It was 8 pm, right after dinner...

CVIII

"I don't know, Brett..."
"Come on! I'm much better already and the doc even gave me a pass on alcohol and caffeine last time we've been there. Don't you remember?"
"Of course I do! But I still feel like you should take it easy for some time."
"Please! I miss working. Practising is nice, but I miss being in front of the camera with you." Brett tried to put on his most convincing big-eyes-pouty-lips look to persuade Eddy's carefulness.

It worked.

"Oh, Jesus! Alright! When do you wanna start then? It's not like we DON'T have bills to pay...", Eddy exclaimed and brushed through his hair in a defeated manner.
"Exactly! As soon as possible?", Brett proposed, a victorious smile curving up his lips.
Eddy looked at the date on his phone. "Two weeks!"
"Two weeks??"
"Yup, take it or leave it. I'm not gonna risk your health for our channel to come back as soon as possible. And you still need to gain weight", Eddy gestured at Brett's body.
"Okay, okay. Two weeks!", Brett agreed and slumped down on the couch again, his switch controller jumping up on the other side of the cushion, a round of smash paused on the tv at the point where Brett had brought up the topic.

Now it was Eddy's turn to smile as he sat down next to Brett, way closer than before when they were kicking each other's virtual asses.
"I look forward to us working together again too, you know", he mused and started to play with a rogue strand of Brett's hair.
Brett sighed contently. "Yeah?"
"Yeah, of course!"
"What would you like to do first then?"
"We're not working yet, Brett", Eddy reminded him.
"Haha, got me there."
Brett turned his head to the side, closed his eyes and kissed his love with a deep hum. Eddy's lips opened almost immediately, letting Brett's tongue meet his.
"I like this though", he whispered.
"What?", Brett mumbled back, not before he pressed himself a bit closer to the taller, relishing his warmth.
"Not working, with you."
"Hmmm..."

Of course, at some point, they had to discuss some Twoset related plans. Like the three mil.
"You getting sick actually gave me more time to practice", Eddy stated at dinner over ramen at their usual Japanese place.
"True!", Brett slurped, "But the fans are waiting, I guess."
"Everyone gets it if we can't deliver on time at the moment."
"I actually also think they care too much about our well-being to be really pissed about something like this. Those comments I read recently and all those messages... damn man! We do have the best community in the world!"
"Yeah! Imagine we were some pop person! We'd be cancelled for not keeping our promise!"
"We are not not keeping it. It's just taking place later. But I guess... it's incredible how much they care for us."
"You in particular!", Eddy corrected and stuffing a piece of egg from his soup into his mouth.
"Nah! Very sure they'd care about you as much as they do for me. In fact, half of the comments are about 'Eddy, don't stress yourself' or 'Please take this opportunity to take a break too, Eddy!'"
Eddy chuckled. "Guess you're right."
"So, what you reckon? About the date..."
"Well, since we're already taking our time, we might as well set the live according to our progress in our practice."
Brett thought about it a bit. "Makes sense. So how is it going with yours?"
If one'd ask Brett, he'd say Eddy would be ready to go immediately. But then again, he knew he loved Eddy's playing even if that guy didn't put in any practice.
"Hmmm... I guess like another three weeks would be great... How about yours?"
"I definitely need those three weeks! But it's good to have some kind of deadline. So I can push myself further."
Eddy's expression became pained. "Please don't."
Brett looked up from his steaming bowl of goodness. "What?"
"Push yourself too much."
"Oh, Eddy", he sighed, putting his chopsticks down so he could reach out for his boyfriend's hand, "Don't worry please. I'm doing better by the day. And I'm still taking it very easy. Don't worry. There are no fourty hours of practice at all!"
Eddy's large hand squeezed Brett's softly. "Okay."

They smiled at each other fondly, before Brett asked: "So, end of January or beginning of February?"
Eddy nodded. "Sounds good!"

Other than those little discussions about timelines and merch ideas for the three mil, Brett and Eddy really enjoyed their time off without Brett being bedridden or only just on the verge of getting better.
They took many walks, in that fateful park for instance, often reminiscing about the time when they confessed to each other. Or on the beach, taking a dip in the sea, letting the waves wash over their sweaty bodies and relishing the cool water. When they felt particularly adventurous, they sneaked off to some nearby rocks and made out, hidden from the world, enjoying their love for each other. One time, it felt so out of this world they couldn't stop until both of them were panting furiously, foreheads and lips pressed together while they rode the waves of pure pleasure caused by the by now sure movements of their hands.

It was in these moments, when Brett's mind produced pictures of them being even more intimate, being even closer...
But everytime they shared Brett's bed during night time and a conversation, pointed in a certain direction, would have been "appropriate", he chickened out. Why destroy something that worked perfectly for both of them? Why risk one or both of them being hurt in the process?

They also often went out to eat, stuffing Brett with all the great foods the restaurants and food stalls of Singapore had to offer. One trip was a particular fun one, where they just went from stall to stall and tasted whatever tickled their fancies.
"Brooo, look! There is takoyaki!", Eddy yelled and dragged Brett along to the stand just next to the one where they'd gotten fried noodles with egg thirty seconds ago.
"Yumm! Haven't had that in forever!", Brett exclaimed, literally jumped up and down while they were waiting in line and ordered two boxes right away.
"Thank God for Japanese cuisine!", Eddy praised as he muched away on his fifth ball, making faces which led Brett to overthink the whole leave-things-the-way-they-were regarding their love life. He gulped and deliberately looked away. "Yeah! Right?", he made and nibbled one of the delicious octopus bites.
"You alright?", Eddy glaced at him.
"'Course! Couldn't be better!"
His boyfriend didn't seem to be convinced, but thankfully let it go with a shrug and another mouthfull of food.

After they threw the empty food boxes into the trash, they continued their gourmet journey.
"Look! They have fried chicken! Your favourite!", Brett pointed out. Eddy's eyes got so big it looked comical. If Brett wasn't so busy containing his excitement himself, he would have laughed out loud.

Bellies and hearts full, Brett and Eddy slowly made their way through the throngs of people.
"Hey", Eddy said softly and took Brett's hand in his. Brett flinched a bit, still not used to them showing any kind of affection in public. But there were so many people walking shoulder to shoulder, trying not to bump into their fellow nightmarket visitors no one could see their intertwined fingers even if they'd tried.
So Brett gently squeezed his beloved's soft, strong violinist hand.
"Hey."
"Did you have fun?"
"I got to satisfy all my pent up cravings. Of course I had fun", Brett stated truthfully.
Eddy smiled one of his crooked winner smiles. The one's which made Brett's heart skip a beat and his brain cheer for joy that this beautiful being really belonged to him.
"Good!", Eddy simply said.
"You? Are you enjoying yourself?", Brett asked back.
"As long as I'm with you, always."
"You're a sap", Brett chuckled and blushed at the same time.
"You should know that by now."
"Yeah, I should."

The air was a bit more bearable when they reached the end of the street and crossed the road to a nearby park.
"You sure you're alright? You seemed a bit... dunno... preoccupied?", Eddy wanted to know without letting go of Brett's hand.
Brett just hoped the nearby street light wasn't bright enough to show the slight panic rising up in him.
"Who, me? Nah! Too excited, I guess, that I'm allowed to eat everything again."
Eddy eyed him. Brett met his gaze sheepishly, since looking away would be way too sus.
"Love, you do know you can tell me everything, right?"

Right! But even the super embarassing stuff Brett had never in his life had the urge to talk about with someone up until recently?

"Uhm... I know, Eddy."
"Okay." Eddy shrugged again, similar like when he'd been busy chewing on his takoyaki. And Brett loved him for that. Letting it go despite clearly knowing there was something Brett wasn't ready to talk about yet.
"Eddy, you do know that I love you, right? Like a lot."
The least Brett could do was to make sure Eddy knew it wasn't about any insecurity regarding them or their relationship or some similar shit!
Eddy smiled at him and placed a chaste kiss on Brett's lips. Good thing it was night. And good thing they hadn't been recognized today...
"I know."
"Good!"
"And you do know, that I love you too? Like tons?"
"I know", Brett smiled back.

At some point, Brett would bring up the guts to spill the beans, but for now, he was going to savour this. This simple, perfect happiness with his boyfriend.