[Kyosuke almost wants to comment on Juzo fumbling over what to call him, knowing that he's unlikely to be any better, but it doesn't seem appropriate. (Appropriate? What part of this entire situation was appropriate?) So he instead keeps his silence, allowing Juzo to continue steering them through the square and further away from the tree.

He slows as he catches sight of the streetlamp changing color; the change is so ... synchronized with Juzo starting to talk that he can't help but immediately make the connection.

Not that he knows what the connection is, until Juzo actually says the words, and the current situation loops back to the memory he just saw.

What can he say? It was difficult enough when Chisa confessed (there's a bitterness to the thought now, and he hates it), and now Juzo has as well. There's an added awkwardness with Juzo, with social conformity and all that entailed.

Not that social conformity necessarily counted when you were in a completely different world.

Despite the weariness he feels inside, Kyosuke lets bemusement curl his lips into a faint smile.]

Being an idiot doesn't make what I said any less true. You do deserve better.

[He so rarely initiates physical contact; it shows in the stilted way that he lifts his hand, hovering indecisively for a moment before he rests it where Juzo is already touching him on the arm.]

If I had been attentive, you would have been saved ... so much pain.

[Years of silence, oppressive and complete. When he shivers, it's as much because of that thought as it is because of the cold.]

I love you, too.

[His hand clenches tight around Juzo's fingers, cold and unsure. Even having shared that sentiment with Chisa, it's hard to believe he's saying the words to his other best friend now.]

...More than I can ever say. I love both of you with all my heart.