Erik's words make him no less agitated, but the end manages to soften the hard look in his eyes. "Erik..." he says quietly and leans back against his chair, eyes closing. "I'm sorry. I'm trying, I truly am."

He rubs his eyes for a moment and then pulls himself upright again. "Did you and I meet as teenagers or under the surface while you tried to lift a submarine?" Are you his Erik or another Erik that he needs to learn to know, too?

"I don't think there will be a universe where we aren't friends," he says quietly to top it off.