“Makes it feel normal,” he says in share of the sentiment. As much as he loathes his teeth, he doesn’t mind them nearly so much when he doesn’t have to suffer to disguise them. Sadie isn’t put off by them and he feels no need to temper his natural expressions. He can just be the way he is with her. Similarly, she can shed what he knows to be false. Her feline eyes were never a bother to him, and he’s come to appreciate how beautiful they look. They are simply a new part of Sadie.

The sound of his name calls his attention back from looking off ahead, and he turns his head to look at Sadie, her eyes catching his straight on as he slows to a halt. His brows furrow slightly in concern as she refers to something that has been apparently weighing on her mind. The mention of changes and the Numbers snags his attention all the more firmly - only to be presented with a confession.

She...thinks that she likes him as more than a best friend?

The shock is apparent in his expression as his eyebrows snap up high and his jaw drops just enough to show the tips of a couple pointed teeth. The only hint that she might have feelings for him that match his own for her had been in that video he found in his phone this morning. He had dismissed it all as effects from the cake. Sadie is so naturally affectionate, and there’s nothing inherently romantic about a kiss on the nose. Besides, with all the mess the Numbers have caused them already, his number should be deterrent enough. Only...she thought about that. She said so just now, and she still wants to try.

Benjiro doesn’t look away from Sadie as he processes all of this in a couple blinks, and he regains a modicum of composure with a brief glance down while a blush creeps over his cheekbones. His hand at her far shoulder loosens as he angles nearer to facing her directly.

His voice is quiet yet steady as he looks into her eyes with a shy smile, “...yes. I would like that.”