His eyes met Miniver's, and for a moment, he looked his age. Not the young guy he was forcing himself to be, but an older, more tired, seen-too-much man that had lived twenty-five years with the burden of wondering what he'd done to deserve Miniver's anger. He knew the problem after ten of those, but then he'd had to live with the knowledge.
He was old. It showed in the wrinkles on his face and the look in his eyes -- once fierce, but now so subtle -- that he'd seen things and figured other things out along the way. It wasn't wisdom, it was humility.
He held on to Miniver's hands and gave a brief, pained smile. "Ja. I am thinkings you should." He put his hand through Miniver's hair again, smirking just a bit "I will help you when you need it. Just not in the next two weeks. I've got a honeymoon to go to."
He paused and then chuckled. "This counts as your wedding present to me, just so you know."