Poor Clive
I can envision him both speaking his mind and being quiet about it. Like “I see, you do not see me as a husband, but as a roommate,” and nothing after that. Then he distances himself. Starts buying more frozen dinners and sending Jason home early.
Jason is now mortified and doesn’t quite know what to say. He tries to broach it a few times but Clive is always busy and has other things to do.
A modern day AU where Clive is a lonely researcher and Jason works part time at a dumpling soup shop and at an office supply store.
Clive only goes out for three things - food, office supplies, and basic necessities. Somehow he runs into Jason doing all three of these. And somehow, the chef/server who will let Clive rant about his research, coworkers, the university (all while looking very interested), remembers his name and says hi to him every time they see each other.