"The cheeriness won't happen again, you have my word. Gloom and doom reign supreme," he responded gruffly, though he was kidding as well - evident in the hand squeeze he bestowed upon her before she let go. "And the same goes for you, Olivia." He would extend the same courtesy and mean it; it was a promise now, and he didn't make promises he couldn't keep.
The question surprised him a little. "I do, of course," Pierce nodded. "Why do you ask?"