Anthony smiled, holding his hand near his mouth as if somehow trying to cover his smile. Alas, it didn't work. "I guess I'm just a bit too used to people considering me a waste of time, then," he admitted. As much as he tried to act all fine and unbothered all the time he's definitely internalized a lot of shit that affects him to this day. Elijah was kind and wonderful and wouldn't consider him a bother, but it was hard to let go of the fear. Anthony focused again on the offer Elijah made him. On one hand, he was tired of being treated like a moron and lesser and also felt that he was missing out on a lot of shit, and on the other he was very impatient with a short attention span and knew that this shit takes time. "I guess I wouldn't be....against it, though. At all."

"Too often people take things for granted, or don't appreciate what's around them. I promise, I am happy you are here. You have been completely delightful and I am so grateful you are here. " Elijah perked up as he mentioned maybe not minding to learn. "Fantastic. We can do it any time you wish, if you have anything you want to read we can start there. Otherwise I can try to find something easy." He could certainly drop by the book store. He forced any thoughts that weren't completely pure out of his mind as he rest his hand on his arm. "If something bothers me, I usually say so. So I think it's been clear that you haven't done anything. At most I've been more worried I was a bother to you. So I think if you worry about something, try to think of how you'd feel if our places were reversed. I think we are a lot a like so I'm certain the answer would be correct."

Anthony hasn't blushed this much in literal years. Elijah was so kind and nice and sincere—and Anthony found his thoughts wandering again, and forced those thoughts away for now. "I...thanks," he stuttered, very unsure of how he should reply to things like this. The idea of someone actually, genuinely liking him (as a friend, of course, Anthony had to remind himself) was so utterly foreign to him that he was unsure of what to say. He hoped his stuttering was fine enough. "I don't care much for books, so I guess you could...find something." Anthony said, switching the topic back to the one that made Anthony blush less, and resisting the urge to say something self-deprecating again.

Elijah patted his arm before letting go. "You don't need to thank me. Just be happy." Remembering where he had heard that before made him bite his lip. This was different. He looked at him and seemed in thought. "Well.. do you know of any types of stories you've enjoyed? Or do you like learning about real things? Maybe you'd even prefer a book with pictures.." Part of it was merely him speaking aloud and hoping that Anthony would cut in with an opinion.

Anthony was absolutely fine with that—being happy has never been easier for him than it was now, it seemed to him. But that euphoria subsided a bit after a moment, as they turned back to the previous discussion, which basically scared him back to being silent. Anthony shrugged after a moment—he's never really had to think about any of those things, and he's basically on instinct gone back to being defensive and afraid. Of what, he wasn't even particularly sure—there were plenty of things he was afraid could happen now, and knowing that Elijah wouldn't do any of those things was only a bit of a comfort.

Elijah noticed how he seemed nervous about something. "D-don't worry. I'll.. show you a few. And if it gets overwhelming, we can stop. We have all the time in the world, right? And it isn't a big deal. I just thought..' he looked away as he was now wondering if Anthony really could care less. "I mean.. that maybe you'd enjoy having books to read. I enjoy it on quiet nights . But I mean, everyone is different. I'm sure you like something else like music maybe?"

"I guess that maybe I would. Enjoy it, I mean," Anthony said, not looking at Elijah as he spoke. Though it's not like he would know whether or not he would enjoy reading. He was fine with the idea of learning, that in itself did not bother him at all—his nervousness and fear was just extremely irrational and baseless and he knew that.  "I like...plenty of things." He said vaguely, with such a tone as if he was trying to convince someone that he did, in fact, enjoy things.

"Well then, tonight we can sit by the fire and work on reading something together. " Was the mental image a romantic one? of course not. It was just a beautiful image of the two of them in an intimate environment. He shook his head and gave his friend a smile. Though he knew he really should be hurrying out the door for work.

"...Yeah. Okay, that sounds good," Anthony said, smiling a little at the mental image he had created. Just them two (friends) sitting by the fire (in a friendly way) and reading (as friends). The image was certainly absolutely not related to romance or anything like that in any way, and as soon as Anthony found his thoughts wandering to those things, he tried to force said thoughts away. It's never going to happen, so he should just stop dreaming about it.

Elijah nodded and then quickly got up. He didn't want to let his mind wander into dangerous territory. "Sorry I..ah.. realized I'm going to be late for work. " He went to wash his dishes and shut his eyes muttering to himself that he knew better than thinking such things.