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CIII

Droplets of sweat ran down his temples and his back, making his shirt stick to heated skin as Brett flew up the giant stairs in front of the Sydney Opera House, taking two, sometimes three steps at once. Him barely catching his breath didn’t keep him from speeding past the iconic building towards the viewpoint by the sea. 

The one place Eddy’d said he went to whenever he wanted to be alone. 

Brett knew why he’d chosen that place. Thanks to the midday visitor numbers nearing triple digits as far as Brett could tell, it seemed impossible to spot an Asian guy amongst dozens of travel groups with the same origin. He wiggled himself through the throngs of people while cursing his height for keeping his sight limited. Damn it! Like this, Eddy would probably spot him first and bail again! Wasn’t there like a platform or something he could stand on?

“Eddy!”, Brett started to yell in desperation and ignored the turning heads and indignant stares. 
“Eddy! Where the fuck are you?”
Wasn’t he here after all? Brett didn’t bring his phone and even if, Eddy wouldn’t pick up anyway. Should he head back to the con and hope he’d show up there?
Brett brushed his hair back and squeezed his eyes against the blinding sunlight. His legs carried him to the edge of the platform. He leaned forward and turned his head left and right, hoping he could catch a glimpse of the familiar face. 

And there he was!

Further down, almost in the middle of the giant platform, a mop of dark hair stuck out of the countless figures taking pictures against the famous backdrop of the city. 
“Eddy”, Brett whispered and immediately made his way through the sea of people, bumping into tourists left and right, some of them throwing expletives at him. Luckily, he had no ear for those.

Eddy hadn’t noticed him when Brett came closer, steps slowing down in hesitation now while white noise flooded his consciousness. His pulse quickened even further when he observed the taller, how he had his forearms propped up on the handrails, how he was likely staring at the waves gently crashing against the shore beneath the platform.

“Eddy”, Brett’s lips formed when he was only half a meter behind him. The frame froze.
Slowly, very slowly, he turned around, his wide, dark eyes glaring at Brett in disbelief. His face was pale despite the afternoon uv-light darkening its victims skin colour within seconds and Brett would be concerned if he wouldn’t feel just like how Eddy looked. 
“Brett! How…”
“You told me that’s the place you’re going for if you want to be alone. I figured…”
“Ah, yeah…”, Eddy muttered, averting his gaze, his feet shuffling nervously. 
“Don’t even think about running away again I swear!”, Brett shot without thinking and startled himself in the process. But enough was enough! As if he’d let Eddy get away again without them talking things out! He’d rather tackle that idiot and have them both fall into the sea than continue running around like a headless chicken looking for him. 
Eddy looked caught. “I wasn’t…” His fingers started fidgeting around. “I mean, I didn’t think you’d want to see me after-”
“Can you please stop making assumptions on your own without talking to people first?”, Brett sighed, shook his head and stepped closer. 

Well, here they were. And now what? Suddenly, the insecurities from before paralyzed Brett’s tongue and now it was him who turned away slightly. Shit! This was not the plan at all… Not that he’d had one prepared to begin with but he had kind of hoped things would flow more naturally as soon as he stood in front of Eddy. 
“Uhm…”, he tried meekly, “so… you thought I would hate you.”
Brett heard Eddy chuckle and looked up in surprise. It was a sad, heavy chuckle though. 
“Fuck….I don’t even know where to start, but you’re absolutely right. You deserve an explanation. I know I’m late with this… too late maybe, but if you’ll let me, I’ll try.”
Brett let him, and stayed mute, the sound of the waves and chatter around them not able to drown out his now steady, anticipating heartbeat.