[it... seemed silly to think that maybe Neo would have waited until a public proclamation to say anything about Cinder. but it had honestly been, up until a few moments ago, what Em would have expected. they were getting closer, the two of them, but she still didn't expect Neo to do these. confessions like this. not in private, not one-on-one. not as the intimate and important events that they were. so for Em to hear that she was a priority in Neo's mind... she'd unpack why her chest felt funny at that later.]

Thanks for coming to me first. It's, um. ...I appreciate it. [gods, sound more confused and pathetic.] Hey, so, I think Ruby's coming around on me, too. We talked a lot the other day about, you know, life stuff. Her and Varian. I learned a lot about how the two of them are together, and she said she liked that she was learning some stuff about me. Instead of how I was like at Beacon. So... I don't know. That's a good sign, right?