Albert's response startles a half-laugh out of him, an amused huff that he swallows up by taking a sip of his own tea. If nothing else, at least it broke the tension.
"That was terrible," he agrees, but he's grinning a little. "But you're a soldier, I think gallows humor is kind of par for the course."
He shakes his head a little, still smiling. "Yeah, assuming it's not you who's gone. I'd have to find someone else to keep an eye on me, for that." Sam's aware that he's implying that he wouldn't be okay, that Albert means enough to him that his death is among the ones that might cause Sam to spiral back a little. But he doesn't take it back, and he keeps looking up for a long moment before he looks back down into his mug. "Thanks, man."
no subject
"That was terrible," he agrees, but he's grinning a little. "But you're a soldier, I think gallows humor is kind of par for the course."
He shakes his head a little, still smiling. "Yeah, assuming it's not you who's gone. I'd have to find someone else to keep an eye on me, for that." Sam's aware that he's implying that he wouldn't be okay, that Albert means enough to him that his death is among the ones that might cause Sam to spiral back a little. But he doesn't take it back, and he keeps looking up for a long moment before he looks back down into his mug. "Thanks, man."