"I don't have to ask! That's the point!" They've talked about this. They've talked about this. "I've heard enough violence to know what it sounds like, and he wasn't gonna shoot unless someone pushed him! Believe me, if he was, I would've gotten the hell out of the way instead of tryin' to talk to him!" He's got a protection boon in his back pocket, sure, but that doesn't mean he wants to use it fighting with an ally.

So they're doing this now. Great. He meets her gaze and doesn't look away. "I am not afraid of you." There's a whole lot of gravity to the statement, but no edge. There are things in the city worth fearing; J refuses to let his friends be among their number, at least in his mind. "But Sans is. He's ten kinds of broken already an' you just made it eleven. 'Cause now, on top of all that, he's afraid." If Lapis isn't going to apologize, she can at least hear the consequences of her actions - not the way he can - never the way he can - but nonetheless.

"You can't help him, and it'll be a miracle if he lets me try. So now what."