"A while," he confirms, flushing too in almost automatic mirror to hers. It's hard to pinpoint exactly when, but before she came to stay with him. It was something he'd brushed off until they actually started getting to know each other. "Sorry, I--" His face gets redder in an instant and he looks away. He's sorry for a lot of things, but most especially for pushing her away because he had feelings for her. In his defense he never thought she would have gone for a guy like him, let alone him in specific.

"Well. You know I'm bad at this."