[Another fiber in the rope frays. He takes a slow, deliberate breath, closes his eyes. It smells of flowers. Everything does, always has. He missed it when he was Haruno, and since he's come back he's missed Gold Experience like a lost half of his heart, worse than ever. He misses the scent of the sea. He misses home and Trish and the easy things like ferreting out traitors and executing them one by one, looking to the future where the city is clean and safe.]

[What exactly is he trying to preserve here? He and Riley are friends, or they're supposed to be. He isn't trying to break things further, but she keeps stepping further and further away. Opening his eyes, he's surprised to see she's still so close.]

. . . I'm not dropping it, Riley. You came down to see me, but now you look like you can't get away fast enough. Is it so incomprehensible that I didn't like having a new life implanted in my brain? Or did I do something? If you don't tell me, it's just going to feel like this forever. And I don't know about you, but this doesn't feel right. It feels miserable.