Some guys think they have to put up a facade of toughness and manly strength. Society has their standards of what a real "man" should be. Not everyone can meet those standards and those who don't have the very real possibility of being ridiculed for it. A "Man" should hide their feelings, be emotionally strong but available as a shoulder to cry on. But men have feelings too whether or not social norms deem it right. So getting ridiculed for having emotional openness is only going to make it harder to hide the hurt feelings they have. It's a vicious cycle. Though things are slowly becoming more tolerant, there will always be hold-outs and the vocal minority opinion will often be the one that society follows. A man who loves cute things shouldn't be looked down upon, but is. Hence Val's need to put up this facade despite the inability to hide anything from those twins. They even mock him for it. If it weren't for such mockery, he may not feel the need to hide it to begin with.... This subject is a bit personal, so sorry for the lengthy comment. I don't put up a facade myself though. Because I know that no one would believe it if I did. But hey, I'm not a dragon, so I guess he has a much better chance than I would at least. and cute girls is likely much more acceptable to society than a guy liking cute kittens and stuff.