Meanwhile Aoba was reeling enough at the fact that his Allmate had, in a word, outed him. As his confidant, Ren had never pulled anything of that caliber before. Maybe it directly addressed what had been skirted around before, but would it really help?

Apparently not, said Declan's reaction. Aoba couldn't see his expression completely, standing where he was, but he saw the agitation in his body language suddenly go still.

Aoba felt cold, a leaden lump dropping into his stomach. So that had to mean... Declan really only had meant things aesthetically. Whatever it was Desire was raging right now-

-oh no, no way, no way do you get to tell me all that thing about 'compromise' and permission didn't mean-

-was either mistaken or irrelevant. So, okay, that cleared up a lot. Aoba was... not as relieved as he once might have thought he'd be. He didn't think anything had been ingenuine, but now he knew it plainly. Declan was his friend and that was where it would remain.

"... You've never made me uncomfortable, Declan," he somehow managed to counter, sounding sadder than he realized, and not seeing the stare that Ren shifted to Ghost with ears skewed. "I know I act awkward and strange, but... I've been more comfortable with you than most places I've ever been."