It was 8 pm, right after dinner...

LXXXII

On the morning of the 24th of December, Brett found himself in the arms of his best friend, his face just a few centimeters away from his own, breathing deeply and quietly.
Though Brett lost count on how many times he'd woken up with Eddy by his side, he still couldn't get used to this. He would still be wide awake instantly, his heart would still pick up the pace and he still had to swallow hard to control his mental and physical state.
It was bitter sweet really and Brett, in a weird, conflicted way, both kind of enjoyed and despised those wild emotions he went through every morning.

Brett sighed. The 24th, Christmas Eve. Eddy's plans for tonight.
Somehow, that small word "plan" rang a bell in Brett's mind. How could such an inconspicuous idiom hold so much weight and anticipation?

And could it really be...

Could it be, that Eddy had actually been talking about THAT one Plan, The Plan, written in capitals and all?
Brett shook his head, only slightly to not wake up his sleeping, beautiful friend.

It was unlikely, and Brett really shouldn't get his hopes up. It was freaking Christmas Eve and it would be sooo cheesy to do something remotely related to what Brett was thinking what Eddy might have been thinking, if that made sense. Yes, Eddy was the romantic type, but not enough to pull a stunt on one of the most important holidays of the year.

Also, it wasn't like Brett was back to a hundred percent anyways. Eddy was probably going to wait until they were living their normal lives, free from any doctor's appointments, meds and Brett being skinny to the bones.

So yeah, no way anything special outside the normal Christmas festivities would be going on this evening.

Eddy stirred next to Brett.
"Mhhhhhmmm, morning", he yawned and stretched his arms before he slowly opened his sleepy eyes.
"Morning", Brett smiled.
"You slept well?"
"Yeah. Fine. You?"
"I almost always do, next to you." Eddy mumbled and pulled Brett close to him.
"Hmmpf!", Brett made, his face being burried in Eddy's chest. "Bro! I can't breath!"
"Sorry, sorry! You just look so soft! Especially in the morning." Eddy yawned again.
Brett didn't know if he should be flattered or not. He couldn't help but blush a bit though. Was it just him imagining things or was Eddy being a bit more flirty than usual?
"Soft? What the hell does that even mean?"
"Dunno. 's the first word that popped up in my mind when I saw you just now. Can I hug you?"

Brett chuckled and shrugged at the same time. Apparently, Eddy took that as an affirmative and snuggled closer.
"You're weird", Brett said, but laid an arm around Eddy's waist nonetheless. He felt so perfectly comfortable and safe he could fall asleep again if he'd allowed himself to. Actually, he'd be happy to stay in bed with Eddy like this the whole day and it would have been the best Christmas in Brett Yang's life up until now.

They really did doze off again, each breathing in the scent from the other. It was eleven a.m. already, when they finally made it out of bed.

"So", Brett made over breakfast, "do we need to like go buy dinner or something? Are we inviting people?" He couldn't help but wonder what Eddy had in mind and intended to get some intel by asking subtly.
Eddy's facial expressions didn't reveal anything though, as did his reply. "Nah! All good. No need to prepare anything."
Brett hoped his quiet "Okay." and little shrug didn't show the combustion of curiousity happening inside him.
"I'm gonna ask editor-san to upload the 'All I want for Christmas'-Paganini version later today, so I won't have to", Eddy informed and took a bite from his scrambled eggs, courtesy of Brett's cooking skills for a change.
"Poor editor-san, has to work on Christmas Eve", Brett sighed and shook his head to express his feigned disapproval.
"Hey! I had to play the piece and Jordon didn't make it easy."
"Well, it's your job, isn't it?", Brett winked and got to see Eddy sticking his tongue out at him. He laughed.
"Don't worry, I'm gonna upload the Christmas gift one tomorrow personally."
"I can do it!", Brett suggested, hoping Eddy would give him an opportunity to do some work again when he knew Brett was feeling better. But no such luck. "Nah! You stay put and rest properly. No more working after how beat you were last time just reading some mails."
"But I'm so much better already", Brett pouted.
"Yeah, finally! And I really don't want to push your luck", Eddy said, his voice determined. Brett knew upon hearing that tone that there was no convincing his stubborn best friend.
"It's just uploading a video", he tried nonetheless, but sounding defeated already.
"It is. So let me do it, okay?" Eddy's gaze was soft, almost pleading and Brett knew he was just trying to make things easier for Brett to accept.