Saiki K PeePee

Ch. 27: Good as Gold, Best Tarnished

It was obvious that neither of them was willing to yield, so they finally drew a silent accord to stop their inane bickering.

"So," Teruhashi said brightly, clapping her hands, "I bought some B movies for us to watch. Would you like that?"

He started to feel a little uneasy, but gave his assent by folding his legs and sitting on the floor as she set up her TV. Why did she make her own cake and buy movies that he liked for them to watch together? Why did she go through all of the trouble to buy a game console, play a game, level up a character, and then discreetly join him in a session while keeping her thoughts hidden the entire time?

...or had he just not noticed them? She knew he wasn't great at small talk so she brought things for them to talk about just so she could spend time with him while he never went to visit her of his own volition even once. It was obvious she still wanted to be with him romantically, but it still felt almost cruel how one sided their relationship was in some respects. Even though she had done her best not to worry about the implications of telepathy, it was obvious that the dynamic of it had still managed to coil itself around every facet of their relationship. She still had to keep secrets anyway. Why?

She was more concerned about him anyhow.

She was very brave considering the fact that the only safe haven she ever had had been breached.

She had changed so much in the past few days it made his head spin.

I'm my own person, so why do I feel alone?

To what do I owe the pleasure of you contacting me?

So this is what a normal family is like? This is… really nice...

I know I’ve tried to not push too hard in the past, but please allow me this one selfish act before I go. What happened? I need to know for my own sanity.

Of course, you’ll always get the most imperfect version, so you better feel special.

No, you’re right. I have been more than a bit willful recently.

So this is what I've sown, his mind boomed, crashing against the sides of his skull like a tidal wave. The sound reverberated through his cranium, nearly making him clutch his head to ground out the sound of his failure.

She wasn't as afraid of him up and leaving her as she used to be, but that sense of urgency still persisted. In many ways she had to act even more perfect than before despite her less than perfect personality. He knew how flawed she was and yet he demanded perfection from her in a different coat of paint. She broke down her walls only to have to put new ones up right behind the old ones.

Despite her power relying on social skills, she was just as isolated and unaware of relationships as he. She was thrashing around in the dark on a hope and a prayer, hoping to get scraps of attention from him and yet considered that one of the few positive things in her life. What a sham. He thought of himself as trying earnestly to let down his walls and open up to her, but now he saw it for what it was: a delusion. He had been seeing her true face more often and painted a picture of her to subtly commend her, but the cruel irony was that in many ways he had pushed her further away from him than ever.

So what could he do to help her? The main source of tension between them was his awareness of her desire to be with him. He couldn't promise her that just yet; she'd immediately know he wasn't being true to himself and would call him out for his fiscal lens on relationships. In mending this gap he would still be doing something for her, but this time it would have to be unconditional.