[ Jake can't help it; he starts to laugh, little chest rumbling against Yzak in the process. ]

Bro, bro, you gotta cool it with the military jargon. [ He cants his head, offering up a particularly scritch-ready part of his neck. ] You are petting a dog right now, man, this is one area of life that maybe actually doesn't hafta be tactical.

[ He may have a laughing warmth to his tone, but there's an authority there too. The kind of authority that came with having the equivalent of several decades of life experience on the kid. Maybe Yzak would never love again, maybe he'd never feel happy again, but Jake wouldn't bet on either. Time was as much a comfort as it was a threat. ]

Let's just chill for a while. [ Jake resettles himself, determined to find the most comfortable position before closing his eyes. He'd be asleep in seconds, but he glances up at Yzak one last time with a quick wink. ] If it makes you feel better, I'll give you a performance review when we're done.