeeze that her hand gave his, as it was just her hand... tightening around his. And then staying that way.

Octavia followed. Quiet, but she did.

Might become a theme.

"Okay," Octavia said.

Giving both his hands a squeeze.

Octavia... sat down.

And took the butterfly pillow, and sort of hugged it to herself.