I think the fever scene at the start sets the tone for everything after

Maybe it's just me, but starting on the fever-ridden, fists-clenched moment instead of a calmer introduction seems to color the whole rest of the chat. There's something about seeing him at his weakest before you've built any rapport that made the later coldness feel less like a wall and more like something he's protecting. I don't want to generalize too much from one session, but the softening did feel earned rather than sudden when it happened.