Dynamics (Twoset Violin Fanfic)

Chapter Twenty

Content Warning: homophobia, biphobia

"I had a pretty average relationship with my parents," Brett said. "They were a bit strict, but they let me do gymnastics, which was nice. They'd never really talked about LGBTQ people with me or James— he's my brother— but... they always said, y'know, 'I love you' and 'you can talk to us' and stuff like that."

Eddy nodded, silently encouraging him to continue.

"So, when I turned 18, I decided to come out to them. I was already pretty much out to everyone at school, so I figured it wouldn't be that big of a deal..."

"First, my parents asked what 'bisexual' meant. Then, when I told them, they laughed it off. My dad said I should just stick to girls."

"Shit, that sucks," Eddy said. "I'm really sorry you had to go through that."

"Eh, it's not your fault," Brett said, but his voice was flat as if he'd said the same sentence many times before.

"What about your brother? Did he have the same reaction?" Eddy asked.

"Well... not really. Later that night he asked me a bunch of questions. The usual, 'how did you know,' 'are you sure,' 'maybe it's just a phase.' I answered everything as best as I could, and he sort of nodded along, and at the end, he said that he didn't know why our parents laughed."

Eddy let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding.

"Anyway, I never talked about it again with them. But about a month later, James got a job at a law firm. In Taiwan. And my parents decided to go with him."

"He told me— privately— that he had applied a while ago, and he was sure he'd be going alone. Anyway, they offered to bring me with them, but, Taiwan is really far, and it's a really different culture, and my Mandarin is really terrible..."

Eddy had about ten affirming interjections he wanted to say, but instead, he let Brett continue.

"So, I started working at Cafe Utopia. And about six months later, James called me. It was the first call I'd gotten from him or my parents since they moved. He pretty much asked me if I could live with some of the sons of these older lawyers he was trying to network with. So, I said yes, and that's how I ended up with them."

"Anyway, it turns out that really rich twentysomethings who don't have to work throw a lot of parties. So I usually just leave the house and come back in a few hours. But today, they had this weird guy there and... he didn't let me in."

Brett sighed. "It's not all bad, though. Their parents set up an automatic food delivery, so I don't have to worry about that. Plus the place is nice, even if I'm not in it all that often."

Eddy couldn't stay silent anymore. "That's terrible. You shouldn't let them treat you that way."

Brett shrugged. "I've thought about getting my own place, but I made a promise to my brother."

"That doesn't mean you should give up everything for him," Eddy said.

"I'm not. I'm being slightly uncomfortable so he can advance his career."

"But is it something you really want to do?"

"Keep my only connection to my family? Yes."

And all of Eddy's words disappeared into thin air.

"I wish there was some sort of alternative," Brett continued. "But I really don't know what it would be."

"Me neither," Eddy said.

A miserable silence passed.

"It's too late to deal with this," Brett finally said. "Right now I just need to find some sort of hotel."

"Stay with me," Eddy said.