"Okay… s-sorry…" Lin fell quiet, closing his eyes after a bit. He was noticeably pretty tense talking about his childhood, but eventually started relaxing.
"You DO like me!" "I don't think 'like' is the right word." "You tolerate me." "Maybe." one on one
"I won't let them take you back, alright?" she said, trying not to squeeze him too tightly. "I won't let them hurt you again."
Lin nodded weakly. "I-I doubt they'd come all the way here to get me back… they don't know where I went anyway, and they never really liked me. They don't think I have any powers, after all."
"How'd you. . . convince them that you didn't?"
"Never used them." Lin shrugged. "It was hard sometimes since it can be a protective instinct, but I managed it."
"That makes sense. I had to do something similar. To my family. I was scared they'd hate me or something."
"Yeah…" Lin sighed and huddled a bit closer to Orion. "They never liked me much. I just… put up with it."
"Hm. You're likable enough for me. And I'd think to other people, you're extremely likable."
"I'm glad you think so… I'm… I-I'm not exactly super used to having friends. I never had any back in England." Lin fidgeted a bit.
"I don't have any friends. I'm not a friend kind of person. Except for you. Obviously."
"Yeah… hopefully I'm doing an okay job. I don't exactly know what I'm doing." Lin laughed weakly.
"You aren't doing anything wrong," she said. "I'm not an excellent source of reassurance."
Lin shrugged a bit and huddled a bit closer. "Mm… is there anything else you want to know? It's… kind of a lot to unpack."
"No. Not yet. Just cuddles for now. Your hair smells nice."
Lin flushed a bit and tentatively nodded. "O-Okay… um… thanks, I guess…?"
"It's a compliment." She shifted slightly. "I'm going to ask you to sit on my lap but you don't have to."
"Ah, um… okay… if you want me to." Lin replied softly, seeming a bit taken aback.
"Is that okay? You sounded a little apprehensive." She pulled out of the embrace.
"Y-Yeah, that's… that's fine…" Lin replied softly, fidgeting a bit with his hands.
"Are you sure? I want you to be sure." She grabbed his hands. "Try not to fidget. You make me nervous."
Lin nodded a bit, allowing Orion to take his hands. "Yeah, I'm… I'm sure." He replied softly.
"Alright then. Come here." She held out her arms.
Lin hesitated, trying to find the best way to comply, but eventually managed to get himself settled in Orion's lap. "Like this?" He asked nervously. "Is this okay?"
"Yes. Perfect." She wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his shoulder.
Lin flushed a bit harder and allowed Orion to do whatever she wanted, hesitating before resting his head against hers. "You okay?"
"I'm very happy. Are you okay?" she asked.
"Y-Yeah, I'm… I'm fine, just… not really sure what to do." Lin laughed weakly. "As you can probably imagine, I've never done this before."
"Just be. . .um. . .cuddly. You're doing fine." She shifted closer.
"Okay…" Lin held a bit tighter to Orion and curled up slightly, drawing up his knees. He buried his face in her shoulder with a soft sigh.
"I really do like you, Lin," she said softly. "I'll try not to be so mean to you."