[ She knows before he speaks that she's won her gambit. It's plain as day in his face and in his form, the will to fight dissolving right in front of her. Even if he had tried to lie to her, Zelda wouldn't have believed it-- not only because she already knows he's a terrible liar, but because she's already seen over and over again the way he cares for other people.

It's the entire reason he's here in her apartment at all.

She lets him look away this time, her countenance softening. ]

I know that you won't hurt me. It does not matter to me who-- or what-- you are, Darin. You are my friend, and I won't allow you to throw that away so easily.