She wasn't supposed to notice the twitching, especially when her fingers grazed the armor connection points.

Well, this felt...compromising. He has a brief flashback to Night Sky, and a warm bath, and then her telling him she had been the one who had killed him, and for a moment, his whole body tenses, before he pushes it aside with a sharp exhale, resting his hands along the dip of her waist, as if she were very very fragile and he could break her without much thought.

His hands tighten around her waist with the praise, his face doing...something, eyes lidding briefly, with a sudden intake of breath. Someone has discovered his not very well hidden praise kink.