Archive of Our Own ^beta

I'm pining away with missing you so much, as no one else ever was.
I miss you so much, as a bird misses freedom in a cage.
I’m waiting and I don't know whether the truth is in your eyes.

“Bye! See you tomorrow?” Brett asks, carefully, heart filled with hope to catch even a little glimpse of something in Eddy’s eyes. He doesn’t want to say goodbye yet — there’s so much he wants to do with him, just to spend time with him, even if they sit in silence… For Brett, that’ll be enough.

“Yeah, tomorrow! Get some sleep, hey?" Eddy patted his shoulder, skin burning under the touch. "You look dead exhausted with these dark circles under your eyes.” There’s a pity in his gaze as he smiles. Brett hates this- he’s completely fine and yet Eddy’s concern crawls under his skin, making its way to his chest, spreading warmth around his heart… He tried to stop this feeling lots and lots of times, with no luck. He couldn’t decide whether he was unfortunate or—

No, he better stop thinking about this.

“I just- I can’t really sleep lately. Maybe it’s the weather, haha.”

How can a person want so much, waiting all night for the sign
While the candle is burning; Until darling says "yes".

“-ett? Brett? You here, mate?” Eddy bumps Brett's knee with his, leaning in for attention.

“Uh, what? Sorry, I was-” I was thinking about how close you are, how your warmth makes my skin scorching hot under your touch, how every time you look at me I fear that my eyes will tell you everything that’s going on in my heart without asking me.

“I was asking you to check this text. D’you think it’s okay for an email follow-up?” Eddy turns a laptop so Brett can see the screen.

“Are you asking me to proofread? A person who can’t spell ‘practice’ right for like three times in a row?” He giggles and reads the block of text, not really wanting to, to be honest.

Eddy’s watching him. Brett can feel his gaze fixed on his face, and he can’t help but feel anxious suddenly. He tries to put all his attention on the screen, reading all the ‘Twoset Violin, musician community, LL40h, new video’. Why does this description feel so wrong? It’s got nothing to do with the initial idea, it’s just gibberish! Brett furrows his eyebrows - he can’t work out what’s going on as he tries to grasp the meaning of this text.

“Hey, what the heck is that?” He says to Eddy, eyes still fixed on the screen. “It isn’t funny, I thought you’ve written something-”

Eddy’s fingers stroke through Brett's hair, pulling it away from his face. Brett’s heart skips a beat.

I want to be with you so much like the child wants to be with its mother;
I want to reach you so much like the ground tries to reach the sky.

"Um- Eddy? What are you doing?" Brett stutters, his voice weak. He wants this to never end, he wants to keep Eddy's hand against his face, to caress these beautiful slender fingers of his… But not now, not when his heart is unsettled, not when he doesn't know how to react to the sudden act of Eddy's— whatever that is.

Eddy strokes his hair, hand moving from Brett's head to the back of his neck, squeezing it slightly. Eddy's thumb caresses the skin so light, like a butterfly.

"You are tense. And anxious…" Well yeah, of course, I am! Who do you think is responsible for all of that?

Eddy’s palm pressed firmly against Brett's back makes him inhale sharply, which doesn't go unnoticed. He bites his lower lip, eyes still on a screen.

"Brett, look at me," Eddy whispers, his voice shaky. It sends shivers down Brett's spine. God, oh god, he'll lie if he doesn't feel the anticipation in the air between them. There's nothing else to do other than to turn to face his best friend.

"You haven't read till the end, have ya?" Eddy smiles, head tilted slightly. Brett frowns, can't really work out what he's talking about. He then turns to read the text but Eddy's hand, still on his back, shifts a bit to his waist, pulling him away from the screen.

"Nah, I don't think it's necessary, now that you- that I-" Eddy draws closer. He’s looking for something in Brett’s eyes and then grins. He turns Brett’s chair so he faces his best friend, and Brett doesn’t know what to do: he’s stuck. Stuck between a chair and Eddy, and there’s no room to escape from that sly gaze. “Shit, shit, shit, shit, what do I do, what do I do?!”

Brett simply averts his gaze. He likes seeing Eddy so confident and all, but not now. Not when he’s the most vulnerable he’s ever been like in his whole life!

Suddenly, he feels so small, so inexperienced; why is the only thing that can erase all the years of flirting be Eddy, right now before him, holding his hand? What?

I'd give away all mine, all the world desires
Just for calling your name every morning.

“You have to do something with your stare, fans will develop even more silly theories about you two,” Editor-san told him, in her usual cynical manner.

“And what can I possibly do? Oh god, everyone appears to know about that, and only Brett… How can he be so oblivious?” Eddy groaned, covering his eyes with a hand. “I don’t know what to do, my subtle hints don’t work!”

He heard steps in a hallway and the sound of opening doors. “Okay, bye, talk to you later!”

“Who you were talking to?” Brett’s head emerged in the doorway. “I’ve got you bubble-tea, here.”

“Thanks! Oh, I wanted it so much! You’re my savior, Bretty!” Eddy took the drink from his hands and made a big sip. “It was nothing, just discussed a few tweaks with editor-san, she wanted to try new sound effects.”

“Oh, sounds fun!”

*ping*

Eddy looked at his phone - a new message from editor-san appeared on the screen.

editor-san

i may sound crazy but i guess i have some advice for ya

what advice? for the video?

no, how to cure your dumbness :D

don’t even start please im not in the mood and im anything but dumb!!!

Eddy suddenly got a bad feeling. Editor-san’s mind was so full with different ideas he began to fidget. What she can possibly pull out? I’m scared-

He was still looking at the screen with ‘editor-san typing...’ on it and anxiety took over him. Finally the long-awaited *ping*!

editor-san

i said that i may sound crazy but looking at you two all the time through videos made me realize something. not that i copy your fanbase, but really.i had to cut out so many things!!!!! i noticed not only your heart eyes (nice name tbh) but also brett’s. haha you wont believe me!

Eddy frowned and bit his lip. Nah, that can’t be true, of course not. She’s just messing with me…

Another *ping*.

editor-san

so what my plan is dont say i am wrong just yet! but can you like, you know, give him more attention but not in a friendly way? flirt a little and everything like that. if he's not into you u can say you’re just feeling fruity haha. but if you see something, even a little bit, if he becomes shy you know what to do be the man!

you!!!!!!! im gonna kill you or give you a raise for that!!! you better be rooting for me

okay oh the most important thing

what

try to catch his attention and look on his lips :D maybe you'll get some interesting reaction :D

now its 80% kill and 20% raise

i still have 20% hehe

Eddy smiled. His face hurt from how wide his grin was. And he wanted to hug his pillow and maybe scream in it too, but Brett was at home and he had to behave.

So be it, I’ll at least try…

I’m waiting and I don't know whether the truth is in your eyes.
I want to be with you so much…

Brett’s eyes are stuck to Eddy’s hand on his. He feels how his ears become hotter and hotter, and he can swear - he’s now as red as a tomato! What does this mean? What does this mean?!

Eddy leans closer to rest his hand on the chair Brett’s sitting on. He seems excited for some reason. Brett’s heart is beating so fast and loud he hopes the other man doesn’t hear this anxious serenade.

“What I mean is—” Eddy leans even closer, eyes on Brett’s lips. “I have a confession to make...”

Brett gulps. Somehow seeing Eddy’s gaze on his lips makes things so much worse, he lets out a small nervous chuckle and proceeds with, he thinks, the lamest response ever:

“Do I look like a pope? Ha-”

He quickly shuts up when Eddy squeezes his hand and purrs:

“No, not at all. But I’d like to see you on an altar.”

Suddenly, Brett sniggles. No, I can’t take it anymore.

“Oh, Eddy! Please, an altar? That’s like the cheesiest line I’ve ever heard from you! Ha-ha, really, what did you even—”

Eddy burst out laughing. It was always catchy when he laughed. So Brett joins him. They laugh for a good few minutes still holding each other's hands. Eddy wipes off the tears and lets out a loud sigh.

“Argh, just as I wanted to flirt with you! Just when I wanna say that I like you! Something embarrassing always happens in moments like this! I’ve just made a laughing stock of myself, I hate this!!”

Eddy continues to complain about how bad he is with flirting and keeping the mood right, but Brett isn’t listening. “I wanted to flirt with you. I like you.” is on repeat in his mind. If Eddy isn’t joking— Everything he’s seen in raw video materials was real? These glances full of unspoken feelings, Brett caught them all when they were rewatching them.

The thought appears naturally in his head. He smiles at the idea and in the next second there’s silence. It is so easy - kissing Eddy. It’s just a peck on the lips at the beginning, asking permission. Eddy’s lips are soft and feel good on his own, just like he imagined. Brett feels it when Eddy becomes aware of what he’s just done and it’s like electricity buzzing between them.

Both Eddy’s hands are on Brett’s cheeks now, pulling him closer. The kisses are hungrier too. Just how— How much did you want this? Brett wants to embrace and be embraced, to feel Eddy with whole his body, but they soon are out of the air, and they have to stop eventually.

“Brett,” Eddy whispers, breathing heavily, “I wanted- I dreamt of this so much, it doesn’t feel real...”

“Yeah, me too… I have- I wanted it for a pretty long time, and it’s even better than I imagined.” Brett feels happiness and warmth spreading inside his chest, the situation is so breathtaking it leaves him giddy.

“Did- Did you imagine this? With me?”

“Huh, of course, who could it possibly be, if not you? We’re, like, inseparable now, so I guess it was natural for me to grow feelings for you. And- And I saw how you looked at me in the videos, so maybe I had just a teeny bit of hope...”

Eddy giggles at the words ‘looked’ and ‘video’.

“Oh, Brett! You can’t even imagine!” He holds Brett’s hands again. “Every time I got a message about the video editing, she was so annoyed because of my stares, ha-ha! It was her idea to flirt with you to test the waters.”

“Editor-san knows everything, damn it! But, thanks to her we are now… What are we?”

Brett looks at him, holding his breath. Eddy brings Brett’s hand to his face and kisses his knuckles. When he looks up Brett feels pleasant tension in his chest. “What are you doing?” he chuckles.

“We’re together now. A couple, right?”

“Yes- Of course, yes!”

“And I can do this any time?” Eddy’s eyes are again on Brett’s lips.

“I’d like you to...”

“Good, good...”

Eddy leans in for another kiss, like sealing a vow.

-

“You know, I promised to give a raise to Editor-san...”

“Why?”

“Because I said ‘if your idea works you’ll get a raise’ and she really was right...”

...just for calling your name every morning...