[He winces when Sync starts to yell at him, wondering in the back of his mind if this was wise, talking to Sync like this when no one else was around. Sync was smart enough not to out-right attack him, yes, but that was when Sync was thinking calmly. Not when he was angry. And it really always seemed as though he saved a special reserve of anger just for Ion...]

[He waits a moment, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath of his own. His shoulders are shaking, and not just from the cold.]

...not everyone shows their anger by jumping and screaming, Sync. [No, he doesn't sound angry yet. He probably sounds sad, if anything. Although his hands are, notably, still tightened into fists. Try as he might to hide it, those words were starting to sting.]

Just what is it you aren't giving up? Why do you insist on clinging so hard to the notion that you aren't worth anything?

[The part of Sync that Ion just couldn't understand. Why was Sync so resistent to the idea that things could change? That he could he happy? Did he even know what it meant to be happy? Just the very notion was so sad, Ion couldn't wrap his mind around it.]

You asked me why I'm trying to talk to you... because you don't understand why I would want to. But you're the one I don't understand. And I want to understand. I want to understand you, Sync!