[ he can't see his face but he imagines it looking angry with the eyebrows down and mouth in a scowl. the tone is hurt. disappointed? utterly distraught, more like. maybe he's not scowling and just frowning.

dave's own expression steels off. hard to read. ]

Did you just call me David? [ and why was that mildly terrifying? is this dad voice. okay. that's not the important part of any of this-

the pressure the hand on the arm is no proper indication of how jefferson feels. he can't feel it the point is the gesture, he knows this by now. ]

Okay. ...But you know it's like impossible to live without me, right? Not in a jokey "haha I'm addicting" sort of way. I mean. I can't permanently d- [ he makes a little noise and cuts himself off. no, correcting jefferson on that fear is probably a dick move. let him have this one. ]

So, what's next?