[Briefly stymied by the movie reference, which is frankly one of his dump stats, he squints at Steve in confusion for a few moments, falling behind the flow of the conversation. It sounds like an art film. He doesn't remember anything like that, although he's also struggling to pull forth any movies in particular that even take place in a desert. He's about to ask, even, when he realizes exactly what it is he almost missed, and his eyes open wide again.]
[It's not that he thinks it's a trick. He really doesn't. He couldn't explain why, not logically, because he knows that Steve and Steffan are not the same, and by the end Haruno's trust in Steffan was a complicated thing anyway. The combination of that and his own natural distrust of others should combine to create a healthy uncertainty about this offer.]
[Somehow, though, it just doesn't. He can't look at Steve right now and see what he's saying as anything other than painfully genuine. This is just . . . something that someone like Steve, a very normal person, is offering to him, someone whose social skills are, yes, "kinda clunky". That's pretty accurate. And he's just willing to do that. And Giorno can't find anything within himself that questions it.]
[Why is that? There has to be a reason. It isn't just Riley's trust in Steve, it isn't just Haruno's experiences. There's something else. He just can't put his finger on what. At the same time, he can't do the polite thing (the deflecting thing) where he double-checks to make sure, to try to find a hole in the answer, to wiggle out of it. He can't, he won't, he doesn't want to. In fact, he feels a little mutinous in response to even the thought.]
[Instead of all of that—]
Yes.
[Yes, it's something that would help. Yes, it's something he wants. As he says it, he realizes that he wants that a lot. It's not something he's . . . ever had, really.]
I don't know if it's something I can provide in exchange. I don't do much other than work. [And be outside, but not in a purposeful way, just sort of. Outside. Still.] But if that's all right, then yes. [A crooked, toothy sort of smile appears, then. He doesn't take responsibility for it.] Do you get up to things I might like?
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[It's not that he thinks it's a trick. He really doesn't. He couldn't explain why, not logically, because he knows that Steve and Steffan are not the same, and by the end Haruno's trust in Steffan was a complicated thing anyway. The combination of that and his own natural distrust of others should combine to create a healthy uncertainty about this offer.]
[Somehow, though, it just doesn't. He can't look at Steve right now and see what he's saying as anything other than painfully genuine. This is just . . . something that someone like Steve, a very normal person, is offering to him, someone whose social skills are, yes, "kinda clunky". That's pretty accurate. And he's just willing to do that. And Giorno can't find anything within himself that questions it.]
[Why is that? There has to be a reason. It isn't just Riley's trust in Steve, it isn't just Haruno's experiences. There's something else. He just can't put his finger on what. At the same time, he can't do the polite thing (the deflecting thing) where he double-checks to make sure, to try to find a hole in the answer, to wiggle out of it. He can't, he won't, he doesn't want to. In fact, he feels a little mutinous in response to even the thought.]
[Instead of all of that—]
Yes.
[Yes, it's something that would help. Yes, it's something he wants. As he says it, he realizes that he wants that a lot. It's not something he's . . . ever had, really.]
I don't know if it's something I can provide in exchange. I don't do much other than work. [And be outside, but not in a purposeful way, just sort of. Outside. Still.] But if that's all right, then yes. [A crooked, toothy sort of smile appears, then. He doesn't take responsibility for it.] Do you get up to things I might like?