[oh boy, that imploring look sails completely over his head, considering he's too busy throwing a mental victory party over finding a bit of an Achilles heel here. this is definitely much closer to the reaction he had been aiming for, and the smile returns, albeit less manic than it had been before.]

You won't let me what, pray tell? I was talking about the tea, but if it upsets you so, you needn't go through the effort of brewing it. [he raises the hand that's being held to punctuate his point, looking a little too amused by it.]