"Yes, dear," he said, bowing his head further. Which wasn't the best idea, but mostly moving seemed to be blacklisted for the day anyway. He smiled, though, his second answer soft. "I missed you." True, they hadn't seen much of each other lately. Things had been abnormally busy. "And I worried, when I fought Karasu. I could smell you had been there."

Belatedly, his guilty conscience reminded him.