[ He chances a glance up towards Nirad at the front of the van, one hand on his forehead. His fingers feel heavy and cold against his own skin, and there's a cloudy feeling of misunderstanding. ]
What do you mean?
[ He'd just been... well, an asshole. Hardly good company. Too straightforward as ever, rude without thinking or meaning to be. Still unused to Ren not being there to remind him to check his temper and hold back.
Belatedly, he feels Nirad still floating there in his thoughts, the humming disguising him like a fog of noise. He seems harmless enough, so Aoba doesn't push back just yet, afraid of making the pain now leaking between them worse.
Instead of focusing on the pressure, he tries to recall the thing they seem to have in common: memories of the ocean. The sun dipping over silver waves, the feeling of sand between toes, cool and damp. Soft clouds of pink and yellow, pretty like spun sugar. A man's low voice telling him about the world as the sun dips lower over the horizon, his hair as red and bright as the colors cast over the sky-
No... wait. That last one wasn't meant to slip in. He must be more tired from travel than he thought. ]
no subject
What do you mean?
[ He'd just been... well, an asshole. Hardly good company. Too straightforward as ever, rude without thinking or meaning to be. Still unused to Ren not being there to remind him to check his temper and hold back.
Belatedly, he feels Nirad still floating there in his thoughts, the humming disguising him like a fog of noise. He seems harmless enough, so Aoba doesn't push back just yet, afraid of making the pain now leaking between them worse.
Instead of focusing on the pressure, he tries to recall the thing they seem to have in common: memories of the ocean. The sun dipping over silver waves, the feeling of sand between toes, cool and damp. Soft clouds of pink and yellow, pretty like spun sugar. A man's low voice telling him about the world as the sun dips lower over the horizon, his hair as red and bright as the colors cast over the sky-
No... wait. That last one wasn't meant to slip in. He must be more tired from travel than he thought. ]