[ ayaka looks up at sabo as he inches closer, her eyes wide as he continues reassuring her. she doesn’t move away, but she does glance away as she starts feeling the pinprick of tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

bravery, huh? she doesn’t feel very brave, now that she thinks about it; only scared and guilty.

but in a way it’s a relief to hear this. she doesn’t want to lean on them, but the fact that sabo is allowing it is comforting. whether or not she deserves this comfort, however, is a separate story. ]

I already lean on him quite a bit, actually. If it weren’t for him, I’d probably be dead, honestly. [ she breathes out a shaky sigh. ] It’d be nice if even a little bit of his fearlessness rubbed off of me, honestly. He’s got way too much of it already.

[ well, at least she’s good enough to tell some jokes, as dry as they are. ]