[ he isn't lying. the thought would never even cross his mind; if he speaks of this, it will only be the truth as he remembers it.

it is the best he can give, and it is no longer about owing rin explanations but vocalizing the little pains that had bloomed and burned ever since his breaking point. ever since he saw the reality of his world.

distance is better and it always has been; companion to solitude. he looks away, away from the eyes that glaze over wetly, away from the crushed flowers falling and clinging to fingers.

its at times like this he feels hollow. like glass, each noise a ring against the frame of his ribs, the vertebrae of this cursed spine. had he really changed from that birdlike child with eyes brighter than the rest of the white around the expanse of all of them?

he couldn't know for sure. never sure.

the answer doesn't catch him off guard, but the sound of the voice does and he glances back up, a sharp action with drawing brows. a pause, before his mouth curls into lopsided thats too angular to be a smile. ] Wish it was that simple.

- But if you ever try to pull that shit, I will bite you. [ it's a threat and something that tries to be a joke as he tries to pull himself back forward, even if he has never lived directly in now.

still, the wet eyes are persistently troubling to something that tries for apathy. ] Why are - What's with your face?