"It's just kind of nice to care about someone, you know." Maybe Orc doesn't. The idea makes Howard's heart sink a little, because there is still that tiny part of him, the part that's usually buried under reason and logic, that wishes Orc cared as hard about him as he does about Orc.

"A few people. I mean, two. I talked to one of them and it's never gonna happen, though, so." He shrugs.