It was a consequence of trying to keep their relationship casual, Carlos supposed. He hadn't known how perceptive Gael was, though perhaps he should have - given his eldest sister was friends with Gael's. But then, he'd distanced himself, really, from all but the youngest two Sanchezes. Really, he thought, it was only Ali he regularly kept in contact with, and that was because she was only slightly more acceptable to Felipe than Carlos was.

He sighed a little, wrapping his arm around Gael's waist. "Of course you don't need to love me to care about me," he said. "And I wouldn't love you if you were a terrible person." His lips tightened a bit and he let out a short laugh. "I've got a tendency towards self-doubt," he said dryly and a little flippantly. That came closer to answering Gael's question about why he looked so...

Well, Carlos didn't know the word for it, either.