[If IV has been slouching this whole time (next to the likes of prim Rio, anyway), he goes still when she stumbles through her request. He twists on the bench to turn toward her, giving her a wide-eyed stare, flabbergasted. Before long, his eyes narrow with the knitting of his brows. He has to take a moment to think about it, to ponder whether he's interpreting this correctly.
He thinks for a long time. Or maybe he's not and he's just stuck, frozen in place, because this is such an unnatural progression from how things had gone with Ryouga. The silence that reigns between then and now is deafening.
The scar on his face tingles, but he won't let himself scratch away the itch. His voice is barely above a whisper and thick, like there's a sudden lump lodged in his throat. He could well be choking on himself. Perhaps, under ordinary circumstance, he would have laughed off something so absurd. But this is Rio, and he can't bring himself to even joke.]
Are you serious? After what I did . . .
[How can she put that in the past so easily? Even now, he can't get over it, and he wasn't the one in the hospital for so long.]
no subject
He thinks for a long time. Or maybe he's not and he's just stuck, frozen in place, because this is such an unnatural progression from how things had gone with Ryouga. The silence that reigns between then and now is deafening.
The scar on his face tingles, but he won't let himself scratch away the itch. His voice is barely above a whisper and thick, like there's a sudden lump lodged in his throat. He could well be choking on himself. Perhaps, under ordinary circumstance, he would have laughed off something so absurd. But this is Rio, and he can't bring himself to even joke.]
Are you serious? After what I did . . .
[How can she put that in the past so easily? Even now, he can't get over it, and he wasn't the one in the hospital for so long.]