[ That's ... not quite the expression he was expecting. Concern, maybe, or worry. Not this ... fondness? The rawness of it takes Miles by surprise; he has to redden and turn away, unable to face it directly. It's like staring into the sun. ]

That's all. But - it's enough. If any link in that chain changes even a little, I don't exist. Even Piotr being slightly fonder of mutants because he had a good mutant help him during the war ... That means I end up in a less secure facility, possibly get stolen a week earlier, and die because my mother couldn't reach me in time.

[ Or the Pretendership doesn't end early because he isn't stolen at all. Or any number of variables. ]