[attr="class","sinbody2"]Why was she still talking? Such a little spitfire - key word 'little'. "We'll see about that," he muttered, though maybe not quite quiet enough for her not to hear.

He couldn't deny that being so close to her also got a reaction out of him, but Jaron was no amateur at this game. His body temperature hitched up maybe half a degree, but externally he was stoic... Unlike her. Color infused her cheeks, and his eyes dropped from holding hers to study it. It was an appealing shade on her, and the fingers of his right hand twitched with an unbidden desire to touch... But he didn't.

The command, then, seemed appropriately placed. But it was so far off track for the Zee he'd come to know over the past couple hours (was that all it was?) that Jaron took pause. It wasn't necessarily a hesitation, he just.. Froze, remained exactly as he was. From an outsider's perspective it probably looked like he wasn't even breathing, but their closeness would betray the truth to Zee. Something about the way she said it - with that expectant air everyone else did - caused his chest to tighten. She was pulling 'Leo' farther and farther to the surface, probably without even realizing. But if that's the game she wanted to play, that part of him could take up the slack without any further prompting.

So when he moved, it was with the fluid grace of the cat he portrayed; and when they connected, it was with its predatory clutch. The hand that had twitched lifted to press against the bark over her shoulder, overly aware of the rough texture when its original destination had been her rosy cheek. His whole body was taut, fully engaged in this stunt.

Or at least it was for the first demanding seconds. After that - when his brain actually registered what he was doing and his autopilot faltered - Jaron's face pinched. He didn't stop kissing her, but everything about it changed. His lips softened over hers, his head tipped just enough to deepen the kiss, and his free hand pulled up to softly cup the side of her jaw. Only the arm against the tree remained stiff, because he needed it to keep him from toppling into her.

And then it was over. A little dizzy from his own internal battle, Jaron pulled his head back to stare down at Zee. His eyes, as they always did when he was unsure, glazed over to their default appearance of mock self-assurance; his lips just barely curved into a smirk at the corner. 'Satisfied?' he wanted to ask, but the fact that he didn't was perhaps the only tell that he wasn't as confident as he let on. Without a word, he pushed off the trunk and turned, continuing their journey to nowhere in particular. Only after his back was to Zee did he allow his true feelings to cross his face - confusion, disturbance, and a dash of self-loathing.

[attr="class","sinbody2"]It was perhaps her resolve to stay in the game that egged him on, but that was only one of many possibilities Jaron would have to ponder over the coming hours.... Days? Days. Let's be real, he didn't have much else to do.

It took far too much control not to push against her as she melted into him, responding in a way he never expected her to. He wasn't sure exactly what type he'd pegged her for, but kissing him back wasn't anywhere in the equation. His eyebrows inched upward, but he didn't let the kiss change because of it. It was also entirely instinctual; his conscious brain had no place in the current endeavor, which made his reaction afterward all the more severe. It was uncomfortable to let the true Jaron through - the young man who had been trying to make his way in the world without any sort of true affectionate support - when he could so easily cover it with the crude façade of Leo. They weren't actually two separate people, nor was he bipolar, but he liked to keep them separate for the sake of later telling himself that he wasn't actually that manipulative, that uncaring. Because then he'd be no better than his mother.

Goosebumps threatened to form along the arm she trailed - hands soft and uncalloused, unlike his own. It was when her lips started moving against his that he knew he had to call it quits. The reason was multi-fold, but included not wanting to let 'Leo' completely take over, and take her, right here, regardless of how much Jaron actually didn't want to go there. The other was his complete self-loathing for having even kissed her in the first place. It was a taunt, damnit; one he did not need to respond to. But he had, and he hated himself for it.

She deserved a million times better.

Pulling back was far easier than he expected, but the look on her face hit him in the gut like a fist. He wanted to say something - anything - but knew they'd both be better off if he didn't. So he shut his mouth and moved on.

But of course she didn't want that.

"Were you expecting something else?" he asked, nearly wincing at his own cocky tone. He shot her a glance over his shoulder but didn't stop moving, not because he didn't want to, but because he didn't trust himself if he had. "Isn't it obvious I'm the kind of guy that's good for one very specific thing?" he asked, doing his best to keep the disgust out of his voice. Why he chose this specific moment to grow a conscience, he'd never know; but he knew he didn't want Zee to be just another tally mark on the figurative wall of Leo's conquests.

[attr="class","sinbody2"]It was a damn good thing he didn't really study her, or really give her consideration of any kind. Because if he had, and he'd seen the way she crumpled under emotions that appeared all too familiar to him, he would have gone back. He would've gone back, grabbed her, and told her everything was going to be okay even though he had no way to promise that. He would've held her shamelessly, because deep down he was the world's biggest teddy bear crying out for someone to want him, to need him. And the way Zee held herself now was the exact mirror image.

But he did none of these things, because he didn't see her. He was too wrapped up in his own turmoil to give a second thought to how badly he may have just hurt her; partially because it required some amount of bravado to assume he had the power to hurt her at all.

The shout caused him to wince, but he didn't stop moving. He couldn't - there was too much conflict happening in his mind right now, and if he stopped to converse with her he wasn't sure he could control which side of him responded. And truthfully, he was growing tired of playing Jekyll and Hyde. He'd never had to deal with being this degree of bipolar on Earth, because no one ever saw Jaron. They saw Leo, the famous, the beautiful, the wonderful. Jaron only ever surfaced at home, alone, curled tightly into sheets that didn't smell enough of the woman who'd been there the night before to convince him he wasn't actually as alone as it seemed.

His head was so fucked.

His own reverie was his downfall; without having the mind to resist, he halted on her command. The second he realized what he'd done he almost started forward again, but her demand was so spot on he couldn't have moved even if his life depended on it. His jaw tightened and his brow tented, but from behind Zee wouldn't be able to discern any of this. Except, of course, for when his head turned, placing his chin nearly over his shoulder. A brief flash - so quick she wouldn't see it if she weren't looking at the exact right time - of vulnerability broke through the icy outer shell of the mask he wore so well. "They're the same person, Zee," he lied blatantly, the words scratching his throat.

The muscles of his jaw flexed, once, before he turned away yet again. For being the one with mommy issues, he was awfully good at leaving someone behind. His shoulders rose and fell with the breath he had to take to steady himself, but that was the only other indication he gave of being distraught at all. That wasn't someone anyone wanted to see. The world didn't care about Jaron's problems - they cared about Leo's success.

So, with a roll of his head to get the kinks out of his neck, Leo strode forward, with or without the woman who threatened to break him.

[attr="class","sinbody2"]She said something, but he couldn't hear her over the rush of blood through his ears. Had he not already become well acquainted with that his episodes of withdrawal felt like, he may have mistaken this rise in blood pressure as the beginning of one. But he knew better, which made it all the worse. He was just full-out panicking, because for the first time in a long time, he didn't know what to do. He wasn't scripted, or scheduled, or expected to say this or do that. Jaron was alone on a planet no one understood, and even though the woman behind him was still following, he felt that solidarity like a slug in the chest.

His steps faltered when she called the 'Leo persona' an asshole, but he kept going. No one would benefit from him tossing over his shoulder, 'You sure seemed to like him when you interrupted my workout.' That would only perpetuate the side of him she was apparently growing to loathe. But the reminder hit hard enough for him to snatch the shirt slung over his shoulder to pull it on; there, now he felt less.. exposed.

The farther he walked, the more Jaron wondered why Zee was still trailing. He wasn't making a conscious path, but was certain enough that his feet would take him home.. Or as close to a home as he could make on this unforgiving planet. So when he stopped, it was to ask that - but she beat him to the punch. He turned sideways to look at her, his mouth opening and closing once before he picked what to say. "That's the name people recognize," he said quickly, making it obvious he didn't think it that important. The more crucial topic was, "Why are you still following me?" The question was harsh, but his tone wavered just enough to give away how upset he was. It took everything he had not to react to his own vulnerability, and he prayed Zee wouldn't take advantage of it. If she did.. he wasn't sure he wanted to find out how he'd respond.

"I'm going home. You really wanna go there?" he asked, tone taunting. His voice didn't crack this time. He straightened up, rolling a shoulder, and turned to face her fully, crossing his arms over his chest. He absently realized his arms didn't stretch the material of his sleeves anymore, and mentally made a note to work out twice tomorrow. There you go... Distract yourself with routine. S'not like she'll be around much longer - they never are.