[ There's something in the way Steve first asks whether Teach aged and then the comment that follows - it could have been a lot worse - that immediately gives Claude pause. Though he'd already been looking at his friend while speaking, it's a deliberate studying which takes place now. It doesn't feel like he's imagined that being said from experience. Not with the way Steve so carefully reveals things about himself; this feels like another one of those moments but it's one where he lacks the full picture to put it into context.
A mental note's made as Claude simply hums like this is all a very average conversation and that statement was the equivalent of something idle said only in passing. That particular question can wait until later. ]
Feels impossible with what you know you left behind? [ A hollow laugh leaves Claude then as he looks down to his drink. The topic of loss resonates all too painfully clear between them both. But again - his own is a hypothetical compared to what he'd actually lived even as his thoughts drift back to what he'd learned about Hilda's fate in a time that wasn't their own where he knows if he went home tomorrow she would be there within reach. ] I get that. There's someone dear to me who, if I somehow went back to that timeline instead of my own, wouldn't be there. And I'd be bereft for it.
[ Matter of factly, despite that 'bereft' as a descriptor doesn't begin to sum it up. That's as much as Claude dares to say about it considering that's Hilda's to share if she hasn't already, and he drags a hand through his hair before shifting his gaze to Steve once more with a wry smile. ]
Between that and what you know what's waiting for you - all the more reason to be thankful for what chances we have here despite all that's happened, isn't it?
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A mental note's made as Claude simply hums like this is all a very average conversation and that statement was the equivalent of something idle said only in passing. That particular question can wait until later. ]
Feels impossible with what you know you left behind? [ A hollow laugh leaves Claude then as he looks down to his drink. The topic of loss resonates all too painfully clear between them both. But again - his own is a hypothetical compared to what he'd actually lived even as his thoughts drift back to what he'd learned about Hilda's fate in a time that wasn't their own where he knows if he went home tomorrow she would be there within reach. ] I get that. There's someone dear to me who, if I somehow went back to that timeline instead of my own, wouldn't be there. And I'd be bereft for it.
[ Matter of factly, despite that 'bereft' as a descriptor doesn't begin to sum it up. That's as much as Claude dares to say about it considering that's Hilda's to share if she hasn't already, and he drags a hand through his hair before shifting his gaze to Steve once more with a wry smile. ]
Between that and what you know what's waiting for you - all the more reason to be thankful for what chances we have here despite all that's happened, isn't it?