Though the kiss was pleasant, with that hand holding his hair like that, Rhys could still tell something was wrong, something he was holding back. Fighting with whether or not to say something was getting harder. He had said anything, had started the conversation, but he didn't want to make Joseph feel... any more sadness.
His hands moved away from his face to wrap around the older man's shoulders again, holding him close. It was nicer to kiss back then to just be kissed and through it, he tried to let him know that he was here and real. Ariel had said that he needed to make the choice for himself, not anyone else, and he knew, right now, what he'd done was the right one.