"every day"

Chapter 11

Brett woke up feeling warm and comfortable, and as he slowly opened his eyes, he remembered where he was. He was in Eddy's bed, and the younger man was lying next to him, sleeping soundly. Brett turned to look at Eddy's slightly puffy eyelids and frowned brows, and he felt a little swell in his heart but more so the sense of contentment.

He slowly got out of bed and made his way to the bathroom, feeling a bit disoriented but also strangely at ease. As he started to prepare food for the both of them, attention half on the food he was dealing with, half elsewhere.

For the first time in a long time, he had allowed himself to be vulnerable with Eddy, even longer with others. He had confessed his feelings to Eddy, and he had been honest about Toni's intention.

As the food on the stove got heated, Brett's mind wandered, standing there at the kitchen counter staring at Eddy's bedroom door.

Telling Eddy his feelings was part of the plan, but what came next? He has no clue.

Well, obviously the next proper step is to date each other, as he himself told Archer already. But after last night, he's unsure now.

§§

The calm atmosphere was suddenly gone when he sensed Eddy stepping into the space. His whole body tensed but he hoped Eddy didn't notice and continued with making them food.

When Eddy was close enough, still not saying anything, he tried to act as normal as possible and finally greeted. "Good morning,"

"Morning," He can't tell Eddy's mood by that simple word, not without seeing his face. Should I talk about last night or not? Filling the final plate full, the simple meal was all done, no more food for him to meddle with.

Slowly turning his body to put the plates on the table, the moment he saw Eddy's face his skin tingled. He knew he had to talk about it, no doubt, and it was not going to be like any other talks they had before.

"So... last night," His hands were shaking a little, drinking coffee was probably more of a hindrance than help, but still, he needed something to push his inner fear down. "I wanted to make sure you know what I meant."

Eddy stared fixedly at the bowl in front of him, or maybe the tip of his chopsticks, Brett wasn't sure, but he felt a bit more at ease looking at him directly like this. His hands were frozen in place, only his mouth could be seen with the slightest movement chewing the existing food.

"Yeah," After a long while, Eddy finally answered quietly. "I think I do."

Hearing the answer, Brett's heartbeat settled a tiny bit, he took a deep breath and put down his chopsticks. Having decided to go with whatever his mind gave him. "You know... I wanted to make a few things clear before anything else."

Eddy's head turned up a little to peer at Brett, the latter instinctively looked down to avoid eye contact. "Okay...?"

"I will try my best to be honest with you, under the condition that I don't want to hurt you intentionally."

The changing of face told Brett he had said something wrong, but there's no way he could take it back now. The words that came after just confirmed his thoughts.

"What's that supposed to mean? Didn't you say the opposite the other day?"

What?

Eddy's face maintained stern as he put down his chopsticks, too. The words came out a bit too quickly. "You said: 'I want you to be honest with me, even if it hurts. Although I would prefer it not to hurt.'"

When did I say that...?

Ah, that day. But...

After a long while of silence, he finally spoke. "Yeah, I did say that."