Jason learned at a very early age that showing vulnerability meant inviting disaster. He learned to tamp down those parts of himself and hide them behind sturdy, self-constructed walls, because if he can't be touched, he can't be hurt. And on those occasions when he has made the effort to try taking down those walls and inviting someone in, the end result was just as devastating as he'd imagined, but with Cissie? Jason doesn't hesitate to show her who he is behind the snarky, hardened exterior of the castoff stray boy from the worst part of town. She's been a brightness in his life since their first words were exchanged, and knowing her is one of the best things to result from all this bullshit multiverse-hopping they've done. Jason is better for knowing her.

His heartbeat skips when she takes his hand, a gesture he immediately accepts, folding his fingers into hers. Gently, his thumb brushes along the side of her hand in his, another small signal of trust and affection. "Takes more than a tasing to keep me down for long," he answers, ducking his head to rub at his eyes with the heel of his free hand. It's ... probably not the answer she wants to hear, and it's not the entire story, but Jason escaped that episode mostly unscathed, so that counts as not hurt in his book.

Cissie's question about Nida and Seifer is met first with a nod - yes, the same ones from the Village - then a quiet, thoughtful expression, then Jason reaches under the collar of his shirt and pulls out a thin chain and a pair of dog tags to show her. They're stamped with the words If found, return to Seifer Almasy and Nida Nomura.

"Nida's got a thing for adopting brothers," he explains, "and he decided I'm one of his. So's Seifer." Jason's expression darkens for a second, then it's gone again. "Told him it was a bad idea, but he wouldn't listen."