World Tour

San Fran, part 3

Brett had fallen asleep again, and by the time it was light he looked a lot better than he had last night. 
Eddy had been awake the whole time, alternating looking at Brett and at the early morning sunlight, slowly making its way into the room through the windows, creeping further and further up the carpet as it chased the dusk away. He'd never gotten around to shutting the drapes last night, and he sure as hell wasn't going to risk waking sick Brett up to close them now. 
It had been okay though, to lie awake. It had given him some time to think, and he had something important to talk to Brett about.  

When Brett finally did wake up he had a nasty cough, but the fever was gone and he said he felt much better. 

Eddy took a deep breath. 
¨So, Brett?¨ he started. 
¨Hmhm?¨
Eddy sat up, crossing his legs.
¨I was thinking... just say if you don't want to, okay? Be honest?¨
Brett looked at him in earnest now. 
¨Yeah, of course! What were you thinking?¨
¨So... we're going to be in L.A. And L.A. is quite close to...¨
Brett froze and his eyes opened wide, and Eddy knew he already knew what he was trying to say. But he had to say it anyway. So he whispered:
¨To Vegas.¨
Brett didn't say anything, he just stared at Eddy. 
¨I mean...¨ Eddy said, letting the words spill out of him. ¨I have no idea what we'll be coming home to. We don't want a big wedding, I guess, as we don't need the whole world involved. So I thought maybe we could just do it here, just us. Maybe ask Sophie and Ibo to be our witnesses.¨

Brett still didn't say anything, and Eddy was getting worried he'd taken this too far. 
¨Hey, can you please say something? You're freaking me out.¨
Suddenly a tear welled up in Brett's eye, and spilled over onto his cheek. 
He sat up slowly, another tear following the last, his face full of emotion. 
Eddy reached over, and wiped away the tear. 
¨Hey¨, he whispered. ¨Why are you crying?¨

Brett finally spoke, so softly Eddy could barely hear it, and there was wonder in his voice. 
¨You really want to marry me.¨ he said. ¨You really want that.¨
Eddy didn't know what to say to that, so he just nodded. 
¨Eddy...¨ Brett whispered, his voice croaky with his cold. ¨I loved you for so, so long. I believed for so long that it would always be me, loving you hopelessly. I never dared dream any of this would happen. And now, you said this, and...¨
Eddy didn't wait for him to finish his sentence. He just leant over and took Brett into his arms, rubbing his back. 
He was starting to understand why Brett had felt so insecure. He'd had years more waiting. 
¨I'm so sorry, Brett¨, he said softly. ¨I'm so sorry I didn't realise sooner how you felt. I'm sorry you felt like that for so long.¨
He pulled out of the hug to look Brett in the eyes, tears threatening to spill out of his own eyes now. 
¨Let's go to Vegas in a couple of days and make it official, yeah?¨
Brett nodded. ¨I'd love that.¨

They sat there like that for the longest time. Eddy's legs fell asleep one by one, but he didn't want to move. He felt like they were turning some sort of corner he didn't know had existed, and he didn't want the moment to end. 

Brett's cold eventually ended it though. He got into a coughing fit so intense he gagged, and Eddy jumped up to get him some water and some more medicine. 
Then he told Brett to stay in bed for a while, while he went to the venue and saw what he could do on his own. 
¨No, bro, I'm fine to come along¨, Brett said, his eyes red. 
¨I'm sure, but you're better off resting a bit. We'll need to rehearse at some point, and that is something I really can't do alone. I'll be back in a bit, okay?¨
¨Okay¨, Brett said, giving in without too much of a fight.

Eddy went downstairs quickly to get some breakfast, and when he came back to the room Brett was already sleeping again. He clearly had a lot of rest to catch up on. 
He left the toast and jam on the side table for him, to eat when he woke up, and tiptoed out of the room with his violin case on his back.