counterpoint

no place i'd rather be

blurb: one possible way to pop the question between them.

→ twosetweek #6; prompt: future + partners

warnings: expletives

title from rather be by clean bandit.

• • •

in hindsight, maybe eddy should've seen this one coming.

brett's always been full of surprises. he'd surprised his parents by his decision to become a violinist instead of a dentist. he'd surprised everyone over the fact that he had founded and stayed with twoset—with eddy—for all these years, through thick and thin. he'd surprised eddy over the fact that he had taken him up on that first date that fateful day.

he'd surprised eddy over the fact that brett actually does love him back.

so really, this should've been something eddy could see from a galaxy away. turns out that after eight years, five world tours, ten million fans, and a lifetime's worth of happiness and excitement, brett yang is still an unpredictable enigma—and eddy wouldn't have it any other way.

they're in an artsy hole-in-the-wall restaurant, having just finished a quiet dinner together where prying eyes can't follow them, when brett suddenly stops a few steps away from the front door, hesitance etched across his features.

eddy can't help the initial burst of worry that spirals through him. it must show on his stance, stark against the moonlit pavement, because his boyfriend snaps out of his frozen state and turns towards him. "brett? what's wrong?"

the other shakes his head, smiling up at eddy to confirm that no, nothing's wrong. and then brett continues, soft and lowly: "we're partners, aren't we?"

"yeah, we are," eddy concedes; it's true. "so what's up? wanna make a new duo name or something?"

brett shakes his head, looks away to fix his gaze on the shadows they cast against the earth. "i know we're partners now, in work and play and everything in between." brett's fingers nervously fiddle with the hem of his shirt, and at the sight of them moving restlessly, eddy's breath catches in his throat. could it be? "i was just wondering if—if you wanted to become partners," and it's here that brett raises his gaze to lock with eddy's own, "for life."

he's struck dumb for a second, so all eddy can do is repeat the aforementioned statement. "for life?"

brett fidgets. "as long as you want me around."

is he asking what eddy thinks he's asking? he's almost terrified to ask for clarification in the fear that he might just be taking this thing the wrong way, but then brett's looking at him the way a thirsty man looks at a glass of water, so. that means something.

a beat of silence, maybe two, and just as the other man's face begins to fall, eddy decides to take the leap. "forever then? shit, but that's so long," he mock-complains, breaking into a manic grin when brett punches him in the arm. "you're hurting your fiancé, you realize."

the shorter man folds his arms over his chest in annoyance, but then eddy's words seem to catch up to him, and his scowl slackens. "so that's," brett coughs into his fist, "that's a yes?"

"of course—god, of course." eddy takes both of those beloved hands into his own larger ones, enveloping them. he just barely resists the urge to shake them violently, demand where this sudden surge of disbelief is coming from. "don't you ever doubt it, brett yang. of course i will."

"you will?"

"really."

brett bows his head for a moment, then lifts it with an obvious smirk tugging at his mouth. "even if i suddenly became a violist?"

eddy sniffs disdainfully, pointing his nose up in the air with practiced arrogance. playing the evil violist from their countless skits has made him a master in this particular field of acting. "now you're just making me reconsider."

"fuck you," brett retaliates, but without any real heat in it. maybe it's the way he's smiling at eddy with adoration, almost worshipful in its warmth, that speaks volumes on how he means only love when he teases him like this. "maybe i shouldn't give you a ring if you're gonna be this difficult about my career choices."

eddy flips his imaginary long hair over his shoulder. "i'll be a bridezilla as much as i want to, husband."

brett snorts, shaking his head, and then walks straight into eddy's arms, burying his face in the taller man's chest. "i love you."

even after so many years together, so many precious moments spent hearing those treasured words, they still make eddy's heart shudder every single time. "love you too," he replies softly; it's almost muscle memory at this point to say those words back.

and eddy means them with every inch of his soul.

a few moments pass. he feels brett's smile turn into a smirk against his collarbone, and no, he's going to be the one to speak first. "so does that mean i should dress up as edwina for the wedding? you know how lovely i look in a dress, and i don't want to waste such a—"

brett cuts him off with a well-placed jab to his ribs, but still, eddy laughs and laughs. in his mind's eye, he sees himself in a white suit, standing beside the most beautiful man in the world before an altar, the gleam of twin golden rings on their fingers.

the vision is just fucking perfect.

partners for life, brett had said. eddy quite likes the sound of that.