Work Text:
“Wise!”
He thought today would be normal. Relaxing, do some work before taking a break. Just another run of the mill month.
“Nicole just called, and—”
He’s gotten so used to peril lurking around every corner, that he’s forgotten it can catch up to him and the ones he cares about, too.
The Cunning Hares were undoubtedly powerful, self sufficient and a force to be reckoned with for sure. It’s just that the latter option rarely happens in seriousness, so when it does…
Late evening, Belle barges into the backroom wide eyed and frantic, phone in hand and screen bright. Wise spins in his chair.
“Billy’s hurt. Bad. The Hares are coming over because you’re the only person they know they can contact at this hour.”
Wise just blinks, dumbfounded, heart dropping to his feet when the words finally register.
Billy? Hurt? Hurt enough to need Wise’s help?
He runs all the possibilities through his head: if Belle was freaking out because Nicole called her, then that immediately erases any possibility of this being a bluff.
Did he tank too many hits for his team members, and the damage had finally caught up with him? Was he pinched between circumstances and ended up getting hit no matter what he could’ve done? Did he get cocky, bite off more than he could chew? Get greedy with how long he kept his pain sensors off?
“What happened?” He blurts, mouth working faster than his mind can, standing and staring. “Did they tell you anything?”
Belle blinks almost as if she was caught in a daze, and hastily taps at her phone again, rambling off what Wise assumes are texts from not long ago.
“They said they got lost on a commission. Billy wandered off in an attempt to help but got ambushed with low ammo in a high density Ethereal area instead. She wanted me to tell you that they’ll be here soon.”
Wise pinches his brows together, squinting, “Why couldn’t she just—” call him first? He cards a hand through his hair, visibly stressed as he grumbles under his breath. “Of course that’s something he’d do.. he’s always trying to help other—”
They both redirect their attention as the rattling noise of the store door being slammed open rings out, Wise’s name being shouted right after.
“That has to be them,” He exhales, and brushes past Belle to run out and see how bad it all must be.
The sight makes him instantly halt in his tracks. He feels nauseous.
In come Anby and Nicole, soaked from the evening’s downpour, the both of them having to put in effort to keep Billy, who was also coated in rain, standing as they supported both sides of him.
His breath hitches in his throat, and the sound of everything else is drowned out by his own heartbeat in his ears.
Billy could barely even walk on his own. Deep gashes coated his torso, noticeable scratches on his plating and glass visor, and his jacket sported rips and tears and stains he didn’t want to imagine the source being. Oil stains blotted over half his body, and his LEDs bore an intermittent flicker, permanently pressed into a wince. He looked like he’d just come back from war.
While everyone clamored around him with hurried explanations, Wise snaps out of it and surges forward.
“Move!”
He beelines for Billy, succinctly taking him in arms despite his weight and laying him upright against the front desk. He'd thank his adrenaline for it later.
He doesn't care about anything else other than Billy and his safety, and everything around him goes quiet again when he drops to his knees in front of Billy to reach his eye level, head hung low and breathing ragged.
“Are you okay? What happened? Can you talk to me?”
Billy’s voicebox painfully crackles around him trying to talk, both he and Wise wince at it.
“.. Lost.. H-llo-w.. want-d to he—help…” He lets out a glitchy laugh, raising his head. Despite the smile, Wise knows his enthusiasm is only half assed. He weakly shrugs, “.. Supr-se!" before deflating and looking down again. “.. Really sorry.”
“It’s okay, you’re fine, nobody’s upset.” Wise quickly reassures him, before whipping around and glaring. “Belle, go get me towels from the bathroom and microfiber ones from my shelf, the grey ones.”
“Right.”
Wise turns again when his attention is yanked back to the man before him. Billy shrinks in on himself and brings his hands to his chest. He sniffles.
“.. I’m scared.”
For Billy to hide his eyes and admit his fear makes Wise’s heart crumble. At this, Wise just wraps him in a tight hug and holds him by the shoulders when they let go.
“You’re gonna be okay, I promise. I won’t let anything bad happen while you’re here. It’s safe now.”
Heavy footsteps echo from the nearby stairs, and Belle quickly trots down with the requested items in tow. Wise hurriedly takes them.
“Sorry if this hurts,” He says in a strained rasp, motioning the towel near the worst of his injuries. Billy just looks down, weary, too tired to converse.
Wise not too tenderly wraps the towel around Billy's torso, and ties a knot to keep it secure. Billy flinches at the pressure.
He just whispers again. “Sorry.” Now, taking the microfiber cloth in hand, he gently wipes at his glass visor, smiling when Billy seems to focus on him. “You still with me?”
Well, at least Billy still kept his humor. He throws up a shaky hand and gives a thumbs up. “Still.. with ya.”
“You sound better,” Wise sighs, shoulders dropping notice. He readies himself to stand. “I think the pain and adrenaline was making your voice wacky. Only a little though.”
It's only now that he realizes he can hear the hushed and freaked out whispers of Nicole conversing with Anby behind him. This information registers, and suddenly he's putting way more effort into his facial expressions.
He smiles at Billy, briefly holding one of his hands. “You stay here, okay? I'll be back in a second.”
“Mmh.. I th-nk I'm gon-a sleep f-r a litt-e..”
“That's fine too. Get comfortable, you're gonna be here for a while.”
Two yellow eyes tiredly blink, before flickering off a little too quickly for Wise not to worry about. At least he might be able to charge for now. Just a little.
Wise confirms Billy is asleep, and not shut off, and his face drops. He stands, whipping around and shooting Nicole a nasty look that even stops her in her tracks.
“Why didn't you call me first?” He snaps, pointing a finger at her. “Of all the people in New Eridu to call after Billy gets critically injured, and it isn't me?”
She blinks, very obviously flustered by Wise's sudden temper change. “Look, I can— she was the first contact I pressed, okay? And you don't usually answer calls that are unpredictable anyway!”
“You couldn't have at least tried?” Wise spits immediately after her reply, and he just barely starts to close their distance. “I know damn well I'm good enough at my job to have been able to take care of him for the, I don't know, maybe two entire extra seconds it would've taken to find me instead?”
“Maybe if you didn't have a history of obscene sleep schedules and being notoriously hard to contact, then I probably would've!” Nicole fires back, sarcastically tipping her head. “But you do, so I didn't.”
Eventually, Belle steps toward them, eyeing her brother. “Look, Wise, maybe you should just keep—"
Wise pinches his nosebridge. “If I had a Denny for every time you replied to me with some stupid shit like that, I'd be a manager at TOPS.”
“He's my teammate!” Nicole barks.
Wise follows up, “And he's my partner!”
“Wise!”
Belle yanks Wise's arm to the side, only vaguely hesitating when his angry gaze falls on her. “Billy isn't getting better while you argue, you know.”
In a blink, Wise looks marginally less upset. He exhales loudly through his nose, turning to only Nicole now as Anby had sauntered off to somewhere he can't see.
“You brought him here, you're helping me.” Nicole grimaces, glaring. “I have bandages and spare blankets in the bathroom. Top and bottom shelf. There's extra clothes under the sink. I think you get the idea.”
“.. On it.”
“Thank you.”
Crouching down again, he glances over Billy, resting his head against his chest to see if his internals were audible.
It's faint, but there's a low hum buzz.
That's good.
For the next course of action, Wise would have to get his hands dirty.
“Billy,” he prompts, tapping him on the shoulder. “Hey. Can you hear me?”
Billy stirs, eyes flickering on. They're still dim, but they look a little less tired than before.
“I'm here.”
“I'm gonna help clean you up, alright? I'm gonna wipe you down, clean up your injuries and dress them properly.. we're getting you cleaner and more comfortable clothes since you'll be staying for a bit.” He smiles. “I know that was a lot. But is that okay with you? If you need me to repeat anything just say so.”
Billy blinks, lifting a finger to his face. “Uhhh… sounds.. good to me. Do I—” He abruptly stops, coughing around a fit of glitching, “... Do I.. need to do anything?”
Looking around, Wise steps back a pace to allocate space. Nicole steps back into the room, handing him the items requested earlier. Billy looks up at her as she passes by, weakly waving.
“Hey Boss.”
She turns to his voice, lifting her head up. She smiles and waves back. “Hi Billy. Do you feel okay?”
He shrugs, lowly grumbling. “A little better. Sorry for causing.. uh.. trouble.”
“Don't apologize. Wise is gonna help, so just listen to him, alright?”
Wise vaguely rolls his eyes while they converse, just sorting his things.
“I trust him. It'll be no problem.”
Billy was too cheerful for his own good sometimes. Wise nods.
“Alright, I'm all set here. I'm gonna need you to lay down for now. Can you do that?”
Billy shakes his head, and shuffles down below the desk and lays on his back. Wise clambers beside, analyzing him.
“I'm just gonna wipe the oil off you, so you don't feel so gross and we can get you into better clothes sooner. You still okay so far?”
“Just peachy, Manager.”
Wise furrows a brow at the call of his title as opposed to his name. He thinks nothing of it.
“Alright, good. Let me know if you need me to stop.”
“Mm.”
With Wise being in the clear, he takes one of the extra towels from earlier and wipes away all the oil he can reach, glancing up every once in a while. Just because. Just to see Billy's face.
He feels the gazes of the others burning into the back of his head. It makes his eye twitch.
“If none of you are gonna do anything, then can you at least not glare at me?”
Belle looks away, Nicole stands by the door and looks outside.
Then, “Whuh…? Wise? Did you say somethin’?”
“No,” He says, tone flat and dismissive. “Nothing important.”
“Okay then.”
After several minutes of intimate attention, Belle Anby and Nicole letting themselves quietly walk around and exchange hushed words while Wise worked, Wise sits up and stretches.
“You're all clean, now let's get you into comfier clothes.” Readying the garments, he notices Billy doesn't budge. “Billy?” but then, after a gentle tap in the face, he blinks awake.
“Hey. All done?”
“With this part. Need help sitting up?”
“P—Probably.”
Billy haphazardly sits up with a lurch, pushing up with his legs, and Wise is there to hold him when the dull ache of his pain flares up at the sudden movement.
Wordless and quiet, he helps Billy shrug off his jacket so the leather doesn't feel so constricting. Billy catches him staring.
“You worry too much, y—you know?”
Wise just sighs. “I don't think I worry enough. I'm gonna take you up to my room for the rest of this. I'll help you stand.”
.. It's.. a little awkward, with Wise's adrenaline having mostly worn off by now, but he does his best with what he has and brings Billy to his feet, a heavy arm draped over his shoulder. Once established, he starts towards the stairs, and then the weight becomes significantly lighter.
He looks over to see Nicole helping him, facing him.
“I'll help.”
He hums.
They silently help the construct up way too many stairs, and lightly set him down on Wise's bed with a sigh.
“Sorry about earlier.” She broaches an apology.
The exhaustion of the night finally catches up to him, and Wise just airily groans. He's too tired for sappy apologies, especially when he was still somewhat peeved about where they came from.
“.. It's fine,” is what he chooses to say. For a guy of fewer emotions than most, he didn't like how his lingered longer than everyone else's. “Things happen. I'm sorry too.” but this isn't the point.
Nicole hands him the extra clothes from earlier, and he fleetingly thanks her for grabbing them as to avoid wasted time.
“You don't have to stay. I'm sure everyone's tired after all the activity. You can go. I'll call if I need anything.”
Interestingly enough, “Do you want me to go, or are you just saying that?”
Wise bites his tongue.
“To be completely honest,” he unfolds a large t-shirt and pair of sweatpants, “A small part of me does want you to leave. But, I won't fight it if you stay.”
“Mm.” Nicole steals a glance toward her subordinate, then Wise, before turning back to the stairs.
“I'll just give you two space. I'll be around, I'm gonna update Anby. She doesn't do well with injuries like this.”
“Sure.”
Footsteps fade out of earshot, and it's with a bit of guilt does he feel he can finally relax.
Although, at this time, relaxing meant unwinding and letting all his tightly packed emotions fall. He does it embarrassingly, but he rears his head to the ceiling and draws out a calculated and shaky breath, fighting back the urge to cry when he breathes in deep and wipes his face.
“Billy,” he calls. “I got you some clothes. These'll feel better to wear, and they're clean.”
A lazy head is raised, and the items are taken from his hands.
“Thanks.”
Wise swallows. “I'll leave for a second so you can change. Call me if you need help.”
Billy waves him off, and Wise steps out of his room and leans with his back against the door.
He's alone. The hallway is empty.
It takes a lot more effort than he'd like to admit not to let himself cry on the other side of the door. He just tries to breathe, and he chokes up a little, biting his lip just to run his hands through his hair as a weak attempt to distract himself.
Unbeknownst to him, while he dips his head low, and sniffles, Nicole stands at the beginning of the stairs, listening to this, and decides not to walk upstairs after all.
“I'm done.”
Wise hears this, succinctly snapped out of his dwelling, and he quickly gets his act together before stepping inside again.
Billy sits at the edge of the bed. He tiredly waves.
“You're back.”
Wise hums. “You look nice. Are you comfortable?”
“As comfortable as I c—can be.”
“.. Alright. That's good. Just, uhm.. how does taking a nap sound? A real one?”
“Eh?”
“I want you to stay here while you recover. I'll.. patch you up, help you get around since I know for a fact your joints are sore.” Wise looks up, and Billy looks to the floor while he speaks. “I know you. You're injured and you don't wanna push through it. Nobody would want to do anything after being banged up so bad.”
“Fiiine, fine. Ya caught me.”
Surrendering, Billy gets all cozy and comfortable in Wise's bed.
“Just don't let me take up too much of your time.”
Wise laughs, walking over and pulling the covers up to his shoulders. “You could never take up too much of my time.”
Wise looks at his phone.
“How's about… hour and a half? Think that'll give you enough battery for me to help you a bit more before you settle down for the next couple days?”
“Hour and.. yeah, that should be en—enough.”
“.. Good. I'll be back to get you then.”
Wise shuts the lights off, cracks the window and leaves a lingering glance on Billy as he walks out again. Billy's LEDs quickly shutter off, and he's out (literally) like a light.
The exhaustion of the night crashes down on him, and it all suddenly feels like water weighing him down. His chest is tight, and he knows why, as pitiful as it makes him feel; small and vulnerable. He just wipes his eyes and sheds himself of his store jacket, not even bothering to properly dispose of it, just drop it by the door.
He quietly steps down the stairs, ignoring the gathering of people still in the store. Eyes glued to the floor, he heads toward the backroom, before Belle tears herself away from the rest of the girls to check on him.
“Wise! Is Billy okay? Where is he?”
He just.. looks at her, for a minute. It makes her a little uncomfortable, honestly.
“He's.. upstairs. In my room. He's taking a nap before I help him out with some stuff again.”
He doesn't comment on the other's gazes this time.
“He'll be out for.. hour and a half? When he's up I'll—” He breaks out into a yawn, and Belle only realizes how slumped his shoulders are when he starts talking again. “... I'll patch him up better. He's in clean clothes, so at least he's comfortable for now.”
Wise excuses himself without missing a beat, just to be stalled by Nicole. Again.
“Can I visit him?”
He narrows his eyes a fraction, hand already on the doorknob. “.. He's sleeping. You can see him when he's awake, but make it quick.” he tosses a hand behind himself. “Leave him alone while I nap too. Don't be difficult. See you soon. Bye.”
“But—”
… And the door closes.
Belle laughs awkwardly beside her. “.. He's just.. like that. Don't let him bother you.”
Nicole sighs. “That's fine. Let him grovel. Anby, come with me, I wanna see him.”
“.. But the Proxy said—”
“Ugh,” she slouches, “We aren't gonna wake him up. Just gonna peek through the door.”
“.. Alright.”
When the two of them reach the top of the stairs, Anby notices Nicole's hesitation, despite being the one to introduce the idea.
“Are you scared, Nicole?”
“I just..”
She peers inside. Billy just laid there, in a pair of oversized clothes, in Wise's bed and blankets.
“He looks so comfortable.. hard to believe he could barely talk just a while ago.”
Anby joins her, and they watch as his chest rises and falls. At least he hadn't shut down.
Anby speaks matter of factly. “Wise takes care of him.” but she also isn't situationally dense. “We should go,” she suggests. “We've seen him. We should leave him alone before either of the Proxies see us.”
Nicole steals a single lasting glance. She shuts the door.
“.. Fine. Leave your things here, we're staying just as long as he is.”
“Sure.”
…
Wise doesn't like the sound of his alarm, but he's always been too lazy to change it.
The dark ceiling of the backroom greets him once more, and he groans, sitting up and tucking his phone into his pocket after silencing the harsh sounds coming from it.
Woken up ten minutes before Billy would, he still feels heavy. But at least his eyes don't sting anymore. He spares next to no thought about his own appearance, only immediately standing and pushing through the door when he feels he's registered his existence.
He spots Anby and Nicole's weapons by the desk.
Are they staying?
They're probably in her room..
.. Whatever.
He treks back up the stairs again, and he assumes they are in her room considering the closed door.
No matter. He feels a fraction more comfortable upon seeing Billy safe and sound, still in bed. He slumps down in the chair by his desk and multiple monitors, and watches the nearly silent tv from afar.
Time passes. Billy stirs. He sounds a lot better.
“Mm.. Where? Oh.. Wise?”
“I'm here. Good morning.”
Wise enters Billy's view, peering over him. You could barely tell he had also slept. Just not as much
“Sleep well?”
“Sure did. It's a shame I'm not here more often.”
“How flattering.. we still have some stuff to do, so let me know when you're ready and we can continue.”
Billy sits up, pushing the blanket away, favoring his side. “I'm good now.”
Wise allocates the bandages from earlier, and yet again he's hovering over Billy, eyes dim with focus as he pokes and prods around the android.
“I'm gonna look at your voice box first. I just wanna make sure it's really better or if this is just temporary improvement.”
A couple moments of staring and adjusted components later, a panel is shut and Wise looks up expectantly.
“Does that feel any better?”
Billy artificially clears his throat, “Testing, testing.. ooh! Soundin’ better already.” surprised at how clean his tone is. “You're good at this.”
“.. I learn.”
Next: the worst part.
“I'm gonna unravel the towel from earlier. Can't imagine it's the best to lay on. I'll have you sit up for this one.”
Billy readily agrees, sitting up and against the bed frame.
It's a moment of silent shuffling, Wise keeping the bandages at the ready. He quickly unwraps the towel, silently apologizing at Billy's pained wince, and quickly rewraps it in better, more comfortable material.
With the worst one out of the way, he dresses his other injuries to the best of his ability, eyes never wavering even if he really did just.. wanna look at him.
“I'm not a serious mechanic, so this is the best I can do for now. I'll pay for you to get these seen professionally.” Wise sets the bandages down, now noticing that he's probably used a bit more than expected. “I'm really sorry I can't do more. I just.. hope it doesn't hurt too much.”
He sits back, letting himself relax and Billy inspect himself. He swipes a hand through his hair, sliding away to look for that microfiber cloth again..
“Your glass, Billy.”
He looks up, Wise staring with two grey cloths in hand. He looks tired.
“Whuh?”
Wise points to his face. “Your visor. It's dirty. Has a couple knicks, too. Mind if I help?”
Wise shuffles toward him again, cautiously taking the glass of Billy's faceplate and wiping it down to erase any gunk of prints. He sets it down on a softer blanket nearby.
“Permission to wipe your face?”
Billy daintily hums. “Permission granted.”
It's a fleeting thought, really.
After a majority of the pain has subsided, lulling Billy's body into just barely a dull ache, he lets Wise work the magic that he can to clean him up, even if he did bear tragically limited knowledge.
Wise had said he didn't trust himself enough to attempt to train himself on the work that Billy's mechanics did, and while the idea made him frown, he could also see why.
I mean.. yeah, maybe they were literally tinkering around inside him, but something about Wise being his one stop shop was, amidst the horrors of the night, oddly alluring.
But he can't shake the glances of how utterly exhausted he looks. The half lidded eyes, scratchy and low toned voice, the movements of his that were usually precise and efficient now becoming laggy and slow.
He.. tries, to ask..
“Wise, are you—”
.. But it doesn't work.
Billy forgets the metal under his visor is ticklish.
“Your visor's all set. What's next, uh… oh, I should probably give this back. Here.”
Wise hands him the delicate glass named his visor, and after some mechanisms click and shift, it's reattached.
“I'll have you stay here until I'm completely sure you're fine.”
Billy laughs.
Wise was a worrier. He couldn't help it.
Wise liked to talk while he worked. Billy found it endearing. Wise found it therapeutic.
“I'll talk to Belle and the Hares about it later, but I'd like to keep you here until I know for a fact you're okay. At least okay enough to see your mechanic.” Wise clicks the remote at his tv, and Billy immediately recognizes it as a constant Starlight Knight rerun. “I'll make sure you have clothes, it's not too noisy.. I could even move the tv if you want.”
When he's done, he sends Billy a genuine smile. He just fears his internal tiredness he's tried so hard to fight back starts to bubble up, because even given his disposition, Billy's dazed blink somewhat worries him.
Eventually, Billy briskly giggles at him though, crowding the blankets around himself.
“That sounds nice. Thank you, Wise. Really.”
Wise sighs, quietly.
“Of course.”
Anytime, he wants to say.
But.. he can't.
Wise has a problem. An embarrassing one. To him, anyway.
Even if he was monotone, curt or dry, Belle and Billy could vouch for the fact that he really did care for those around him. Ceaselessly and intensely, even if he bore a tough exterior, if you were close to him, he'd treat you with unrelenting kindness and consideration.
Especially if you were Billy.
Wise is a man of subtlety, and disdain for the spotlight. Whether it sprouted from the nature of his work, or if it was just simply how he was, he preferred to do things behind the scenes, and let his actions speak louder than his words.
Only sometimes, he cared too much. Maybe to his own detriment. Tonight would be surefire proof of that.
It takes a second for him to register, but that familiar constricting feeling in his chest returns. This time, he doesn't act quick enough to shut it down and delay it.
Ramping up way too quickly for him to even try and push back, his mind clicks into action just a tad too late, and in a hurried attempt to block himself from crying under the collective weight of his tiredness and worries from the night's happenings, he deeply breathes.
His eyes are already glassy. He tries to fight it.
“.. Wise?”
Billy notices how still he's become, scooting towards the edge of the bed.
“I just—”
Wrong decision.
Forcing himself to speak is probably the dumbest choice he could've made. He wrings his head low, a stupid and embarrassed smile painting his face.
“You know, I— I worry. You know that.”
Throat feeling tight, choked up with words and ideas that have since piled in the back of his mind since this entire debacle started, they spill from his mouth like he'd die if they went unsaid.
He makes eye contact with tired but worried yellow eyes.
Eyes that looked at him. With gentle kindness, excitement, adoration and awe, in bickering annoyance, sleepiness in the morning and night. Delicate, after being taken care of close to his worst.
He fights to keep his smile, but it wavers. Soon, he's wiping at his eyes and caging himself in with his own arms, smile quickly dissolving under his rapidly deteriorating resolve.
“When... when they called, and they said you—” He has to fight between breaths to even get the words out. “You were hurt, and.. I almost didn't believe it. Y–You know?”
He thought it was pitiful of himself, really. To be the one crying in this situation.
“‘Cause I care. A lot. About you, especially. So.. when they brought you here, and.. you looked so beat up and— and hurt, I just..”
Billy reaches a hand out, maybe to stand or offer support, but it's left hanging in midair when Wise shoots forward and wraps his arms tightly around Billy's neck, still struggling to speak between sobs.
“.. I was scared.”
Billy blinks, tilting his head down a fraction, and he almost feels a little bad the way Wise just seems to entirely fall apart when he hugs back.
“I don't know how I'd function without you.. I'm just glad you're okay.”
Billy closes his eyes, surrendering to nudge his face into the space of Wise's neck.
“I'll stay as long as you want.”
“I don't want you to say you'll stay,” Wise comments. He pulls away, his dumb smile back, sincerely. “I just want you to promise you won't get hurt like that again.”
Billy wipes the wetness from his face and stifles his own laugh when Wise snickers.
“I promise. I'm sorry for making you—”
Billy would love to finish his sentence, but the press of warm hands on either side of his face and soft lips to the bottom of his visor succinctly silences him.
“Just shut up. Go to sleep. You have a lot to catch up on.”
Billy nods, now dazed. “.. Yeah yeah, of course. You gonna stay with me, or..?”
“Oh.. I just planned on sleeping on the couch.”
Billy shakes his head. “No, that won't do.”
“What do you—?”
Wise is then grappled onto and yanked into bed, twirled around and cocooned in his own blankets.
“Got you.” Billy sings, sounding like he's seriously won something.
“You're so dumb. You're lucky I'm exhausted.”
“Well then? Quit yammering,” he brushes the hair from Wise's eyes. “We're both tired. But we'll wake up together and it'll be nice."
“Yeah.”
Wise wiggles a little bit before digging his face into Billy's softly clothed chest.
“I hope you stay. Even if just for a day or two.”
“I'll keep my word. I'll stay as long as you want.”
Wise weakly laughs against him.
“Then how about forever?”
Billy snorts at his request.
“I'll consider it.”
“Good.”