[Lio mirrored his motion, inhaling deeply, pulling the smoke into his lungs. It gave him a moment to think, to process. He'd never heard Jean use quite so many words, and honestly, he felt pretty undeserving of them. They still only barely knew one another, hardly neighbors, let alone friends.

Still, "grief"... Lio had considered using that word many times to describe how he was feeling. The way Jean put it, it certainly seemed to fit. But it felt so silly, to be feeling grief over.. what? Losing his powers?

It was more than that, though. Lio had said it before, that it wouldn't be so bad if he could still just hear them...]

Galo doesn't need my help. [He said it matter-of-factly, not meaning it to sound selfish.] He's stronger than me - I don't think anything could ever get him down. I'm the one with all the problems. God, if he knew I started a fire...