World Tour

Singapore, part 2

Eddy stopped breathing, his heart in his throat. 

¨Y-yeah¨, he managed. ¨We probably should¨.
He sat down next to Brett on the bed, a little distance away, facing him. 

¨Right.¨ said Brett hesitantly, in a soft and almost hoarse tone. ¨Here goes. There's something that I've not been telling you for a while, because I've been too scared to. And even now I don't know if it's a good idea to say anything at all. But, I've started to get the feeling that maybe you feel it too, and I just need to tell you that...¨ Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. They both jumped, but also realised straight away it would be some of the crew they'd hired for the Asian leg of their tour. 

Eddy felt dizzy. He looked at Brett, who was staring at him with panic in his eyes. He called out: ¨One second!¨, and put his hands on Brett's  thighs.
¨Don't worry. It'll all be fine. We'll talk later¨.
Brett nodded. 

Eddy opened the door to find the theatre tech they hired beaming at him.
¨Hey Matt! Good to meet you! Come in, we'll go through the plans here, and then go check out the venue. Do you know if the accompanist will be there?¨
As he turned into the room he saw to his relief that Brett had, at least outwardly, composed himself too.

They spent the next hour going over all the light and sound plans. He had a very positive feeling with this guy, he really knew his stuff. 

Then they picked up their violins and headed over to the venue. In the taxi, Matt took the front seat, while Eddy and Brett sat in the back. Eddy was still in a state of shock. He could barely believe it, but he was fairly certain what Brett had been about to say. 
And then it hit him. The loaded topic had been opened, and really, was there any turning back now? He looked at Brett, and he realised in that moment that, in the end, there was nothing he wanted more than to be close to him, as close as he could possibly get.
Was there any point resisting? 
So he smiled at Brett, and gave him a wink, as he purposefully took his hand into his own, and intertwined their fingers. He stroked Brett's thumb with his, as Brett's eyes widened and finally, his face relaxed and a smile spread over his cheeks and softened his panicked eyes.

The venue turned out to be very nice. All the tickets had been sold out already, which confirmed to them that they were doing a good thing here! They looked at the hall and then at each other, beaming with pride.
The grand piano they'd requested was proudly stood on the stage. They met their accompanist there,  and then got out their violins to do all the sound checks, and run through the programme. 

As soon as Eddy had his violin in his hands, he felt himself relax. He played the familiar sixth of Tchaikovsky's violin concerto, feeling the shifts fall into place, and sighed. This was exactly where he belonged. His beloved violin in his hands, on a great stage, grand piano behind him, and his... well, his best friend beside him. 

After the run through, when they were satisfied everything was in place, they went out to eat with the crew, after which everyone went their separate ways and the boys were left to acclimatise for the rest of the evening.
They walked through the streets of Singapore a little, but soon enough they found themselves wandering back, close to the hotel. 

They walked through the lobby, and in the elevator they shared an almost shy smile.
Eddy looked at Brett, and he felt so attracted to him, it was like there was a magnetic charge, pulling him closer. Whoa. Like this, soon, something had to give. But he stood, calmly, keeping himself collected, breathing slowly in and out. 
Arriving on their floor, Brett fumbled nervously with the key card, taking a while to get the door open.
They walked in, Eddy closing the door behind him, and suddenly, just like that, he lost his grip on himself. 

He pushed Brett roughly against the wall, and kissed him.