Ford stares. It takes him a moment to process what's happening. He looks at Bill, who just thanked him, and down at the ring, which seems like...an offer? A trade, maybe? A deal, so he doesn't feel like he's in Ford's debt.
(That feeling he felt, when Bill had gone all vague and panicky right after the first brick disappeared? The bad feeling?)
"...don't mention it."
(It feels better.)
But what to ask?
"...there's only one thing I want to know," Ford says, slow and deliberate. This is important. Like really, really important to him. "Is all of this...saying 'thank you,' this--" He makes the no-gesture illustratively, "--the theory about the Barge's real purpose...is it all just an act to get me to work on the portal?"
There might as well be a sign over Ford's head lit up in neon that reads TRUST ISSUES. If this had been a world that reshaped itself a little more flexibly, it probably would have appeared. But you gave him this baggage, Bill: you get to deal with it.
no subject
(That feeling he felt, when Bill had gone all vague and panicky right after the first brick disappeared? The bad feeling?)
"...don't mention it."
(It feels better.)
But what to ask?
"...there's only one thing I want to know," Ford says, slow and deliberate. This is important. Like really, really important to him. "Is all of this...saying 'thank you,' this--" He makes the no-gesture illustratively, "--the theory about the Barge's real purpose...is it all just an act to get me to work on the portal?"
There might as well be a sign over Ford's head lit up in neon that reads TRUST ISSUES. If this had been a world that reshaped itself a little more flexibly, it probably would have appeared. But you gave him this baggage, Bill: you get to deal with it.