[He smiles slightly, an odd sort of humour in his expression.]
As much as I complain about him, I'm hardly going to deny when he did something that worked. [An idle shrug. Complimenting the old man, even in a roundabout way, does tend to leave a slightly sour taste in his mouth. But it's true enough here. From all he's been able to see, that at least had been a worthwhile gift in its own twisted way. Perhaps not all of it, perhaps not all of what came with it - but this bit.]
It's not all him, though. Here, here - those are strong signatures that I can't trace back to him. And while I don't know if you'd have made it on your own in the past? It's not something that's relevant now. Everything you've done - everything I've seen you do that you haven't as of yet, too [another quick smile, as he thinks on those times] - just adds to that impression. Your heart's strong in its own way.
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As much as I complain about him, I'm hardly going to deny when he did something that worked. [An idle shrug. Complimenting the old man, even in a roundabout way, does tend to leave a slightly sour taste in his mouth.
But it's true enough here. From all he's been able to see, that at least had been a worthwhile gift in its own twisted way. Perhaps not all of it, perhaps not all of what came with it - but this bit.]
It's not all him, though. Here, here - those are strong signatures that I can't trace back to him. And while I don't know if you'd have made it on your own in the past? It's not something that's relevant now. Everything you've done - everything I've seen you do that you haven't as of yet, too [another quick smile, as he thinks on those times] - just adds to that impression. Your heart's strong in its own way.