World Tour

NY: Rehearsal day

Eddy had a decided spring in his step, the rest of the day. 
Oh my God, that had just been awesome. He kept grinning at Brett, Brett grinning back goofily, and he knew that Brett felt the same.
Eddy leant over to Brett when they were both on the stage and said, under his voice: 
¨Best time had by anyone in a dressing room, ever.¨
Brett just grinned broadly at him.
Eddy felt like he was glowing today, like nothing could harm him, ever. He'd never been this in love with anyone in his life, not even close. 

But he hadn't realised just how obvious they'd been about things, until the theatre tech, a no-nonse guy from Europe named Steven, looked at them inquisitively and turned away again. Whoops! Busted!

He had to grin, because nothing could bother him today. But he also knew that they'd have to say something, because otherwise rumours would start flying. 

¨Guys!¨ he suddenly hollered, causing Brett to actually jump, next to him. ¨Can you all come over here a second?¨
Brett looked at him as if he'd grown a spare head. 
¨Sorry¨, he said in a normal tone. ¨But I think we've been made. Okay if I make a quick announcement?¨
He could almost feel the tension radiating off Brett, as the implications of his words sunk in and his eyes widened. 
¨Okay...¨ he almost whispered. 

The crew made their way onto the stage, and stood, expectantly looking at Eddy, who took a deep breath. The small group of people in front of him, some of them good friends they'd known for ever, seemed to grow to a massive crowd. He knew, once he said this, he couldn't unsay it. 

¨Okay, here goes nothing¨, he said, taking Brett's hand. 
¨I think some of you are working out that, yes, we are indeed in love with each other.¨
He wanted to carry on, but he was interrupted by the reactions. 
Their closest friend, Ibo, was by far the loudest. ¨Oh my God¨, he hollered. ¨Finally!! Who gave??¨
Steven just stood and smiled. ¨I thought so¨, he said. 
¨Okay, guys, please, calm down a sec!¨ Eddy called, reeling inside. Ibo knew?? 
¨So... we want you guys to know, because you are our friends, but just, we don't need the whole world to know about our private lives, we'd like to keep those private. So just as before, please, no comments to strangers, okay?¨
Everyone murmered their consent. They knew the deal, and seemed to understand this without issue. Eddy just hoped they would keep to it, but he trusted them. 
¨How long, though?¨ Ibo insisted. 
Eddy shook his head, smiling. 
¨Very recently, just since the tour¨, he said. ¨But it indeed turns out we've been in love with each other a lot longer and have both been idiots.¨
Ibo roared with laughter. ¨You didn't have to tell me that, I've known you were idiots for years!¨, and everyone laughed. 

Soon enough the little group settled back down and they all walked back off to their respective jobs.
Ibo gave Eddy a giant bump on his shoulder in passing, and ruffled Brett's hair.
¨Way to go, mate¨, he said in his thick Aussie accent, before walking off, still grinning. 

Only Brett and Eddy were left on the stage now, with Sophie, who had said nothing the whole time, but had smiled in her sweet way. 
¨Wow...¨ Brett breathed. ¨That went so much easier than I thought. God, I thought my heart would come out of my chest.¨
Eddy snorted. ¨It would 'come out', would it?¨
Brett rolled his eyes, and jabbed his other shoulder. 
¨Hey!¨ Eddy retorted straight away. ¨ What's up with all this hurting Eddy's shoulders?! I have concerts to give, thank you very much!¨
Brett grinned. Eddy could see the relief radiating off him like visible sound waves. 
¨I told you they would be fine¨, Sophie suddenly spoke up, stepping towards them. 
She shrugged. ¨They all love you. It makes no difference who you're in love with.¨

Eddy looked at her, deciding to let the words flow out as they came into his head. 
¨Thank you, Sophie, for talking to me in Oslo. It really helped me come to grips with how we needed to handle things.¨
¨Yeah, thank you¨, Brett added, smiling at Sophie, and then giving Eddy a quick look. 
Eddy knew very well what that look meant. He was happy to be included in the conversation. 

Sophie blushed a little with the boys' outpouring of gratitude. 
¨I'm so glad I could help you guys. And I'm so pleased you felt good about taking this step now. You seem really happy today!¨
Eddy had to swallow back a grin at that, and exchanged another quick look with Brett. No need for Sophie to know why they were this happy.

This had been quite a day. 

As they walked back to the hotel even the busy streets of New York couldn't bother him. He couldn't ever remember being this happy. It was like the easy acceptance of their friends had erased a lot of the angst he'd felt about the world and his place in it.
If now only his mother would call, if only his mum would accept him, them... his world would be pretty much perfect.