He glances back at Alecto, but he was already halfway to relenting the moment he heard Alecto's first step towards the door. Running after him. His heart skips a beat as he meets Alecto's eyes, utterly still under his hold on Josh's arm.

"Alright," he says, a tremor of movement sliding down his spine, and then he turns back into the room, breaking the moment of stasis.

Then he grins. "Like I need to actually plan to set you up for failure." It's very clear he means this as a joke.