“i need you as much as you need me” w/ tim ?

:

The sight of Tim covered in blood isn’t one you see often.
You’ve seen him cut and bleeding and bruised but you’ve never seen him covered
in blood. He’s sitting heavily in a dining room chair, his armored shirt pooled
at his feet and his domino mask on the table behind him. Bending down to unlace
his boots, he stifles a pained groan.

You lurch across the room, your hand wrapping around his
bicep.

“Tim, come on, let me help you.”

“You’re going to get blood all over you,” he whispers,
shaking you off.

You reach out to grab one of his hands. Lacing your fingers
through his, your other hand comes up to cup his cheek. Already, his eye is
starting to darken.

“Come on Tim, let me help you. I don’t care about the blood.”

He leans into your touch, his eyes drifting shut.

“Can you help me get to the shower?”

You help him stand, wrapping one of his arms around your
shoulder. The two of you stumble towards the bathroom; you can feel the
exhaustion radiating for him. The two of you almost fall into the bathroom. Tim
leans against the sink as you turn the bathwater on. You hear his boots hit the
wall as he kicks them off.

When you turn around, you catch him staring at you. You
glance down and see the blood on your shirt. He strips down and you help him
lower down into the bath. You start to pull away but he doesn’t let you go.

“Can you,” his voice catches, “can you sit with me?”

You sink down to the side of the bathtub, his hand still
gripping your wrist tightly. The two of you sit in silence as the bath fills,
you switch it off before it starts to overflow. You watch in silence as Tim
washes the blood of his chest and wince whenever you see him unable to reach
his back.

“Hold on,” you start, standing. You grab the wash cloth from
Tim and perch yourself on the edge of the tub.

“I love you.”

Your startled when Tim speaks, your fingers reaching up to
brush the hair away from his neck.

“I don’t know why you stay with me,” he continues, “I don’t
know what I’d do without you.”

Tim leans back, his head hitting the wall gently. You bend
down to press a kiss to his forehead; his eyes drift shut.

“I need you as much as you need me, Tim. Remember we’re a team.”

He smiles and you reach down to pull the drain on the water. When he
stands, half of the water sloshes over the edge as you help him out, snagging a
towel off of the rack. The two of you collapse into bed, Tim asleep before he
even lands.