He laughed deeply. "Weirdly enough," he said, squeezing her hand. "Weirdly enough, that's not a title that sticks."
He shook his head, grinning at her. "You can't tell her that. She's one of the few people on this ship who still respects me."
"Ha. No, they don't. I appreciate it, but don't worry. On this ship, my role is to be open to talk to people. Unfortunately, that isn't really respected here."
"I'm pretty sure you're respected. I respect you a lot. I can prove people respect you," she said, raising an eyebrow.
"With me standing right there? Yes, Ave, I'm sure that'll push them in the right direction. Don't worry. I'm not that fragile. The people I love like me back, and that's all I need."
"It's true," he said, kissing her cheek. "But I appreciate you coming to my defense as quickly as you did."
"I appreciate it," he said, taking her hand and kissing it. "I couldn't think of a better teammate than you."
She blushed slightly, but turned her head away. "I'm sure there are much better team mates than me, but thank you."
