Nemo pulled a face, not at what she said, but because of the tug at his heartstrings that was growing increasingly hard to ignore. How could he just sit there and pretend that everything was friendship and rainbows when she said things like that? How could she not see what it did to him, how much she meant to him?

"Pen, you don't have any idea how crazy I was going while you were missing," His voice was much quieter, more like himself, but still pained. He'd been a wreck and he hadn't been able to explain to anybody why. He'd paced and drank and was uncharacteristically grumpy; nervous and jumpy for any word on her safe arrival. "I truly think there's nothing you  need to ask forgiveness for. Things have been shit since January and I don't know how to fix it." Maybe that was the underlying source of his frustration. That combined with his realization he would never be more than her friend, it all was coming to a head.

Still, despite his outburst, he would rather have her as a friend than nothing at all. He'd let his frustration get the better of him, but it wouldn't happen again. Tentatively he took a step toward her. "I'm sorry." He reiterated in earnest.