[when Nero looped his arms around her waist and held her to him it was a solid reminder of just how small she truly was compared to him. obviously it wasn't something that either of them had forgotten, but finding herself flush up against him with no barriers left between them really drove it home. she didn't protest, sharing in that mutual unspoken desire to hold onto one another for just a little bit longer.

Ryuuko closed her eyes, completely at ease... which made the bombshell he dropped on her a hundred times more startling. blue eyes flew open in a panic as she stiffened in his lap. in full on shock, she couldn't breathe- never mind speak. her thoughts raced in a million different directions. did she hear him right? there's no way Nero just uttered the one phrase she was incapable of handling. "I love you" wasn't something that was said to her. ever. she never heard it, not once. not from her workaholic father and certainly not from her psychopath mother- if the woman could even be considered for the title.

three little words she'd always longed to experience but never allowed herself to dream would come true for someone like her. even now that it had she still couldn't bring herself to trust it. she had so much baggage in that department, far too much to unload without getting crushed in the process.

Ryuuko physically recoiled, pressing her palms flat to his chest and straightening her arms to maintain that distance between them. her head hung forward still, afraid to meet his eyes and risk him seeing the earth shattering vulnerability reflected in hers.]

I-Idiot! What the hell are you saying!? You can't just toss that word around like it's nothing!!

[her tiny frame began to tremble, fingers flexed against him.]

Don't make false promises you don't intend to keep, just because we had sex!