She didn't mean it in in a way that implied he wasn't masculine. She really didn't. Had he seen himself lately? Heard his own voice? Glanced in a mirror? He was perfectly male, she had the experience to back it up. It just... really, more than anything, was a term of endearment. Unique.

She furrowed her brow, though, at his explanation. That didn't make any sense. A universe-eating soul-sucking tear in reality, and he ends up without a scratch a week later in an alley? Then again... well, she'd asked for a sign, hadn't she?

She smiled at him, wryly. "Alright, then. Good enough for me."

The afterlife could keep their mystery, frankly, she didn't care as long as they brought him back. "Also, if you try to boss me about like that again, I will slap you."