Alex reproaches him as one would their disobedient dog. The response borders on humorous, and as if having gotten to the punchline of a joke, Neil thinks to laugh. To groan. Anything, anything that is normal, common, and dumb.

He only stares miserably, as if Alex simply shot the hypothetical dog.

"Why are you still here, Alex?" Neil asks dumbly, voice betraying his current vulnerability. "After everything--" The increasing fights, the worthless Capital Wasteland, the never-ending familial issues. "--why do you still love me?"