Steven snickers. "His 'little boyfriend,' huh? I mean, it's accurate, but you probably shouldn't let Dirk hear you say that. Guys that short are usually sensitive." He wonders if the ogre who'd followed his future self was sensitive about that, if Future Steven occasionally tweaked him about it. He hadn't been any taller than Dirk, although rather more broad.

"But no, no, it's seventeen years. So-- much less than Hades and Dirk. And-- look, Hythlo. If anything, Hades doesn't deserve you. He spent how many weeks jerking you around emotionally while enforcing a strict no touching principle?" Steven snorts. "I mean, I'm glad for Dirk's sake his boyfriend didn't cheat on him, but it's not far to you. Especially since you're saying he did make you, right? No wonder you're a little fixated on him."

He's creaming the sugar and butter as instructed. "I mean, if you were original Hythlodaeus, you might be fixated anyway, simply because he was your boyfriend and best friend and the only one from home. But because you're his memory construct Hythlodaeus, since you were literally made for him to assuage his loneliness-- well, of course you'll be this fucked up about him."

He turns around. "Look," he says, in a very low voice. "If I wasn't in a happy monogamous relationship with a very jealous boyfriend... but I am, is the thing. But the point is... the point is that you deserve people to be happy with, the same as anyone else, Hythlo. And I'm sorry I can't help you with that, but it's just-- not something I should ask of Jack."