Does someone masking around me mean we aren't close?
I have developed I'd say a pretty close bond with a coworker who has autism. I'm neurodivergent, but I don't have autism.
I think I know him pretty well by now. He's very literal most times and tends to take me very literally. My communication style is very... indirect. I like to use sarcasm and irony regularly. Sometimes he feels the need to clarify certain things that shock me. Those clarifications make me question wether he understands me in general or just pretends to most of the time to keep the conversation flowing.
I know he is masking around me. The idea makes me perhaps a bit nervous because it makes me feel like he isn't being genuine.
Although there are plenty of other, less ambiguous markers of us having a close bond (he makes time for me, access, cares about my problems, is very supportive, shares things with me) I'm questioning wether him masking and often times maybe "pretending" to understand me means we aren't actually as close as I'd like to think.