“I’m… what was once considered… defective.” He lifts the bottom of his hoodie, revealing the malformed gemstone on his tummy. “It was supposed to be perfectly circular, but something went wrong… So I’m considered an ‘Off-Color’ because of this defect…”

“Y-You do…?” His eyes widen slightly.

“You… really mean it?” His eyes began to glisten with faint tears.

“P-Please…”

He coiled his arms around him, squeezing him firmly, but gently enough to where it wouldn’t hurt. He lets out a small, pained sob as he buries his face into his shoulder.

“I-I’m sorry for being so emotional…”

He continued to sob pitifully, letting big, fat tears drip from his eyes.

He blushed slightly upon being called ‘sweetie’. “…Y-… You wanna share that danish I gave you…?”

“I’ve been fine, how about you?”

He smiled faintly.

“Yes, let’s.” He splits the danish in half.

He gave one half of the danish to him.

It’s soft, fluffy, and the blueberry filling blends perfectly with the cream cheese frosting in the middle.

“Wh-What’s wrong…?”

“It is?”

“Here, pull up a chair. I gotchu, dude. Sunset’s real nice, ain’t it?” [𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗼 𝗕𝗲𝗹𝗼𝘄]

He sniffles, slumped up against the wall. …His gem is visibly cracked.

“…He’s gone…? …I knew it wasn’t meant to be…”

NO because the fucking echo, Steven’s face of disgust, and Lars’s expression softening once he realized what he just said to this kid