Roland watches Tidus unfurl into something more familiar, something he's seen before. Not that it brings him much comfort; he's still trying to piece together the things Tidus is slinging his way. And look at him go, hitting all the right spots that were tender enough for Roland to recognize. He keeps his façade stoic and still, watching as Tidus moves about and finally, stops just out of his reach.

I don't deserve it!

Roland looks away, carefully so that the motion could be easily seen as checking the perimeter and nothing else. It's a strike to the heart. A kindred spirit reaches out, wraps itself around Roland's own recognition of an insecurity he doesn't dare bring to the light. Only this time, he sees someone else wading in the wellspring. He didn't know Tidus swam in the same sea. Did it have to do with his disappearing without the SCA? Did that mean...?

'One at a time.' He decides, then. And regardless, Roland is set in his ways anyway. He refocuses, takes a breath and returns to face Tidus who has all but retreated, but leaving some room for him to settle in. To approach, if he could.

And he would. As many times as he needed to.

"Why?" He says, simply. No challenge in his voice, stern in a place that is neither aggressive nor anything but curious. "Why shouldn't I?"

He would let Tidus plead his case; then Roland would answer him thusly.