[ miles's mouth hovers half-open, ready to respond but waiting until she's done -- he's never heard the term nelly, but he can hazard a guess at what it means -- and when she is he just sits there. he looks...absolutely crushed by it, his whole expression shifting away, a flash of what she saw in his office the first time they met, except this time it isn't because of her. it's more of an echo. weird kinks, right...

miles looks away, too, ducking his head. his whisper sounds somehow weaker than before. ]

It is survival. Just a different sort. Survival of the heart, the mind.

[ validation is the word he doesn't say, but he's almost certain it's true. miles fidgets with a loose thread on his sling, trying to loosen the pressure in his chest enough to speak again. he sounds almost as hollow as she does. ]

Do you feel like your body means you don't deserve anything better?