deux

night one

(e.c.)
eddy had never felt this nervous in his life. his hands were sweaty and his heart was beating fast as he paced up and down the backstage halls of the opera house. he was so preoccupied with his nerves that he didn't notice brett round the corner and wave at him.

"hey man, you alright?" brett asked, concern lining his voice.

eddy jumped, startled by brett's presence.

"yeah, no i'm just—i'm nervous—it's fine." eddy responded, running a frustrated hand through his hair.

(b.y.)
eddy was adorable when he was nervous. his hair stuck up in every direction, and his lips were parted ever so slightly to allow for his anxious breathing. his hands shook slightly while they clenched and unclenched, and brett wished he could reach out and hold them with his steady hands. brett also noticed how remarkably handsome eddy looked in his all black suit, his sleek black jacket wrapped around his arms perfectly.

brett settled for grabbing ahold of eddy's arm, which was surprisingly firm.

"take some deep breaths, you'll be fine" brett said in a soft voice, making direct eye contact with eddy.

"now come on, its almost time to go on" brett grabbed the sleeve of eddy's suit jacket, still too unsure about holding his hand, and dragged him towards the stage door.

(e.c.)
he felt his breathing calm as brett latched onto his jacket sleeve. calm down eddy, you can do this. eddy tried to think encouragingly, but as they neared the stage entrance, he could hear the noise of thousands of people in the concert halls. adrenaline began rushing through his veins and his heart began to beat faster and faster.

"there's a lot of people out there, aren't there?" eddy whispered to brett, who stood bravely in front of him.

"yes," brett began hesitantly, "but the only person in the room that matters is you."

"plus, if you get nervous, you can just look at me" brett said with a newfound sense of confidence, a feeling that eddy usually had, not brett.

nevertheless, eddy did just that. as the two of them walked onstage to enormous amounts of applause, eddy tried to keep his eyes off the thousands of people in the audience and instead concentrated on the man in front of him who walked with complete certainty to his chair, unbothered by the awaiting audience. brett truly seemed to be in his element.

after taking a bow, closing his eyes, and inhaling deeply, eddy began the soft opening of the sibelius violin concerto, only opening his eyes to glance at brett or when he had to shift down the fingerboard. soon enough, eddy was able to forget about the audience in front of him, and put a passion he had never discovered before into the intense trills of the first movement. then, he stood during the orchestral tutti and watched brett lead the first violins with grace and poise as he prepared for the infamous upcoming arpeggios.

the first and second movements seemed to fly by, and the third movement was soon upon him. eddy got nervous again and the adrenaline returned; this was the part he was always unsure about. as he heard the percussionists begin to play, he raised his bow and made eye contact with brett. he could do this.

and sure enough, eddy played through the final movement of the sibelius violin concerto with a fiery sense of devotion and spirit, one that he hoped got across to the audience.

after exiting the stage and entering his dressing room, it suddenly hit eddy that his dreams really were coming true. he had just played his favorite violin concerto with the sydney symphony orchestra in the sydney opera house. he couldn't believe it wasn't a dream.

he packed up his things and walked to find brett, who happened to be waiting on the stairs outside, watching the city lights.

the sun had long since set, and the dim light of the fall moon reflected off of the water.

"hey, you ready to go?" eddy asked, noticing the kind twinkle in brett's eyes under the moonlight.

"yeah, there's a ramen place down the street i want to show you" brett said, gesturing with his head.

and so the two walked together in the city, spirits high. in fact, eddy felt like he could practically run a marathon, the adrenaline from the concert still hadn't worn off.

they entered the nearly empty restaurant and found a secluded booth to sit in, one across from the other. this feels an awful lot like a date, eddy thought.

however, his thoughts were soon interrupted by brett.

"tonight was amazing eddy, i've truly never heard such a spectacular performance of sibelius, really." brett said with a tone of admiration.

"i was pretty nervous, d'you think people could tell?" eddy was fading now, the energy he had just minutes ago leaving his body as quickly as it came. the reality of putting all his effort into the concert was coming back to get him.

"i could tell you were nervous" brett grinned, fiddling with his chopsticks, "you couldn't stop looking at me."

eddy couldn't help but blush at the comment, burying his head inside his folded arms which rested atop the wooden table. after a moment, though, he tilted his head up to observe brett. eddy could hardly keep his tired eyes off of the shorter violinist, and kept his gaze trained on the way brett's messy hair fell over his forehead, his round eyes behind his glasses, and even the way his lips moved when he talked.

the night went well, with eddy nearly falling asleep in his bowl of ramen. his exhaustion didn't go unnoticed by brett, who suggested that he go back to his hotel and get a good nights sleep.

and with that, eddy watched brett leave the restaurant and get into a taxi, and came to a clear realization that he indeed had a crush on brett yang.