Jim can't help but be a little taken aback by that. Not because he didn't think Hunter felt that way, but because he's spent a lifetime of almost nobody ever saying anything like that to him. Not even hinting, really.

And he doesn't really know what to say to that.

"That's... I..." It's not often that Jim Kirk is at a loss for words, but this whole situation has been an emotional clusterfuck of epic proportions, and he flounders a bit, torn between the discomfort of a lifetime of feeling unworthy of such a sentiment, and the appreciation for his friend, who's taken on such a heavy emotional burden with little to show for it.