[The touch and the kiss are welcome things for how they warm the frightened chill away from Rui's face. He's glad for Eren's closeness right now, even if he worries that he feels clunky when kissing, that he lacks finesse. He rationalizes that it's a normal anxiety to have when you're unused to doing something, least of all something like this, but - no, now he's getting tangled up in his overworked thought processes.

Ridiculous. He severs ties with calculations and frets for the moment, and manages to just kiss back, resting his face against Eren's hand.

Something does occur to him, though. He pulls back, though not very much, dipping his head to set his crown, cushioned by half-curls of dark hair, against the side of Eren's jaw.]

Thank you, too. It's good to be honest. And I want you to be able to tell me anything, even if it's hard. But I think there's one more thing I should tell you, since we're doing this.