Most of her explanation is utterly incomprehensible, eliciting only a puzzled frown. But at least she isn't crying anymore.
Then Tim's shoulders stiffen in alarm.
"You think he's - " he begins hoarsely, his hands becoming fists at his sides. He won't give himself false hope. Not again. Never again. But it's the Rift, it fucks with them like this and it's -
It's Jay.
He owes him. He owes him. For being an idiot, for pulling Tim out of every mess Jay got them into, for trying to drag him away from the source of their nightmares, for coming after him even with the knowledge that he might not walk away from it and doing it twice over on top of it, for defending him, sneering at him, cowering beneath his glare, for facilitating the destruction of an entire goddamn underground base at Tim's expense, and for fucking apologizing a thousand times over, both for when it was his fault and even when it wasn't.
For just wanting - to help.
Tim dashes a wrist angrily under one eye.
"You think Jay's - you think he really could still be alive?" he asks, and he doesn't dare to hope that she's implying what could be, what, a glorified third chance to not completely fuck things up with the one guy who actually kind of gets it?
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Then Tim's shoulders stiffen in alarm.
"You think he's - " he begins hoarsely, his hands becoming fists at his sides. He won't give himself false hope. Not again. Never again. But it's the Rift, it fucks with them like this and it's -
It's Jay.
He owes him. He owes him. For being an idiot, for pulling Tim out of every mess Jay got them into, for trying to drag him away from the source of their nightmares, for coming after him even with the knowledge that he might not walk away from it and doing it twice over on top of it, for defending him, sneering at him, cowering beneath his glare, for facilitating the destruction of an entire goddamn underground base at Tim's expense, and for fucking apologizing a thousand times over, both for when it was his fault and even when it wasn't.
For just wanting - to help.
Tim dashes a wrist angrily under one eye.
"You think Jay's - you think he really could still be alive?" he asks, and he doesn't dare to hope that she's implying what could be, what, a glorified third chance to not completely fuck things up with the one guy who actually kind of gets it?
Fat chance.