"I didn't say that either, I just..." Those big hands gesture helplessly at the air. Because he hadn't said it -- but that didn't mean it hadn't been there, in a sense, implied despite himself. "Where do I even stand with you?"

He looks away, folding his arms. The gesture is more defensive than angry.

You'd have to go back four million years or whatever-- is what he almost says. Instead, he forces himself to think.

"... Tell me what you want me to call you."

Because that would be a start.