"It was part of why I was quiet." There was a lot swirling around Matt's mind. Clint's very reasonable reminders of what it meant to be a good leader. Heather's needs, and her safety. Kate's needs, and her safety. The mission right now as a whole. "Sometimes it's also nice just to listen." Everyone always leaped to how overwhelming his powers must be, and they certainly could be plenty of times. What people didn't know was that it also was sometimes nice.

Matt liked hearing the joy in people's voices. Hearing the happy thrums of their hearts. Feeling the warmth they radiated.

"Sometimes when I'm really tired, it's easier to just focus on holding back the tide of sensory information outside and focusing on what's nice around me. Stick used to make me do it so I could pick out a single heartbeat or smell in a crowd to target an assassination, but... I like to just sometimes focus on a laugh." A beat. "You have a nice laugh. And Clint and Claire were really happy, too." It was just nice to exist for a moment, in a way only he can.

"A part of me didn't know what to say. I'll own that. But I wasn't just sitting there in distress the whole time." He'd felt overwhelmed and clung to what made sense and helped him ride that tide. His friends' voices, heartbeats, and smells.

"You are part of my personal life. Every one of my friends and loved ones, in a mask and out of it, you're all a priority. I'm not brooding just because I'm figuring out what's needed to ensure you're all safe and able to live the lives you deserve. Maybe a part of that means living with Heather, maybe it doesn't. It just matters to me that you know that I would never leave you alone.

... not even Claire is left alone even though she keeps shit tea."

He made a face but he drank it. Ugh.