She gave him another wet noodle slap to the shoulder. "That's what I'm here for, Varian. To find the best possible way of looking at something. So, if you ever start to feel kind of sad again, I want you to immediately come to me, and I'll find a way to make you smile again."

And she meant it too. Both because he was her friend, and because the multiverse needed a little optimism. Which she was more than happy to illuminate.

"Which," she continued cautiously, "I hope makes me one of those friends we just talked about. Okay?"