He does echo that hint of a smile. It's small, almost imperceptible, but if she looks close she might just catch it before he hides it behind his usual resting scowl. "Alright." Yes he's going to hold onto this cat, as this one has chosen to be his friend for the afternoon.

Tense, yes, briefly anyway, though perhaps not as tense as she might have expected. He's relaxing some now that they're past the initial panic of meeting anew. It's surprisingly easy to fall into comfortable companionship with her. They were close, once, after all. Aside from his posse she was probably the only other person who had ever bothered to be close.

"Do you? It's a nice spot. They got me picking up trash." It's not exactly flattering work. At least it's work.