[ Sometime when that silence officially turns awkward, Aoba opens his eyes, then glances sidelong at him... and when the silence persists, Aoba finally tilts his head to look at him, still leaning back. ]

.....?

[ Karamatsu is zoning out for some reason, he seems to be staring at his face, but it's like the lights aren't on and nobody's home. Aoba thinks, Maybe he's been working too much... or stayed out too late, before he finally sees him jolt out of it with an 'Oh' straight out of a foreigner's mouth. He blinks a few times at him. ]

C'mon, Kara-kun... that's like the total opposite of what I want.

[ Aoba huffs and drops back on the cushion and tucks his arms under his head, letting the warmth beneath the kotatsu spread up his torso as he turns his head and looks up at Karamatsu. ]

...Are you worried about making me jealous? If so, I want to put that out of your mind right away. Karamatsu deserves to have a lot of friends, because I think he has a big heart even if he doesn't know it.

[ That might be wishful thinking, but it doesn't hurt to give someone a boost of confidence. Even D*mbo needed a feather to fly, right? ]