It's nice, that contact. The pulse of bashfulness and the quiet reveling in something he means without a trace of irony. It's also strange, a touch invasive to have asked by holding out his hand whether he could be exposed to it, or not. Whether he deserved to be exposed to it. Nate flashes a little smile and gives a little squeeze and cracks under an offer Ian doesn't have to make. ]

Only if you want to.

[ Respecting those kinds of personal boundaries is something Nate understands as a second nature, as easy as breathing in and out again. Things don't have to be "even."

Still, it's fun to tease. ]

Not to put any pressure on you, or anything, but you've seen my preteen haircut and that's pretty traumatic.