Duo's smile turned significantly less enthusiastic when Matt went right back to being depressed. It was hard for a kid to get over losing someone so important to them, Duo knew that much from experience so he was more than sympathetic to the way Matt was feeling. But he also knew that there was a better way to get over that loss than the way he'd learned which had just left him bitter and cynical at the ripe old age of eight.
"Y'know, Monkeywrench," he said, sighing and stretching out his legs, "no matter how many times I tell ya 'it's gonna be okay' or 'ya knew it was gonna happen' or a hundred other things people normally say in these situations, it's not gonna change the general suckiness of it. And it's not gonna make ya feel any better any faster. But y'know what?" Duo turned and set a hand on Matt's tiny little shoulder, smiling softly, "Neither's keepin' it all bottled up inside. Just makes ya bitter an' angry an' even more lonely'n before. I know ya wanna look tough, but sometimes that means admittin' when you're hurt, an' I'm not just sayin' that. I'll leave if ya want me to, but I promise I won't tell anyone if ya want me t'stay."