It took a year and some odd months before Hoody - or rather, Brian began to fully speak, much less relearn all that he had lost. His voice often trembled when he spoke, sputtered and stuttered; so unused to speaking that it almost seemed painful. Tim was ever patient with the other, often helping to pronounce words or simply sitting back and waiting until the other managed to stutter out what he was going to say. That could often take a few minutes at a time, but Tim was ever patient and waited calmly until the other was finished speaking before replying. Brain seemed ever grateful for that.
It would come to Tim that the one speaking, the one who revealed a face that was slowly regaining color and eyes that began to shine like stars again, that this person was not simply just a shell for Hoody - but rather, Brian had been hiding in there somewhere, waiting to make some sort of return. His body had been far too broken, Hoody had once explained through writing - he still didn't seem too sure about talking, even as his vocal cords began to function once more through Brian - for the human to withstand it. Entities such as himself, who overtook bodies for their own use as zombies or puppets before being discarded like ragdolls, were more than capable of reusing bodies that were mangled and distorted and broken. Humans, however, could not sustain their lives nor very souls in a body deemed dead; so they had often simply left it for the afterlife. All except, of course, for Brian.
Slender had been unknowingly swift in Hoody's reincarnation. Brian's spirit had held steady, nearly clutching on by strings by the time the Operator had found the fallen body and brought it to life through unknown and ancient means so his Proxy could still live on. Brian had been too weak from waiting, too weak from the fall, too weak from his death to overtake the hooded man for control of his body; and so had lied dormant until he could regain his strength and begin the struggle for dominance once more in his body. Yet, Hoody did not decline - hence the sudden outburst of speech followed by almost two years of relearning how to talk. Hoody was still there, of course. Still there to take over when it came time to kill, when Brian knew he couldn't do it but knew he had to for fear of the Operator sending him back to the grave.
That didn't mean it was the same old Brian, of course. It came to their knowledge that through being overtaken by Hoody even before his substaquensl death, when he had first become Hoody and began taking so many different pills, that Brian's memory was more than just hazy. He remembered Tim, of course, and that the two were close friends. But that was primarily due to Hoody's input; anything else often came to him as a blank, or some random dream or memory. It often came down to Tim either questioning Brian into remembering, or jogging his memory with memories of his own. That was how Brian seemed to enjoy it; enjoyed Tim talking almost endlessly when asked about a certain event or point in time he was unsure about, almost to the point of rambling on and on if not for Brian laughingly telling him that that was enough.
Which was how it came to the two walking down the sidewalk during the late hours, heading to another location the Operator had sent them to. Something about an informant for the government that they needed to either kill or scare the shit out of into submission. He had also been known to solicit young, underaged girls into sex - which meant Tim and Brian were more than happy to take the first option, if not have a little bit of sadistic fun with him first. They walked steadily along the almost empty streets of the otherwise barren city, face masks hidden away so as to appear as normal as possible as they walked.
"So, if you don't remember anything from when you were a kid," Tim was saying, slicking back his hair as he spoke, "do you remember anything from college? I mean, that's about as close as it can get to recently, right? And Hoody must've been there for some of that, right?"
"I guess," Brian said with a shrug, kicking at a small rock in his path. Said rock went tumbling several feet ahead of them and quickly forgotten. "I mean, I remember we went to college and - bad stuff made this happen to us, but that's about it except for what you've told me."
"Hm, fair enough," shrugged Tim as they rounded a corner and passed by a man as he meandered his way past them. Both men gave the lone one a nod, and he almost seemed to give them an odd, distrusting look as they passed. Hopefully, that wouldn't mean this man would be a problem. "You gotta remember something, at least," Tim egged on with a sigh, stretching his arms out in front of him. "At least one thing, right? Where did you work over the summer? Who'd you like back in college? Come on, gimme something!" Even Brian couldn't help the smile that formed on his lips from the persistent badgering from the other, yet
"Well, I mean, I might," Brian shrugged, "but it doesn't seem too important. Not sure you'd even wanna know."
"Come on!" Tim tried. "You can tell me. You know that!"
"I mean - I kinda do," shrugged Brian, "but, it - it's kinda stupid." Brian chuckled lightly. "Might even scare you off. Or make you hate me." Tim chuckled.
"I don't know about that," Tim said, rolling his eyes. "I work for a faceless entity and live with a bunch of monsters that would kill me in a heartbeat if I didn't have its 'protection'. Hell, Jeff's tried to kill me four different times now, and I've only known the dude like, what? A year? Whatever. What I'm saying is, it has t' be important if you remember it, right? So, c'mon, tell me!"
Even Brian chuckled at that, lips parting in a smile and showing that adorable gap in his front teeth. Yet his eyes still focused on the ground as they walked, Tim's still fighting between looking in front them and to Brian as he patiently awaited his response. Tim was close to elbowing the other, reminding him that he was still there and awaiting a response, when -
"I remembered I love you."
Tim's eyes widened, breath hitching; heart beating one thousand times a minute as he locked onto the figure that trotted beside him. Did Brian just say what he really thought he said? He wasn't sure his mental health could take much more if he hadn't.
"You…. love me?" Tim asked, spit he tried to swallow going down like molasses. Brian nodded, eyes still glued to the concrete beneath their feet as they walked. A small smile began slowly creeping onto Tim's face.
"Yeah," Brian spoke softly, pushing his hands into his jacket pocket. "Th-that was one of the first things I remembered, I think, when I tried - erhm, I guess pushing my way to the surface would be the best way to describe getting out of Hoody's control."
Tim tried to control his shaking breathing, entertaining the idea of a cigarette rather quickly and without remorse. Brian turned his head slightly to give him a look - a look Tim remembered all too well, assuring him it was indeed his best friend that he was talking to. Brian never liked him smoking, had always tried to get him to stop for his health. Tim had tried to, for a time; if not for his health, then the man who didn't know he was in love with him practically begging him to if not for his health, then him. Brian had never understood how much those words - "For me, Tim? Please?" - actually meant to Tim; that it could likely get Tim to go as far as pulling a Nicholas Cage and stealing the Declaration of Independence if only Brian had said, "Steal it for me, Tim?"
"I-I don't remember when it started," Brain admitted as he rambled on, "or if it ever stopped. Just that I did. That I do. I think that's how I fought off Hoody's advances before if I had the energy - because I loved you, and he couldn't hurt you if I only fought for you, thought of you." Brian shook his head then, a light tint overcoming his cheeks. "I-It's stupid and gay, I know," he said with a chuckle, looking to Tim for some sort of affirmation. "Sorry if I'm making you feel weird."
Tim felt a chuckle rise in his own throat then as he took a puff of his cigarette; though whether it was a nervous chuckle or not, he couldn't be too sure.
"You're good," Tim replied. "I mean - I've been stupid and gay since I met you, and you're still friends with me, huh?"
A look of confusion passed over Brian's face then, and it took Tim's brain a moment to register that Brian stopped suddenly before his body caught up; stopping a few feet ahead of the other and turning to him to give him a look of confusion. The streets were pretty barren now, void of all life but them as they had been walking along. It seemed lonely, even.
"I - wait, what?" Brain asked, a hint of laughter bubbling up in his throat. "You're gay? And here I thought you were straighter than a two by four this whole time!"
"I - well, I mean," Tim shrugged, taking another drag of the cigarette, "I was straight. Or, at least, I thought I was straight for the longest time."
"Until when?" Brian asked, now mobile again and moving towards the other. "And why? What made you change your mind?"
"I - Uh, well," Tim sputtered, looking to the ground; Brian's shoes quickly joined his vision when the other seemed to realize Tim wasn't quite ready to start walking again. "When I met you, I guess."
And it was true. While Tim had spent most of his life in hospitals for the mentally ill, he had rarely thought about his sexuality, much less had time to date until he could age out and make his own decisions; or, at the very least, sign himself out of the mental hospital his mother had last left him in. He had always thought he was straight at best, a-sexual at worst, and never really questioned it - until he had gravitated towards Brian, the upbeat kid in college that seemed to catch everyone's attention and made friends with anyone he had come into contact with. Tim hadn't planned to make such things in college, naturally; simply wanting to get his degree and start the next phase of his life in peace and forget his childhood completely.
But Brian was a shining star that everyone gravitated to, and while Tim wasn't the one who approached anyone of his own accord, much less accepted prompts of speech from anyone else; he couldn't deny Brian when the young man sat down beside him during their second week in maths, babbling up a storm and obviously trying to make friends with Tim even when the raven haired had shown he'd rather keep to his back corner of the class and not be bothered by anyone else in the class unless needed for group work. But there Brian had been, obviously attempting to make a connection with him as he had done everyone else. And it being Brian, it was hard for Tim to decline.
Which was what had led them to their friendship, to moving into the same dorm mid year and keeping it that way for the next few. That was what led Tim to slowly come out of his shell, easily making connections with Brian's friends and showing he wasn't just some snobby emo wanting to be left alone. That he craved friendship, conversations, late night adventures and what have yous. He wasn't sure when exactly he had fallen so deep for Brian, just that he had. And it had felt so naturally so that he couldn't deny it to himself, yet so eagerly kept secret. Brian wouldn't have felt the same way in return - or so Tim had thought.
"Tim? Timmy?"
Tim hadn't realized Brian had been talking to him until a hand gently grasped his shoulder and shook lightly. Yet Tim still jumped, inhaling a sharp breath as he turned his head upwards to look the other in the eye. Brian stared down in return, a look of concern covering his usually stoic face. Yet his cheeks seemed even more lined with a red tint as they stared at one another.
"You - you're serious?" he asked incredulously. "A-about you and me and -" Brian seemed to cut himself off, as if the words couldn't form fast enough for his lip to produce the sounds needed.
Tim gave a brisk nod, head quickly going back to the ground as he turned to start their little journey again, anxiety riddling up inside of him now. But the hand on his shoulder stopped him, half forcing him to stumble back slightly and face Brian again. The dirty blonde had a rather large grin on his face, just barely showing the adorable little gap in his teeth again as he looked down to his partner in crime. Tim's brow furrowed, though he couldn't help the small smile that formed in return.
The hand hadn't moved from its position; instead using it to pull him into a tight embrace that he couldn't find it in him to simply pull away from or deny. Tim was just short enough compared to Brian, that his face (namely, nose and below) were instantly enveloped into the other's shoulder as strong arms wrapped around him. Tim felt his body relax for the first time in what felt like ages, cigarette being lost to the ground as his arms slowly, carefully, wrapped around the other as they stayed like that for what felt like an entirety.
And if Tim could, he would surely keep it that way.
"So - does this mean we're a thing now?"
Brain laid on his bed across their cramped room, lying on his back and looking to the ceiling mindlessly as he spoke. Tim found himself in a similar position. Granted, his eyes were focused on the figure across the room, hands folded over his chest as he watched the other closely as if prying his eyes off of him would allow the other to disappear from existence entirely. Which he might as well might have, knowing their current situation. So Tim rolled onto his side to better eye the other, face now half buried into his pillow. He was still tired of their earlier mission, which had lasted them longer than they had both intended and unable to delve further into their earlier conversation. Yet with a couple days rest that they were guaranteed, now seemed almost as good a time as any.
"I mean," Tim spoke slowly, looking momentarily to the floor with his heart beating a thousand times a minute, "that makes us sound like teenagers, but - if that's what you want." Brain turned his gaze to Tim then, brow raised.
"Is it what you want, though?" he asked, ever the concerned man he was.
"Considering I've wanted to since we met in college," Tim snorted, "yeah."
"You just never had the balls to ask?" Brian joked, a half smile playing on his lips. Tim fake glared and genuinely raised brow at the other, causing him to laugh. "You're right," he went on as he looked back to the ceiling, "I didn't have the balls either, obviously. Else I wouldn't be asking."
"Not like you needed to," Tim huffed as he looked back to the ceiling. There came a questioning hum from the other side of the room, prompting Tim to continue. "We could've just started going out on dates or something - I dunno - and I probably would've just accepted the fact that we were dating, ya know?"
"You're such an idiot," Brian snorted, his bed moving underneath him as he shifted, hands moving over his face as if in exasperation.
"Yeah, well," Tim snorted in return, shifting himself to lay on his side facing Brian and propping his head on his hand, "guess I'm your idiot now, huh?"
Brian removed the hands he had put onto face, brown eyes lit up in such a manner that Tim was sure his heart skipped a few beats as he stared back. Without much of a question, Brian half scattered from his bed almost too merrily, his own single pillow in tow and surprising Tim as he half threw himself over Tim and landed in bed next to the other against the wall; though the raven haired man couldn't help the hearty chuckle he released as he turned over to properly face the other - and earning Brian a surprised sound as soft lips gently touched the tip of Tim's nose. This earned a stifled giggle from Brian at the sound that had escaped Tim.
"You're…. Actually kinda adorable when you're flustered, you know?" Brian asked with a coy smirk, earning another furrowed brow from Tim. "What! You are!" Brian now laughed.
Tim's expression seemed to soften at the sound, now rolling his eyes as a hand slowly, hesitantly, reached for the other's side and resting gently atop it. Brian hummed, one of his own hands resting atop the other as they lay there with easy comfort.
"You're an idiot," Tim huffed.
"Yeah," Brian snorted, eyes soft as he scanned the other's face, "but I guess I'm you're idiot, too, huh?"
Tim grunted in response, lips forming a slow smile as Brian slowly, carefully leaned in - and Tim not denying the gentle pressure on his lips as their eyes fluttered closed. Yeah, he could stay like this forever - and even if he died tomorrow, Timothy Wright would surely die a happy man.