Sort of since that was more like whenever we crossed paths as we weren't close. Same for with the rest of our siblings since none of us are close as collateral damage thanks to inheritance always looming over everything.

[ Something he's neglected to explain in any of that, though he has to wonder if Sylvain's picked up on it. Along with everything else he clearly has when a familiar hand had slipped into his while speaking, and Claude hadn't hesitated in holding onto that warm grasp. A comfort, just as it's always been when they've reached for one another out of this reason or that one, and more so now while letting some of his masks fall away as it quiets some of the vulnerability he so dislikes showing on any given day.

There's further explanations which await first given that they're what he truly meant to explain. While he's told Sylvain slivers of it at other times, perhaps it'll give them the context behind it that wasn't there before when he'd intentionally withheld it. ]

It was more than just that, though, and it wasn't limited to my siblings alone though they certainly didn't make anything easier for me. Friends were in rather short supply for me as a kid so I learned to cover up weaknesses and keep them hidden. I made sure I was always a step or five ahead of everyone else, and part of that was making sure almost no one ever knew what I was thinking.