Luna pressed her mouth into a tight line, something pushing at her throat.
"From the beginning," Ren said, his tone taking on a quality that was softer, more intimate, like he was sharing secrets meant only for her ears, "you saw me, when nobody else did. When I was just the kid with the world's weakest spore, you saw something more."
He paused, allowing the words to settle.
Letting her remember those early days. The moments she thought nobody noticed when she'd defended his presence in subtle ways. When she'd treated his opinions like they mattered before anyone else believed they did.
"You supported me. Subtly, yes... Without making a big deal of it, but you did. Every moment where you defended my presence when others questioned whether I should be there I remember."
Luna's eyes widened.
She hadn't realized he'd noticed. Had thought her support had been invisible enough that he wouldn't recognize it as deliberate rather than coincidental.
