of dears and darlings

since becoming housemates a long time ago, i have started calling my good friend N as 'ling' and she'll call me as 'dear'. 'ling' is a pet name her family members used on her and also short for 'darling', and 'dear' is... well, dear is just dear.

for anyone who doesn't know us well enough n heard us calling each other such 'endearments', they would think that we're a couple. even N's mom at one time was worried that her daughter might have taken a preference to gals! luckily that misunderstanding was sorted out when N got herself a bf. now even N's younger sister have taken to calling me 'dear' sometimes!

anyway, i don't really mind what ppl think of us. we're just very good friends, period. y let the eyes of narrow minded ppl mar our friendship and make us refrain from showing innocent affection in public?

it's amusing to see ppl's reaction to our hand-holdings and drink-sharings (oh, and the endearment-callings!) it's even more interesting when we're out with N's bf. all 3 of us will be walking hand in hand (with N in the middle, of course).

but sometimes, i do wonder what ppl, esp ppl we know, thought at the sight of us. and i think many orchestra ppl would be wondering at our r/ship too, but too polite or shy to ask!