[ a little huff of a laugh escapes him with the pat, but it's coupled with an appreciative look as he very, very carefully curls his fingers in the sleeve of her sweater. a point of contact.

he's going to hug the hell out of her when this wears off. ]

Yeah. Yeah, it helps to know that they're alright. They're just outta reach, but they're there, and we just gotta... we gotta get through this. [ even if they're not going to like the culling of their numbers after trial. ]