Ace just kept kneeling and shook his head. He could remember being that standoffish himself when he first was adopted into Whitebeard's crew. He nodded to Espio and grinned still. "No worries kid, I'm not going anywhere. I'll come find you later....we can have some...'fun'." And by fun Ace meant raising hell and making a mess that the blue turkey would have to clean up.

Ace had to admit, it was a little disheartening to not have Espio's approval or acceptance. But he was used to that feeling, and more importantly he could tell the young chameleon wasn't in the best of moods. Best to wait and badger him for real when he was in better spirits.