For a moment, Terezi thinks that maybe they'll be able to work past this roadblock. She's hopeful that there will be some kind of understanding reached between them. It feels like two trains passing, and she can feel the rush of their closeness, but ultimately they pull away again, unable to merge. She doesn't know how to change the tracks they're on.

Fraysong stands, and the way that he addresses her with the blank stare has her fumble for words at first. Her shoulders raise a little, defensively. "You don't need my permission," she says, knowing full well that she doesn't want him to go. But she's not going to command him to stay, either. That's not the position that she wants to be in with him.