Andante

CXLI

He ran to the park as fast as he possibly could. The minutes had crawled by all afternoon and he had felt like he could explode at any moment from his worries about Ian, from wondering about what Lily had said. And to add to that lovely mix he now also had to deal with the annoyance with himself for not handling this without having to run to his boyfriend. But the bell had mercifully rung in the end and here he was. He wouldn't have much time and he'd get a chewing out for being late, but he simply had no choice. 
He was panting hard by the time he ran into the park and over the gravel paths to their field, still running at full pelt, just hoping that today wouldn't be the day some stranger had decided to have a picnic there or something like that. 
But he needn't have worried, because the field was empty and he saw the familiar shape of Brett already by a bush in the corner of the field. He ran as fast as he could over the grass and slammed into him, finally burying his face in his boyfriends chest, finally feeling his arms around him, and he clung to him for dear life. 
He wanted to cry, really, but he stopped himself. He didn't want to be there doing that, like Ian had the day before for much better reasons. So he breathed deeply after a moment and looked up into his boyfriend's sweet koala eyes. 
"Hi." he murmured. 
Brett smiled and softly stroked some of Eddy's hair back from his forehead. 
"Hi yourself. You wanted a hug, then."
Eddy nodded, now feeling even more like an idiot for being so needy. "Yeah. Sorry."
Brett looked around him quickly and then he pressed a soft kiss to Eddy's cheek. 
"Don't be sorry." he whispered in his ear. "I happen to seriously love hugging you."

Eddy breathed in the lovely words, the warmth of them spreading through his chest, and he was hugging him again, his eyes shut, the feeling of Brett's arms around him making him safe from all the world. 
"I wish we wouldn't ever have to be apart." he said then, meaning every word like none he'd uttered before. "Everything is better when you're there."
Brett nodded against the top of his head. "I know. But just a bit more than a year and we'll both be at the con, hey?"
The thought made Eddy smile. "Yeah. Just a bit more than a year."
They'd make that, surely. 
"Have you heard from Ian?" Brett asked quietly. 
"Yeah, he texted this morning. He says he's okay. I don't think he's telling the truth."
Brett stroked Eddy's hair again. 
"You know you've done all you could, right?"
Eddy narrowed his eyes. "Lily was saying something similar."
"Smart girl."
Suddenly Eddy grinned. He was feeling lighter, now. And now it was his turn to look around him quickly at the deserted field, his turn to lean forward. But this time he touched his lips to Brett's soft mouth, his hands on Brett's back, pulling him closer. 
Brett grunted softly and started kissing him back, softly at first but quickly giving him access, biting softly on Eddy's lower lip. 

Oh, if only this moment could have lasted forever, this wonderful, perfect moment where their lips moved in perfect harmony, where the birds sang and the world was quiet. 
But something tugged at Eddy and he knew he had to let go, he knew he'd have to say bye. 
He kissed him one more time and then he moved back a little. 
"Thanks for coming here."
Brett's cheeks were flushed and he breathed out in a sweet sigh. "Well. It wasn't that much of a hardship, now was it."
That was it, they were both giggling, even as they started running again, as quickly as they could out of the park. 
"See you tomorrow!" he called as Brett turned left where he turned right. 
"Absolutely!"
He slowed down to a walking pace when he entered his street, so he wouldn't be completely out of breath when he came in the house. That would only add to the questions there would already be anyway. 
"Hi mum!" he called as he opened the door. "Sorry I'm a bit late, I was just helping a friend with some physics."
He had an A+ in physics. It was a likely story, but yet his mum's eyes seemed to bore through him as she came out of the kitchen to talk to him. She seemed to deliberate, but then she just nodded and turned around again. 
"You get your work done."
He nodded quickly, the relief palpable. 
"Of course I will."