[ his frown grows deeper as she goes on, not because she called him out, but because she's actually wrong. her base assumption was flawed and now she's built on it in her head. the coffee is almost done but he ignores it for now, tossing the towel blindly onto the countertop behind him and takes a step off it. there's no anger in his speech, but there is heat. he gets why she's upset but he's also sick of people taking out their shit on him in this place. ]

Claire, I'm tryin' to tell you I wouldn't do that. I'm not him. I know you can take care of yourself, I watched you do it. You're goddamn amazing to me.

[ he should know better than make grand statements like that after everything, but it's true okay. he's in fucking awe of her and she should know it. ]

I wasn't trying to dismiss you, okay? It just came out wrong. I'm still... learning.

[ how to have a fucking conversation like a normal person? yeah, that. he signs Sorry in ASL and looks down at his boots. this is about the time he expects her to walk out. it's what everyone else has done to him, time and time again. ]