The feeling of being second-best had began when he was a child, and stuck with him throughout the years; which made it something he doubted he would ever be free of. It was a lot easier to ignore about without Pierce around, however - without his brother's constant presence, he'd almost been able to forget about him entirely. Pretending to be an only child wasn't difficult when you hadn't spoken to your brother in years, and harboring ill feelings helped. Despite all this David thought he gave himself a decent amount of credit, but he didn't say it aloud. After all, he was easily one of the best swindlers around... and as far as liars went, he was practically an expert. "I guess we all have our moments," he shrugged, a smile overcoming his scowl as she kissed his cheek. At least she didn't think he was worthless.
He still hated the fact that Pierce was in the same building, but there was nothing he could do about it now. All he could do was continue on as he usually would have, and his brother could go to hell if he didn't like it - and if he dared try to tell Naea about the truth behind their falling out, then he would live to regret it. He'd destroyed lives for less, after all; and his brother wasn't as untouchable as he liked to think he was. He'd do whatever necessary to ensure his secret stayed that way, but he forced himself to not dwell on that now. It was never going to come to light anyway.
The last of his annoyance vanished, not that he could ever really stay angry at Naea for long. "I can? Well..." He was already moving towards her even as he pretended to consider, his lips curved into a smirk that gave his answer loud and clear.