It was not a silence of rejection, and so Frank did not recoil or laugh it off or just to smother it. He took the weight and the quiet and held onto it, tucked it gently away. He'd rushed, maybe. Billy wasn't prepared. But he hadn't pushed back.

Frank shifted his arms slightly, pushed Billy bodily to adjust them so he could hold him more comfortably. Billy was taller than him but that didn't matter; he was going to hold him close and put Billy's head on his chest, and Billy was just going to have to deal with it.

"Go to sleep, baby," he murmured. "It's been a long night. I'll still be here when you wake up."