[Hajime hums quietly, shifting back over to lay on his side to face him again. He isn't going to interrupt or anything; even he can tell that he's managed to make the other boy feel bad, and that... definitely hadn't been his goal. There's a twinge of guilt that settles, right in the middle of his chest. Maybe he'd been the one who'd overreacted.]

Haru... told me a little. About her father.

[He stops short of calling the guy an asshole, but his opinion is kind of obvious in his tone.

But this isn't about Haru. This is about Ryuji. Hajime props his head up on his hand and shakes it slightly.]

I think you understand people better than you think you do, though. I mean... I kind of wish I could be more like you, you know?

[Ah, fuck. He went and said it, grimacing a little in spite of himself. He hadn't meant to say that with his outside voice. But... the atmosphere just seems right for it, and he presses on.]

I wish I had your confidence to just... reject all that, and still be me in the end.