Phantom

37.

“You’re sure you don’t want to come look at the sunrise, Eddy? You can’t just sit around and wait for all eternity,” Hilary asked him, her small hand patting his shoulder. She had asked him every day since he arrived, using a new variation of the same question.

“The sun is always rising here, what’s the point?” Eddy sighed, pushing his hair away from his face. He had considered tying it out of his face with some of the soft cotton ribbons he had seen the others there with, but he had never gotten around to get himself one. “I can see it with Brett later.”

“You don’t know when he will pass on. Might as well live a little while you’re waiting. Don’t you think Brett would want that?” Hilary asked him, sitting down next to him on the soft white everything around them seemed to be made of. Everything except the large golden gate with beautiful intricate patterns and ancient inscriptions. “Let’s go play some violin so your skills don’t die with your body.”

“I’ll wait for Brett,” Eddy mumbled, moving his eyes to the large gate. He hadn’t let the gate out of sight since arriving. Several people had passed through, but so far none of them had been Brett. He had been waiting more than half a lifetime now. “I promised I’d wait for him.”

“Okay,” Hilary sighed, getting up to go look at the sunrise like she usually did after checking on him. “Just come by if you change your mind, okay?”
“Yeah, yeah. Thanks for looking after me, Hilary,” Eddy said, and after a light squeeze of his shoulder, she was gone.

Eddy moved his gaze back to the gate just in time to see it slowly open. He almost didn’t dare to hope when he saw the dark hair peek out from behind the golden door. The disappointment had ruined him too many times already.

It wasn’t until a all too familiar face looked around with uncertainty written on his face that he stood up.

“Brett,” Eddy whispered, his voice failing him as he was filled with all the love and longing he had ever felt for the man in front of him. He looked both old and young at the same time, mature yet childlike. To Eddy, he looked just like he had when the light had separated them more than half a lifetime ago.

“Eddy?” Brett asked, still standing only halfway inside. The confusion was evident in his tone and body language as he looked around the white landscape around them to find him. Their eyes met, the warm brown contrasting with all the light around them, and Eddy was quick to run over and pull the confused man into a hug.

“God, Brett… you’re finally here…” Eddy exhaled, pressing a warm kiss to his forehead before hugging him tightly to his chest again. This was the moment he had waited so long for. A bit more than half a lifetime. “I missed you so much, Brett, you have no idea…”

“I missed you too, Eddy,” Brett mumbled into Eddy’s chest as the realization of what this place was slowly set in. Then came the tears. “God, I’ve spent my whole life missing you. I can’t believe you’re here. I remember your funeral like it was yesterday, Eddy. I’m so sorry it took so long.”

“No, no, you had to live your life first. Of course you had to live your life,” Eddy whispered into his hair, stroking his back with slow, gentle movements. “I’m just glad to have you back. I’ve waited more than half a lifetime for this.”

“What… what is this place?” Brett asked after a while of just holding and being held. “Is it like… heaven…?”

“The afterlife,” Eddy corrected him gently, brushing dark bangs away from his forehead. “Kind of like you’d think of heaven. It’s the place where the sun is always rising, but never sets. Our home for eternity.”

“So I’m definitely dead now?”

“I’m afraid so, yeah.”

“Okay.”

Brett took a few moments to come to terms with the fact that everything he had worked for and done over a lifetime was behind him. A lifetime of helping people get here, to the afterlife. Who had helped him, when it was his turn?

“Did you have a nice life, then?” Eddy asked, his hands cupping Brett’s cheeks like he couldn’t believe he was really there, touching him carefully like he was scared he’d break up in his hands and disappear with the gentle breeze.

“As nice as it could be without you by my side,” Brett confirmed, placing a careful hand over Eddy’s. “Thank you for waiting for me, Eddy.”

“I’d wait another lifetime over for you, Brett,” Eddy whispered, and a moment later their lips, their warm lips, connected for the first time in what had felt like an eternity for both of them.

“I love you, Eddy.”

“I love you too, Brett. Let’s watch the sunrise together.”

_________

Thank you for reading everyone and thank you for my wonderful collab mate, tsvhide. Hope you enjoyed it! And be happy yay ♡
-Eykim28

Thank you all for enjoying our collab! Now y'all know it's time to go practice and maybe we'll do something more in the future (I hope we will *cough* Eykim... *cough*) I had tons of fun♡
-TSVhide