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"We're not dead," wasn't exactly a ringing endorsement of their performance or their situation, but over his time living in Destiny City with these monsters and these superpowers, he had learned it was probably the best one he could expect.

So, he returned the wry smile.

"Nah, I'm alright." He'd been through worse. A lot worse. Encke pulled at his sailor collar just a bit, like that might release some tension. "Glad to see you are too. Had me worried for a minute there."

Gelria didn't seem all that old, at least not to Encke. Not that any of them were. A twenty-four-year-old wasn't exactly the most mature of veterans either, though in comparison it might seem like a lifetime. Maybe he should try to offer some veteran-esque advice. "It's scary. You did a good thing by trying to help out. Don't beat yourself up about locking up or anything. It gets easier."

Sorta.

"That was definitely a win though. Those big youma are dangerous. The less of them, the better."

The question admittedly took him by surprise. He was expecting to be asked about the youma or the monsters or if things like this were frequent, not how he hid his identity so well over such a long period of time.

And admittedly, that did bother him. Encke didn't really like secrecy. It wasn't really his thing. Why hide what you could be open about? Sure, over time entertainment reporters had made him value privacy, but that was different than secrecy. And besides, maybe there wouldn't be such strange hatred of the "terrorists" if people realized the senshi were their neighbors, too, and they were working to protect them. Though he supposed the same would end up applying to the Negaverse, who were the actual terrorists. The last thing they needed were more sympathizers.

Then again, maybe public pressure they couldn't escape would shape them up--

"That's not an easy answer," offered Encke, realizing that statement was probably rather unhelpful. Duh. It wasn't false, though. When was it easy to keep a secret from the people you were closest to? In a way, Encke had somewhat failed at the secrecy part--it wasn't like his own love was entirely unaware of what Encke was up to--but no one else knew, still.

"It sucks, I'm not gonna lie. You find excuses. You divert attention. But it's for their--his safety." He frowned a bit, realizing that wasn't an entirely satisfying answer. Maybe he should explain it further. "The alliances in this city are all over the place. It's hard to say your boyfriend would be safe if he knew. Imagine if they," he clearly meant the Negaverse, gesturing in the direction the youma had been in, "got a inkling that your boyfriend seemed to be alright with the terrorists. They could grow suspicious, see him as a target maybe. Maybe he knows something."

Encke shook his head. He hated how that sounded. "So it's to protect them. When you frame it in that light, it becomes a bit easier."

Though not entirely. Secrecy could be poison in relationships. He wasn't going to discourage him, though. Not to that level.

Sensing the discouragement, Encke continued, "I know that's not really an ideal answer, but it's what things are like right now. Maybe, later on, things will become clearer and you'll be able to say something."

Or it would just come bumbling out, or he'd get discovered, but hopefully neither of those cases happened. Not that it had really turned out badly for Encke, with his love knowing, but he was almost positive that wouldn't be the case for everyone. How could it be, with so many secret identities in this city? He didn't personally know a lot of the people on either side, but he had certainly seen plenty. They were all people with second lives, too.

"It's good you want to protect him, though. He means a lot to you, then. You'll manage."

There wasn't really anything better he could offer than you'll manage, but at least it was something like encouragement, right?

Encke silenced himself when Gelria resumed talking, letting out a laugh that was considerably less somber when Gelria pointed out his hand was covered in blood. "You need a napkin? There's gotta be one somewhere nearby." Maybe. They were at a power plant. Not exactly a restaurant. Maybe there was a cafeteria somewhere inside the place that they could find one? People had to work there, right?

"But yeah. I'd like having more people to talk to, myself."

Encke's eyes twinkled teasingly for a moment, also clearly enjoying banter a bit more than the serious conversations. Most people did, after all.

But the serious conversations were necessary. Good to balance them with a bit of fun when he could.

"Well, at least you don't live with anyone. It does tend to make this whole mess a bit easier." Encke couldn't live by himself. He shouldn't even if he could. It meant that it was definitely a bit harder to hide things, and only so much could be explained by stunts going wrong or tripping over his own feet.

He raised both brows at Gelria's posing. It didn't take long for him to change his expression into something that might have come off a bit flirtatious if the situation was a bit different. "Damn boy, you fine." As he said this, he withdrew the said fancy cellphone and aimed it at Gelria, pretending to ponder where the best side was. Then he snapped the picture.

"Huh."

He guessed that did work. It was a bit creepy, honestly, but--

"See, got you now." He flipped his phone around in his hand to show him. "I guess you gotta take a picture of me now too? Hopefully I'm not too florescent for these cameras." His tone was almost sing-song.

"Yeah? I'm not sure who designs these outfits, but clearly Encke means purple and blues and bright a** colors," remarked Encke, glancing down at his pants.

Seriously bright.

Encke couldn't help looking at Gelria's arm again in concern when he put his phone down. Was he sure he was alright? He didn't seem to be complaining about it actively and thought he could go home so it was probably fine. That dried blood just didn't make it look fine...

"I can do that. Or you can text me. Just don't push yourself too hard, alright? That arm injury looks a little not good."

A little not good? That was a rather dumb way of saying bad. Good job, Encke. He shook his head out of it and offered a bit of a grin. Moving on.

"It's nice to meet you too, Gelria. You were a big help out there. Thanks."