Before he had a chance to reply, he’d been whisked away like some Cinderella story princess — except that it was just being dragged out of a smelly, loud arcade, he didn’t own any pumpkin carriage or glass slipper, nor was he exactly a princess. Nevertheless, Rin seemed serious, and he wanted to be able to catch up with her in a place without unnecessary background noise.
Len listened intently as she spoke about her parents — he could tell that she feared them even before she said it outright. While she was extremely easy for him to read, it didn’t make the truth any less painful to hear when said aloud; there was something that always hurt him deeply when she was in enough of a vulnerable state to admit her weakness.
His sister was always extremely prideful, which led him to wonder how terrible the parents she’d been given had to have been to make her confide in him. It wasn’t rare that she went to him when she had issues — he actually couldn’t recall a time where she didn’t (with the uncommon case that she was too embarrassed to say anything), but she would seemingly always only do so when it was out of her control or something she couldn’t shoulder alone.
He figured that, were he to ask what her new parents had done to leave such a bad first impression, it was an equal chance on whether it would either trigger an uncomfortable memory or not; his safest bet would be to ask if she was alright and offer shelter if things got too hard to handle. While he didn’t know if such a thing was against the laws of Iunctum, he was positive they’d probably overlook any violation of the rules as long as a minor was in danger of harm from their parents. They had to, didn’t they?
“Are.. Are you okay? You’re safe, right? You can always stay over at my place if you want, I’m sure Ludger-san wouldn’t mind— ah, he’s my.. My dad.”He wasn’t exactly being eloquent, but being overcome by worry doesn’t always let people keep a cool head. It was a shame to hear about her parents and fiance, but he could tell she didn’t want to elaborate on the topic any further.
“I haven’t met my mom yet, but Ludger-san is really nice! I’m sure he’d love to meet you, too. We live in apartment, uh..” Taking a moment to remember the exact digit, Len realized that talking about how great a family he’d been given was probably just rubbing salt in her wound. As much as he hated to admit it, he had a tendency to be inconsiderate. “.. Four point one one five. You’re probably not nearby, since I haven’t seen you around, huh..”
It took him a moment to realize that he hadn’t mentioned his fiance yet. As much as he trusted and loved his sister, he himself had a fair amount of dignity, and said dignity might be crushed by laughter when he mentioned he was engaged to another male. Fumbling around with a few coins in his pocket, Len took a moment or five to ponder how to break the news in a way that wasn’t going to garner him any embarrassment.
“My fiance..? It.. It’s going fine so far. We haven’t really talked all that much yet, but..”Here it comes. The moment of truth. Whether or not she ridiculed him (or even noticed that he said he instead of she) was an outcome in which time could only tell.
“.. ‘s a little rough around the edges, but I’m positive that he’s really nice deep down.”
