He squeezes her hand back and leans against her, just a bit, as relief begins to soak in at the corners of his mind, slowly easing the edges of his heartbreak and fear. She promised. She's not going to just- be done with him. It's...it'll be okay. She promised.
...but she still doesn't have context, does she. He huffs at her last statement - it's surprise, a bit of disbelief, tamped down by exhaustion - and then takes another breath, in and out. "Where I'm from-" No, that's not quite right. He stops, tries again. "The village I grew up in was small, out of the way, and...closed-minded." To put it nicely. "They had a superstition about twins: they believe that the younger twin is a curse, an evil creature that takes the older twin's form, follows it into the world to cause misfortune, and eventually kills the older twin. Ryoga...my brother is fifteen minutes older than me, we look alike, and...our mother died when I was born. That was enough to convince everyone." He shakes his head. "I grew up surrounded by people who ignored me, blamed me for things, took their anger out on me, even attacked me sometimes. They were capable of kindness, but not for me." If she's wondering why he's worried about being shunned for one social misstep, it's because he's been completely shut out for so much less.
"But you..." He can't let what she said go. He can't let her think that what she's doing doesn't matter. "You asked for more time so you could help a world full of strangers survive. You...stayed with me." She probably had to chase him down the train to find him here. It would've been so easy to leave him alone to deal with things himself, but she hadn't - she'd come, and she'd helped, and she'd stayed. "You're a kind person because you want to be, and that means a lot." It's not everything he wants to say, but he can barely manage that much right now. Hopefully she understands. Hopefully it's enough.
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...but she still doesn't have context, does she. He huffs at her last statement - it's surprise, a bit of disbelief, tamped down by exhaustion - and then takes another breath, in and out. "Where I'm from-" No, that's not quite right. He stops, tries again. "The village I grew up in was small, out of the way, and...closed-minded." To put it nicely. "They had a superstition about twins: they believe that the younger twin is a curse, an evil creature that takes the older twin's form, follows it into the world to cause misfortune, and eventually kills the older twin. Ryoga...my brother is fifteen minutes older than me, we look alike, and...our mother died when I was born. That was enough to convince everyone." He shakes his head. "I grew up surrounded by people who ignored me, blamed me for things, took their anger out on me, even attacked me sometimes. They were capable of kindness, but not for me." If she's wondering why he's worried about being shunned for one social misstep, it's because he's been completely shut out for so much less.
"But you..." He can't let what she said go. He can't let her think that what she's doing doesn't matter. "You asked for more time so you could help a world full of strangers survive. You...stayed with me." She probably had to chase him down the train to find him here. It would've been so easy to leave him alone to deal with things himself, but she hadn't - she'd come, and she'd helped, and she'd stayed. "You're a kind person because you want to be, and that means a lot." It's not everything he wants to say, but he can barely manage that much right now. Hopefully she understands. Hopefully it's enough.