@nyo-ho-hoe  /  cont. from x.

ㅤ ㅤ His chuckle showed that the sole purpose behind her choice of words had been achieved, to get in Gyro's good graces to ensure the confidentiality of the information. Not that she didn't consider him worthy of being the bearer of her secrets, not at all — since the very beginning he offered her a succession of small acts of kindness and friendship, there was no reason to be any different now. However, his outgoing personality planted the seed of doubt in her afflicted heart, considering that maybe, just maybe he could let some compromising words slip out in front of the others. Intentional or not, the damage would be the same, so she tried to please him with the not-so-subtle mention of their condition, while her body sent the opposite message. Her arms crossed against her chest, her shoulders stiff from a sudden tension that crept up her neck, her brows drawn together in a frown, everything pointed to an important secret, but her protective shield quickly crumbled at his good-natured reassurance. Her shoulders relaxed as her arms fell to her sides, while her features went from unusual seriousness to complete desolation. Reimi sat right next to him, paying little attention to the manual work done with the flowers, her gaze lost in the hallway before them. Arnold was around as always, lying on the floor with his head on top of his paws, a tired expression that made it obvious that what would be told there was no secret to him. This time his loving gaze did little to help her, making her happily turn to the other available option, although her willingness to speak had faded away now that the big moment had finally arrived.

ㅤ ㅤ An awkward silence followed, with no hurried attempt on her part to explain what was going on. Quite the contrary, Reimi was taking her time to find the least embarrassing way to expose her emotions. It sounded so silly now that she was about to speak, it didn't justify all the drama and it certainly wasn't too important to the point of bothering him... But despite all the years that had passed since her tragic death, for all intents and purposes she was still a teenage girl, with the same uncertainties and doubts that came with youth and inexperience. Being a ghost was just the icing on the cake, an extra element of misfortune that made Gyro the only person empowered to offer truly useful advice. ❝ How do you know you have a crush on someone? ❞ Not exactly the bombastic statement he was hoping for, but this crucial question worked just as well. At this point it became clear that her secret was actually a matter of the heart, something she thought he had knowledge of. It wasn't too difficult in the first place, since her love life was down to a few crushes, some dates here and there, and a bitter disappointment. ❝ Ugh, who am I trying to fool— ❞ Her hands covered her face, rubbing her skin almost aggressively as if trying to ward off that little act. Deep down she knew very well what she was feeling, it was the same thing when she was alive — and it kind of took her by surprise. ❝ Is it weird that I feel this way? Knowing it will never work out because I’m... Well, dead? ❞ Ah, there was the real issue. Nurturing romantic feelings for the living seemed doomed to failure, even if her humanity hadn't changed in the slightest.