...Siggy?
...
Are you okay?
...
You've...been in the study all day and night. It's...really late now. Don't you wanna get some food, at least?
I'm fine.
Holing up in a room without food doesn't really scream "I'm actually fine" at me.
Well, I'm actually fine. Don't worry about me.
Sigrid. C'mon. Can I at least join you by the fire?
...Fine.



















Ooh, man, this is nice.
Yup.


















Alright, c'mon, Siggy, talk to me.
About what? There's nothing to talk about.
Who are you and what have you done with Sigrid? The girl I've been talking to a bunch since this guild started doesn't act like this.
Yeah, well, this is how that girl acts. It's how she's acted ever since she was forced to be Reinhardt.
...So, that's what's getting you, huh? Bad memories?
...Bad memories is putting it a bit lightly.
Is that what the screaming I heard last night was about?
Oh...gods, you heard that?
Enough that it woke me up. Judith didn't hear it and...kinda sounded like she was talking to a crazy person when I asked, but still.
...
I've, uh... I've screamed like that before. Bad nightmare. Like, really bad nightmare. Was that what happened here?
...A-ah...
Woah, woah, uh, didn't mean to make you cry! N-not trying to dredge it up, just trying to--
N-no, I...know. J-just--



















...You're... Why're you... You're hugging me...
Mhm.
...I haven't seen you hug anyone since I met you...
That's because I haven't.
...Did you do it often, before this?
Nope. Pretty much just when girls I'm really close to are feeling really down.
_{...Really close to...}









...So, um, how bad was that nightmare?
Painful memories mixed with subconscious fears.
Blech. I've had a bunch of those too. ...Probably none as bad as yours, though, given what you've told me about your past...
...
Sometimes the hardest part of this "becoming and being a girl" stuff is dealing with your own brain, huh?
Yeah...
Still, though, that's not all that's got you down, is it?
...The "constantly being killed by ants" thing wasn't really helping me this past week and change, yeah.
Understandable. Dying...isn't fun.
That's certainly one way to put it...














Even that's not all though, is it?
...You're either blindly guessing... Or you know me better than you let on...
When you've been with as many people--well, girls--as I have, you get pretty good at reading them.
So, what ails me then, Dr. Tsukuda?
Hmm... Well, do you want me to be blunt?
Not like I can feel any worse than I already do.
Well, for a while, you've been acting like you have a crush on me. And by "a while," I mean "ever since we talked about our pasts."










I've-- I've got something I need to--
H-hey, wait, Siggy, don't just run off--!














...
...
...There are a few ways I could take this.
Yeah?
If-- If this is just your normal way of caring about friends, then...let me go. I'm perfectly willing to talk about this as friends.
...
...If... If you care for me on a deeper level... L-like Ladette thought... Then...turn me around. Let me see you.
...



















...
...
...Your face is pretty red right now.
Yeah, well, so is yours.
I've-- I've never...felt this way about someone, so-- So that's wh--
Shh.





...
...
...Mm...
...
...So, um, how did Ladette get that right?
Oh, I told her you were hot when she was asking why I hadn't flirted with her at all.
...Was that "hot" thing verbatim?
Yup. I was pretty sure I was sending all the right signals.
...As if it wasn't obvious enough that I had no clue how to handle this stuff...
Hey, it's all part of your charm, babe.
B-b-b-babe?
...Wow, yeah, uh, you're gonna need some getting used to this, aren't you?
Just...just a bit...














So. Uh.
...What do we do now?
I... I dunno. I don't think I've ever started a relationship so...dramatically.
Do-- Um, do you-- Want-- Do you want to just...go back to our rooms, or, um...
Um?
_{I might know about a spare bedroom we can sleep in...}
Hey, it's entirely up to you, babydoll.
Babydoll giyaguhguhguhkuhhhhhhh--
...I can, like, stop with the affectionate nicknames, if you're that--
No, I'll-- I'll get used to it. ...Also, um, I'd...prefer your company tonight...
Spare bedroom it is~

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