World Tour

Houston: luthier

¨You make me so happy...¨ Eddy whispered into Brett's ear, waking him up softly. 
Brett inhaled sharply through his nose, in that cute way he had when he woke up, and let out a sleepy little grunt. 
Eddy smiled at the cuteness, and kissed him softly on the tip of his nose. 
¨Good morning, fiancé¨, he said softly. 
Brett smiled broadly, eyes still half closed. 
¨I didn't dream that, then¨, he whispered, looking at Eddy now. 
¨No, mate. You didn't dream that.¨
¨Good¨, Brett said softly, but Eddy could see he was frowning slightly.

¨What? What's up?¨ he said, concerned.
Brett was silent.
¨Hey! Tell me what's up!¨
Brett sighed, and looked at him.
¨Tell me the truth, okay?¨
¨Of course! I always do!¨
¨This.... this...¨ Brett said, so softly it was almost inaudible, pointing at the simple silver ring on his finger.
¨Is this because you want it too, or is it because you want me to feel secure?¨
Eddy's eyes widened in surprise. What the??
¨Brett, bro, seriously!¨ he exclaimed, his voice shooting up a sixth. He breathed deeply before he continued. 
¨Do you really think I would marry you, just to make you feel better, if I didn't want to?¨
Brett was silent for a moment, looking down. 
¨Maybe...¨ he said softly. ¨You're so selfless.¨
¨Mate! Hey!¨ Eddy said, taking Brett's chin, making him face him.
¨I'm not selfless. I asked you to marry me because I love you with all my heart, and I don't want to spend another day without you. Okay? And because I want you to know that!¨
¨Okay¨, Brett whispered, his face clearing. ¨Forget I ever said it.¨
¨I'll prove it to you every day of our lives...¨ Eddy whispered back.
Brett didn't say anything else, he just buried his face into Eddy's chest. Eddy put his arms safely around him and kept him there for the longest time, kissing him softly on the head every now and then. 

A couple of hours later they were in the venue, hammering out last details, about to rehearse. 
Eddy looked at Brett interacting with the crew and the venue, and as always he looked competent, charming, quietly and unassumingly self-assured. No way you could see now how helpless he had looked that morning, and Eddy shook his head slightly. 
He'd known about Brett's insecurities for ever, of course, just like Brett had known about his. But he hadn't known how deep they ran. 
He knew he couldn't solve it for him, but he sure as hell was going to try and help, and make him see what an awesome person he was. Just like, he suddenly realised, Brett was doing for him. He was a different person now, than he had been a couple of months ago. Stronger, and with more faith in himself. This tour had so far brought him a lot more than he ever thought it would. 

The rehearsal was starting, and Eddy was getting his violin out of its case, when suddenly Brett exclaimed: 
¨Fuck! No! Fuck!!¨
He walked over to him straight away. 
¨What?¨
Brett looked at him with panic on his face. ¨My bow! It's not tightening anymore!¨
What? Fuck! It was concert day! 
Eddy knew Brett was very much capable of tightening his own bow, but he still took the bow out of Brett's hands and tried to tighten it himself. Nope. Shit!
¨Okay, let's calm down¨, Eddy said. ¨We'll just have to find a luthier, like, now.¨
Brett nodded, already taking out his phone. 
Eddy took out his as well, and started looking online.
He called the first name on the list of luthiers that came up, but got no answer. He looked up at Brett, who was shaking his head desperately. He'd also had no luck. 
He found another number, dialed, and this time, mercifully, someone did pick up. 
¨Hi!¨ Eddy said, almost breathless. ¨this is Eddy Chen, and I'm calling because we have a violin concert tonight, and my f... friend's bow's not tightening anymore.¨
Whoa. He really had to get that under control. He'd almost called Brett his fiancé to a complete stranger. 
¨Oh! I can understand how that could a bit inconvient!¨ the luthier said, in a pleasant voice with a hint of an English accent to it. ¨Well, you can come in straight away, if you want, and I'll see if I can fix it.¨
Oh, thank God. He lifted his thumb to Brett, who immediately started getting his stuff together, and got the details from the luthier. They'd just have to hope that the guy knew what he was doing. 

¨Okay, come on, let's go! We'll get a taxi there¨, he said to Brett, half running out of the theatre.