They both fall silent, listening to Laura's sobbing.

"She's crying, what do we do?" Ace asks hesitantly, in a way that suggests a hint of worry.

"Go comfort her, you idiot." Nini says, not meaning to snap at him.

Ace takes a step forward towards Laura's bedroom door, before pausing, and then takes a step away, acting unsure.

"How do I do that again?"

"Start with hugs."

He whips around, staring at Nini, who sighs impatiently, before meeting his striking blue eyes.

"With what?!" He looks at her, strangely shocked.

"Yeah. You know. The thing people do to the people they care about on a regular basis." Nini says the words slowly, as if she were talking to a 5-year-old, rather than someone who's a 17-year-old warrior.

"B-But..."

"But what?"

"But why can't you do it?"

"Me?!" Nini exclaims, widening her eyes and throwing her hands up in exasperation. "I'm the one who made her cry, goddammit! Why would I comfort her?!"

"Well, I don't know! You are her best friend-"

"Were," corrected Nini faintly.

"You are her best friend, Nini. You're," Ace squirms, "better at this stuff than me."

"Too bad, Ace. I'm not doing it." A spoiled child is what she sounds like, a stubborn one too.

"I'm just going to make it worse," he warns her.

"Aw, are you saying you care about her, Acey Wacey?" She teases him with a smile playing on her lips.

"Why can't I?" He asks quietly, staring down at his fidgeting hands.

Nini softens as she looks at the man who has loved her best friend, wholeheartedly, for as long as they've known him, and never once realizing that Nini herself loves him more than he could ever love Laura.

She watches as Ace sits down on Laura's bed, pulling her into a gentle hug and trying to cheer her up with poorly-made jokes.

She sees the love and sparking energy dancing between the man she adores and her best friend.

She realizes that she was never meant for Ace, just as he was never meant for her.

She accepts her fate, and the destined love between Laura and Ace.

And she finally lets go.