[ A raw smile cracks over his own lips as he throws his arm around his friends shoulder. It's fleeting, but it's real. ]

You know me. I've got a flair for the dramatic.

[ It's so painfully untrue, and Dipper can already feel the tension creeping up on him. Talking about it won't be easy, but joking about it isn't easy, either. Nothing about this is easy, but he didn't expect it to be, either.

He just has to deal with it, and if off-color jokes eases him into dealing with it with Hiro, so be it. ]

Thanks. You think they could've brought me back a little bit taller, but no. [ A surge of panic erupts in his chest, so it's time to change the subject as they walk inside the apartment. ] What happened to you, anyway?

[ Yeah, let's...talk about what happened to Hiro. Not Dipper. Not yet. ]