Rodya fesses up about her secret - she has a law degree! Yi Sang is fascinated by this new discovery; the two talk about what it means to be extraordinary.
Kong Qiu gets sex pollen'd (bolus'd?) and Dante is the only one around to help him out of it.
A snippet of a fic that hasn't been published yet.
[After Hours] Chapter 17: THE RED GAZE
“My sins are mine to bear. I know infinite sorrow, as do you, and yet you hold twelve others’ on your shoulders.” His head tilts to lean against the backrest, a long exhale making its way out of him as his arms fall to his sides; his body becomes open to the world, vulnerable to attack. Dante doesn’t dare to breathe, or even move, in fear that they’ll scare him off. Their gaze flits to his face. He looks… sad. “I am not a good man. You… are better than me.”
I don’t have sins. I don’t have a ‘me’. I don’t have anything but everyone around me. Bearing their sins is all I’m good for.
He wouldn’t be able to hear them anyway. The Sinners call out to each other from outside the bus, as lively and jovial as ever. When their laughter rings out moments later, Vergilius closes his eyes. There’s nothing they could say that could reach Vergilius’ ears, or comfort the glimpse of sorrow they saw within him. Instead, their hand finds his, palm to palm. Dante’s hand closes around his first; just when they’re about to let go, Vergilius wraps his fingers around theirs and squeezes. His words resound in their head — ‘I never wanted to care about you.’ Wanted. Wanted. Wanted. It takes them a tremendous amount of effort to even form the next thought in their mind.
Do you care about me now?