[ His shoulders relax a little more still when you say that, but his eyes remain on his hands. He has seen the side-effects of it, had been there to overhear, thanks to Brianna, what he and the Hounds could of the fight from weeks ago. ]

I... don't want to smother him, you know? [ He says that earnestly and hopes that you understand that he's not implying that you do -- even if... well, you did, rather. ] And I know I don't have the monopology of caring about him, but I'd like to able to do more for him. Prop him up and share the weight of things, because I do love him.

[ He knows it was spoken in the heat of the moment, but sometimes truths come out that way. ]