When Dirk says that, an icy cold sense of dread pools in his stomach and creeps through his entire body. The idea of that is terrifying and it makes him want to throw up. If nothing else had, then those words definitely are enough to solidify the fact that his mistake was one of the worst in his life. It's also enough to completely shatter his hold on his control and the tears finally spill over shortly after Dirk starts crying.

He's shaking, he feels cold and he feels like throwing up and he doesn't know what to say. But he knows one thing, and it's that he can never, ever lie to Dirk again. Dirk or Dave. Because the thought of Dirk not being in his life is absolutely soul crushing. The idea of that being a thing makes it easy to never want to lie again.

When Dirk speaks again, the words only make him feel very slightly better. He's still terrified of losing Dirk, and he still wants to fix this somehow. But Bro doesn't know what to say that could help this. For a languages professor, he's such a horrendous failure with words sometimes that it would almost be laughable if they didn't fail him at such horrendous times. So his body works for him. Instead of speaking, he just stands up and moves around the table.

He leans down and wraps his arms around Dirk and he squeezes him in a way that's almost like he's trying to make sure that Dirk really is there, that he hasn't disappeared. Bro is shaking noticeably, but he's trying his best not to start sobbing like he wants to. That doesn't mean tears aren't streaming down his face, and he's pretty much clinging to Dirk as if he really might disappear soon. "A life without you ain't a life worth living," he manages to get out, his voice thin and shaky as he tries not to let it end in a sob.