[His eyes open fully at that. The way he's lifting himself, the quiet groan, the reclining - recovering, but there's something about that is different from usual - the hesitation.

He pushes himself up, swinging his legs as he sat up, touching his forehead for a moment as if steadying himself, glancing away for a moment. The soft tones, the vulnerability - seems to hit something inside him]

...of course, I feel... this might be a long time coming.

[He turns his glance back, to look at him properly]