Andante

CLX

"You know, there is one thing that has not happened yet, today." Brett said, as he grabbed his bag from the floor. They were in Eddy's room, waiting to be called down for dinner. 
Eddy looked up from his spot on the bed in surprise. What could he possibly have in mind now?
Brett took something out of his bag and quietly walked over. Then he sat down on the bed next to him and put his hand on Eddy's thigh. He squeezed it softly. 
"I haven't given you my present yet."
Eddy blinked in surprise. "But... you said..."
"I couldn't give it to you earlier, not with everyone there. And maybe you'll think it's super cheesy, but still."
Brett looked very shy as he handed over the little package, wrapped in gold paper. 
Excitement coursed through Eddy hard. What on earth had Brett thought of? He opened the paper carefully, scraping off the little piece of sellotape with his short thumb nail, so as not to damage anything. In the paper was a little jewellery box. He looked up at Brett in surprise. Brett just shrugged ever so slightly, coyly, almost apologetically.
What on earth? 
He stopped breathing as he slowly lifted the black velvet lid, and for a moment his heart stopped. He looked at the box, then at Brett, and back at the box again so quickly he must have looked like a whippet. 
"Bretty!" he whispered as he took out the simple silver band. 
"Look at the engraving." Brett breathed. 
Eddy held it between his thumb and index finger and read. 

Love you forever - Bretty. 

The next time he looked up his eyes were brimming with tears. Brett was looking at him earnestly. 
"I know you can't wear it. But I thought I'd give it to you anyway, as a promise."
Eddy got up in a rush and pulled Brett up with him. Then he stood against his door, so no one would be able to open it suddenly, and he pulled his boyfriend close. Real, real close. 
"Thank you, Bretty. It's... it's simply the best thing I've ever gotten in my life." he whispered in his ear.
"I'm so glad." Brett said just as softly, as he buried his face in Eddy's hair, nuzzling into him. "I really hope that one day I can put it on your hand for real."
Eddy kissed him sweetly on his lips, once, twice, and then suddenly he was kissing him deeper, much deeper, his tongue around Brett's, his fingers fisting in Brett's hair. Oh, and it would have been so easy to lose himself right now, to carry on kissing forever, but he knew that that was a very bad idea indeed. So he let go, blinked and wiped away the last tears that were still drying on his cheeks. 
"I'm going to hold you to that, you know."

The sound of his mother calling from downstairs came through the closed door. 
"Dinner!"
Oh yes. There was his mum's impeccable sense of timing, as usual. 
Eddy raised his eyebrows ironically at his boyfriend, who was still just ever so slightly redder than normal. 
"So, dinner then, bro?"
Brett grinned at the term. "Yeah. You may want to hide that somewhere safe, though." He pointed at the ring, that Eddy still held in his hand. 
Eddy purposefully looked Brett right in the eye, took the ring to his lips and kissed it tenderly. Then he gave Brett one more quick kiss, picked up the little velvet box from the bed and walked ring and box over to his book case, to that book that he had once hollowed out in the centre with a pocket knife when he was a kid. He was completely sure his mum didn't know anything about that little hiding place. He took the heavy red book off the shelf, opened it quickly and put the ring in its box inside. Then he put the book back and made sure it was level with the others. 
"Come on, then." he said, and he ran down the stairs to the smell of kung pao chicken with Brett on his heels.