Nova wanted to sigh in relief (1.2)

Nova jumped out of his skin. He turned to face the door-

Or, where the door used to be one second ago.

He couldn't control himself as the emotions of the original owner overpowered him and tears flowed down like waves. He was overcome with the urge to repent. Ask for a hug and cry on this man's shoulder. Without even being able to consider the consequences of this his body was moving before his mind had a chance to.

"I- I'm sorry- hick- I'm so so sorry..."

Nova looked absolutely miserable as he fell to the ground, covering his face with his hands and looking up at the man who broke down the door with a desperate look he himself wasn't even aware of.

Skyler completely froze up in the doorway. He had come here and broken into Tristan's room expecting the worst... But he didn't expect for him to look alright and suddenly start sobbing. And that's not even addressing the way those gentle green eyes of his looked up at him like a puppy begging for forgiveness... Or the affect that expression had on his heart...

Meanwhile Nova wasn't even aware of the reason why he was crying. Or what he was apologizing for. He was just taking his time sitting on the floor and trying to analyze this guy. While he calmed his breathing and tried to take control again. Just because the original owner seemed to have cared for him enough to shed tears doesn't mean that he's trustworthy. After all, the original owner might have been naive and trusted the wrong people.

Skyler's brain unfroze and he suddenly remembered that he was here to help the idiot crying on the floor. So he quickly went over to help the guy up without forgetting to reprimand him at the same time.

"You! I was so worried about you and you think crying is going to fix it?! I promise as soon as we get you through this you're going to owe me a life debt!! "

Nova wasn't sure if this guy said that genuinely or not until he looked into his eyes.

Rich brown eyes unconsciously softened as he spoke with what could only be considered the tone of a nagging mother.

It definitely wasn't false affection.

The man made him sit up on the bed and Nova got a better look at him as his tears dried.

He was a guy with a similar build to his own except more muscular. If Nova had to guess he would assume that the guy played American football. He sported a lighter tan than Nova did at the moment and his black hair was styled in a very short buzzcut. He was wearing a simple tracksuit with a checkmark logo on it and now that Nova was paying attention he could see that the man was sweating through it and slightly disheveled.

...Did he run all the way to this place?

"You're lucky Emma told me you came back! I had to run all the way here from her place since her damn brother took the car!"

...well that answers that question.

Nova figured that he would be able to speak without getting choked up and attempted a sentence.

"I'm sorry... I didn't know what to do... please help me?"

Since he'd decided that this guy was doing this for his good Nova had to try to pry out some information from him. Since he was so worried for him then let him worry! As long as this guy continues to think that Nova was helpless- which he really was at the moment- then he would support him. Nova needed as much support as possible right now.

Which is why he was currently bowing his head, furrowing his brow, and lightly pouting like a child, completely throwing out whatever pride he had for the sake of survival in this task world.

Skyler looked at Tristan and again felt that he was looking at a cute helpless puppy. Despite him clearly being a strong, fully grown man, his expression and posture seemed so natural and made whoever looked at him want to provide for him. Skyler genuinely understood how Tristan could be so successful in his uhh... career path...

Skyler cleared his throat and looked away to refocus on the situation at hand. Breaking away from the green eyes that kept confusing him.

"ahem- Of course I'm gonna help you idiot! What would you even do without me fool? Don't call me Sky anymore just say 'saviour' directly!!"

....?

Tilting his head slightly to the side, Nova slowly smiled as Sky rambled on. He wasn't blind. He was simply caught off guard by the original owner's emotions earlier but he had always been a very perceptive person.

This tsundere guy was blushing! Who the hell blushes like that for a friend?? Was this task world a simple childhood friend romance plotline? If it was then why did the original owner of this body feel so apologetic to the guy with a crush on him?

Nova wanted to sigh in relief. These kind of silly, sweet, and obvious characters would only be found in a low level task world. He wasn't used to dealing with another person's emotions in his body so he was unsure about what to do but now he could at least be a little less tense. This plotline definitely wouldn't be too complex for him to figure out if the characters were one dimensional love-brained types.

"Haha~ c'mon Sky you don't really want me to do all that!"

And so, Nova played into it. Without giving it a second thought he immediately turned the charisma to 100 as his pretty eyes curve into crescents. He stretched out a hand and placed it on the man's arm.

"Can I get a discount for the sake of our relationship? At least waive the consultation fee when I ask you for advice okay~?"

Sky's arm slightly trembled and his breath hitched as fingers grazed his skin. He nervously laughed.

"Ha! Tristan, your best friend is super sensible. As long as you need me I'll be here so... don't let me lose you alright?"

After the first sentence his tone became softer and a bit melancholic. As if remembering something he'd rather forget Sky quickly glanced at Tristan's wrists before looking back into his eyes.

'Ah so he thinks we're best friends', was Nova's first thought. And then his second thought was to look down at his wrists because Sky couldn't possibly have been more obvious about it.

...Clearly he wasn't used to being in someone else's body because he didn't notice the neat row of scars on his forearm. Light in colour and healing but clearly less than a month old.

Maybe he shouldn't have been relieved so early on.

Maybe this task world had a little more depth than he'd thought...