He hears her out, of course. How could he not? As soon as she bring up this topic, he winces guiltily, bracing for something worse? And ... it never comes. She really is apologizing to him. For - what? Making him feel second-rate? What? He's confused at first, then just quiet. If he weren't 100% convinced of her utter sincerity, he might have wondered if she was making fun of him. (But not Orihime, no. Never her.)
"Orihime," he says after a moment, his voice quiet. "You didn't make me feel like that. You really didn't." How does he explain this without self-deprecating again? That's his go-to response, but it doesn't feel right in this situation. He'd be proving her point. Right, okay, find another way to describe it. "Being a backup date was awesome? I was really flattered, okay."
He pauses here, rubbing at the back of his neck. And getting kind of red for a second. "Plus you're really amazing and nice too. I'd have had said yes if you'd asked me for real, you know."
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"Orihime," he says after a moment, his voice quiet. "You didn't make me feel like that. You really didn't." How does he explain this without self-deprecating again? That's his go-to response, but it doesn't feel right in this situation. He'd be proving her point. Right, okay, find another way to describe it. "Being a backup date was awesome? I was really flattered, okay."
He pauses here, rubbing at the back of his neck. And getting kind of red for a second. "Plus you're really amazing and nice too. I'd have had said yes if you'd asked me for real, you know."