"Yeah," Tim mutters, and something twists painfully in his chest. "Yeah, he was." Stubborn enough to latch his teeth into a mystery and never let go, even when it nearly got him killed a dozen times, even when it actually got him killed.

"I guess," he says, chancing a look up at her, "I guess now I know to keep an eye out. If it's even possible, uh." Immediately, he has to look away again, shoulders hunching. "I owe him."