Aw, pal. You don't need to worry about cheering me up.

[But he's still tightening his arm a little around Ashe anyway, like his sense of being at ease is a lifeline — or at the very least, a buoy in the midst of the current Balthus is swimming against.]

You guys have been through a five-year war. A couple of rough days on my part are nothing, next to that.