[Well, that's easier ground to stand on, if nothing else.]

I wouldn't let anything hurt it to begin with. [Now that things are evened out, now that they all know where they each stand, for as strange as it is? Nariko won't let go of it, and that's something to pay for much later on.]

There's a way to make it work without anyone suffering or feeling uncomfortable. There are parts that will take time, but it's nothing compared to being separated for over a decade.

[Masaomi really does have to feel comfortable with Nathan, after all, Nariko wouldn't ask him to suck that up, so Nathan would have to face that one way or another, but -]