But... it's okay. I want to talk about things with you. Even if it's difficult, or painful, I can get to know you better. If I want to comfort you, that's my choice, too.

[She didn't make him respond that way. He simply cared as a matter of course, and it's better than the alternative of discussing nothing at all. One of his legs moves to settle against a foreleg, as if to offer further comfort, more of his presence.]

Let's just take things a little at a time. You can come back here whenever you want, and I'll be here. [So anything she wants to say, do, express... She can do it when she's ready. This isn't like when he kissed her under the tree, when he thought there had been no time for anything at all, to explain himself. She can take things as slowly as she needs.]