It would be hypocritical of me if I didn't. To make you wait so long yet be unwilling to give you time of your own would be...at best incredibly unfair. That's not to say I haven't been unfair to you this entire time. I know it must have been unnerving to be aware that I was keeping a secret from you. [ There was an undeniable tinge of regret in the way he spoke.
Oswald took pause for a moment, nodding slowly at the words. That they would always be best friends. It was reassurance that he would indeed remember, but it likely also served a second purpose as a buffer to how brutal the truth was going to be. Maybe it wasn't a simple answer because he'd interpreted so many things wrong, because Ed really had felt nothing in the gesture that he had seen nothing but beauty in, because his heart belonged to someone else as he had occasionally feared --
...he appreciated it? Why? Because the puzzle that had plagued him had finally been matched with an answer? And what was it that had him looking at his face so closely? Why were they still holding hands? ]
You... don't? [ Want him to pretend. Wouldn't it be easier on Ed if he did? Didn't things like this put a strain on friendship? Friendship was better than nothing. Maybe he could get Ed to reconsider if he used that angle. Surely he'd never accept him for real. The rejection wasn't outright, but -- ... he wasn't outright rejecting him? The concept of... them? Oswald stared at him for the briefest moment before realizing what he was attempting to do and loosening his grip enough for Ed to take his hand back. And then he was looking away and blushing again, and terribly so at that. ]
I-I hadn't noticed. It was probably my fault to begin with. [ What was he supposed to do now? ] I, um... thank you. [ Thank you for...? Listening to me? Believing me? Sharing with me a special moment that I've done nothing to deserve? Not rejecting me right away? Existing? All of those, maybe. He had such a strong desire to let go of his inhibitions and embrace him. To keep Ed close and in his arms as long as he could. But he didn't make a move. That would be going too far, wouldn't it? He was such a coward. ]
action;
Oswald took pause for a moment, nodding slowly at the words. That they would always be best friends. It was reassurance that he would indeed remember, but it likely also served a second purpose as a buffer to how brutal the truth was going to be. Maybe it wasn't a simple answer because he'd interpreted so many things wrong, because Ed really had felt nothing in the gesture that he had seen nothing but beauty in, because his heart belonged to someone else as he had occasionally feared --
...he appreciated it? Why? Because the puzzle that had plagued him had finally been matched with an answer? And what was it that had him looking at his face so closely? Why were they still holding hands? ]
You... don't? [ Want him to pretend. Wouldn't it be easier on Ed if he did? Didn't things like this put a strain on friendship? Friendship was better than nothing. Maybe he could get Ed to reconsider if he used that angle. Surely he'd never accept him for real. The rejection wasn't outright, but -- ... he wasn't outright rejecting him? The concept of... them? Oswald stared at him for the briefest moment before realizing what he was attempting to do and loosening his grip enough for Ed to take his hand back. And then he was looking away and blushing again, and terribly so at that. ]
I-I hadn't noticed. It was probably my fault to begin with. [ What was he supposed to do now? ] I, um... thank you. [ Thank you for...? Listening to me? Believing me? Sharing with me a special moment that I've done nothing to deserve? Not rejecting me right away? Existing? All of those, maybe. He had such a strong desire to let go of his inhibitions and embrace him. To keep Ed close and in his arms as long as he could. But he didn't make a move. That would be going too far, wouldn't it? He was such a coward. ]