[ steve knows that she's not trying to look at him with pity, but there is something in the look that is too much. he curses, rubs at his face, and tries to remind himself that it's not worth feeling guilty about. it's not like he's on the verge of tears or anything, he just...he doesn't know what to do. how to react.

she says sorry and he huffs out a breath, shakes his head. ] It's fine, it's not- it's not a big deal. Or, I mean, it is but it's also not. He's alive here, we've been here for years now, so...yeah.

[ he has no idea what he's saying at this point but the bubbling in his chest does make him feel like he has to keep talking. ]

Yeah, we've...talked about it. I don't know if it's a thing where he's just sort of accepted it or decided not to think about it or what, but... [ there's a pause, where steve takes a breath, before he's looking back to aloy again. his expression is suddenly a bit more still than it was before, a bit heavier, like steve is finally giving words to something he's had on his mind but hasn't been able to bring up to anyone else. ] He died to make sure we could do it, that we could stop Vecna and save everything, and if the plan didn't work then he died for nothing.