– NATE –
Nate can't help but meet the grin, the glittering eyes, with his own bright smirk, his unblinking stare. "Stroking is one of those thing's I've got down to a science." He brags easily, eyes moving around as if daring either of them to argue with him. Talk of Loren, even in such roundabout ways, is still staunchly ignored by Nate, not wanting his good mood ruined all over again with conversation of the Launceleyn. So he nods along with Sunjata, not at all worried about Hotaru intruding anywhere.
The question he asks, the jump from the frying pan into the fire with both feet first, seems to affect the both of them in very different ways. Sunjata's shifting like he wants to crawl out of his own skin, prompting Nate to lift a gentle hand to his back, an anchor of sorts, of he'll accept it, and Hotaru seeming almost unfazed, or like she was trying very hard to seem unfazed, an effort to the nonchalance that makes it disingenuous. Though his eyes also widen in surprise at the declaration of love, something like guilt clouding in his chest, though it had never bothered him in similar situations in the past. "So it's just... right place, wrong time." There's a short nod, Nate not wanting to linger on the marriage, the absolute clusterfuck of an event that had been. He does set his drink down though, reach out with his newly freed hand to rest it on Hotaru's shoulder, to offer the same kind of support, or at least try to.
There's a tilt to Nate's head when he looks to Sunjata, listens to him add his two cents into the explanation, and he finds himself shaking his head. "I wasn't... I'm not worried. It's just... a kind of fucked up tangle. I... didn't think it would be something like that when I asked." It still felt like he didn't quite know enough, like he should be some kind of guilty, some kind of apologetic to one of them, Hotaru, probably, considering how she had gotten the short end of the stick here, but he doesn't want to be.
"It's just... shitty the way it worked out, huh?" Nate laughed softly, trying to add some levity back into the conversation, trying to backstep hard into the way they'd been talking before, because he can all but feel the spiral starting in Sunjata, and he isn't even sure how to deal with Ru if she starts a similar kind of mood. "You don't... no one did anything... out of malice, right?"
The question he asks, the jump from the frying pan into the fire with both feet first, seems to affect the both of them in very different ways. Sunjata's shifting like he wants to crawl out of his own skin, prompting Nate to lift a gentle hand to his back, an anchor of sorts, of he'll accept it, and Hotaru seeming almost unfazed, or like she was trying very hard to seem unfazed, an effort to the nonchalance that makes it disingenuous. Though his eyes also widen in surprise at the declaration of love, something like guilt clouding in his chest, though it had never bothered him in similar situations in the past. "So it's just... right place, wrong time." There's a short nod, Nate not wanting to linger on the marriage, the absolute clusterfuck of an event that had been. He does set his drink down though, reach out with his newly freed hand to rest it on Hotaru's shoulder, to offer the same kind of support, or at least try to.
There's a tilt to Nate's head when he looks to Sunjata, listens to him add his two cents into the explanation, and he finds himself shaking his head. "I wasn't... I'm not worried. It's just... a kind of fucked up tangle. I... didn't think it would be something like that when I asked." It still felt like he didn't quite know enough, like he should be some kind of guilty, some kind of apologetic to one of them, Hotaru, probably, considering how she had gotten the short end of the stick here, but he doesn't want to be.
"It's just... shitty the way it worked out, huh?" Nate laughed softly, trying to add some levity back into the conversation, trying to backstep hard into the way they'd been talking before, because he can all but feel the spiral starting in Sunjata, and he isn't even sure how to deal with Ru if she starts a similar kind of mood. "You don't... no one did anything... out of malice, right?"
I’m in trouble for the things I haven’t got to yet
BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3
