"I've got the whole town fooled," he jokes with a shake of his head and a small chuckle. Laughs are so rare around these parts, she won't get much more than that out of him.

To be fair, he has been, for the most part, polite and pleasant company. Willing to help where needed. Show the ropes where he's asked and learn some new skills where he's lacking. There hasn't been any reason to be an asshole; no difficult decisions or unfair sacrifices to make. It helps that they've all been quite honest with each other, even if they're all keeping their fair share of secrets.

"You're-..." A friend, maybe, yes, but so much more. He swallows, unable to meet her gaze. It's complicated, being his best friend's great great granddaughter, and a big damn hero herself. A pariah and yet willing to sacrifice so much for the town she had come from, with a kind of unparalleled strength and resilience that would put any man worth his weight in his words to shame. Maybe she doesn't have wisdom or patience in abundance, but sometimes he can't help but find her recklessness endearing. He likes her. He loves her. Waverly too. They are friends. Coworkers. Lovers. Parents. Apparently. Maybe.

"...important. To me." In this game of 'you first' neither of them are willing to say the L-word before the other and it's hurting them both in ways that would hurt them much less if one of them were just willing to admit it.

"More than you'll ever know."