[ It's sheepish, but a smile is there in his voice. ]

Sounds dumb when I ask it like that.

[ True feelings are something that it's getting harder for Ren to discern, and that's why he asked. when you spend all this time thinking you're seeing something, hearing something, interpreting it as one thing when it turns out to be wrong in very specific way you tend to start doubting yourself severely. You unlearn what it is to trust yourself if you suffer such a deep wound.

Yusuke being so open with him feels incredibly important even as he fights his senses and their newfound mistrust. Ren wants To Know. ]

It brings me immense joy to bring you immense joy, how about that.

I've been thinking about that a lot as of late - my friends and how they inform who I am. What I should do when something gets in the way of that, and how to overcome it.

[ Yusuke would be right to assume that this is on the nose with what they talked about last time they hung out, though "hung out" is an awfully casual term for that evening. ]

I guess what I mean is my bonds are all I can count on here to get me through, so I need to do whatever I can to keep them strong even when a lot of uncertainty is suddenly injected into the stream.

So. I want to make you happy, Yusuke.