[ There's a long pause, where different emotions flicker under the surface, before she nods once. ]
I don't want to hope for something that won't come true. I am too pragmatic for something like that, but... if there is something in the works, if you feel that certain, I will trust you.
[ She lets some of her emotional walls come down, so he can feel her grim expectations, her dread, her pessimism, her feelings of inevitability, of powerlessness, of how much all she wants is to be able to survive, how she won't let herself fall despite everything because of the person she is—
How hard it is for her to trust. The walls come back up. ]
[There is so much behind those walls that weighs so heavily, even in the brief moments he feels it, to the extent that she allows him to. It hits him, to see the trust there - to feel the weight of it, and to know that it's something precious. Trust is always precious to him, though, no matter how easily or hard-won it is.
His own emotions react in return: a surprise, at first. A grimness. Empathy, understanding, because he feels some of these emotions keenly, too. Powerlessness haunts him every step of the way. Inevitability is something he fights off, though it weighs more heavily by the day.
He doesn't want to take this trust and betray it, so he weighs his words carefully, after seeing and feeling what she's given him.]
...I already feel like I'm pressing my luck, so. Let's keep it to this, and between us. But I won't betray something that important.
[ Like everything else. She is ready to see what the next week brings, and if it is something that will eat away at her heart again, for whatever Kashuu can or can't talk about, at least she won't be blindsided either way.
[The feeling is fondness and affection, a little relief again, that same heaviness from before. He nods, and eventually lets her hands go. A small amount of hope is a cruelty in some cases - but he does still have that feeling of certainty, even so. That things will turn out alright, for Hot Pants.]
She's still gonna have a real shitty week, though.
[Regardless of what Friday brings, that's a whole four days of being a gotdam maniac beforehand.]
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I don't want to hope for something that won't come true. I am too pragmatic for something like that, but... if there is something in the works, if you feel that certain, I will trust you.
[ She lets some of her emotional walls come down, so he can feel her grim expectations, her dread, her pessimism, her feelings of inevitability, of powerlessness, of how much all she wants is to be able to survive, how she won't let herself fall despite everything because of the person she is—
How hard it is for her to trust. The walls come back up. ]
... Please don't betray it.
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His own emotions react in return: a surprise, at first. A grimness. Empathy, understanding, because he feels some of these emotions keenly, too. Powerlessness haunts him every step of the way. Inevitability is something he fights off, though it weighs more heavily by the day.
He doesn't want to take this trust and betray it, so he weighs his words carefully, after seeing and feeling what she's given him.]
...I already feel like I'm pressing my luck, so. Let's keep it to this, and between us. But I won't betray something that important.
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[ Her voice is soft, so soft. ]
I'll keep it close to my chest.
[ Like everything else. She is ready to see what the next week brings, and if it is something that will eat away at her heart again, for whatever Kashuu can or can't talk about, at least she won't be blindsided either way.
This is as much hope as she can have. ]
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She's still gonna have a real shitty week, though.
[Regardless of what Friday brings, that's a whole four days of being a gotdam maniac beforehand.]
So let's do what we can to help her through it.
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I'll do what I can.
[ Which she doesn't feel is much right now, but it is what it is. ]
For however long I can.
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He just nods at that.]
You and me, both. [For however long they can.] ...Thanks for still being here, Roxana.
[He knows it's not a choice of either the refracted or their victims, but. He still wants to thank her for her continued presence, anyway.]
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[ Her desire to survive is one the strongest desires she has, and she will fight tooth and nail to.
On that, anyone can be sure. ]
I'm glad you're still here, too, Kiyomitsu.
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There's a little flicker of a smile at that, though, and a little knot of complex emotion.]
I'll be here as long as I can.
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She closes her eyes, and the feeling is a little forlorn. ]
... That's as much as we can promise each other.
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...Yeah.
[His mood is reflective, and he closes his eyes for a second. Then, with a sigh:]
--Want some tea?
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[ Maybe there can be a fraction of peace in tea. ]