It's difficult to put into words. Like AC in the summer. Like putting on his favorite PJs. It's sharp and almost minty, fresh soda's intense carbonated bite compared to the day old dull fizzle of Wendy.

"Is that what it's supposed to feel like? Geez. Um, hi."

If he holds his arm up awkwardly maybe it will be held. 

"May I come in? I'm Netlink in public. So, I can be someone else indoors and uh- Not have to deal with Netlink's. Stuff. While backlashed."

"Come on in." He will link arms and escort him across the threshold.

Oh good! He relaxes when the door closes.

"My real first name is Theodore. I started going by Teddy at some point for I don't remember why, though. Uh... The esper compatibility question seems pretty darn answered."

"Yeah! I am so glad I remembered to tell Wendy that tidbit, she's way better at going to mixers than I am."

"She's very energetic. I hope she finds someone good for her eventually."

"Oh, and I'm Haru, but I'm lowkey doing the secret identity thing inasmuch as I can when my monstercat flies to and from my house on a regular basis."

"Uh..."

Monstercat??

"...Yeah, I'm doing the secret identity thing because being able to do things as a - secret identity, not the real me, a separate role - will help a lot. The backlash was really weird looking back on it? I thought I had invented the concept of work meetings and that was why I was feeling so certain everyone was snubbing me. But people have selfish reasons to talk to Netlink, and selfish reasons to interact with me still make sense under backlash."

"Well, that's promising for whether you'll be able to put up with guiding as long as I'm backlashed at the same time, it's occurred to me that if I ever found somebody who was completely diametrically opposite of me we might be compatible on paper but also they wouldn't be able to work as an esper because if they accumulated any backlash they'd want to go live in a cabin in Nunavut and never speak to another soul."

"I'm still going to have some of that. Just, enduring bullshit is a job skill which I have some of. It coming from my own brain is new but... I don't know. I'm a little - not upset exactly, that I became an esper, but like- Why me? It should be someone who's more intrinsically excited about the concept?"

...Their arms are interlinked and Haru's face is very close.

...He glances around the house at this point.

There's a window seat in the living room, with a cat bed and a laptop in it, currently unoccupied, and a sofa, and a TV on the wall with somebody's jacket hanging from the corner of it. It's open-plan with the adjacent eat-in kitchen. The refrigerator has a strap attached to the handle and kindergartner crayon drawings magnetized all over the surface. There's a fruit bowl on the counter with apples and pears.

"So, uh, what next?"

"Well, if you're interested in partnering up we should figure out what that would look like. You're up for moving to Toronto? It doesn't make sense with my backlash for me to live alone so my plan was to stick with my mom for the foreseeable future in addition to Cricket - the cat - he talks - though we're house-hunting, I think I mentioned, so exactly where in the city is up in the air as long as she can get to work or find a new position wherever."

"I'm not really attached to my old place but I don't... Want to do things too fast? I mean. Mostly I want to help with dungeons and play video games. I think."

"Well, I'm sure Paula can extend your hotel stay. Tell me about your powers?"

"I can detect where people are and also, like, video-call them with my brain. It's not actually seeing them it's some sort of psychic impression, but it's about as - communicative - as that, voice and tone and a bit of body language? I tried it with a Vanguard staffer and he couldn't metaphorically hang up but he could metaphorically stop talking fine."

"Huh. I'm selectively imperceptible and psychic stuff bounces off me so I can probably keep you out, can we try and then I'll let it through to make sure that works? I've never had a psychic thing I wanted to allow but I feel like I should be able to."

"If you're okay with it. I figured doing only the detect part on people on the street was fine, for practice, because I could just open my eyes and see them instead, and rescues is a whole other thing, but... Yeah. Apparently if I can work inside dungeons I'll be very, uh, competed over."

"Yeah, knowing where people are is a huge deal! Lets us go right to them instead of hunting around."

"It's a little nervous-making. But like. Obviously pretty great? ...Can we sit please?"

"Of course, sorry." Couch.

Couch. 

"We can test things in a bit. Or now. Whatever works... So, uh, Wendy was pretty into engineering and I'm kind of a computer nerd, what are your hobbies?"

"I'm one of those people who was intrinsically excited about the concept! I have had a blog about dungeons and espers and stuff since before I awakened. But I also like to read. Mostly classic literature, some genre stuff, Wendy reads me what she's working on while we're guiding sometimes."

"Ooh, a blog. I'm one of those people who can lose a week binge-reading something really long."

"It's called 'Eventualities'."

He googles it one handedly.

"Espers and dungeons do seem to be the, uh, big exception to an otherwise orderly reality."