Ren nodded, seemingly satisfied with her answer. "Sorry, I just assumed... you two seem close."
"We're just friends," Vexa replied, her tone firm but not unkind. "People make assumptions."
Ren leaned back on the bench, letting the rain soak him further. "Yeah, they do. Sometimes they assume things because they want to believe in something better or simpler than reality."
Vexa turned her head slightly to look at him. "Is that what you do?"
Ren shrugged. "Sometimes. But I try to see things as they are, not as I wish them to be."
There was a moment of silence between them, the rain still pouring down relentlessly. Vexa felt a strange sense of calm in Ren's presence, something she wasn't used to feeling around others.
"You seem to know a lot," Vexa remarked, turning her face back. Ren, on the other hand, felt curious about her.
5