Jigano hoped he was right, too. He'd known that Remi was in a bad place from Loren's description of the alchemist's attempted suicide, but Sam's tale made it sound even worse than he could have imagined. Still, grief could make people do terrible things, even drive them mad for a little while, and maybe the story wasn't quite over yet.
The hurt in Sam's eyes and voice was well-earned, and Jigano winced, holding up a hand and bowing his head in silent apology as the bookmaker explained his reasons. "I'm sorry, Sam. I shouldn't have phrased it that way. I remember when Remi had his memories taken away... and how much it hurt you. How you eventually gave up on him, then," he said quietly, remembering how horrified he had been to find out that Sam had willingly given away his own memories in turn. "If you think you love... or might have loved... Nate, I'd hate to see you repeat that mistake. I want you to be happy, but... well, people aren't always perfect. They screw up, they disagree, they fight, but if they mean enough to each other... they work to fix what goes wrong and build from it." He smiled, a little crooked and a little lopsided as he looked at his friend. "Just look at us. With all our ups and downs and arguments we're still here, sitting together drinking tea and still friends. At least... I hope you still think of me as your friend?"
The hurt in Sam's eyes and voice was well-earned, and Jigano winced, holding up a hand and bowing his head in silent apology as the bookmaker explained his reasons. "I'm sorry, Sam. I shouldn't have phrased it that way. I remember when Remi had his memories taken away... and how much it hurt you. How you eventually gave up on him, then," he said quietly, remembering how horrified he had been to find out that Sam had willingly given away his own memories in turn. "If you think you love... or might have loved... Nate, I'd hate to see you repeat that mistake. I want you to be happy, but... well, people aren't always perfect. They screw up, they disagree, they fight, but if they mean enough to each other... they work to fix what goes wrong and build from it." He smiled, a little crooked and a little lopsided as he looked at his friend. "Just look at us. With all our ups and downs and arguments we're still here, sitting together drinking tea and still friends. At least... I hope you still think of me as your friend?"
