The hug was... okay. It took a second, before Robbie relaxed and hugged back, but he hadn't frozen or stiffened up. The hug was good. It helped, more than he could put into words, to have such a strong symbol of unrepulsiveness from someone he held in high regard.

He doesn't believe what Vance said, but Robbie believed that Vance believed it. "I don't think I do. It's not an argument, but I'm not even... there yet. Like fighting about whether or not I deserve the boundaries I try to keep or if I should make peace with myself..."

Robbie snorted derisively. "I'm way back on how I'm still here and they're not. I hide it because it's crazy, but ... that doesn't mean I'm ready for advanced classes like actually making peace with things instead of just pretending. If no one gets their hopes up, I can't let anyone down."