i call it magic (when i'm with you)

v

They become friends. Again.

Or not-friends, in actuality. Not-quite-friends-again. He still isn't convinced this whole thing isn't going to blow up in his face like a Dungbomb anytime soon, but by the gods, he is trying. They fall back into their old routine, the one they had before any talk of fake dating had ever come up between them, and it's—good. Decent. Brett shoves his heart into a chest, shouts Colloportus at it every chance he gets.

It's enough. It has to be.

And so maybe it's why he doesn't say no when Eddy makes his plea concerning the Yule Ball. Can't say no, really. He isn't allowed to love Eddy the way his heart wants him to, but he does love Eddy as a friend, and that's acceptable, that's the truest thing, and if he can make Eddy happy by fake-dating him just one more time, then he can be happy about doing Eddy a favor too.

It's just a matter of mindset, is all. And at least he doesn't have to suffer through watching Eddy dance and canoodle with someone else for the entirety of the night, so. Small victories.

"C'mon, please?" The other man's gaze implores like nothing else Brett's ever encountered in his life, and it's maddening. "You promised."

Okay, he can't say no, but maybe he really does need to get drunk just to get through this. "So I did," Brett mutters, wiggling his fingers in the air to signal for another refill of his tankard. "Do you want our robes to have complementary colors? You have to let me know now so we don't show up looking like a pair of mismatched Fwoopers."

Eddy's mouth falls open; his hand hovers at Brett's elbow like a lost bumblebee for a moment before it falls, and no, Brett is not sad to see it go. "You're really—you're seriously in on this. This, here: this is actually you accepting."

"Keep questioning me about it," Brett glares, "and I might just listen to the tiny voice telling me this is a very bad idea."

"You didn't listen to the tiny voice back then; you wouldn't listen to it now." Finally, Eddy pulls back to a more comfortable, safer distance, perching on his seat with a smile that speaks of relief. "Train your ears on me instead, hey?"

Brett doesn't know how to say I've been training my ears on you above the music for the longest time without sounding like he's wading in the loony bin, so he opts to say nothing.

Eddy continues, unperturbed by his silence: "I promise it'll be worth your while and more this time around. I'll dance with you however many times you like, or we can just sit around and eat all the food and judge people, whatever you want."

"Alright, alright," Brett says; thankfully, he can muster a laugh at that. "Worth my while, huh."

"And more. And more." Eddy nods, suddenly serious. "I hope."

"Alright." They've gone from becoming friends again to fake-dating again. Out of the frying pan and into the fire, as per usual. Brett resists the urge to sigh and empties the last of his Butterbeer into his belly, might as well. "So are we wearing complementary colors or not?"

*

On the night of the Yule Ball, they stick to each other's side and dance only with each other. They're supposedly back to dating again, after all.

"Ho ho ho, we are so fucking glad you blokes are back together, ho ho ho," Alex and Ray singsong upon meeting with them in the ballroom, Tijana and the other girls clapping their hands in mock applause as Eddy bows exaggeratedly in their direction. Jordon winks at Brett, Hyung flashes him a self-satisfied smile, and alright, this is just getting ridiculous.