His first instinct is to be a little hurt; the dismissal in Jack’s tone is the sort of polite meaningless thing Eliot tends to despise. He reins in his scowl, though, and looks about at the shops and tries to sound casual.

“It’s not a hardship, I assure you.” It takes Eliot a moment to hit on what he thinks Jack was talking around. He doesn’t want to be a burden, probably doesn’t like looking ignorant in front of others. And to that Eliot can certainly relate.

“I only meant,” he begins carefully, “that navigating this sort of errand isn’t something that everyone enjoys, even when they’ve grown up with it. I rather do, though, and I certainly enjoyed your company the other day, and I thought...”

For a moment Eliot can’t quite express it, worried it would be too earnest, too much honesty for someone he’s only just met, really. He looks at the display of samples on tap at the entrance to a Daniel’s Tea but doesn’t really register the flavors.

He sighs. “Well, since you need to do this anyway, I thought it would be less stressful if you had a-“ He looks at Jack directly, and offers a smile. “-a friend. So you wouldn’t have to be alone.” There, he’s said it. He’s not often in the position to brace himself for rejection, and it’s not a pleasant feeling. He holds his breath, and waits.