Con Brio: Todd and Ian's story

71) Todd

He's almost forgotten how worried he is for Brett and Eddy, until they come to their street and suddenly it's like he can't breathe. 
"You okay?" Ian asks, and he tightens his hold on his baby's hand. 
"Yeah. Just... tense." he admits. 
No need to tell him right, that he feels sick? That all he wants is to know his boys are safe? 
"It'll be okay, Toddy." Ian says in his gentle tone as he follows Todd up the stairs to their apartment. 

Todd sees Brett's backpack straight away, hanging on the chair, and his keys, lying on the little table by the door. They're home. His eyes shoot to the door to the hallway. They must be in the bedroom, and there's no way in hell he's ever going to knock on that particular door. He'll have to wait for them to come out to find out how it's gone. He takes a deep breath and puts his bag on the work surface, carefully taking out the food they've bought for the carbonara he's pretended to be a bit more confident about making than he actually is. He's just turning around to ask Ian if he wants to try the cheese when the door to the hallway opens and his heart bursts out of his ribs. 
Fuck.
What?
It's Eddy's mum! 
He finds himself as she strolls through the room, her face sad, her eyes deep, the skin around them creased with worry, or pain, he's not sure which. 
"Mrs. Chen." he says, stepping forward. "Are... you okay?"
"Hello Todd." she says, looking from him to Ian in a glance that tells him straight away she's imagining them, together, and not liking it. He looks down at his feet and tries not to be offended. "Yes. I'm fine."
Her tone is clipped, and he knows she'll not say anything else. Just as well as he knows that she's actually anything but fine. So he nods politely and opens the door for her, just as Eddy and Brett emerge from the direction of their bedroom as well. 
"Bye, mum." Eddy says softly. 
"Bye."

"Jesus." Todd says as her steps fade down the stairs. He's turned to the boys to see what state they're in. 
"She said she'll try." Eddy says, his eyelids heavy with tears that are only just not dropping. He looks utterly defeated and exhausted, so Todd steps forward and pushes him down on the couch and sits down next to him while Brett takes his other side, grabbing his hand. 
"She did. Wow. Eddy. This is a huge step, don't you think?" Brett says. 
"Okay. Please. I need to know. What the fuck happened? How was she here?"
Brett looks at him, his deadpan face cracked open to reveal the emotions inside. 
"Lunch went fine, Todd. My parents are... more accepting than we had hoped. My mum called Eddy's, who wouldn't talk, really. So we came here, and just then his mum turned up."
"She said she'd try, Todd." Eddy whispers. "She apologised for it having been so hard for us. She hugged us."
"She said her brothers would be mad. And I believe her." Brett adds. 
"Guys." Ian's soft, but sure voice comes. He walks over from his place by the table, crouches down in front of Eddy and eyes him... lovingly. It's the only word Todd can come up with to describe it. "This is great news, right? It's a start, right?"
Todd doesn't miss the small glance Ian sends him and he smiles back. He'll have to tell him, later, that he was right. A weight starts to fly off his chest. Surely... if she's said she'll try? 
Surely there's hope, then?