Okay, so it was possible that cuddling was amazing. That was basically what Topher was learning here.

"'Kay," he said, leaning a little closer. It was hard to keep worrying when Billy was this close and this comforting, after all. Obviously that meant that maximum closeness was necessary. "I believe you."

He hesitated for a moment, then said, "You're -- I mean, you're kind of the best." There, Ender, how was that for 'appreciating the people he cared about'?