[But he tried so hard with his fake plastic smiles... slowly noticing that she's not only not falling for his false front but he's actually getting a rather good talking to, which doesn't happen to him often. Talk about awkward. That forced grin slowly fades away to a hesitant quirk of his lips, something more melancholic and thoughtful than anything else though he manages to keep up a light-hearted tone.]

That's an awful big burden, letting yourself listen to an old man's trouble's just like that.

[It could be worse, but it's not. That's just how it is and he should be thankful for at least that much. Even if he's not sure what he's going to do at this point, it's not the end of the world.]

You realize at this point it's just gonna be you and me worrying up a storm. That's not gonna get us anywhere! ...but, thanks.