The pressure was certainly raising significantly with every new move that Cole made. There was no separation between what he wanted and what Cole told him to want, a melding that only served to smother the misconceptions and confusion engulfing him. It was still there, but now hidden and raging to get out rather than win the war. Anxiety and a feeling of displacement were all that remained and Chris melted into the hug when Cole initiated it, pressing his face into the crook of Cole's neck as if to seek more attention without asking as he was told. Something about all this felt wrong, a guilty desire and it was ready to shake him apart.

"Okay," he mumbled. This one was easy to give into, there was hardly a question to it. Someone wanted to take care of him, and after the tugging Cole had already done, Chris was willing to accept that. It didn't mean anything, didn't force him to give up on the sisters or Leo or anything else but maybe himself. He just needed to pick his battles and stay strong for his family. For the future. Pick his battles against what, he wasn't sure, but there was a thrum of discontent hidden inside of him and he'd learned long ago not to discount it.