He had no reason to yet let go, given how much time had passed where he hadn't taken the time to appreciate the family that he had been blessed with. In recognizing that Yuri was all he had, he hoped that such an embrace would ease some of the guilt that he felt inside. That mark stood glaring on his son's pale skin, and his guilt didn't decrease any.

When he thought that things might have gotten to the point of being uncomfortable, he considered letting the embrace end. He couldn't tell what Yuri was thinking, and he wasn't comfortable forcing the younger male stay close if all his son wanted was to get away from him. He couldn't expect to rush things either; Yuri would come back in time.

He froze from actually going through with his retreat when he felt hands grasping his shirt. One arm tightened to an almost bruising degree in response before he released one arm to lift his right hand up to run his fingers along the scarred skin marking Yuri's face, and he managed to keep his inner agony from showing as he traced the imprint of his own hand.

"I don't blame you," he whispered hoarsely.