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"Come on, Rob."
Cleaning his injuries, Conner drags the cotton across his skin and brushes his hair, looking at his eyes to see if there is anything left of the man he loves.
"It's alright. I've got you."
Tim is unresponsive. He doesn't do anything, say anything. He is like a ragdoll, not even moving properly. Looks broken, in a way Conner can't even comprehend.
Tim wasn't supposed to get this hurt. He wasn't supposed to see the dead corpse of his mother laying on the ground.
"I'm sorry," Conner finds himself saying, because he is sorry. "If I came just a second faster—"
Tim doesn't say anything, and it bothers him.
Taking a breath, Conner leans in and cups Tim's cheek, trying to get Tim's eyes to look at him.
"Tim," he says, voice breathless. "Please, say something."
It is, again, quiet, and there is nothing more for the world to bear. It is just them, in Conner's small apartment with nothing else. The world is gone, but so is Conner's world.
"Tim," he calls out again. "Come back."
He doesn't know what to do, other than leaning in and softly brushing their lips together. Tim doesn't move, doesn't even reciprocate. Which only serves Conner to pull away.
Just as he is about to give up and give some time for Tim, he feels a touch around his waist.
And Tim pulls himself into Conner's chest, settles in there and buries himself into Conner's neck. Everything hurts, everything is gone and he doesn't know what to do.
But there is Conner, so Tim can work with that.
Staring at the man hugging him, Conner lets out a long relieved breath, and also wraps his arms around Tim.
"I'm here," he says, kissing Tim's forehead and tightening his arms around him.
"You are okay."
None of them believes that he is okay, but maybe, they can both fake it until they make it something real.
It is a comfortable silence, even if it is tense. Conner sometimes feels Tim twitching in his arms, and the short gasps he gives to keep himself from crying.
"There is just us here, Tim," Conner mumbles, burying his nose into Tim's hair. "You can let it out."
And Tim does, if not still contained. He cries, clings onto Conner's body until his body acknowledges the comfort. He needs it. And maybe, Conner does too.