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"Protective an' stern I can deal with, it's assassin robots I'm afraid of," Joseph said idly, resting his elbows on the table and cradling his chin in his hands.

"As for flirting... well, this is whatever you want it t' be, Miss Wiley. So the question is, then..." He paused and leaned forward a little, meeting her eyes with his own.

"What do you want it to be~?"

Success! Having brought a red flush to the girl's face, Joseph leaned back in his chair again and grinned. "Cat got your tongue, I take it?"

The poor thing looked a little overwhelmed - maybe he should take it easy on her and back off a little.

"It's a shame, y'know - that a girl as pretty as you are isn't more used to getting attention. Your dad that bad?"

"So all you need is a little more practice, then," Joseph said, flashing an easy grin again. "Tell y' what. Make it a habit of droppin' by here, and I will too. You need the social practice an' I need someone to talk to in this damn big city."

Before she could protest or ask him anything, he held a hand up to forestall any questions. "Before you ask, I'm not tryin' to make you my girlfriend or anything, I wouldn't presume t' force a date on a lady - just think it'd be nice t' have someone to talk to who ain't gonna curse me out for choosin' the egular life over career military."

"Hell, we could trade off buyin' coffee now an' then if you want?"

... For all his charm, the redhead didn't know how to ensure he wasn't mistaken for some kind of creeper or playboy.

"Didn't want to - that's why I packed my s**t and got on a different plane than my dad thought I was on," Joseph said, expression twisting into something more pensive.

"Dad's career military, figured I should be too. Hell no, I ain't going onto that mess. Bad enough they maim your damn hair."

As he spoke he ran a hand through his hair and made a face. "Buzzcuts are hell, don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise."

"'s what I wanna do," Joseph admitted, letting her take hold of his face and inspect it. "Dad'd have a hissy fit if he saw buuuuuuut odds are I won't be goin' to see him for the next... er, decade or so?"

If ever. And if Joseph was being honest with himself... well, his dad could hold a grudge. To say nothing of the one Joseph himself still harbored, given his father's blatant attempts to steer his future into something the redhead never wanted and would never have chosen for himself.

... time to talk about something more pleasant, then.

"Robots, yeah? Gonna make your own sniper bots?" When in doubt, bring up the geek music.

"...So you're gonna make Mega Man instead," Joseph drawled, and grinned at her. "Sounds like a good plan you have there." Especially with all the rumors he had heard about this particular city. Terrorists and missing persons, organ-thieving rings... really, it hadn't seemed that bad here even with the (ridiculous) rumors.

"What's step one?"

"Well, if y' ever need a rescue, y'know who to call~" Joseph offered. "Or, y'know, if you just need a friendly ear. Can't claim I'll be the smartest person you could go to, but I'm pretty damn sure I can be a good enough listener."

He paused, then grinned. "..Remember me when finals come 'round, yeah? Don't need your head exploding because of too much to do."

"Naaah, not just finals," Joseph teased, relaxing more as he realized he wasn't scaring the girl away.

He'd been worried there for a moment, concerned that maybe he had gone too far or said the wrong thing, and made her uncomfortable or even frightened, she looked so confused and flustered. She seemed to be recovering now, though, and that was all he needed to put him fully at ease.

"But that'll be when you're most in need of rescue and y'know it~"