Andante

LXXXI

"So, Ian saw?"
Brett asked the question quite simply, as Eddy closed the door to their room behind him. 
He had had a serious struggle with the butterflies, coming up here in the small lift, because he had no idea how any of this would go now. What would Brett say about Ian knowing? Had he reacted okay? And then of course there were the even bigger questions: where would they sleep? What would they do?
Todd, giving him a giant wink and wishing them a very good night in that tone also didn't help matters one bit, he had to say. 
"Yeah, he did. I asked him to keep quiet, told him that we weren't out. I hope that's okay?"
Brett grinned. "Sure. Look, we weren't exactly being secretive tonight, were we? Anyone could have seen, no?"
He walked over and wrapped his arms softly around Eddy. 
"Don't worry, my lovely Eddy." he whispered in his ear. "It'll all be okay."
Having Brett's arms around him helped, but Eddy actually felt a little bit sick now, he was so nervous. Shit, what would happen now? What did he want to do? What did Brett want to do?

"Hey! My love, relax!" Brett's voice came softly, clearly interpreting his mood correctly. "Nothing will happen, okay? We'll take it slow, and we won't do anything we're not both a hundred percent comfortable with, okay?"
Eddy let go a bit and stared right into Brett's eyes for a second. Wow. It was like Brett could read his mind.
Also, he'd called him 'my love'. 
He felt as if Brett's words spread through him, blossoming everywhere, taking the tension with them, and he fell back into the hug, his lips against Brett's cheek. 
"I like being called that, Bretty, I like that a lot." he whispered in his ear. 
"Good."
He couldn't see Brett's smile, but it was there in his soft, sweet voice.

Now that Brett had put his mind at ease Eddy felt a million times better, and the effortlessness that they had had this morning was back. He walked off to his suitcase to get his pyjamas on and then he went into the bathroom to brush his teeth. Brett followed him in and picked up his own toothbrush, and it was just so lovely being with him. Even standing there doing this most mundane of tasks side by side was good, was special. He was tired, now, and he let himself lean slightly against Brett, their shoulders softly touching, the images in the mirror doing the same. Brett put his free hand around his shoulders and pulled him closer.
"Sleepy, huh?"
Eddy just nodded and lingered, enjoying the feeling of being so close.
Man, what a day this had been. 
 
"Do you... do you want to sleep here?" Brett asked him softly, clearly hesitantly, as he pulled back the covers of his bed and lay down. 
Eddy smiled. Seriously. Was grass green? Was the Pope a Catholic?
"Of course I do, what do you think."
He lay down quickly and he found that little spot again on Brett's shoulder where his head fit so, so well that he almost felt as if that spot had been made just for him. 
"This was quite a day, Bretty." he murmured into Brett's warm skin, already feeling himself drifting a bit. 
"Yeah. But a good one, no?"
He looked up through his sleepy eyes, taking in Brett's kind gaze, feeling Brett's warmth calming him down and melting all the angst he had felt for so long away. 
"In the end, it was a very good one."
Brett smiled and kissed him on the top of his head. 
"Sleep, my love."
Eddy nodded and snuggled back into him, allowing himself to drift off now in the safety of Brett's embrace. 
"You too. I love you, Bretty." he mumbled softly. 
"I love you too."