[ her lips purse as she huffs a very huffy exhale, because maybe she was going to tease him about his answer, but his question manages to kind of knock the wind out of her. which she's sure was intentional - not malicious, never, but they both tend to ask the harder hitting questions when honesty is the name of the game. they don't have her lasso, but they don't really need it at this point. even if, sometimes, it's for a layer of reassurance neither of them would ever admit to needing sometimes.

she turns her head to look at the side of his face, brow furrowed. it's hard to find the words. ]

You know I don't have a choice. [ so it doesn't matter much, which she'd rather. right? she doesn't sound defensive, just- maybe like they've already had this conversation. which they so totally have. ] I'm lucky they even gave me this much time here. And that's only because Diana trusts me. And likes you.