Wait, you mean you actually listen to me? [It's meant to be mostly sarcastic, but the thread of honest surprise is a little too thick not to show.

[He sighs, pursing his lips a little.]

I guess sometimes there's no help to be given directly. Sometimes just knowing somebody's got your back is enough to get you through something. [He looks at him sidelong, shoes crunching over the snow.] It's laudable, to want to keep people from getting hurt while you deal with your own struggles, but in the end, the people you matter to are gonna get involved anyway.