back to you | paul atreides

seventeen

"Your waiting chamber?" I asked as we stepped foot in the familiar room.

He nodded in approached one of the many bookshelves that filled the room. If I hadn't known any better I would have thought this to be a library considering how many books there were.

"Are they all yours?" I asked him, slowly making my way around the room. 

He nodded. "I've read all of them."

My eyes widned. "All of them? That's a lot of books."

"I know." Was his reply. "I don't usually find free time for myself, but when I do its spent reading in here."

I took another look around the room. Strangely enough, knowing the significance of the books in this room somehow made it feel a little more homely. It was interesting to think that Feyd was such a big reader, I had never considered that to be a possible hobby of his.

"Do you read?" He asked me, taking a seat in one of the chair.

I hesitated before sitting in the chair across from him. "I don't actually. I usually only ever read for my studies."

"That's too bad." He shrugged and held out a book to me. "I was going to recommend something to you, but if you don't like to read-"

"I don't," I interrupted quickly. "I mean, I do- well, I mean that I'm not against reading but I'd... If you have a recommendation I'd love to read it."

I could see the smile tugging at his lips as he handed me the book, almost as if he found our interaction entertaining. I wasn't sure if I was meant to be offended by his expression, but I wasn't.

"How are you feeling?" He asked me and broke the silence between us.

The way he was watching me felt a bit strange. He was tilted his head, his eyes narrowed and eyebrows pressed together as if he were trying to read my body language.

"Out of place." I mumbled and my eyes searched the room, not wanting to meet his eyes. "I also feel quite... lost on where we go from here."

Feyd sighed, not taking his eyes off me. I wasn't sure what to think of his staring, he was looking at me so intently it made me feel way too observed to be comfortable.

"It doesn't mean anything, exactly." He said finally. "I think foremost I'd like to get to know you, and even befriend you if you'd let me. I think it would be a lot easier to coexist with someone who doesn't mind my company."

I nodded in agreement. He made a fair point, I'd much rather be married to a many whose company I can tolerate. So far, Feyd didn't seem all that bad.

"Tell me about yourself." He spoke again. 

I paused to consider this. "Like what?"

He shrugged. "Anything that comes to mind."

My mind instantly went back to Paul... My youth wasn't really anything without him. He was in every memory I could remember, but I couldn't mention Paul to Feyd, right? Would that be weird?