[Bocchan no. Where are you going. That's not where you're supposed to sit. You missed the couch.
But as soon as Peko realizes what he's doing, that smile disappears as she slips off the couch to kneel on the floor in front of him. Of all the things she ever expected of him -- or hoped for from him -- it had never been an apology. The gratitude she had kind of hoped for, the fact that he'd want to see her again, even just being able to smile around her, those were all things she was hoping for.
Not this.
She's still blown away by him calling her important, right to her face (or thereabouts, the floor counts, too), enough that she can't quite protest immediately. And then, she... doesn't want to, either.]
I forgive you.
[There's no hesitation for that, anyway. It had never crossed her mind to resent him or blame him for what had happened. Instead, there's a beat where she wavers there on her knees, then bows her head and hunches her back, fingers gripping tightly into the fabric of her skirt. Her forehead isn't quite pressed to the ground just yet -- and it won't be until/if he decides to raise his head -- but she has something to say too.]
And... I am sorry that I... left you alone. I am glad that you were able to work with our-- with our classmates, but I... regret that I was not able to be at your side for it. And--
[No, wait, no. She shuffles back slightly on her knees, whether or not he's managed to raise his head yet, and instead lowers hers to mirror his position. Bunch of assholes with their foreheads pressed to the floor here.]
I am sorry that I... did not try to think of an alternative. It was my choice to protect you in that way, but... in the future... [Now that she actually has one of those, at least for the moment. Hinata can talk all he wants about bringing them back from comas, but that's something that doesn't affect the here and now.] I want...
I was in such a hurry to protect you and see you return home that I did not consider... anything else. I do not wish to do that anymore. I want to stand at your side as something other than a mere tool.
[That last bit is rushed out, before she can lose her nerve. But hopefully he notices that it's what she wants; not just that he doesn't want her to be a tool, which she finally realizes, but that she doesn't want that anymore. Partially for him, but also for herself.]
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But as soon as Peko realizes what he's doing, that smile disappears as she slips off the couch to kneel on the floor in front of him. Of all the things she ever expected of him -- or hoped for from him -- it had never been an apology. The gratitude she had kind of hoped for, the fact that he'd want to see her again, even just being able to smile around her, those were all things she was hoping for.
Not this.
She's still blown away by him calling her important, right to her face (or thereabouts, the floor counts, too), enough that she can't quite protest immediately. And then, she... doesn't want to, either.]
I forgive you.
[There's no hesitation for that, anyway. It had never crossed her mind to resent him or blame him for what had happened. Instead, there's a beat where she wavers there on her knees, then bows her head and hunches her back, fingers gripping tightly into the fabric of her skirt. Her forehead isn't quite pressed to the ground just yet -- and it won't be until/if he decides to raise his head -- but she has something to say too.]
And... I am sorry that I... left you alone. I am glad that you were able to work with our-- with our classmates, but I... regret that I was not able to be at your side for it. And--
[No, wait, no. She shuffles back slightly on her knees, whether or not he's managed to raise his head yet, and instead lowers hers to mirror his position. Bunch of assholes with their foreheads pressed to the floor here.]
I am sorry that I... did not try to think of an alternative. It was my choice to protect you in that way, but... in the future... [Now that she actually has one of those, at least for the moment. Hinata can talk all he wants about bringing them back from comas, but that's something that doesn't affect the here and now.] I want...
I was in such a hurry to protect you and see you return home that I did not consider... anything else. I do not wish to do that anymore. I want to stand at your side as something other than a mere tool.
[That last bit is rushed out, before she can lose her nerve. But hopefully he notices that it's what she wants; not just that he doesn't want her to be a tool, which she finally realizes, but that she doesn't want that anymore. Partially for him, but also for herself.]