ic contact.

[arcanepower]

[What is this strange goblin technology? Why is it not blowing up in his face?

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[ino]

[ This level of concern from him ... she's trying not to grin at how cute it is. ]

Oh, no no! No, Hiro is fine. It's nothing like that, don't worry.

It actually has more to do with your relationship with Hiro. You guys are pretty close, aren't you?

[arcanepower]

Oh, good. [Thank the Light.

If they're just talking about friendship, he can manage to eat. He opens his mouth and shoves the dango in whole. HE DOESN'T EAT THE STICK TOO, BUT HOLY SHIT. This is his special talent: cramming food into his mouth because he doesn't know when he'll get more.

... So yeah, give him a moment, he needs to chew. And swallow. He's not going to talk with his mouth full like a peasant.]

Hiro is... my first friend. I didn't want one since I've never been able to make friends at home, but he saw it as a challenge. And... admittedly I am somewhat competitive, so I thought I could win if I made him give up.

[That was kind of why he was mean to Hiro that one time.]

He hasn't left, though. And I've stopped trying to push him away, so I suppose he's won.

[He turns the stick between his fingers, so pale against black sleeves, and falls silent.]

[ino]

[ Hmm ... ]

A challenge, huh ... that does sound like him.

I'm really glad you've decided to be friends with him, Bel. I think he needs someone like you around!

[arcanepower]

[Belth doesn't quite agree with that last statement. His ears flatten against his hair.]

You don't think he deserves better?

[ino]

[ She frowns, remembering his comment from the other day when he woke up. ]

Bel, I'm very lucky to have you as a friend, and so is he. There's no reason to feel like you aren't worthy of it.

[arcanepower]

[Cue more fidgeting.]

I know you don't like it when I talk like that, but it doesn't change how I feel. I've been so selfish for so long.

[He sets the stick down on the table. His fingers disappear beneath his sleeves again.]

I look at Hiro and I can see everything I'm doing wrong. He makes me want to be a better person.

[ino]

No, I don't like that you feel that way at all, because it's unwarranted.

[ She sighs. ]

It's a good thing to have someone in your life who makes you strive to be better than you are. Nobody's perfect, and you shouldn't feel inferior -- but if you have someone who drives you to do better ... that person should be the most important person to you.

[arcanepower]

[Ah, yes. He always thinks he knows how people feel.]

I thought Adra was the most important person to me. This feels... different. It isn't like my sister, either.

[Thank god, he's not into siscon.]

Is this what having a best friend feels like?

[ino]

[ Aha. This is where she needs to tiptoe around and let him talk himself into it, because she remembers how horrified he was when she suggested the term "lover" before ...

A little laugh ]

Well, maybe I shouldn't say "most" important. There are different people who can be important to you in different ways. My dad is important to me like family, but people like my best friend or Tadashi are important to me in other ways, too.

But that really just depends on what you think, how you feel when you look at him, you know?

[arcanepower]

Mm, I suppose...

[How he feels when he looks at Hiro?

He looks at his hands, and he can still see them lost in the fabric of Hiro's shirt. He still has a tendency to cling even though he's a little older now than when he first ended up in Exsilium, and then, Drift Fleet.]

My heart makes so much noise I wonder if he can hear it. It's almost like I've been running, even though all he's done is touch me. And I feel dizzy and--

I thought I was getting sick the last time that happened, so I drank a potion to help with nausea.

[ino]

[ Oh. Oh my god. IT'S EVEN BETTER THAN SHE SUSPECTED.

It is so hard to keep her reaction to that internal. But she manages, and after a moment, she gently asks: ]

What do you think that makes him to you, then?

[arcanepower]

[He's quiet for a long moment.]

... An allergen?

[ino]

[ She pinches the bridge of her nose. ]

No. Those types of reactions to certain people aren't abnormal, Bel.

[arcanepower]

Are you sure? He works with machines. It's highly possible there's some kind of dust or residue that I am not used to, and so it triggers an inflammatory response--

[ino]

Bel.


It's not an allergy. I promise. You would be having totally different symptoms if it were something like that.

[arcanepower]

[He shuts up immediately. He's... having trouble being this self-aware. Usually he is good at it, but not when it comes to feelings.]

I don't understand.

[ino]

Honestly? It sounds a lot like the way I feel when I look at Tadashi.

1/3

[arcanepower]

Wh--

2/3

[arcanepower]

[No way. NO WAY. He can't process this, not properly--]

3/3

[arcanepower]

[But of course thinking about being all romantic with Hiro makes him blush damn flourescently.]

N-- no!

[ino]

[ She raises her eyebrows. ]

No?

[arcanepower]

No!

[What does that even mean?

He stares at Ino, obviously somewhat freaked out, and then he just kinda... slumps and shoves his face in his arms.]

Yes...

[Sure is Sesame Street up in here.]

[ino]

[ There we go. ]

I had a feeling. That's why I came to talk to you about it.

[arcanepower]

[He continues to hide his face in his big sleeves. He's glad for them right now.]

What do I do? I never meant for this to happen! We're both so busy with studies, it's not like I know how to cultivate romance. The thought didn't even occur to me. Maybe when I'm a hundred, but now?

[He drags his hands down his face, then goes back to hiding his face in his hands.]

Oh, Light. This is so wrong. He'll probably think I am disgusting.

[ino]

[ She just watches this with mild amusement, chin resting in her palm. ]

It's not wrong to feel that way. And I know he's not going to think that at all.