( sometimes you just forget about things like proper introductions when there are floating prosthetic arms and unconscious bodies lying around. you know? it's completely forgivable.

and does ren get a sheepish sort of grin for the gentle nudge about his hair? maybe. it wasn't always like that, okay. but he can't honestly dismiss it, because it is fitting of all that white, now. if only you knew the kind of stress that had him ending up with it, bud. ) It didn't always, not that much. ( but ah, he's chuckling a bit. good job, ren. and maybe one of these days you'll get the full takashi shirogane, but by now he's so used to being just 'shiro' that it feels odd giving the whole thing.

he's grateful for an honest answer, even for as reticent as the other had been on answering it in the first place; that's the one thing he'll always value above everything else, honesty in the most literal sense of the word itself, regardless of how an answer might be taken.

sometimes, there is no softening a blow, even if it doesn't seem like one at the time. ) That's a much better chance than if you'd said something like 'I've never seen it happen'. ( yep, he is absolutely staying positive about this. ) Thanks for the honesty.