Allegro con fuoco

LI

It took Brett one moment of baffled silence. It was like he could see him thinking how to put this, but then he shrugged. 
"Um, Todd's really good with people." he said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "He can basically get along with anyone. And... well, you know, he's not bad looking. So yeah. He does alright. You know that, don't you? 
It was the stupidest thing in the world, Eddy knew, but he couldn't help the little pang of jealousy, and the bigger pang of stupidity he felt. 
Jesus, was he that naive? 
"I guess I never thought of it that way." he admitted quietly.
Brett smiled sweetly, and he took his hand and squeezed it. 
"That's one of the things I love so much about you, Eddy. I love the way you see the world. You make me see it differently too."
Eddy blinked as he tried to absorb that. 
"I'm naive."
"No, you're sweet. And idealistic. It makes the world a better place."
For a long moment Eddy sat in silence, looking down at their hands intertwined, Brett's soft, honest words still floating around his system. Then he nodded to himself. Stupid as it might make him look, it would haunt him, if he didn't ask. 
"Do you... do you think he's good looking?"
Brett's eyes opened wide and he could see him trying not to laugh.
"Eddy, seriously." he said then with a slight grin. "I can see he's good looking, sure, but you know there's only one person for me, don't you? Todd is like family. He is to you as well, right?"
Eddy nodded.
"Sorry. Yeah. He is. You're right. I'm being stupid."
Brett leaned to him, and for a second he was so close that he could feel his breath on his cheek. 
"Stupid, no. Adorable, yes. I will show you once we're alone just how adorable."

To be honest, Eddy wasn't completely sure if he was happy being described as adorable. Shouldn't he be tough, or sexy, or strong? 
He shrugged it off though and looked back out of the window. The clouds were dissipating now, just whisps of them drifting here and there, and underneath him he could see the vast ocean. Water, nothing but water for hours. He sighed and settled into his seat a bit more. 
He would feel better once he could stretch his legs. Maybe he would go for a run, once they had gotten into their hotel room. 

He must have fallen asleep because he woke up to the remnants of a chaotic dream, shards of it still roaming around his head although he couldn't recall what had actually happened. Todd. Brett. Ian. His mum. Lily. All in some weird, grotesque dance, choreographed by his stupid, adorable subconscious. He shook his head hard to rid himself of the images. 
"Hey, you up?"
"Yeah, how long was I sleeping for?"
Brett shrugged and looked at his watch. 
"Dunno, I must have slept too. We'll be descending soon, just an hour or so I think. You good?"
Eddy nodded. 
"Yeah. Weird dream. I think I'll go for a run when we get there. You wanna run?"
Brett grinned. 
"After a hundred hours of flying? Nah, I think I'll stay behind and get settled. I'll even unpack your shit for you if you want."
"Really? That's generous."
Brett leaned over, his lips just not brushing his cheek. 
"Anything for the best guy in the world."

Fuck. 
It was a sweet thing to say, but unfortunately Eddy knew exactly why he was saying it. He was trying to make him feel better, wasn't he? And how could he find the words to tell him that he had to work this one out himself? That he would be okay, really, that there was nothing he could say? That he shouldn't need him to fix it for him anyway?
There weren't. So he just smiled. 
"Wow. That's quite the accolade, but you're slightly biased, perhaps." he quipped.
Brett shook his head and grabbed in the barf bag compartment in front of him, holding up the deck of cards he'd brought. 
"Cards?"
"Sure. I'm ready for this plane to land."
"Yeah, me too."