Allegro con fuoco

XXXIV

He couldn't understand what she was saying from here, but he could hear the tone. First polite, quiet, the Asian way, but then louder, insistent. The three people at the table sat still like they had been frozen in place, and you could have cut the tension with a knife. If there would have been any around. Eddy took Brett's hand and held it tight. They sat like that for a long while, staring at each other, at the table, waiting, then Brett got up abruptly. 
"I... I'm going to wait in my old room. Okay, papa?"
His dad nodded kindly. Since when was Brett's dad so understanding? I mean, Eddy had always liked him, but he hadn't realised just how deep that ran. Brett was quickly walking out of the kitchen, so Eddy got up too, nodded at Brett's dad and rushed after Brett, through the hallway, up the stairs to the room he knew so well. 
"You think she'll be a while?" he asked Brett as he opened the door to his room and walked in quickly. Brett shrugged and turned around to him. His eyes were full of tears. 
"I don't know." he said as a sob escaped him. "I... I was losing it. I'm sorry."
"Oh, God, Bretty." Eddy said gently as he took a step forward, as he enveloped his love in his arms and pulled him close. Brett sobbed quietly into his shoulder as he rubbed his back.
"Bretty, you've seen me cry more in the last twenty four hours than in the whole year before." Eddy cooed in his ear. "Don't you think you're allowed some emotion?"
Brett just shrugged again. And Eddy knew why. He knew how hard it was for him to show the world how he felt. 
"Hey, you don't always need to be strong, Bretty." he said softly.
"I'd like to be." Brett whispered. Eddy could feel his tears on his shoulder, spreading through the fabric of his t shirt, and he rubbed his back again, all the way from his neck to the small of his back and back up. 
"Well, I'd like to be allowed to be there for you, with you, through anything." he said when the sobbing slowed a little. 
That did it, somehow, Brett let him go and looked up at him, swiping away stray tears. 
"Wow." he whispered. "This... this is being quite the day, Eddy."
Eddy nodded. 
"Yeah. After all this is done we should take that holiday in Singapore and forget about the world for a while."
"That sounds fucking awesome."
Brett was getting calmer now, he could feel it, like letting it all out had relaxed him, at least some.
"What do you reckon is going on downstairs?" he asked him, his hand still on Brett's shoulder.
"I don't know. But I don't think we could do better than with my mum, to be honest."
"I think so too. Wow. I mean... I knew your parents were supportive. But I've seen a whole new side to them today."
Brett nodded and took his hand, pulled him to the bed and sat down. Eddy sat down next to him. 
"I know. It's surprised me too." Brett told him. "The way my dad said that... I'd never expected him to."
Eddy nodded too.
"Yeah. I can't believe I cried in your mum's shoulder though."
"She loves you, Eddy."
"Yeah. I can't believe that either, to be honest."
Brett turned to him and swiped his hair away from his forehead. His eyes were calming, now, and apart from the shadows under his eyes being a little deeper than normal, you could barely tell he'd been crying.
"You're very easy to love, though." Brett said, his voice all earnest. 
"Um. Thanks."
It was a very lame thing to respond, he knew, but what was he going to say? And before he could think of something smarter there was a knock at Brett's door. 
"Hello?" Brett asked and his mum opened the door and walked in. 

"So." she said. She was looking just the same as always, maybe with just a touch of tension in her eyes, but she looked strong and in control. "I spoke with your mother."