[she takes a moment at that, this time focusing on the things that make kainé different. it's not hard to do. it's the tone of her voice and the weight of her hand on anna's. it's the actual conversation they're having together, something that no geteilt or lehmann has ever been good at. but it's easier to coax out these words, curse or not, when the vulnerability is so easily on display. and it's not as frightening to be known, either. not when it's her. not when it's them.]

[the differences outweigh everything else easily. more easily than anna was prepared for. her leg shifts, comes up on the bed like she's about to turn around and face her roommate, but she doesn't. not yet.]

I don't want a replacement. And I couldn't find one even if I did. You only figure out you're gay once, right? [she sounds like she's on the verge of a breakthrough. it's something she wants to discuss, but not now. not in the middle of all of this. there's other things being drawn out of her now.]

I want to let you understand me. I want to stop being afraid of letting people in just because I've had so many people taken away from me. And I just...

[this is when she turns herself around, tucking both legs beneath her. her hand slips out from underneath kainé's as she does, but she puts it back on top of hers so the metallic fingers can gently weigh down her hand, too. it isn't the same as a flesh and blood skin to skin thing, but maybe it doesn't have to be.]

I'm not good. At relationships. But I want to show you that you're worth trying for. Because whether it's me or not, I think you deserve someone being able to understand you.