youraffection | [IC] Overflow @ cerealia

[ He cringes visibly when she repeats the awfulness he'd been spewing just moments before. Shadows could be so cruel. Hyperbolic--not liars, but over the top with their assessments, too. ]

It's not--

[ He can't just take it back, can he? ]

--it's not...like that. Not really. He--I mean, I...I've just felt like I'm constantly playing catch-up here. I never know if I'm doing something over again, if I've met someone before and I'm supposed to know them, or if I'm not living up to expectations I set before. It just...pisses me off. I wish I knew what to do. It's a weird feeling, but it's no one's fault.

[ Not her fault. ]

...Like me?

[Rei slowly nods, letting her hands fall off and ball up, fighting to keep herself from crying. She does understand where he's coming from, she really does...]

I understand what you mean. You...really don't have to worry about it though. You've never, ever once disappointed me on anything. That's really...I'm not sure you could, unless you became a completely different person.

[His question though, pushes all of that out of her head and she brushes the hem of her shirt self-consciously. She wouldn't ordinarily share something like this but he needed the encouragement. And really, why hide it, after it was already there.]

I grew up alone. My only friends...before Cerealia? They were people like me. The other planetary guardians, more goddesses. People I was fated to meet. I...never made a friend on my own. Ever. Not till I came here, and you were the first person who ever called me that.

[Sniffing, she finally lets herself look at him.]

You're the first person to want to get to know me as a person, and not as a soldier. Or some...I don't know...set piece. Most people just want me to stand on their arm, like a doll. Or they want to use me for power, or they're afraid of me. None of them took the time to get to know me, before you.

[ There's so much to process. The reeling from his own twisted admissions, the feelings she's describing. Feelings. Rei is strong, he knows that, but the sort of loneliness and distance she might feel from others is something that hadn't crossed his mind. His Shadow pointed out how it might make her seem better, but that was from his point of him. His fears of not being up to par to be friends with a goddess. He never considered how it must seem to her.

And he feels like a total ass for it. ]

Rei-san...

[ Was he really that important...? He thinks on what it was like to make his friends in Inaba, people who weren't just acquaintances but actually cared. What it was like when he and Yu really just clicked into place, knowing that someone would be there to understand you and support you through everything. Maybe Rise can relate better than he can--to be admired, but not understood.

He's...touched. That she's put that faith in him. And he knows if he did it once before, he better not mess it up this time. ]

You're a pretty amazing person. I can tell that even if I don't remember anything. I'm sorry...about all the shit I was saying. I--I do want to get to know you again. And I wanna be a good friend. I was letting this place psyche me out. I don't wanna let it mess things up again, for me or my friends. That means you too.

[Rei laughs, blinking back more tears and nodding her head with his words. It means a lot, hearing him say that, even if she already knew he would. When she made a judgment about someone she was rarely ever wrong, and this boy...he had a good heart. He could be a pig, and pigheaded, but couldn't everyone?]

I have every confidence in you, Yosuke. I appreciate your honesty, and I'm glad to know that we could talk this out. I am sorry, too, for letting you think all that. I said it before, and I meant it. You aren't too good for me, in any way. You don't give yourself enough credit.

[Another laugh, this one a bit more strained.]

You're also pretty amazing. And you know now what I'm like, you know me better than most even if you don't think you do. You've seen both sides of me, and I'm sorry it got so rough.

[ Hearing that from her--it silences him for a minute, before laughing a little. It's something that might sound crazy if not for the circumstances, someone like her telling a guy like him that he's too good? ]

I don't even know what to say to that...

[ Yosuke seems to be in better spirits, at least, so he shakes his head at her apology. ]

Nah. I can take a beating, and I clearly needed it. No--I'm glad. If my Shadow had gotten outta control, you would've done the right thing. That means a lot to me.

[That's a start, at least. Rei nods again, and slides an arm around his waist for a quick hug.]

I would. You can always count on me for that.

[Wearily, she looks down the alleyway at the melted robot.]

And we should probably get a move on. You can always count on more policebots to show up when you least expect them.

[IC] Overflow @ cerealia

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