"Yeah?" Karen asks, brow raising, and she can’t entirely tell how much they are or aren’t teasing anymore, but she can’t help playing along with it anyway. "And who says I need you?" She’d be fine, of course, if she had never met him. This place would be as weird as ever, but she wouldn’t have known the difference, because he would never have been here, their paths would never have crossed. The more time they spend together, though, the more he comes to mean to her. Need might be a strong word, but he’s unquestionably the closest friend she has here, the person she trusts the most, and that goes a long way in itself. She would be fine without him, but she’s much better off for the fact that she isn’t, that she has someone she can turn to.

She shrugs absently. "Just don’t say I didn’t warn you."