[ he blinked.

that was unexpected. that marinette, who would normally roll her eyes or shrug off his excessive... everything, would both flatter and partake in his Shitty Humor? it was simple to see that his heart was on his sleeve regardless of her perceptiveness, and that heart must've shown something very poor to have her pun.

but he chuckled. not as strongly as he would have, were this a regular night, but genuinely. he pushed himself off the railing slowly, steps hesitant as he made his way to her and the place she offered him, feeling something like a gratitude at the base of his chest but also a horrid anxiety.

and he smiled as he brought himself to sit down, more like a bit of a defeated kind of smile, as he gripped his tail to swing off the edge of the lawn chair he occupied idly. ]

A great and paw-erful problem. [ a pause. this time he looked at her from the corner of his gaze, as he continued to fiddle with his tail. ] Sorry, I lied on my progress report.

[ of course. he mulled over his words again, carefully, and then when he spoke again it was no longer dry or wry, but very serious. ]

... Princess, [ ugh, words, where are you ] if someone you trusted was doing something bad--no, terrible, what would you do?