My Brother's Best Friend - LGBT, boyXman

30

Two weeks later, we heard that Matt got onto the clinical trial.

We spent three hours frantically packing everything we thought he might need for a three-week hospital stay before David and I drove him to the airport.

“We’ll meet you back here on the fifteenth,” David said. “They’re sending a nurse with you on the flight back. We’ll meet you here and take you to the hospital.”

Matt nodded and hugged him tightly.

“Thanks, David,” he said, his voice choked.

Next, he hugged me tightly.

“I am happy for you, Triss.” He whispered. “I can see now that you’re really happy with him.”

“I am,” I murmured. “Good luck, Matt.”

He gave me another squeeze, before releasing me and showing his passport to the flight attendant.

David and I waited until his plane left the gate, before returning to the car park.

We clambered into the old Beetle and drove home in silence.

“He’ll be alright, right?” I asked David finally. “He’ll… come back, won’t he?”

“I hope so, Triss,” he said quietly. He squeezed my hand gently. “Come on,” he said bracingly when we got out of the car. “I’ll make you dinner.”

“Thanks for the offer. But I feel bad enough as it is. I think food poisoning would really just send me down to rock bottom.”

He laughed.

“Fine. Chinese?”

“Yeah.”

David ordered the takeaway and we settled down onto the sofa together.

When dinner arrived, we spread everything out on the living room floor, lit the fire and settled down to eat, our backs resting against the sofa.

“So, do you want to do something for your birthday next week?” David asked me as we ate. “Have a party or something?”

I shrugged half-heartedly.

“I don’t know… I don’t feel in a particularly celebratory mood, with Matt and everything…”

David nodded.

“Alright. Well, we could go out to dinner or something. Just a quiet meal.”

“I’d like that.”

I fiddled with a duck pancake for a moment, before giving up and letting David carefully roll it up for me.

“Hey, you realise that’d be our first date?”

David looked up at me.

“Really?” He frowned at me.

“What’s the matter?” I asked.

“I’m a crap boyfriend, aren’t I?” He said, looking dejected.

“No,” I said.

I finished my pancake quickly and crawled onto his lap. I snuggled close to his chest and kissed his neck gently.

“You’re very sweet. You bought me a house.”

“For most people, that’s not a first-date thing.” He smiled at me. “I’ll think of something to do for your birthday.”

“I don’t-” I began, before he cut me off with a quick kiss.

“I’m going to do this, Triss. It’ll make you feel better. I promise.”