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"I love you, Nomi."
Randy's words send ice through Nomi's heart. No, not this again. Not now. Not with him.
"No, you don't," Nomi says calmly, proud that his voice doesn't shake. "You think you love me, but you do not."
Randy frowns. "Isn't that up to me to decide?"
Nomi shakes his head, dark red hair falling into his eyes. Ugh, that's annoying. He shifts his form, just to shorten the hair length. There, that's better. "No. You're confusing appreciation with love, ninja."
Randy rolls his eyes. "No, I'm not. Sure, I appreciate all the help you give me, but that's not all. You're beautiful. You're smart. You're funny, you know, when you're not yelling at me or training me." He laughs softly. "Heck, I even love you when you yell at me."
"You don't love me." This time, Nomi's voice cracks, and he hates it. "You love the power that comes from being the ninja. They... They all did. None of them loved me."
Nomi frantically shakes his head. He hadn't meant to say that. Randy tilts his head. "Other ninjas have fallen in love with you?"
"No," Nomi says sharply. "They all loved the fact that they were the ninja. Since the suit isn't sentient, they attached their feelings to me instead. Just like you're doing now."
"How can you know that?" Randy asks, obviously upset at how easily Nomi is casting him to the side. Nomi can't blame him, but he knows what he is saying is true. Randy, however, refuses to accept it. "Nomi, I love you. I know I love you, I know what love feels like."
"Clearly you don't."
"Maybe the other ninjas didn't really love you. Maybe you're right about that," Randy says, "but I know what I feel. If I were confused..." He takes a deep breath. "If I were confused, wouldn't I have loved you before you became human?"
Nomi hesitates. "Maybe," he says, softly. "But the fact that you didn't doesn't prove your point."
"But it doesn't disprove it either, does it?"
"...No. No, I suppose it does not."
Nomi's form shifts again, changing his hair length yet again and adding a good two inches of height. Now Randy has to tilt his head up to look at Nomi properly. The smile on Randy's face tells him that he doesn't mind it.
"Have I ever told you that I love when you're taller than me?"
"We're having a serious discussion, ninja, this is no time for flirting."
Randy beams. "There's always time for flirting."
Nomi shakes his head, but he smiles nonetheless. "You know, there is something different about you than all of the others who have fallen for me..."
"And that is?"
"I never returned their feelings."