"Oh yeah, I feel just awful about all of that," he said, nearly laughing. It was so obvious he didn't mean it that it was more a joke than a lie. "It's only fair though, since you've been such a bad influence on me. Do you have any idea how much time I've spent not getting into fights and not cheating at card games lately. It's embarrassing really." He wondered if Bishop had any idea how much trouble he would get in if it weren't for her. It wasn't even her influence or because she told him not to do things, it was just because she gave him a reason to consider consequences and to be a little bit careful. A reason to care about the future and, like he'd once promised her, to try not to die.
"If we didn't make up the way we do, I think our first fight would still be going on. A stubborn guy like me needs some incentive to end a good argument." He looked up at her with a mischievous glint in his eyes, but otherwise his expression was perfectly innocent. "Oh, I might still want you around, but we'd have to come up with something else to do with all our spare time. And somehow I don't think sitting around playing Scrabble would be nearly as fun, even if you came up with some really good words."