I know you really mean it. [ He hums and taps his fingers on the steering wheel as he thinks about how to articulate what's really different between them. Ultimately, those differences don't bother him. They just make things more interesting. ] It's just not like dating anyone else. Because when I was younger, I was learning math and literature and things. But when you were a kid, you weren't putting on a backpack and going to tennis club after school.

[ They'd grown up in different environments. Their families have—or had—different ways of life. He Ming hums softly and turns his head to look at Rune for a moment before he returns his gaze to the road. ]

And when you were thirty, people weren't telling you to settle down, and get married, and pop out a grandkid or two, right? [ That probably isn't just because of the magic; it depends on the family. He Ming figures he's relatively lucky, because his parents don't push him on furthering the bloodline as long as he's self-sufficient. But he is repeating the attitude he's heard stated by so many relatives. ] That's sort of the deadline for humans to get going.

[ And all because there's a hard cutoff for all humans. He Ming no longer worries about it, knowing that there's so much else, but death is still a fact. ]

We have different expectations, I think. But that's okay. And I'm not thirty yet!