Is it possible to know someone else better than herself? Alina sees that flash of something uncertain cross Mal's expression, it tugs on something deep in her chest. They have moments where they pretend like everything is the same, but it's just that. Pretending. Pretending that they haven't crossed a threshold that they can't walk back through, that the whole world's axis hasn't shifted beneath their feet.

And while pretending might be easy when it's just her, and she can sometimes be blind to the uglier truths in front of her to indulge in an old story about belonging, the small change in Mal's face is a bit like a sudden spray of the cold ocean water or a sharp rock of the ship that sends her stumbling back to a reality that they are different. She is different, and she is not sure it's fair to have asked Mal to upend his life and risk things she doesn't even know yet because of her.

Ducking her head, she gathers herself to play along with the game she's started. Her lip pulls tight before giving way to a smile. Still, her hands pull back, fingers folding into her palms to hold in something that she's still not sure how to actually own.

"Maybe it'll make people think you're tough," delivered more softly, but still with the cadence of a joke. Mal is the most resilient person she knows, but it has nothing to do with how he looks coming out of a fist fight.