Andante

CXXXII

Brett walked in mid-hug with some left over glasses from the table in his hands. 
"Everything okay here, guys?"
Eddy loved the way there was nothing in Brett's voice but concern even though he'd been hugging this girl. He really did know him inside and out, didn't he?  
"Yeah, it's all okay, Bretty."
Eddy froze to the spot the moment the term of endearment slipped out. Shit! He'd never called Brett that in front of anyone, ever, and he certainly hadn't meant to now. 
"Erm... I mean..."
Of course, a huge smile was already spreading on Lily's face. "'Bretty',  huh? I like it. Can I call you Bretty too?"
Brett grinned good-naturedly. "Sure, I guess. You can call me Bretty Bang."
Lily's laughter pealed through the kitchen. Then she turned on the dishwasher and the two boys followed her back to the living room. Lily linked her arm through Brett's as she walked. 
"I like it, Bretty Bang. It suits you!"
Oh God. What had he gone and done now? And was that nickname going to stick? 

Matt seemed to have worked out the DVD-player while they were washing the dishes: the TV was paused right on the start of the movie. Eddy settled himself in on one of the two red couches and crossed his legs under him, holding his arm out to Brett to come join him.
Oh, but how easy was it, to be here? How beautiful was it, to be completely out, to not have to hide a single thing? Eddy could have quite happily moved in with these three people and never look back.
Well. Except he knew he'd miss his mum. But still. He could. 

It didn't take long before his head wound up on Brett's shoulder and Brett's arm was around Eddy's shoulders with his hand resting casually on his chest. It didn't really take long after that before Eddy stopped following the movie, because Brett's fingers kept stroking him softly, the nimble digits making these small movements around his pec that were driving him crazy, that made him want to run upstairs to be alone with Brett. But he'd have to sit here and wait it out, of course. And it was only eight. 
Oh, Brett... Eddy knew full well he was doing this completely on purpose, and he could feel from Brett's shallow breaths that he wasn't the only one affected either. 
Could he lean his face up and kiss him, just a little bit? Was it okay to make out in front of good friends? He had absolutely no idea what the consensus was on shit like this. Wasn't like he'd often had this kind of opportunity, was it? 

He made a concerted effort to follow the movie again, and in the end he actually managed to get into it a little bit. He did see the little kisses that Matt and Lily were starting to swap though, out of the corner of his eye, and they made him smile. 
Man, she really did have it bad... 
He grinned softly. Yeah, she had it bad, but no one had it as bad as he himself did. He leaned a bit more into Brett's chest, ignoring the little pang of pain from his neck, complaining about the weird angle. His neck could just deal with it, because he was having way too lovely a time to move. 

By the time the movie was almost over he could feel himself slipping, losing his tentative grip on decorum. The tease was maddening, and he was quickly starting to feel like he might burst, any second now. He had put his right foot on the couch, raising his knee to his chest so he'd be able to hide how he was feeling from the others. He sighed softly in relief when the little group watched the credits roll at last. 
Brett glanced left subtly, to his raised knee and down. Then he smiled slightly and cleared his throat. 
"So, I'm pretty tired, guys. Mind if we turn in?"
Lily turned to them and grinned broadly. "No, 'course not. I'll stay up a bit more, though."
"Yeah, me too." Matt added. 
Eddy would have to come back downstairs in a bit, he knew. He'd made Mrs. Huang a promise, after all. It didn't really matter, because it wasn't like the others weren't completely aware of what was going on, was it? But right now he didn't have it in him to care, because all he wanted to do was follow Brett to their bedroom and make sure he was properly tucked in.