Andante

CLXXIII

They had gotten Brett into the house as quietly as they possibly could, they had forced him to drink a large glass of water and gotten him settled into a mattress on the floor of Steven's bedroom, next to the air mattress Steven had put down for Eddy earlier. Then Steven had gone back outside, Eddy guessed to go back to the party, but instead he had come back with a pink wash basin. 
"Please, if he throws up again..." he had said, with feeling, and Eddy had nodded. Then Steven had walked out with Todd and left them. 
God, how he hoped he wouldn't. It had been bad enough by the bushes. Brett had fallen asleep with his clothes on the instant his head hit his pillow, and now Eddy was sitting on the floor next to him, his legs crossed. 
"God, Brett. Why did you drink this much." he whispered, leaning over and resting his head on Brett's hip, knowing full well he was basically comatose and wouldn't hear or remember a thing. "We could have... we could have been together here, you know. Or I could have been out there still, chatting to people by the pool. Either would have been nice."
No way he would even consider going out there now, of course. No way. He wouldn't leave Brett in this state, even if he was... well, he had to admit to himself that he was a little angry. Especially with Steven, who had started Brett on the beer, even though he knew that made no logical sense at all. Steven hadn't forced him to drink it. No, Brett had made that decision himself.
Oh well. He shrugged into the dark, got up and made his way over to the window, which looked out over the pool. The party was dying down, the music had been stopped and kids were drifting off, back to their houses. Eddy shrugged again, quickly took off his trousers, and lay down on the air mattress. He folded his hands underneath his head and looked up at the ceiling. Brett had started to snore a little. Brett never snored... Eddy guessed it was alcohol induced. 
He was tired, though, and he was asleep before Steven ever came in. 

Brett's groan woke him up. It was fully light, the sun's rays streaming through the gap in the curtains. Brett groaned again and Eddy was up in a heartbeat. He remembered Steven's whispered words of the night before. Shit, was he about to have to act on them? 
Steven's bed was empty, and Eddy had no idea where he was. Had he even spent the night here? 
"Hey." he whispered to Brett as he sat down and crossed his legs, just like he had in the middle of the night, moving the pink wash basin a little closer to Brett. "You okay? You gonna be sick again?"
Brett shook his head softly, and instantly scrunched his eyes shut at the movement. 
"Nah, don't think so. My head's killing me, though."
Eddy nodded and put his hand on Brett's shoulder, stroking softly. 
"Once I'm sure people are up I'll get you some painkillers."
Brett didn't respond, but he grabbed Eddy's hand suddenly and looked up at him with the biggest, openest koala eyes. 
"Wait. What do you mean: again? Shit, Eddy, tell me, did... did I do something bad? I... I don't remember most of last night."
Eddy blinked. Oh shit. How was he going to put this? But before he made a conscious decision either way, his tongue took over. 
"Erm. You got drunk. Very drunk. You came close to outing us, then you were sick into the bushes."
Brett seemed to shrink as he stared at him. 
"Jesus." he whispered then. "Really?"
Eddy shrugged. "It's okay."
Brett closed his eyes and winced. "Fuck. I'm so, so sorry Eddy. I'm such an idiot."
Eddy could see him falling now, falling into an abyss of guilt, and any anger he may have felt last night was completely gone. All he felt now was sorry, for his sick boyfriend.
"It's fine, Brett. Don't worry about it."
Brett looked right at him and his voice was unexpectedly harsh. "No, it's not fine. You... you organised this wonderful surprise for me and then I went and ruined it for you, you had to watch me throw up, I took you away from this party, that you made happen for me? I'm a crap boyfriend."
He shook his head bitterly, and Eddy was getting the distinct feeling he wasn't say all the harsh words that he was thinking at all. He bent over and threw his arms around him, pulling Brett's head to his chest. 
"Hey. Don't worry about it, Bretty, for real, stop beating yourself up, please? It's okay. I guess everyone does this at some point? I dunno."
Well. He was going to make damn sure he himself wasn't, that was for definite. 
"Hey. It's fine, it really is."
Brett wriggled out of his hold and sat up slowly, his eyes weary, with dark circles under them. 
"It's really not, but I'll make it up to you. I promise."

Eddy simply shook his head and smiled at him. He put his hand on Brett's shoulder and stroked the very soft skin of his neck with his index finger and thumb. 
"No need. So, anyway... happy birthday, my love. You're a fully grown adult, now."
Brett grinned wryly. "Yeah, not really feeling like one right about now. Look, I would love to kiss you, but based on how my mouth feels right now that's very likely not the best idea in the world."
Eddy eyed him appraisingly. He really didn't mind so much, but he didn't want Brett to feel awkward either. 
"Well, why don't you brush your teeth and kiss me then?"