Andante

CXXVIII

"I'm really sorry, I'm sure you'll absolutely hate this, but you guys will have to share a double bed. Sorry about that."
Lily clearly thought she was being exeptionally funny, her tongue so far in her cheek he was wondering whether it would simply poke through and start living a life of its own. Her parents were still loading up their car though, so he wasn't about to say anything that could be interpreted too well should they overhear.  
"It's fine, Lily." he said in a clipped tone, earning him her peals of laughter. 

He eyed the bed silently, hearing Brett's footfalls as he came into the room behind him. He would recognise those footsteps anywhere. 
It was a very normal looking bed, really. Just a simple double bed with a red frilly bed spread on it that said Asians lived here. But it meant everything. 

The week had dragged, and dragged, the two tests he'd had yesterday not making it much better. But he'd done alright on his tests, he thought, and through the long days the knowledge that they would be here, now, had helped him immensely. 
Brett put his small overnight bag down on the ground by his side of the bed and wandered nonchalantly over to the window. He wasn't fooling Eddy though. He knew full well that he was checking if Lily's parents were going yet. Lily's mum had looked at Eddy sternly, just now in the living room, and had told him to make sure everything was okay, here. He had not missed the slight bit of worry in her eyes, and he had realised straight away why as well; Matt was going to be here, and he figured she wasn't quite sure what to make of that. In fact, he was quite amazed she was even okay with Matt being here at all. Lily's powers of persuasion really were never ending. 
Don't worry, mrs. Huang. I've got her back. 
He had simply nodded and told her he'd make sure. 

"Bye!" Suddenly he heard Lily's voice, floating up from what he was sure would be the hallway downstairs, and Brett turned around two seconds later and walked over to him. 
"Hi." Eddy whispered, suddenly feeling ridiculously shy. 
Brett smiled. "Hi, my lovely Eddy."
He seemed to have grown four inches as he sauntered over, his demeanour suddenly calm, strong again. It made Eddy realise all the more that the week would have dragged for him, too. 
Brett stood right by him and stroked his hand softly over Eddy's hair, letting his nimble fingers come to rest on the back of his neck so he could pull him closer whenever he wanted to. 
The strong hand, gently squeezing the back of his neck made his knees weak, but it was a bit early to get too deep into this, he knew. So he leaned forward and rested his chin on Brett's shoulder, their cheeks touching. 
"I'd like to kiss you now." Brett whispered suddenly, right by his ear, and his soft words sent a shiver down Eddy's spine. 
"Do you now?" he teased softly against his love's skin, his confidence returning with their privacy, just like Brett's was.  "Well, I don't think anyone's stopping you."
He moved his head back every so slightly, so their lips could sweetly touch. 

"Hey guys, sorry to harsh your buzz, but Matt's arriving." 
Lily's voice, coming from beyond the open doorframe, was soft and somewhat apologetic, but it might as well have been a jackhammer for how quickly it made them fly apart. 
Lily laughed softly. 
"You don't have to jump, you know, you can kiss all you like here, it's only little old me."
Eddy rubbed his forehead. "God, I know, Lily, but old habits die hard, I guess."
She nodded, and he knew that she understood. 
"Do you want to come meet him?" 
"I can't wait." Brett suddenly spoke up and he walked a couple of steps forward, closer to Lily.
"Lily, I just wanted to say: thank you for having me here. I think you realise how much it means."
Lily made an offhand gesture with her hand. 
"Of course, Brett. I like having you around, and I love seeing you guys so happy."
The doorbell rang shrilly, suddenly, interrupting the moment, and immediately Lily's face changed like a chameleon during Holi. It went from relaxed, sweet, ironic, to suddenly coy, demure almost, in an millisecond. 
Oh yeah. Wow. This was it, he was about to meet The Guy. 
He grinned and took big steps to get down the stairs.