"Thank you," says Haru, eventually.

He sucks he sucks he is awful he is the worst he took advantage of Haru's backlash for his own fucking desires he is a pervert he is scum what was he thinking when he thought that he could ever move on from being a shit human being he is literally incapable of this "you're, um, welcome" he sucks so much Haru should leave and go back to the fucking mass-market considerateness rather than deal with him he suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuucks! "And—I'm sorry."

"...you don't need to be sorry for - any of that."

"I just—did things. Without even asking. And you were backlashed, and it's—I'm not expecting anything to change. Because of this. So you don't need to worry."

"I could've stopped you."

X to doubt.

He won't say that.

"I suppose you could've."

"- like you realize I was competent to hold an agitated but, like, grammatically normal, conversation, the entire time, right? I don't get stupid."

"—no, I know. Just. I mean—I know all of the reasons this was—is—not a great idea, and I didn't even, like—check in or, or, I mean relying on someone else being able to stop me if they want to isn't exactly the standard of respect for consent I want to hold myself to," even though he's failed step one, you know.

"...yes, well, if we're playing that game I could have done without the demonstration that if I'm badly-enough off I'll cave and accept sexual favors in a circumstance like this one but here we are. Except for that part I am clearly much better off this way unless you decide to blackmail me or something."

"—wh- blackmail—what in the world have you done that's blackmail-worthy???"

"- I had sex with you, that's what!"

"...one, I initiated it, two, you were very badly backlashed, three, why would I ever do that?"

"I don't particularly expect you to but you could!"

......???????????

What the fuck is happening in this conversation.

"- do you seriously need me to explain why there are norms against supervising people and also extracting orgasms from them. Public opinion takes that shit pretty seriously even if it's, like, the grade on somebody's final exam on the line, let alone -" Gesture. "And like, maybe there's some wiggle room for espers, I think it helps a lot that it was your idea, but -"

"—no, I am perfectly aware of why it was a bad idea, I didn't think it was a bad idea for my sake." Okay but like can they go back to that "extracting orgasms from him" thing, that was actually kind of SHUT UP YOU JUST FUCKED.

"...because I was badly backlashed? I don't get stupid. I would have been fine by tomorrow with just hugs. My backlash risk is suicide and you can stop me from getting that way with hugs."

"I mean, I know it's bad to, to do this kind of thing with someone you have that kind of power over," he says, as if they're not still in bed together, "and I didn't want to—I know you could've stopped me. And I could've stopped me. And instead of stopping me what both of us did was very much not stopping me despite it being a bad idea and despite both of us knowing at the time it was a bad idea. And if when you get badly-enough off you'll 'cave and accept sexual favours' then I'm not about to, to, to just say it was fine that I—decided not to stop, or even pause."

"You did in fact consult me at a couple of times in the, uh, process."

"I remember doing it once, quite early in 'the process'." Why is he arguing about this. He's arguing about this because it sounds suspiciously like Haru is saying that was fine and that just sounds absurd on the face of it.

...actually if he reviews the actual words Haru actually said he did in fact explicitly say. That. It was fine. Even though that's absurd.

But he also said the thing about how he "caved" so clearly he also agrees that he wasn't totally and entirely consenting and in his right mind there.

Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

"You asked about making out and then again about taking my shirt off."

"...I guess I did ask about taking your shirt off," he concedes, even though that addresses the everything else not at all.

"Will it feature in a sex ed curriculum as a positive example, no, but like - I had lots of opportunities to put the brakes on. You have done me no harm and a lot of good."

"...so when you say you 'caved and accepted sexual favours' you mean what, exactly."

"I mean that - modulo wiggle room for espers - I think I had a duty to refuse? I'm still puzzling over wiggle room for espers, honestly."