brett spent the entirety of the car ride on the phone with their boss, explaining the severity of the situation. luckily, he was understanding. he hung up just as they pulled into the parking lot.
"are you okay?" eddy asked as they exited the vehicle. brett shook his head fiercely and latched on to his boyfriend's waist to comfort himself.
"what happened?"
brett took a shaky breath and pushed his hair out of his reddened face.
"a, um.. a drunk driver. jamie was coming to see us and some asshole decided to get drunk and drive," he laughed bitterly before breaking into tears again. eddy held his hand tightly as they walked inside.
to brett's dismay, they discovered that it could be hours before anyone was able to see jamie. he really wasn't listening to the reason why; he'd pretty much shut himself down as soon as the disappointing words came out of the nurse's mouth. eddy was too busy keeping an eye on brett to listen much either, but he did catch a few words. they weren't good.
the aggressive lighting of the hospital made brett feel sick. his head pounded and his stomach refused to stop bubbling and growling lowly, annoying him to no end. he took a seat in a painstakingly uncomfortable chair and sighed loudly.
"you can go back to rehearsal if you want," he mumbled to eddy, toying with the hem of the taller boy's shirt. eddy scoffed.
"no," he said simply. brett squinted and shifted in his chair.
"why not?" he asked. eddy frowned and turned to face his boyfriend, eyeing his puffy cheeks and reddened eyes.
"i'm not leaving you here. i'm going to stay with you," he shrugged. brett huffed, exasperated.
"but why?" he groaned, voice cracking as hot tears fell down his face. eddy sighed softly and put his arms around brett's shoulders. the smaller boy grabbed fistfuls of his boyfriend's shirt, burying his wet face in his neck.
"because i care about you and i'm always going to care about you. i'm not going anywhere, bretty."
"you promise?" brett whined, heavy sobs coursing through his small body.
"i promise, baby."
no more words were uttered for awhile as eddy held brett close, trying to steady his shaking frame the best he could. it was not working. his loud sobbing had caught the attention of a few passersby, which eddy glared at annoyedly.
two hours passed before brett managed to cry himself to sleep, slumped over in eddy's lap. the taller boy removed brett's glasses to keep them from pressing against his face as he slept and carefully clipped them to his own shirt. he leaned his head back against the wall and stared up at the ceiling.
honestly, eddy was pissed. his anger couldn't necessarily be directed at one person in particular(except for the driver), but more so at the world in general. why did bad things have to happen to brett? eddy thought of him as the sweetest person in all creation and it was so unfair the way he was treated. it seemed that everything about brett was perfect except for his luck.
time seemed nonexistent in the constant brightness of the hospital. eddy stared at the television for a long time, scoffing at the mindlessness of whatever program was on. he missed brett's laugh and the resonant sound of his voice, reverberating off of every surface and coming back to his ears even more beautiful than before. the fact that he was hurting so badly destroyed the taller boy and not being able to fix it made it even worse.
brett's phone rang, vibrating loudly in his pocket, but he was too exhausted to even notice. eddy carefully removed it and frowned at the name on the screen. he didn't recognize it.
"hi, brett's phone," he answered, completely unsure of what to say.
"where's brett?" a deep voice demanded. eddy shifted uncomfortably in his seat and glanced down at the sleeping boy in his lap.
"he's asleep," he sighed. "who is this?"
"is this eddy?"
eddy hesitated.
"..yes," he frowned, curious as to how the stranger knew his name.
"i'm jamie's dad. can you wake brett up? i need to talk to him. i told him to let me know what's going on because i can't make it down to sydney until tomorrow."
eddy sighed deeply and pushed his hair out of his face, eyeing brett again. the last thing he wanted to do was wake him up.
"i don't think brett is going to have much news for you, unfortunately. we've been sitting in the hospital waiting room for hours and haven't heard anything. brett's a bit out of it, actually," he explained. jamie's father sighed.
"god, me too, son. don't wake him up. tell him i called and that i love him and one of you call me if you hear anything, okay?" he said tiredly. eddy nodded.
"yes," he replied, "of course."
"and eddy?"
"yeah?"
"if you break brett's heart, you'll be hearing from me. that's a promise."
eddy didn't have time to reply before the phone beeped, signaling that the other man had hung up. his cheeks reddened slightly and he sighed for the millionth time that day. how jamie's father knew him was a complete mystery and had him stumped. he assumed that jamie had told him about brett having a boyfriend or something like that, or at least he hoped.
after hours of waiting, some news was received. it was not good.
eddy held his hands gently over brett's ears as it was explained to him that jamie was in the intensive care unit in critical condition. the cars had collided nearly head on and he had been without a seatbelt. the nurse assured eddy that the doctors were doing everything they could to stabilize him, but that statement didn't comfort him.
neither did the fact that he had to wake brett up and tell him that his best friend's life was in worse danger than they thought. he took a deep breath and shook the smaller boy's shoulder gently until he stirred, squinting around the room as he tried to remember where he was.
"hey," eddy said softly, stroking brett's soft hair. he yawned and pulled at his neck, the bones popping loudly.
"any news?" he asked. the tiredness was audible in his voice and eddy glanced at the time, his eyes widening. it was nearly 11 p.m.
"yeah," eddy sighed. "he's in the icu, brett. they're trying their hardest."
the shattering of brett's heart was so forceful that eddy could've swore he heard it. the smaller boy's face contorted with strong emotion and tears filled his eyes once more, tumbling over his waterline and falling down his already stained cheeks. he collapsed into eddy's lap again.
"it's all because of me," he breathed, clenching his fists. eddy slid his fingers in between brett's to keep him from digging his long nails into his skin. the smaller boy grabbed onto his boyfriend's hands as if he were drowning and they were his only life line, his grip on them nearly cutting off eddy's circulation.
"you can't blame yourself, angel. he's going to be okay."
"you don't know that!" brett shouted, his voice hitting eddy's ears like heavy footsteps on hard pavement. the younger boy sighed.
"i think i should take you home. you're exhausted and upset and—"
"i'm not leaving," brett interrupted. eddy raised an eyebrow at him and ran his hand down his back.
"we can't stay here all night."
"fine, then. go home."
the hatefulness of brett's voice sent chills down eddy's spine and he bit down on the inside of his cheek. brett had never spoken to eddy with such a harsh tone, and it hurt more than it should have. hearing his sweet voice sound so hostile and watching him shy away from eddy's touch broke the taller man's heart.
"not without you. please let me take you. we can go to my house if you want. you can take a shower and get some food and some rest. we don't have rehearsal tomorrow so maybe you can sleep in, yeah? come on, brett. he would want you to take care of yourself," eddy pleaded. brett was silent for a moment, hands covering his face and body turned away from eddy's.
"will you shower with me?" he said finally, his voice small and nose sniffly. eddy nodded.
"of course i will. i'll do anything you want me to, brett."
the two of them stood up and brett grabbed eddy's hand, intertwining their fingers as they returned to the car in silence. eddy found himself praying that mae would be out of the house when they got there. she was supposed to be out of there days ago, but that didn't mean anything. all he could do was hope for the best.
traffic was extremely light as the two violinists rode down the highway, headed for eddy's home. brett leaned his head against the cool glass of the window and stared up at the stars to try and distract himself from his best friend's condition and the way eddy's hand felt as it rested on his thigh. anything sexual was the last thing on brett's mind at that moment, but god his hand was so close. the smaller man shook his head. now was not the time.
upon their arrival to eddy's house, brett found himself staring up at the magnificent structure in awe. it was a beautiful building and it made brett embarrassed by his own home; a messy, small apartment. but eddy didn't mind that. he would spend time with brett anywhere.
the tears that previously stained brett's face had dried now, much to eddy's satisfaction. seeing his boyfriend cry was something he'd hated since the first time he'd seen it and he always did whatever he could to keep it from happening or make it better when it did.
no words were spoken as they entered the house. it was eerily silent and completely dark, no sign of mae or anyone else at all. relief washed over eddy as he shut the dark oak door behind him and wrapped his arms around brett's waist in a gentle hug. brett leaned into the touch and sniffled quietly.
"eddy?" he whispered.
"hmm?"
"thank you," brett mumbled. eddy shook his head dismissively and slid his hands under brett's shirt to rub his back, tapping his long fingers against his spine.
"it's no problem," he replied, swaying back and forth with his boyfriend safe in his arms.
"kiss me," brett whispered.
and eddy did. they each relished in the sweet taste of each other's soft lips, mouths molding together like pieces of a puzzle. it was no ordinary kiss, but it was rare that a kiss between the two of them ever was. brett lost himself in the passion and could barely think straight as eddy's tongue gently stroked the inside of his cheeks, his large hands sliding further and further down his boyfriend's back. their bodies pressed against each other so gently yet so firm. it was as if they were part of one another, unable to be separated under any circumstances. brett's thoughts were fuzzy and he could feel himself getting weaker and leaning more and more against eddy's strong frame, using him for support.
a barely audible moan escaped brett's swollen lips as his tongue found eddy's, the two of them moving together like fast semiquavers in a gorgeous duet. eddy's hands and mouth were just so warm and impossibly soft, turning brett's insides into a thick liquid as he held him in his arms.
it was eddy who finally pulled away, afraid that the nature of the kiss was becoming too inappropriate for the current situation. the sight of brett's glassy eyes, pink skin, and slightly parted lips was almost too much for him to handle. he took a deep breath.
"shower?" he asked quietly. brett nodded.
the two of them found themselves holding hands again as they walked to the bathroom, bodies pressing together once more as they removed each other's clothes in the beautifully deafening silence. their bare skin pressed together as they embraced once more, brett's cheek cool against the warm skin of eddy's neck. the water didn't take long to heat up and they soon stepped into the shower, letting it run all over their skin. they washed up quickly and spent a long time standing under the warmth, the scarcity of gaps between their skin increasing by the second.
"eddy," brett sighed, planting a soft kiss on the taller boy's neck.
"what is it?"
"i love you," brett mumbled, the fateful words escaping his lips for the second time. a smile spread across eddy's face.
"i love you, too."