Raylan shifted to cup Malcolm's face, with a soft 'Hey' before he could get too far down into any spiraling hole.

"Darlin', you already are my friend. No tryin' needed." No matter how conflicted he was, that was still very much the case. He cared about Malcolm and it wasn't meant to be a chistisment. Only a statement that Raylan understood how it was for everyone else. It just.. wasn't as simply put for him.

"I don't want you to back off," he continued, hand shifting a little to brush his thumb across the contour of his jawline. "And I don't want to stop kissin' you, even if its behind closed doors. I enjoy this. You. You bein' here, kissin' or not. I don't wanna lose that if I don't have to."