His first instinct is to try to move past the entire subject with the chipperest attitude he can summon. Play it off certainly and falsely, and with luck, they'll never have to speak of it again.

But this is Vex. Vex, with whom he's prided himself on honesty since they first met. She looks to him for the truth - his truth - and he owes it to her to provide that.

He comes over, crossing the empty room until he's standing before her, and reaches for her shoulder.

"I'm sure they are." His expression softens, and surely this melancholy can just be shut up tight within him and stewed over later. (She called then relationships, she acknowledged them, and after only six months' acquaintance -) He's her friend, and he's happy she's found people she can trust. Surely he can be happy for her, if he makes the effort. "If you like them, they're worth knowing."