[ An outburst like that is the last thing Sylvain expected out of the slim girl before him and it catches him completely off guard. For a moment he can only blink at her, jaw dropped open in shock at the furious tirade aimed directly at him.

It's enough to have him dropping the act immediately, holding his hands up in a gesture of apology. He doesn't wince, but it's a near thing. Her words strike deep, even if it hadn't been personal here with her. But he'd played with others like that in the past. It's been a while since then, of course. His ways had changed a lot since his school days, even if he was still an incorrigible flirt. And had this been back home, he might not have given a second thought to playing with someone's ambitious attempts to get his attention. But he wasn't a stranger to being used either, if for entirely different reasons. And it's the sharp disparaging words she uses about herself that has him feeling a rare remorse of taking things too far. ]

Hey, easy. [ His voice is softer now, gentle. No sign of the flirty playboy in evidence as he lifts a hand to rub awkwardly at the back of his neck, embarrassed. ] There's no punchline here, I wasn't making fun of you. Not like that, anyway. You just looked so flustered to catch me that I couldn't really help myself from teasing a little. There's nothing here to fall for, I don't mean you any harm, I promise. Look, I'll go get some pants to put on, okay? Will that make you feel better?