[Just ask. Like it's easy, so obvious- and it's a voice he recognizes telling him that he should have, that he's stupid for not doing it, that if he'd just trusted Tim maybe things would be different--
I couldn't! I can't! He yells it so loud in his own head that Brian wonders for a moment if he's really said it, but of course he hasn't, because that's the point.
It's his voice, and it's his everything. Locked in. He had to stay close enough to instruct, far away enough that if the tide turned, he wouldn't be hurt. He shakes his head, again and again, teeth gritted. Tim doesn't understand. Not at all. He couldn't ask anyone.
(He thought he couldn't.)
His heart clenches. Tim looks exhausted. Is this a betrayal, in a way? Is that how Tim feels? He still cares so much, even now. It pulls at a string of honesty that unravels as Brian looks at Tim with tired eyes, and taps a finger to the side of his own head. Mouths a word.
no subject
I couldn't! I can't! He yells it so loud in his own head that Brian wonders for a moment if he's really said it, but of course he hasn't, because that's the point.
It's his voice, and it's his everything. Locked in. He had to stay close enough to instruct, far away enough that if the tide turned, he wouldn't be hurt. He shakes his head, again and again, teeth gritted. Tim doesn't understand. Not at all. He couldn't ask anyone.
(He thought he couldn't.)
His heart clenches. Tim looks exhausted. Is this a betrayal, in a way? Is that how Tim feels? He still cares so much, even now. It pulls at a string of honesty that unravels as Brian looks at Tim with tired eyes, and taps a finger to the side of his own head. Mouths a word.
Fear.]