Fairness becomes complicated the moment two legitimate needs collide.

The hardest fairness problems are not good against bad, they are good against good. Two people both need the same limited thing, both have real claims, and satisfying one means failing the other. There is no answer that leaves everyone whole, and pretending otherwise mostly delays the decision.

When you are caught between two legitimate needs, say plainly that both are legitimate before you choose. Then choose and own it. The acknowledgment does not fix the loss, but it keeps the person who loses from also being told they were wrong to ask.