[She looks up at him, clearly a little surprised by his words.
It's hard to accept most of them, but that last part has her expression straining a little. After an unsteady breath, she gently nudges him with her foot.]
And you didn't? [There's a wry smile.] Those people... clearly cared a lot about you. Something that seemed to go both ways.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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I... doubt it was really that.
[Jinx listens to the rest, brow tense.]
... Maybe. But... don't even know which I'd prefer.
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[It's quiet, gaze averted. It's... possibly the most forward he's been about how he feels. The most he's ever verbalized right to her.]
What I'm tryin' to say is...
[He finally brings his gaze back to her.]
We were just kids, you know? After everything I've heard... I don't think you were wrong. Delusional. Anything like that.
[He leans back in the chair, letting out a sigh as he looks at the ceiling.]
I don't think I ever wanted to admit it, not even to myself, but part of why it hurt was... because I was jealous.
I'd never be okay living with Silco. But somehow, after everything that happened, you found family again. You found a place to be.
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It's hard to accept most of them, but that last part has her expression straining a little. After an unsteady breath, she gently nudges him with her foot.]
And you didn't? [There's a wry smile.] Those people... clearly cared a lot about you. Something that seemed to go both ways.
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It eventually got to be something like that, yeah. It took... a lot of time.
Things were pretty rough for awhile, there.
[In between grieving, losing most if not all his close contacts, and then trying to just survive?
Well, Ekko grew up fast, that's for sure.
After a moment, he puts his hand on her shoulder.]
...for what it's worth? I'm glad we're both here... no matter what kind of twisted path we had to endure for it.
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Yeah? [Jinx can feel her stomach do something a little weird, from that touch being combined with the gesture.] I... feel the same way.
[There's a softening of her expression as she looks at him.]
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[Now it's Ekko's turn to be surprised and flustered. It wasn't that he doubted her or felt she'd lie about this, it was just...
She'd been through a lot. Arguably, far more than himself. So it's just -
It's a lot that she'd consider this... them? Worth all that.]
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[She sounds very certain of that, too.]
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Ekko has no idea what to do. His mind has just blanked out, and... his face is warming up, for sure.]
...heh.
[He pulls away, hand coming up to awkwardly rub at the back of his neck for a moment as he glances to the side.]
So, uh... You feeling a little a better, now?