the silence

twenty-six.

    "alright," brett said after awhile, "let's go."

    eddy got dressed and the two boys pulled apart from the embrace and made their way out to eddy's car, their hands finding each other somewhere along the way. soft raindrops pelted their shoulders and the tops of their heads as they walked along the uncovered driveway and climbed into the vehicle to avoid the rain, brett's soft laughter at eddy's annoyance drifting through the humid air. the smaller boy loved the rain, but his partner did not. brett settled himself in the car and began staring at the small drops of water and condensation on the window, tracing their pathways with his fingertip. rain had always been beautiful to him.

    as rain was beautiful to brett, brett was beautiful to eddy. the taller man found himself sitting in the driver's seat in awe of the way brett's eyes looked against the gray background of the sky. his hair was beginning to get somewhat long and his black bangs fell perfectly against his milky skin, framing his face and taking eddy's breath away. brett was completely oblivious to his boyfriend's staring until the realization that they were sitting still hit him and he frowned, turning to look at the man beside him.

    "what?" he asked. eddy smiled slightly and shook his head.

    "you are absolutely gorgeous," he shrugged. a pink tint spread from the center of brett's face all the way to his neck and the tips of his ears, his hands immediately raising up to hide it.

    "n-no. we need to go," he stammered, trying to change the subject. eddy didn't like his disagreement with the compliment but knew better than to argue. self esteem was not something brett had ever really possessed and eddy knew that. he figured arguing with him and trying to force him to accept the compliment would only upset him.

    "okay, beautiful," eddy nodded. brett shot him a look but didn't protest this time, silenced by the other boy's hand on his thigh after he started the car.

    the drive was quiet and easy, seeing as it was raining and traffic was light. brett occupied himself by playing with eddy's hand and taking pictures of him as he drove. he thought eddy looked beautiful, too. the taller boy's cheeks were red in half of the pictures because no one ever really took random photos of him before and it put butterflies in his stomach. it made him feel appreciated and his body wasn't quite sure how to react so such a feeling, so it got embarrassed.

    to brett's dismay, they found out upon arrival that jamie would be leaving in an hour. which meant he could head home in an hour. brett wrapped his arms and legs around jamie and refused to let go for the entirety of that time period, listening to eddy and nicolas and jamie and his father talk the entire time. he didn't feel like talking. there was too much sadness for words.

    even after the hour passed, letting go of jamie was not something brett was up for. the tall man carried his best friend with him to the exit and out to the car before saying anything about his position.

    "bretty, you—"

    "no."

    brett knew exactly what jamie was going to say. he only tightened his grip and everyone else watched nervously as jamie took a deep breath, rubbing his back. nicolas put his arm on jamie's and sighed sadly. he and brett were good friends, too, and he hated to see the smaller boy upset.

    "can you guys give us a minute? i want to talk to him alone," jamie sighed, running his hand lazily through brett's hair. the other men nodded and went to stand by eddy's car, having a conversation about something entirely different to distract themselves. nicolas and jamie's father really liked eddy.

    "baby," jamie began, "i have to go home."

    "i don't want you to," brett whimpered, shaking his head and grabbing fistfuls of his best friend's t shirt. the taller man nodded.

    "i know. and i don't want to leave you either, but i can't stay in sydney forever. it's going to be okay. you can still call me whenever and i'll always answer you. we were doing good before i came to see you, remember? it'll be just like that."

    "you promise?" brett sniffled, putting his legs down but not letting go of jamie's neck. his feet didn't touch the ground.

    "i promise, sweetheart. i'm still your best friend no matter where i am, yeah?"

    "yeah."

    "i thought so. and now you've got eddy to help you, too, right?" jamie offered, rubbing brett's back. brett perked up at the mention of his boyfriend's name and sighed deeply. he nodded and let go of jamie completely. they stood close to each other, fingers intertwined.

    "i'm gonna miss you, brettybabe," the taller man chuckled, tears stinging the back of his eyes. he blinked them away and kissed brett's forehead.

    "i'll miss you more."

    the two hugged once more before exchanging "i love you"s and pulling apart, headed their separate ways. eddy held brett by the waist as jamie and the two other men drove away.