Ed knows he could make it quiet by quitting the pills. Riddler knows it.

But they're here, pressed into John, letting him drown out everything else and Ed's fingers are digging lightly into the ink, pressing firm enough to make it felt without going for outright cruelty in it.

And after a few minutes when he's feeling calmer, he sits up a bit straighter, looks John in the eye and then leans in to give him a soft, chaste kiss on the mouth. "Thanks."