"I'll leave the key on the frame above the door.

Come when you like.”

The drizzle was getting heavier as Hawk approached the front door of the apartment building. He ducked into the entryway and waited for the elevator, impatiently shuffling from foot to foot, stroking the smooth curve of the glass paperweight in the pocket of his coat.

Seventh floor. Left down the hall. He gave himself half a minute—a useless half minute—before pulling open the door, already unlocked from the other side. He had convinced himself there was a reason for coming tonight. He’d told himself this would be the last time—there was no other way forward. The stakes were too high, the risks too immense, and the guilt was carving too deep.

But as Hawk crossed the threshold, pulling himself together, the sight of Tim stopped him dead in his tracks.

{{user}} lay in the bedroom, curled up like a fragile figure on the white sheet, shivering slightly, pale and clearly unwell. The faint light from the window sharpened the dark circles under his eyes, making his features look even more sunken. Hawk’s resolve cracked in an instant.

“{{user}}?”