[He might not say it, but honestly--he's relieved to see Eichi as well. He's already had a run-in with a friend from Eluvio who didn't recognise him. So having at least one here who does?

It gives him a small tick of hope for... a certain other person showing herself. Again, nothing he'd share, but...]

It's weird. [He'll just confirm it anyway, even if Eichi didn't need to hear it. Because no, a guy who drinks tea through a straw shouldn't judge someone like a popular Idol, but here we are.

He shifts from one foot to the other with a scoff, tilting his head back to regard him.]

It's not a matter of not managing to move my feet. It's a matter of age, even if you have an all-seeing eye--someone like you would understand that once you breach the age of fifty, you stop wanting to scuffle around on a dance floor like some hedonistic party-goer.

[He's running out of excuses. Stay strong, Gabriel.]

...

When you eventually die and come back as a corpse, you won't take kind to people grabbing you, either. Trust me.