Laughing was infectious and he told himself to ask about the disease that had taken her world, her time, but later. Once she'd come down from the high, because he wouldn't bear be the one to drag her back to the mud. Because he reached over and jabbed at her stomach only once, experimentally, to see if she was as ticklish there as he was.

They'd only just met and there were boundaries he'd be sure to stick to. "Just 'alright'?" And he can't even fake the offense. He shrugs. "Better than I was expecting." Everything was, so far, and it was an effort to keep his smile. A death match couldn't be all cheer forever.