[ he's hardly the type to make a scene with these smaller displays of affection, but he won't necessarily go out of his way to try to hide it either. at this point, he thinks he's made it fairly clear that he's not going to get too chummy with just anyone, still wearing a face that tends to snarl or look disinterested, so even if he's caught with his hand in clara's, he wouldn't necessarily expect someone to take that as a suggestion that he's all around friendly either.

then again, with how much time he's already spent with the group aboard this station, he knows he's not necessarily completely closed off to them either. it's obvious by now just how necessary it is for all of them to work together, and if he wants to make sure his deal come through, he knows he needs to play nice.

but then there's clara's question, which he has to take a moment to think about what she's asking. turning to her, he raises a brow, considering it for a moment before his lips purse, letting off a shrug from one shoulder as he looks ahead. ]

Don't see why it would be. It's my name. [ but technically more personal than kovacs is. he gets what she's asking. ] Where I come from, everything's ... gotten impersonal. Surnames just tend to run easier. It's clean. Formal. People don't call me Kovacs cause I make them. It's cause they're not interested in anything else and I usually don't care if are.

[ he looks back to her, shrugging again, though almost a little more modestly. ] Rei was the first to start using Tak. [ clara had seen her, in the dream. ] Later, when the Envoys became our family, they used it too. Just these days — not really a lot of people around to use it anymore.

[ considering he doesn't have any family anymore. he sighs, giving a soft squeeze to her fingers. ]

But you can use whatever name you want. Anytime, anywhere.