She took a deep breath and nodded, collecting herself and releasing him from the hug before she did anything ridiculous like cry. She'd hate herself for that later, and she hated the other her a little bit for giving her that much knowledge, now. For stifling bits and pieces of her humanity even while she still possessed it.

"Thank you for thinking so," she replied, with a sad but appreciative smile. It wasn't enough, anything else she could've said.

So she didn't, and instead kissed him, much in the same manner he'd kissed her earlier: soft and chaste and quickly, but kindly, because she knew she was certain to be unkind later and didn't want that to be the only way he ever thought of her.