"I don't know if it was sordid," Neil says. Certainly it wasn't quite the same sort of things that would have evoked sound cancelling headphones and teasing commentary in the morning. But it's still enough to keep him blushing.

He's quiet a moment, like he feels guilty to keep talking about it. When he speaks, it's tender and private, like speaking the weight of it might hurt one or the both of them.

"I really like him a lot," he says. "But liking me is a lot for someone that can't tell I'm feeling all the time. So I doubt it'll last very long at all before he gets tired of trying to navigate that."