"Doesn't make me not worried," Ray points out, soft, and his other hand comes up to touch a few knuckles, gently, to Rip's jaw, grazing the scruff before he drops his arm. Shame isn't exactly right, but realizing he may have crossed boundaries.

He drops his eyes, too. "I know." And he does, intellectually speaking. But he's not so tired that he'll crash, now, and he's worried, and he wants Rip to rest. "...Will you do me a favor and lay with me for a bit?"