Closer

102.

Brett had stepped out for a moment to get some coffee for Eddy and himself, and when he came back he found Eddy nodding off still with a sleeping Elise in his arms.

"Eddy?" Brett said quietly, placing a hand on his shoulder to wake him gently. Eddy blinked a few times as he woke back up properly and shifted slightly.

"What?" Eddy yawned, looking down at Elise. A smile formed on his lips as he did.

"You should put her in the crib if you're gonna sleep, so you won't drop her," Brett said, placing a careful kiss to Eddy's forehead. Eddy sighed and ran a finger across Elise's cheek.

"I don't want to put her down, it's as if she'll disappear if I put her down," Eddy sighed sadly followed by a yawn. "I know you're right, I just..."

"I get you, but you should sleep. Take care of yourself," Brett mumbled as he sat down in the other armchair and grabbed one of the coffees from the table.

"How about you, Brett? Are you okay?" Eddy asked as he stood up carefully to place Elise in her crib. Brett watched them, feeling bad about the situation he had dragged Eddy into. What would he do if she wasn't his?

"Ask me again tomorrow," Brett sighed, kicking his shoes off and pulling his feet into the chair. He was exhausted, but there was no way he was sleeping with the mess that was going on in his mind. "I honestly don't know."

"Anything I can do to make you feel better?" Eddy asked quietly, sitting down in his chair again after making sure the blanket was carefully wrapped around Elise.

"Probably not. I'm sorry," Brett sighed, taking a sip of the coffee. "You should sleep and we'll talk tomorrow."

Eddyy reached over to him and placed a hand on his arm gently, not sure what else to do.
"I love you, Brett. You know that, right?"

"I... I try to remember that, yeah," Brett sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I love you too."

About an hour past and both the coffees were long gone. Eddy had eventually fallen asleep in the chair, but Brett couldn't sleep. He had tried, but he felt restless partly from downing the twcups of coffee and partly from the mess in his brain.

Brett was staring at a poster with some cartoon animals hanging across from him when he heard the soft whimpers from the crib. He hesitated long enough fir the whimpers to turn into soft cries before standing up and quietly walking over to the crib.

"Shh, don't cry, please," he whispered, looking over at Eddy who was sleeping still. She hadn't cried once while he held her.

She quieted down a bit when Brett carefully ran a finger over her cheek like Eddy had earlier. His heart melted when her incredibly tiny hand wrapped around his finger and squeezing hard. A year ran down his cheek.

"God, I hope you're mine," he whispered, followed by a tiny sob when she was not letting his finger go. There was nothing in the world he wanted more than thst right thete and then. "Please be mine. Please."