[ The suggestion does seem to be humorous to her, and frankly, he can't argue that it's not given that this "adventure" they're on is probably going to lead to nothing more than a continued waste of time. It would be especially pointless to waste even more trying to backtrack though, and frankly, forced handholding is pretty low on the totem pole of Aldrip brand nonsense.

He pulls her in front of him as they move out of the side passage, but the smile can be heard in his voice even as he pretends to give her a hard time. ]

Seriously? You are too easy to impress. Who's to say I won't use you as my human shield?

[ He can't really keep the act up for long anyway when she punctuates her teasing in a tender way like that. It's a shame that he has to just stand there and let it happen, his hand only loosely capturing her wrist, following it down to her side as she lets go of his face. ]

Alright, yes, that's enough... Let's go.