Luke rolled his eyes. "I didn't say that, did I?" Mao sure knew how to take things the wrong way. He was obviously implying that Mao was irresponsible, not that he was retarded. Duh. And Mao couldn't exactly deny that he was irresponsible, could he? Not that Luke was judging, really. After all, he certainly wasn't the most responsible kid on the planet either. Still... he had to poke fun. It's what they did. But Mao wasn't the only one to notice how their banter, once so scathing and mean, had seemed to lose its sting. Honestly, Luke preferred it this way. He was sure their little unspoken truce wouldn't last - being in a sanitarium for a month had done a number on his once so closely held belief that anything was impervious to change - but it would be nice while it did.
But for now, the silence was nice. Well... not so much "silence" as "lack of talking" - the beach noises that surrounded them both calmed Luke and made his heart beat ever so slightly faster. It was stupid how he was afraid of the water now, but thus far Luke wasn't really sure what to do about it. Maybe he'd try swimming in the pool and see if that would be easier for him to deal with. He was lost in his thoughts when Mao's finger brushed against his hand, and he slowly turned his head to look at the other boy, his head canted slightly in a questioning glance. There was a moment of unspoken tension before, slowly, slowly, Luke curled his fingers around Mao's. Like Mao, he wasn't really sure what to say, so he just opted to say nothing. After all, actions were supposed to speak louder than words, and this gesture absolutely screamed.