[ It's not exactly an optimistic answer, but it is, nonetheless, a comforting one. It is Diego, giving him permission to still be a little bit broken on the inside. Ben hadn't realized how much he might need that. He's always tended towards trying to make everything the best it can be, wanting his siblings to live up to their full potential, holding himself to an even stricter standard than any of them. But maybe... it's okay he isn't healed, yet. Maybe he's never going to get all the way there.
So he hugs Diego back, fiercely, clinging to him as tight as he can. And more than anything Diego could say, the hug helps. All those years of being insubstantial, incorporeal, had left more of a mark on Ben than he'd anticipated at first. When he'd been alive the first time, he hadn't really been all that big on physical contact, on touch in general. Now, Diego hugging him makes him let out a shaky exhalation, and he shuts his eyes tightly. It doesn't fix anything, but a few of the broken pieces inside him don't feel quite so fragmented.
Without loosening his grip or pulling away, Ben murmurs: ]
I can't believe you shoved him for me.
[ Then, with a bubbling incredulity: ]
I can't believe I punched him...
[ Yes, it had been an illusion. But it had been a hell of a convincing one. ]
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So he hugs Diego back, fiercely, clinging to him as tight as he can. And more than anything Diego could say, the hug helps. All those years of being insubstantial, incorporeal, had left more of a mark on Ben than he'd anticipated at first. When he'd been alive the first time, he hadn't really been all that big on physical contact, on touch in general. Now, Diego hugging him makes him let out a shaky exhalation, and he shuts his eyes tightly. It doesn't fix anything, but a few of the broken pieces inside him don't feel quite so fragmented.
Without loosening his grip or pulling away, Ben murmurs: ]
I can't believe you shoved him for me.
[ Then, with a bubbling incredulity: ]
I can't believe I punched him...
[ Yes, it had been an illusion. But it had been a hell of a convincing one. ]