Taj watched Andy sink back and curl up. He had himself a little flashback, seeing Andy as he saw him the first day they met, their first moments as roomies. Andy must have only been eleven years old. He looked no larger, no more grown, no more wise, just as lost as he did that day and it crushed Taj's chest in even more.
He couldn't even stay mad, or upset, or whatever number of emotions were coursing through him. They all just went numb as he looked at the vision before him. His precious Andy. No less precious than to him than the first time they were together.
Taj crawled up near him as tender as he always had and always would, reached for those cheeks and thumbed the tears himself. He leaned in next and kissed his between his eyes before pulling back to look in them, his smile soft, his hurt still laced in his own eyes, but tried hard to for Andy to let him see no matter what he was there and nothing would change. "Don't be sorry baby. You never have to apologize to me." His closed his eyes and held...thinking. When he opened he said, "Now you know for sure what I feel. I know you're not ready. But, that doesn't mean you're not worth it." Andy didn't have to say he didn't think he was worthy of Taj for him to know him well enough by now. He stroked Andy's hair, "It doesn't matter to me what you believe. I'm smart." He huffed a grin there, "I know better than you on this one, even if you don't trust me. I'll be around when you are." And Taj meant that he would wait. He didn't quite say it that clearly but that's what he meant. K's words went through his mind again. Different ones. Andy and Taj were going to out live the rest of the brothers. K had Taj thinking on the long distant future of when the rest were buried and gone and it would still be Taj and Andy. I was sad, but Taj knew, Taj knew he had time to be patient.