the rhythm our heart plays {breddy; twosetviolin fanfiction}

8

Eddy doesn't make an effort to avoid Brett.

He doesn't want to miss the ridiculous way Brett scrunches his nose when he gets frustrated over a section of the piece, teeth gnawing on his bottom lip as he changes his bowing. Nor the way Brett would press beside him, shoulders touching and knees knocking as he shoves his phone in Eddy's face, showing him a particularly hilarious meme that he knows Eddy would laugh at and appreciate. He likes seeing the way Brett wakes up groggy with wild, untamed hair – how he rubs his eyes and kindly tells Eddy to fuck off when Eddy's being particularly teasing about it. He especially doesn't want to miss the way Brett looks at him when they play a synchronized harmony, happy and proud, the most infectious smile framing his face that makes Eddy's heart ache in more ways than one.

Eddy doesn't want to miss not having Brett beside him. He really doesn't.

It does, however, make it extremely hard to put a brake on his feelings. His gaze lingers longer than it should, and the casual touches makes him want lean into Brett even more. He can't help the way he plays with Brett's fingers when he's bored, and Brett would just let him do whatever he wants. Sometimes he'll run his fingers over Brett's palms to tickle him, getting barely any reaction as Brett is far too concentrated in whatever manga he's reading to care. If he feels daring, Eddy would lift the other's pinkie and hook his own around it, locking it in a wishful way, before Brett eventually shakes him off so he can turn the page.

It's playful and innocent, and Eddy really should stop before his heart gets crushed into a billion pieces when Brett finds someone who looks at him the way Eddy does and isn't such a coward to admit it.

It comes sooner than Eddy was prepared for it, though.

They're at the wedding and they've already played their pieces – a few Taiwanese classics including《望春風》and their rendition of Schubert's Ave Maria. Luckily for both their sanity, no Canon in D was requested (a blessing in and of itself). There were other musicians in the family that had also stepped up to perform in the wedding hall as well, all of which were met with loud applause.

The wedding went well.

The bride and groom cried as they made their vows. His mother and sister cried. Pretty much everyone cried. Even Eddy felt soft when the now-married couple had said "I do," and met in a kiss.

Soon after, Eddy finds himself lounging and socializing with a good chunk of his extended family, holding a glass of wine that he takes small sips of when one of his aunts or uncles drone on about what's going on in their lives, or whatever's going on in their sons' or daughters' lives. The stories all became a blur after the first few minutes, but he's polite enough to nod during appropriate times to make it seem like he's listening. Eddy does perk up, however, when one of his aunts mention the name of the girl that was playing the piano in one of the wedding performances – Melody. Melody Wu. A terribly cheesy name for a musician, but it was cute. She was cute.

Brett seems to think so too.

Eddy watches from a distance as he sees Brett talking to the pianist with a bright, inquiring expression. He's always been a good talker between the two, so Eddy understands; he understands why she's giggling at Brett's jokes, why her eyes flutter and blushes as Brett smiles at her, why she tucks a strand of hair behind her ear and leans into his space, whispering something to make Brett flustered.

Brett suddenly looks up towards Eddy and Eddy tears his eyes away from the sight.

His head hurts.

*

The pounding in his head doesn't stop even after they got back to the hotel.

Eddy had stripped off his blazer and threw it over his shoulder before collapsing onto the bed, face-first. He doesn't want to move or think for the next 24 hours. For the next 40. His brain needs a definite break, practicing be damned (– a joke, it's a joke, he thinks to the imaginary fans poking him with a pitchfork for saying such blasphemy).