And as the man who had sought Richard out in part because he'd learned of that fact, Alec was in no place to judge, no place to refuse if he could make Richard lose his temper, if Richard drew his blade on Alec. So far he hadn't showed signs of slipping, and Alec could see little potential advantage to bringing it up again right now.

There was always that part of him that would rather be held than hated, would rather be loved than killed. (Too weak, always too damn cowardly to carry through.)

Still, he needed those arms at his side, and Alec rested his hand on Richard's lower back as they reached the bed. This would require a little maneuvering to keep them both from falling out, so Alec stayed still and pressed at Richard to get him to rotate around before he pulled away to go for something from the locked desk drawer. It was fortunate enough that they hadn't needed to stop by the kitchen for this.