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"Gwen?"
Gwen makes a vague sort of noise of acknowledgment without looking up from her book.
"Did you know that you can die from stress? I read it online."
There's a moment of silence as she processes this statement.
And then, "that's... oddly comforting."
David frowns. "That shouldn't be comforting."
"What's more comforting than the promise of death?"
"Gwen."
"David."
"I'm a little concerned."
Gwen sets her book down and sighs. "You really don't have to be."
"But I am," David says softly, and offers her a slightly nervous sympathetic smile. "You've been so stressed recently. Listen, why don't you take a vacation? I can handle things on my own for a few days, it really isn't a problem!"
"David, you literally cannot handle things on your own. That is the dumbest thing you've said all week, which is saying something, 'cause you say a lot of bullshit."
"Hey, that's not- I just think you should try to relax and have a nice time."
She sighs. "I was relaxing. I was reading a book."
"I don't know, Gwen, you seemed kind of tense."
"I'm not tense."
"You kind of-"
"I'm not fucking tense, David!"
The cabin falls quiet; it's uncomfortable. After a minute, Gwen lets out an exasperated sound somewhere between a laugh and a sigh.
"Okay," she says, "maybe I'm a little bit tense. I mean, yeah, I've been super stressed out, but there isn't much I can actually do about it. This job doesn't exactly pay that much, David. I can't afford to take a vacation. There's nothing I can really do."
"You can talk to me." David crosses the room to sit next to her on her bed, biting his lip anxiously. "O- only if you want to, I mean. You don't have to, I just thought..."
He trails off with a sigh. After a moment, he glances up at her and smiles. "I'm here for you."
"I... thanks, David, that means a lot." Gwen pauses, and then laughs quietly. "You know I'm not gonna die, right?"
"What?"
"I'm not gonna fucking die from being stressed."
"But-"
"You probably shouldn't believe everything you read online. You fucking moron."
David looks like he's about to argue, but apparently changes his mind, and just smiles sheepishly instead. "You're probably right."
"I'm always right." Gwen picks up her book again, but hesitates and lowers it again. "David?"
"Yes?"
"...Thank you."