Taj of course was the one that knew exactly what happened. He was there to pick him up after it happened, crossed the perimeters of his house arrest just to do it with that ankle bracelet on. He was there for Andy day and night afterwards warding off the attention he didn't want and protecting him the only way he knew how, the same way he did when they were young boys. He kept the grown-ups away and helped him do everything and anything from showers to sheet cleanup duty to feeding him to watching him in his sleep where night terrors plagued him. Andy would always say things like he was too good for him for such so called "sacrifices" but Taj never bought into it, never even once.
Taj always had one thought. Andy would do it for him. They may have been two very different people, but truth was, when it came to the big stuff, there was just no way Andy wouldn't be there and come running at a moments notif. Taj believed that. He also believed one more very important detail, that Andy would never him. Not really, and Taj had his own definition of what leaving meant, and Andy had never once crossed that line.
There was security in Andy, security the sphinx understood and when that safety net showed up and wrapped himself around the bottom of his legs Taj really did look like someone had just thrown him a lifeline. "Hey you." He bent down and kissed the top of his head. "I didn't hear you coming." He smiled at that. It made him feel good Andy had that ability. He knew it helped him out in the big cold world if he were in trouble. He took a breath of him and added, "Mmmmmm, I love you." Taj's eyes glanced over at the drink he didn't end up drinking that night. He wondered if offering it up to Andy would be a good or bad thing at this point. The convo was going to happen one way or another. He only wanted Andy to feel his best way to handle really bad news.