[He will definitely think twice before running his mouth—at least with someone he knows, or something he cares about knows. It'll take time for him to learn proper restraint with people he's unfamiliar with, that's for certain, but this is progress.
It won't be perfect, Guzma is far from that, but even if he does it half the time, that's still better than before.
The guilt doesn't wholly leave Guzma, even when Nanu downplays the statement. Maybe it'd be more of a reassurance if Guzma didn't feel like such a fool for not realizing it. If it didn't take this to make him realize that Nanu actually gave a fuck about anything. In fact, he wears a mask, not unlike Guzma's own, to conceal how much he cares, yet despite that Guzma truly believed his indifference.]
Yeah. I ain't ever gonna fully change.
[It's not a statement of defiance, just a matter of fact. Who he is, is just who he is. What he wants to change is how he reacts to things, how he proceeds forward, and how he navigates his social interactions. It's hard, so damn hard to break away from these self-destructive tendencies... but Nanu's right, he's right and he knows it.
Had this been under less serious circumstances, he most certainly would have taken the low hanging fruit of a tease about Nanu and Anabel—but that's what got him into this mess to begin with. Perhaps not that general vein of joking, but their relationship in general was the kindling for the fire he lit under his own ass.
As he goes to reply, he hears the breath Nanu takes and releases, and decides to let the man finish. It's certainly not something he expected to hear from Nanu, and it leaves him quiet once more. His expression hides nothing that goes on between his ears. Twisting into a mixture of bafflement and uncertainty. Less so because of the idea of having Nanu as a mentor, but more so because Nanu would offer it at all.
He's touched, honestly, and he leans his elbows on his knees once more as he thinks about it, his face falling to something more contemplative in nature. An expression rarely seen on Guzma, but it's there all the same.
Hala is his master, but also Hala is not here. Nor will he be for the foreseeable future. Maybe tomorrow Hala will show up, maybe he will never show up. It's not exactly a betrayal to Hala to take Nanu on as his stand in, and if anything he owes it to Hala to keep up with his progress, even if he's not here, right? This seems like an opportunity that even Guzma isn't stupid enough to spit in the face of.
A shallow nod at first, and then he speaks.]
Yeah... Alright, yeah. I'd like that. You ain't Hala, but—
[He pauses a moment, thinking his words over carefully before continuing.]
I trust you, and I respect you. I could use your help.
[It feels weird to say it, especially to Nanu. They do not have the history he does with Hala, but now there's been something so intimately shared with him, he'd feel like an idiot to not show Nanu the same sort of trust.]
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It won't be perfect, Guzma is far from that, but even if he does it half the time, that's still better than before.
The guilt doesn't wholly leave Guzma, even when Nanu downplays the statement. Maybe it'd be more of a reassurance if Guzma didn't feel like such a fool for not realizing it. If it didn't take this to make him realize that Nanu actually gave a fuck about anything. In fact, he wears a mask, not unlike Guzma's own, to conceal how much he cares, yet despite that Guzma truly believed his indifference.]
Yeah. I ain't ever gonna fully change.
[It's not a statement of defiance, just a matter of fact. Who he is, is just who he is. What he wants to change is how he reacts to things, how he proceeds forward, and how he navigates his social interactions. It's hard, so damn hard to break away from these self-destructive tendencies... but Nanu's right, he's right and he knows it.
Had this been under less serious circumstances, he most certainly would have taken the low hanging fruit of a tease about Nanu and Anabel—but that's what got him into this mess to begin with. Perhaps not that general vein of joking, but their relationship in general was the kindling for the fire he lit under his own ass.
As he goes to reply, he hears the breath Nanu takes and releases, and decides to let the man finish. It's certainly not something he expected to hear from Nanu, and it leaves him quiet once more. His expression hides nothing that goes on between his ears. Twisting into a mixture of bafflement and uncertainty. Less so because of the idea of having Nanu as a mentor, but more so because Nanu would offer it at all.
He's touched, honestly, and he leans his elbows on his knees once more as he thinks about it, his face falling to something more contemplative in nature. An expression rarely seen on Guzma, but it's there all the same.
Hala is his master, but also Hala is not here. Nor will he be for the foreseeable future. Maybe tomorrow Hala will show up, maybe he will never show up. It's not exactly a betrayal to Hala to take Nanu on as his stand in, and if anything he owes it to Hala to keep up with his progress, even if he's not here, right? This seems like an opportunity that even Guzma isn't stupid enough to spit in the face of.
A shallow nod at first, and then he speaks.]
Yeah... Alright, yeah. I'd like that. You ain't Hala, but—
[He pauses a moment, thinking his words over carefully before continuing.]
I trust you, and I respect you. I could use your help.
[It feels weird to say it, especially to Nanu. They do not have the history he does with Hala, but now there's been something so intimately shared with him, he'd feel like an idiot to not show Nanu the same sort of trust.]