kazuki catchall

[adorabrawler]

Comments

[teenrebellion]

The feeling's mutual.

[ he's teasing but also, ]

[adorabrawler]

Yeah? You gonna do something about it?

[teenrebellion]

Not really. What, you think I should?

[adorabrawler]

Do you... want to?

[teenrebellion]

If I did, I would.

[adorabrawler]

You hold back a lot more than most guys.

[teenrebellion]

[ squints at her like ??? ]

I guess guys your age are even stupider than usual, but...

[ he's eighteen what's he gonna do to a twelve year old ]

[adorabrawler]

Yeah, they're all pretty stupid.

[teenrebellion]

[ thinks about some of his friends back home. ]

...They don't always grow out of it.

[adorabrawler]

Even the adult men I know are stupid.

[teenrebellion]

Some of the guys I know are, too. [ ... ] Some of the guys here are.

[adorabrawler]

Really? I feel like most guys here are better than most.

[teenrebellion]

Depends. Almost all of them are still bad about acknowledging how they feel about things, though.

[adorabrawler]

I thought that was just Alex.

[teenrebellion]

[ snorts. ]

Definitely not just her.

[adorabrawler]

What about you?

[teenrebellion]

I'm pretty aware of how I feel about things.

[adorabrawler]

Yeah, but you never talk about it much, either.

[teenrebellion]

I do when someone I trust with that kind of thing asks about it.

[adorabrawler]

... Well, how are you feeling then?

[teenrebellion]

[ scoff. ]

Miserable. Angry. Worried. Tired. Scared, too.

But also a little relieved that it'll be over soon. I don't think it even matters anymore how it ends, just that it does.

[adorabrawler]

[ a pause, before she hums thoughtfully. then: ]

Whatever happens, I'll... look out for you too.

[teenrebellion]

I don't need you to look out for me. I've had plenty of people doing that already.

[adorabrawler]

I just mean—as a friend.

[teenrebellion]

Thanks, I guess, but I still don't need you looking after me.