Andante

LXXIV

They walked back to the auditorium in silence, but very close together. Eddy was well aware that they were closer than was normal for bros, but right now he just didn't care who saw. He needed Brett next to him, he needed to feel his presence. He needed the backs of their hands to touch each other now and again as they went along, and he needed to sit right next to him in the auditorium the second they came in. He knew that they'd have to put their game faces on in a minute, but for now, for the next half hour or so, they'd get to just sit there and recover from all the emotions, from all the decisions.
Todd eyed him curiously as they walked into the hall and he smiled at him.
Oh, Todd knew him well enough to be able to see he was still struggling, he was sure. But he hoped he could also see that things were a lot better now than they had been half an hour ago.
Because they really were, and he shouldn't forget that.
Even if he couldn't help being sad.

There was no time for sadness once the break came, though, because half the orchestra swarmed them, wanting to know who they were, how long they'd been playing, how they knew the conductor... Eddy's ears were ringing from all the questions!
He looked at Brett, a little bit away from him in the crowd, and he smiled fondly. Brett was so, so good at this kind of thing. He had that quiet strength, he always knew how to handle himself anywhere. And even if he was unassuming, he still commanded space. Oh, how Eddy wished he could be more like that as he awkwardly stammered out replies to orchestra members.
He was relieved when the conductor sent the orchestra out of the hall and called the quartet on stage to start their first rehearsal. Brett smiled at him, his eyebrows high as he walked up the small steps to the stage and raised his thumb.
Right, here they went!  

An hour and a half later he was glowing. He remembered even better just why he'd liked Mr. Davids so much, because he really was an awesome conductor. And playing with these three musicians... it was just heavenly. Ian turned out to be great, his sound big and sonorous, and Todd seemed to have improved again since last time he'd heard him. Seriously, this quartet rocked! And he himself was even playing well. Brett had insisted Eddy play first, so he had all the high notes, but he was flying, carried along by the others.
Mr. Davids was beaming, too.
"Okay, guys, this is a very good start." he said at last. "I'm very happy with your sound already, and we're going to spend some time this week discovering how we can make that sound grow even closer together, how you can listen to each other even more and go from soloists to great quartet players. But for now I am very happy! You can take the rest of the afternoon and explore Perth, or use one of the practice rooms here, and I'll see you here tomorrow at the same time."
"Thank you, Mr. Davids." Eddy said as he got up. "I'm very, very happy to be here."
And he was. Despite everything, there was no place on earth he'd rather be right now.

Eddy had to admit, as they sat in the taxi back to their hotel a few hours later, that this afternoon had been awesome. They'd all walked out of the building together and they'd found a shady spot, where they had sat for hours, cross legged on the grass, eating some of the rolls they'd brought from the hotel that morning and chatting about everything. And when the rolls had run out they'd found a supermarket and bought cola and chips. He'd even talked to Todd for a bit when Brett and Ian had gone in to use the restroom.
Todd had been very empathetic, and even though Eddy knew that life had been very different for him he really seemed to understand him.
It helped.
Then Todd had repeated the offer he made years ago on a train.
"If you do at any point decide you've had enough of all this 'being normal' shit, Eddy..." he'd said in this kind tone that he seemed to reserve for only the people he was closest to, and only when no one was there to overhear, "and that you're going to be together for real, and let's face it, we all know that's coming, right?"
At this point he'd raised his eyebrows meaningfully at Eddy, but he had had no idea what to say, really. Was that coming? So he'd stayed quiet and waited. 
Todd had carried on then, his voice soft but full of resolve. "Anyway. If the shit does hit the fan the way you guys fear, you'll always have a spare bed to crash on in my house, okay?"
Eddy had looked at him, the moisture invading his eyes again now, and he swallowed quickly to stop himself from crying again.
"Thanks, mate. You're a good friend."