Well, if Ben had had any doubts about Cole not needing to eat or sleep, now he is sure. It is not as strange a thought to him as it might be to others. He remembers what it was like, to not need to eat or sleep. And he remembers still wishing that he could do either of those things. Cole might not be a ghost and miss simple pleasures like eating ice cream, but that doesn't change much.

"You don't have to need it. I don't need ice cream right now, either. I ate plenty earlier, I just wanted some because today sucked."

Sure, food might not be as plentiful in this place as it could be, but none of them are starving at the moment. That grocery store had shown up, and a truck later, and people who are farm-inclined are planting things. If Ben had learned anything from dying, it is that putting off good things for the future sometimes meant never having those good things at all.

But before he can start to articulate any of that, Cole is saying Ben makes him happy, even more than the ice cream. And Ben had just seen how happy that ice cream made Cole. He feels his cheeks flushing; it's so wonderful, this feeling! Making people happy! Not just that - making Cole happy. A grin breaks out on his face and he ducks his head, unable to stop smiling. Some reflex in his mind tells him that he shouldn't let himself be this happy, that he ought to check it, restrain it, question it. But for once, he doesn't. He just thinks I made Cole happy and lets himself be awash in the joy of it.

"You can, if you want to."