There was almost a sense of relief about him as Malcolm accepted the settling of the subject without an explosion or the same kind of under the surface resentment he so often saw. He didn't want to fuck this up and lose Malcolm because he was being hard-headed. He'd get the papers, once he asked the questions he needed to.

Raylan had already proven something of a malleable man. He'd do whatever Malcolm wanted, within his own reason, to stay here in his life with him. Not the healthiest, and even Raylan understood that, but he was starting to realize that it wasn't something new. He was more fucked up than he thought. Not a great thought for the otherwise stable man.

There was an audible release of breath as Malcolm embraced him from above, one hand almost hesitantly coming up to grip at his arm with a hint of the desperation he felt inside. He knew Malcolm only spoke up the way he did because he cared and wanted to help take care of Raylan. He couldn't blame him for that; he'd been called relentless before too.

Raylan patted his arm after the squeeze and reluctantly let Malcolm pull away before digging into his meal. He thought his appetite might have left, but once the stress of the conversation was off, it came back with a fury.