[Hey, lady, remember who you're talking to. He is the king of attempting to deflect deep conversation with self-deprecating humor. He's okay with her trying to use his shtick, but he doesn't know how to handle what it is she's saying.

Twelve years... twelve years have passed between them. That's a lifetime, especially for people like them. The Call... There's only so long that you can avoid that. And she Joined at the beginning of a Blight, he only six months before her.

He looks down at their joined hands, studying the way the light plays on her paler skin as it rests in his.]

Maker's breath. [The words are like a punch to the gut and a jump start to his brain.] I knew that, despite being the more senior Warden out of us, that you were a little older than me. [He squeezes her hand yet again.] Just not this much older.