It ain't crazy. I don't like arguin' with anybody else. It's cause I... I know you have fun with me and you're all about upping the ante.

[It was hard to articulate even after he figured out what it really was.

It was easy for him to be wildly frustrated and confrontational but knew he couldn't let it be the only way for him to tell her. Ryuuko had it just as hard as he did and she somehow scrambled together a life. He tightened his fingers a little and then loosened them from Ryuuko's arms to rest on her thighs. Her expression was familiar but still new in the corners. Something in what he said had snagged her and he wasn't sure if she'd have the same idea in mind as he did.

It had been in the back of his mind.]

If you don't wanna say it back, okay. I already get how you feel.