That wasn't much of an answer, but she smiled gently for him and kissed him back. Being called beloved in Arabic stung a little now that she was worried, but the touch still felt the same. "ولكن كنت مؤمنا. ما يهم لك.*" She cocked her head. "كنتم دائما؟**"

His Arabic was better than recited, memorized, poetry and soldier boy pidgin would have hinted at, accent aside.

*But you are a believer. That matters to you.
**Were you always?