She has a point. He is tired of living like he has been. The trauma has been too overwhelming though for him to face it for just himself. It's been easier to simply hide from it, to create layers of shields and lies. Now he has something worth breaking through all of that. There's a tangible goal at the end of the dark tunnel. Something finally means enough to him to try working through it again. He does owe her for that. As much as he likes to be an island, this isn't an issue he can figure out on his own.

He looks down at their hands together. If left long enough it'll scrape his defenses raw, but he can last a lot longer than he once did. There's even enough tolerance to where he can enjoy the touch rather than it just being a battle to keep the panic at bay. His thumb lightly brushes against her hand. Will he once reach a point where he doesn't growl when Jesper clasps his shoulder? Where his teeth aren't set on edge in a crowded train? Perhaps. Maybe it won't ever be easy or come naturally to him, but he'll tolerate it better. As long as he can enjoy contact with her, he can live with the rest.

At the meowing he lightly rubs his fingers through the cat's fur.

"I'm starting to like it, too." He lightly lifts their hands. "It is getting easier. With you."

At her other question he lifts his shoulders in a small shrug. "I'm not sure." He hasn't slept in awhile, but the fight has also been draining. It's probably a combination of both. His gaze glances over her face. "It doesn't look like you slept all that well yesterday, either." He knows he's part of the reason for that and he feels a little bad for it.