"Oh hon," Verity said, leaning in to give him a hug. "Not disappointed? Surprised. Definitely surprised. And not what I was expected. I had to wrap my head around it."

He'd been carrying this around for that long? Now she felt guilty for not clearing it up sooner.

"I like both. I really like both." He...might have noticed that, yes. "Just like I like some of the other things we do. It's like having knives and guns. They both--generally--do the same thing, but you don't see me only using one of those do you?"

Because all good metaphors revolved around weaponry.