( There are, of course, quite a few differences between where he came from and where he is now. Setting aside, Ian wasn't exactly close to anybody back at Crater Lake. He had a good understanding and comradery with his TA, but Luke only ever saw the same side of the veil he presents to the rest of the world. He slept with quite a few people, some of them repeatedly, but there was always a clear delineation between what happens at night and who they are to each other after sunrise. The end of the world is the wrong time to get attached to somebody in any real way.

But there's Nate, and there's Lance — and that weirdly legit mutual agreement bond thing they have going. It's not something he's factored into his strategy yet. It's an unpredictable variable, he suddenly realizes. It's dumb as fuck, but just an innocuous gentle nudge kind of makes him teeter internally. A muted pang, because he's got no thick callouses built up against things like genuine support. ​)

Yeah, well. What can I say?

( He's wearing his best I'm about to say some dumb shit voice. )

I'm kind of the leading expert on giant rats with tentacles. That's what I wrote my thesis about. Really weird subject for an engineering degree, especially since they don't actually exist on earth, but... sometimes you just gotta follow your passion.

( Shrug.

The more he talks, the more convincing he generally is about being totally fine. Which he is. )