[ Francesca squeezes his hand, and Matt's shoulders drop slightly. The touch reassures him more than a spoken word would do; it feels every bit as concrete.

His expression warms a bit at the confirmation that she and Diarmuid are acquainted, the Geek Social Fallacies center of his brain lighting up with a hint of nice people all like each other because they're nice. But at the mention of scandal, Matt's expression brightens with curiosity. ]

Intimacy like friendship too? [ he asks. ] Where I come from, it's not exactly an expectation that both parties are virgins when they get married, but most people don't go out of their way to talk about it. And infidelity could ruin families for sure. But it's considered okay for both parties in a marriage to have their own social networks.