[Minako still has a long way to go to regain her ability to read him well again, so she doesn't understand or sense bittersweet thoughts-- but she feels the melancholy they produce regardless. Sharper and deeper than his other moods. Like an incomplete puzzle, she tries to fit different pieces together, working through what he's said and trying to read between the lines. She thinks that he's probably missing home, and that he feels some regret about it. But the exact whys are illusive. Try as she might, nothing is slotting together, the details slightly crooked in their placement and thus ultimately still misaligned. He's still beyond her.
She doesn't force it. She pulls apart the pieces and sets them down for another day.
Before he leaves, she catches his hand in both of hers, giving him a gentle squeeze.]
I'm glad you still have faith in me.
[If she knew, maybe she would say "we can make a new home together" or "home doesn't have to be just one place". But because she doesn't know, Minako's existence declares it instead, as it always has, in her smile that says "I'm happy" and "you make me happy even if you frustrate me" and "we'll be alright one day". Maybe it wouldn't soothe him as much as the real thing, maybe it wouldn't be exactly what he wanted, but throwing away the keys doesn't change the facts that her arms have always been "open" to him, and that if he were with her they'd be "together".
Two out of three isn't that bad in the grand scheme of things. For Minako, it's much better than nothing at all.]
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She doesn't force it. She pulls apart the pieces and sets them down for another day.
Before he leaves, she catches his hand in both of hers, giving him a gentle squeeze.]
I'm glad you still have faith in me.
[If she knew, maybe she would say "we can make a new home together" or "home doesn't have to be just one place". But because she doesn't know, Minako's existence declares it instead, as it always has, in her smile that says "I'm happy" and "you make me happy even if you frustrate me" and "we'll be alright one day". Maybe it wouldn't soothe him as much as the real thing, maybe it wouldn't be exactly what he wanted, but throwing away the keys doesn't change the facts that her arms have always been "open" to him, and that if he were with her they'd be "together".
Two out of three isn't that bad in the grand scheme of things. For Minako, it's much better than nothing at all.]
Bye, Minato. Come by for dinner sometime soon.