Xaviers!

Basil let himself be hit, closing his eyes on impact. His poof was agitated by the 'violence'. He continued to smirk. Blinking it of slowly, he lent back against the headboard and knitted his fingers together.

"You know hitting only encourages me." He replied, continuing with the terrible accent.

"When people tell me zey are happy, my ass begins to twitch." He quoted again, waiting to see what she'd do.

"I know of other ways to make your ass twitch, Mister Benson." Oh no, the serious French voice as out. But it was the fun one, not the 'you fucked up' one.

"MMMmmmm no, no no." He replied in his actual speaking accent, which sounded foreign but not mockingly so.

"That's not my fetish." He joked back.

"I am well aware, that is why it was said as a warning." Of course Colette was joking, that would be going too far off field in that particular aspect of their relationship.

Basil tilted his head, curious if she understood the full implication of what she was doing. He figured she wasn't by the tone she chose, but knew direct confrontation about things with her rarely ended well.

He chose instead to sit quietly with a quizzically amused look on his face awaiting further input, hoping to illustrate for her through actions instead of just telling her.

"Not funny, I know." Colette said, resting her chin on Basil's chest.

Basil rested his hand on the back of her 'head'. He didn't seem angry, but he didn't let it slide either.

"If you cry wolf too much, I might stop listening." He replied back. The meaning was clear. 'Don't use the bedroom voice willy-nilly, or I'll stop responding to it'.

"Zat is fair. Hmm, now I am zinking I should make it up to you...."

"What have you got in mind?"

Colette hummed softly, her hair slowly beginning to shorten, shifting from one style to another accordingly. "Well I was zinking, I could use a place to sit, and your face looks very comfortable..." Under the sheets, the curve of her bottom was rising at a pace to match her receding hair. "... say when."

"I.... can't." He replied, now looking pained at having admitted it.

Basil was a truthy boi today.

Colette paused herself, her expression turning from sultry to concerned. She gently placed a hand upon Basil's cheek as she looked him in the eye.

"You cannot? Does my flavour offend? I can alter it wiz some sugar or vanilla extract."

Basil went off into that weird place again, staring off and looking lost.

"Well... there's a thing that I just learned." He snapped out of it quickly.

"I meant I can't tell you what to do with your body."

Colette scrunched her face up a bit before she realized what it was that Basil meant.

"Oh, oh Basil, no no. You are not telling me what to do. You are... offering your opinion, yes? Zis is not like wiz ozer girls, where a man may say zat zey would look better if zey lost some weight, or zat zey must wear certain clozing. Zis is more like... if I were holding up two dresses. One is green, ze ozer is blue. I ask you which one I should wear, because I do not feel ze need to clarify zat what I mean is which one you prefer, or zink I should wear. I am still free not to follow your wish. Only I am not limited to merely my clozing."

"But you should wear what you want to wear. Not what I prefer you to."

Colette gently tapped Basil's nose. "Zat is correct. Which is why I would not ask you every day. But perhaps on special occasions, I like to give you somezing zat you maybe would not normally receive?"

"What's wrong with what I normally receive? "

"Absolutely nozing. But one deserves to treat zemselves to somezing different on occasion. Wine from a different vinyard. A dessert you have never tried before, or one you seldom have. Birzday cake is a treat zat is not enjoyed every day, but you would not deny yourself a slice because you usually have a pudding cup for dessert, no?

"And, perhaps, by exploring ze zings zat you enjoy most... I can discover new zings zat I will enjoy. And vice versa."

Basil struggled for a moment mentally, before replying.

"I understand... but all of those are things. Objects.

I shouldn't utilize you like you're a doll for my amusement. Cutting your hair, changing out your clothes, molding your body shape.

It's obscene."

Colette nodded her head a little bit. "Perhaps, perhaps. But if it is done sparingly, and willingly by boz... could it not just be playing pretend?"

Basil continued to frown, his fingers doing their nervous dance on his clavicle as he thought.

"I'm just... concerned that if you find out my preferences you'll start to prefer them simply because I do, and then I've altered you from being you through coercion."

Colette rested her hand atop Basil's in a gentle bid to lessen his nervous fidgeting.

"Well, zat is very noble of you to have such consideration for me. But tell me, Basil; is zere anyzing zat you now prefer or even enjoy simply because I enjoy it?"

"Food?" He replied, half joking and half serious.

Her attempt to get him to stop fidgeting sort of worked? He didn't fight for his hand back, but now his index was tapping inside it's makeshift prison, against her palm.

"So, if I were not present, you would choose different food to eat or to not eat at all?" Colette kept her hand where it was for the most part, though was slowly working it to intertwine her fingers with his own - made easier by her lack of bone structure.

"I dont think I have the same relationship with food as others.

I would eat less and not give as much thought about preparation or taste. So long as it wasn't absolute garbage for my insides and sanitary to eat, I'd just eat something of relative nutritional value when my gut demanded it's payment for keeping me alive."

"And you do not feel comfortable eating zis way in front of me?" Colette asked softly. "Have I done somezing to embarrass or shame you regarding your eating habits, or do my own tastes make you feel awkward about your own eating habits? If zis is ze case zen I must apologize Basil, it is not intentional."

"No of course not.

But you know... You're eating too. Might as well. You seem to be enjoying the food most of the time so it must not be bad."

Colette soon realized that she had unwittingly been making Basil experience the social awkwardness that arises when only one person is eating.

"Well, my bodily needs are different zan yours, Basil. I do not expect you to drink all of ze water zat I drink every day, so I should not expect you to eat as often as I do, or ze same zings zat I do. If I were eating and you were not, you could always check your phone, or occupy your time some ozer way. It would not offend me for you to do zis, and would allow us to enjoy each ozers company." She paused for a moment. "Zat is, if you zink zat adopting my habits have had a negative effect on you, razer zan neutral or positive."

"No, no negative impact so far as I can tell.

It was just the only thing that came to mind." He laughed awkwardly.

"We're rather the same, you and I. And right now we're both getting terribly off topic." He observed to her.

"Well, my point is, zat one can do somezing for anozer without it changing who zey are inside. And zat it is not a bad zing to change if you discover somezing zat you enjoy zrough ze tastes of someone else.

"I do not zink we are too far off topic. Boz conversations were about eating." Colette smirked.

" You are incorrigible."

Colette grinned wider, showing off those pearly pink teeth before rolling more on top of Basil so that she could cup his face in her hands.

"Our relationship has been a learning experience for me, and I zink zat we have both learned how to make compromises. Zere was a time when I would be upset when you bought me zings, but we discussed it, did we not? I now better understand your motivation, and I accept your kindness willingly and honestly. But I have not changed to expect or demand such treatment, have I?" She ran her fingers through her hair, her figure that dense bubblegum-like consistency, guaranteeing that his sweat was all that would be dampening his curly locks.

"You use ze unique means at your disposal to make me happy, which makes you happy. I simply want to do ze same for you wiz ze means at my disposal. And hopefully in boz cases, we enjoy ourselves immensely."

"Fffiiinnnnneeee..." He relented.

"But if you get a complex I'm referring back to this conversation and pulling an 'I told you so' card."

Colette sat up straight on Basil's stomach, looking down at him.

"Good. Because as I recall, you have yet to say 'when'."

"I swear to God if you turn into a disembodied ass right now this relationship is over."

Colette began not to giggle but laugh at the idea. "Oh Basil... you would have to be a VERY good boy for me to do somezing like that. No no, nozing so extreme." She leaned over him until their foreheads were touching. "... but certainly somezing well beyond good taste."

Basil smirked and met their noses together.

"I'll be the judge of that my dear."

((Fade out))