Another person he likes, what is this I don't even.

I could say that he likes Tony for simmilar reasons as Hanna, but it's a bit different too. On one level Tony has this self-mocking sense of humor that he can understand, and even identify with a little, deep down inside. Then there's his past, which honestly? Pings the professor in him. The way Tony acts makes him seem younger than he might be, so there's part of him that wants to help. In that way when a teacher takes a student under their wing. He's not really going to outright say it, but the feeling is there.