I'm in my room -

So she stumbles out of hers and goes and finds her, needs to see her, needs to look at her -

Annie opens the door - "it was reciprocal after all wasn't it -"

She kisses her - they can do that and talk at the same time - I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, my love, I'm so sorry, It's been years and I barely even - 

- oh fuck Annie's not going to be able to regret anything very coherently if Rirosseth's going to kiss her she's just going to make a conflicted whimpery noise.

Of course she's going to kiss her she's been hurting her for years and it's so so urgent she - stop - doing that -

Conflicted whimpery noises and not having any idea what to do with her hands because even when Rirosseth's touched her before Annie has to hold still and are you okay -

Are you okay - I need you to be okay then I can figure out what I am -

I had not considered this feedback loop it might be a problem - I'm fine -

Okay. Okay. 

Um. I'm - glad it happened because now I can stop hurting you and that's not really circular I don't think. I still don't really think you're real, just, even if you're a figment of my imagination or the Enemy's you're a really important one who I'm in love with, and I'm still expecting somethng horrible to happen to me and I think I'll be just as scared as always of being touched but we have to figure it out anyway, I want to kiss you and be okay, I need that -

oh fuck

...she cannot dwell on how much this is an "oh fuck" it will not be constructive

How do I help?

I don't know, I - I love you, I want you to be happy, what will make you happy -

...solving this feedback loop nonstupidly?

You've been trying to handle whatever I need for years, I'll be okay, I don't even get very much time with you -

I actually can't just plain assume you will be okay I have the exact same thing you have remember?

Yes so now I know what I've been putting you through and correcting that is really important.

This does not constitute a nonstupid resolution of the feedback loop.

Okay, just, it's not going to work if we try to take turns or something, it only makes sense if we can get sorted out enough that we can both be sure of each other being okay at the same time.

Okay. Okay. I - I barely know anything about you, tell me about yourself -

Of course. What do you want to know -?

I don't know, what you like to do, where you're from, what makes you happy, what you'd do if you were in charge of the world...

Annie can tell her these things, that's easy. Well, except for the being in charge of the world part, because that requires a lot of fine specification on how much power is actually entailed and which world and stuff, but she can answer a broad range of hypotheticals about that.

That's good. That's really good. She stares at her dreamily and watches her talk.

This is less whimper-inducing but overall much safer-feeling than sudden confusing kisses!

She can wait for the kisses while Annie's talking, if talking is making her happy.

Annie is not hurting for lack of kisses. Lacking kisses is okay. Rirosseth wanting to know things about her is lovely and she will talk about her parents and her country and her long-gone university classes and the statistics she wanted to do on how artifact properties are determined and the Jaillian imported candy bars she used to spend inadvisable amounts of money on -