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"Funny how I thought you'd gone and gotten married, when Millie was actually your pet dog, huh?" Dale jested with a lopsided grin, looking up at Millie for a bit.
"Who's a good girl??" they drawled, as Millie wagged her tail at em in response. Ey turned eir attention back to Chip as ze spoke.
"Ha. Yeah, about that- I've found that I.. Well.. I don't really want to get married- or even.. date people, to be completely honest." Chip replied, fiddling with hir jacket somewhat nervously.
"Oh, thanks for tellin' me, pal! I personally haven't thought about it myself, what I really, like, want...I mean- you know I flirt with people sometimes, but I can't exactly, like...say that I've wanted to date any of them long-term, let alone marry them, y'know?" Dale responded.
"Well, I actually.. use the label 'aromantic'. I Came across it when a coworker came out as aromantic and I looked into it further."
"I'd already heard of the label asexual, but that didn't seem like it really fit me, but looking into aro and other aspec stuff I guess,"
"It just clicked for me that I've never really... experienced any attraction towards people in a romantic way,"
"And aspec just, generally refers to any label involving little to no attraction of a given type, and also agender, which is having no gender identity." Chip expounded.
"Oh, that sounds cool- I don't personally, like, know many terms like you do or well, really look into things outside my interests most of the time but it is nice that ya found a label for yerself!!"
"I actually wonder - if I would maybe identify with a label like that, I mean I'd probably prioritise, like, well, what I feel, over a label, but I'm not really against identifying what I experience with a label, ya know?" Dale mused.
"I mean, there are many ways to be aro. I personally fluctuate between neu aro, which means I don't label my sexual orientation, and allosexual aromantic,"
"or alloaro, which means that I experience sexual attraction and am aromantic." e tilted his head to the side a bit as e explained.
"Also, well, aromanticism is a spectrum and some aros do sometimes experience romantic attraction, or experience it under specific conditions or in a way that's different from whats expected."
"Some aros may like romantic relationships or like actions that are seen as 'romantic'. Some aros are also ace, or asexual, and some are not ace." ze concluded.
"Huh, thats a lot of different experiences that fit into the..uh.. Aromatic..spectrum? Am.. I saying that right?" Dale asked, slightly furrowing their brow.
Chip chuckled lightly at that. "Aromantic spectrum, aromatic means 'smells good'."
"Though- yeah, its the aromantic spectrum, also abbreviated as 'arospec' sometimes."
"Very interesting, I think I might be alloaro myself... now that I think about it.. I was only really interested in the people I flirted with sexually..to be honest..."
"And well.. I do think it's really nice that there are words like these for what people experience.." Dale enthused, eir eyes lighting up a bit.
" Yeah definitely, I've found the labels more useful than- well, just feeling out of place for not wanting to engage in romantic relationships with anyone- or even being attracted to them in that way." Chip responded, gesturing slightly and looking downwards a bit as shey explained further.
"There are also other types of attraction like platonic, alterous, etc."
"I'm demiplatonic, which means I only experience an attraction involving wanting to be friends with someone after I experience an emotional connection with them," shey elaborated.
"that's kind of what happened for me with you. Its a label on the aplatonic spectrum." ze added somewhat shyly, looking up at Dale again.
"Thanks for sharing that with me, pal! I think.. I like having friends!- but I can't say I was really platonically attracted to well..anyone?.. at all? I just enjoy people's company, y'know?"
"Like, I like hangin' out with ya, and being yer friend... though I don't think I'm like.. friend-attracted? To ya.. the way you implied you are to me?" Dale pondered.
"Well, some aplatonic people may like having friends just like some aromantics like being in romantic relationships."
"Some apls who experience that might identify as cupioplatonic."
"And well, thats understandable, I don't really require platonic attraction to be reciprocated in friendship myself, to be honest."
"I just want both of us to be comfortable and to be able to set boundaries about what we're ok with. " Chip explained, with a slight smile.
"I think that label might fit me pretty well..Thanks for explaining all this to me, Chip!"
"It really did make things make a lot more sense for me." he said, smiling back at Chip.
"And I want that for us too!! I love that ya brought that up..."
"You matter to me and I think it is healthy for both of us to be able to do that and communicate with each other." he added.
"No problem, I do like explaining things like this to people when I can, and not many people really seem to know about aromanticism, aplatonicism, and the aspec in general, as of now, anyway."
"And also.. I know I don't really..say it often, but.."
"you matter to me too, Dale." Chip responded finally, with a hint of affection in hir voice.