"You have?" Martin frowned. "News to me... but you don't need to talk about anything you don't want to. And I won't joke about it again. I'm sorry, I - I didn't know."

It also meant he'd have to be very careful about what he shared, and how. He didn't think he, himself, was capable of what his memories were insinuating with increasing frequency, but ... he also wasn't sure if Alec would consider a divide between the memory and the man.

The joke gave him something to fall back on, though, and he raised his eyebrows over the rim of his soup mug. "I guess I've got some thinking to do on how to pass the time. Unless you've got any suggestions."