[She can't help but think, as he takes her face in his hands, of how far they've come even from the moment when they'd first reunited here in outer space. It's been so long, so much, since Rohan turned away from her on that sidewalk and admitted with his hands in fists that he was going to miss her when she left. Look how far Rohan has come, from a young man who couldn't even tolerate the gentlest of vulnerabilities to someone who's offered up his heart to her now, freely and seeking nothing in return.

I just thought you should know. He doesn't want a confession, isn't seeking reciprocation. He's not looking to gain from this. He just wanted her to know. He just wanted to make sure she knew he meant it.

And she's certain, in that moment, that Rohan isn't seeing his guardian angel when he looks at her, not like this. He looks at her and it makes her feel seen, and maybe that's the best gift he possibly could've offered her to begin with.

You've really grown up, Rohan-chan, is what comes to the tip of her tongue — but no. That isn't fair to him at all, is it? He's doing her the courtesy of seeing her only as herself. It'd be wrong of her to do anything less than the same.]

I wanted you to.

[He said he doesn't expect a reply, but she suspects there's another layer to that, beyond just being gentle with her. Rohan doesn't know what to do with a confession he actually wants to receive, she thinks, and so maybe he's hoping she'll spare him the burden of trying to figure it out for himself.

So she does. Of course she does. She'd do anything for him; this is nothing.]

To...to love me, I mean. When you were talking about those other girls, the ones from high school...I was so jealous, I hated it, because...because I don't mind if you love someone else, but I wanted you to love me most...

[She smiles at him, rueful and gently self-mocking, but there's a certain serenity in her expression nevertheless.]

That's pretty selfish, right? But I couldn't help it. I still can't.