"Then you can multitask on getting dinner ready," deadpanned Sefton.

The banter was, for Sefton, something automatic. General conversation, easy to make, but less-than-telling about himself. It was the sort of defense he used in everyday life when speaking with people in the lab or someone on the street. Keep people mindlessly engaged and they wouldn't usually think to wonder about who they were talking with.

Actually bantering with Lance felt less like deflection and more like genuine connection. The thought was frightening, but weighed down with sentimental half-memories that made it easier to bear.