She could see the forced quality of his smile. It was quite blatantly obvious that he didn't particularly want her as a partner. Why, though, she didn't know. Did he not want a partner at all? Was it because she was a woman? An Azurian? She didn't know. But it was clear, all the same.<br/><br/>When he grabbed her hand instead of her forearm, her face became a restrained mask of discomfort. She was intensely creeped out by the gesture; a handshake was resolved for people with fairly-well established relationships, not people who had just met. To her, it was much like being hugged by a random stranger on the street; uncomfortable, awkward, and strange.<br/><br/>That faded from her mind as he led her around the lab. She was amused by his enthusiasm; her amusement mostly came from the fact that she recognized the amusement in herself. The joy in showing a successful project...there was nothing quite like it. However, since she had less interest that he did, she made appreciative noises at were a teeny bit forced.<br/><br/>The sound she made when he opened the door to the atrium was real, though. She made a gesture of true appreciation: her hands came up to her face, with the left resting beside her nose and mouth and the right resting on the wrist of the left.<span style="color: #4080FF">"Oh, wow. This is amazing. Wow."</span>She cleared her throat and looked at him. "Did you do all this?" she asked, genuine awe in her voice.