"There's occasionally some variance.  I could practice with you, if you'd like."

"Trés bien. Of course there's still the finding a conversation topic problem but it feels marginally less stupid to settle for asking where le plume de ma tante is when it's language practice."

In French: "I was going to suggest that I could read books to you, but perhaps that wouldn't be sufficiently social."

A little haltingly: "It is social if I ask questions of the book."

"Is your French up to books or should we save this idea for later?"

"If you go slowly and I ask questions of the words of the book, I think it is good."

Xavier's e-reader thing does not already have Le Petit Prince on it, but it can within a moment.

Haru's read it but that's not really in his top ten concerns now. He interrupts every sentence or so to speculate about etymology and clarify points of grammar.

Xavier is deeply knowledgeable about French grammar!  It would take a pretty deep cut to hit on something he doesn't already know.

Then they will tolerably pass the duration of Le Petit Prince. "Have you got Les Miserables or the Count of Monte Cristo?" he asks when it's over.

"I can trivially get either; do you have a preference?"

"Uh, Monte Cristo first."

It's at a substantially higher reading level, but they can pick their way through it as slowly as necessary.

Though this means Ari's back before they're very far in it at all.  "Foooood arrival!"

"Hello! I'd offer to help put things away but I believe I'd be an active detriment."

"Seems legit.  Are you staying in my uncle's room?"  Takeout bag gets deposited on the kitchen peninsula but she's got Walmart ones in hand too.

"I... guess so?"

"There's a spare room if you'd rather set up base in there, although I expect that Ariel would take it by default."  (He's switched back to English.)

"It probably makes more sense for her to have it, it's not like I have a lot of my own possessions or functional desire for privacy right now."

"I brought you some possessions!  I guess not really a lot of them, though, yeah.  But if you want to change into day clothes you can now."

"Do we need to do the talking through the door thing or will somebody accompany me?"

"I will."  He scoops Haru and carries him toward the bedroom.

Haru changes into new clothes in a businesslike fashion while concocting various schemes not to be out of physical contact and not make it weird. He comments on all the clothes but the comments are things like "I don't recognize this brand" and "it's not worth returning it over but this one's got a stitch missing in the sleeve hem", he doesn't have a lot of clothes opinions.

Xavier proprietously sits on the bed facing the wall with his eyes closed.

"Shoes fit?" Ari wonders when they emerge.