Malachi shook his head. Leaning down he whispered in her ear, soft and close, "There is no other Lav. There's never been another Lav and never will be. You'll the only Lavender, the only Lav, that matters. We won't clarify. We won't do that to you, her, me, or us. We'll just go with it, please." He started to kiss her neck, but stopped himself, straightening up again. It was hard sometimes. He wanted to act like he normally would, but he knew he couldn't.
He stared at the counter in front of him, thinking for a moment. He didn't say anything for a long moment, mulling over what she asked and why. "I could never hate you, Lavender. No matter what you do or ask, I could never hate you," he said finally, his voice genuine and filled with love. "So here's the deal. We can sleep in the same bed. We can share a room. But like you said, we can't do anything. You know why as much as I do. And for the record, I've always slept shitty without you there."