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LXVIII

Brett tried, he really, really did, but Eddy undressing under the moonlight drew Brett’s gaze in like a lamp a helpless, externally determined moth. 

“Am I really doing this? Are we really…”, was Eddy murmuring, too occupied with the nerves for noticing anything else and god, was Brett ever grateful for that because despite the pile of discarded clothing only consisting of Eddy’s dark blue shirt at the moment, Brett’s insides were going haywire already. Sure they’d changed side by side this morning, but here, out in public with the freaking moon shining above the person whose presence was enough to make his heart do somersaults, this was something else! 

Those lean arms with a bit of muscle, courtesy of hours of practice, Brett guessed. He knew how it was being held by them tightly and even if it had been by accident, it still sent his wits to the other side of the planet. These shoulders, broad enough to shield Brett from the sun, the prominent set of collarbones and that long, beautiful neck, forming a perfect connection to the even more flawless jawline Brett admired so much. 

Then, there was Eddy’s upper body, the set of slightly toned abs, probably not from working out or anything, but just due to the fact that Eddy was a teenager with a more efficient metabolism than Brett (unfortunately) and above them the gentle swell of his pecks, which Brett could only take a short glance of and had to focus his attention to his own shirt he was about to pull over his head so he wouldn’t spontaneously combust and turn into a pile of ash any second now.

Suddenly, his idea didn’t seem so great anymore.

“Are there like sharks and stuff?”, Eddy asked, only wearing his boxers now, long arms wrapped around his upper body, “They’re nocturnal, no?”
Brett shook his head, still not looking at Eddy and got rid of his shorts as well. “Not by the pier, mate. We’re not even out in the ocean!” He tried to sound convinced, certain. Otherwise there was no way they were going to do this.
“Uhm… and now… do we take off our underwear or what? We gonna get fined… Jesus, I see it coming…”
“Eddy!”, Brett called and forced his eyes to focus on Eddy’s face alone, giving the taller the most encouraging smile he could muster, “Let’s do this, alright? I’m not gonna peek, don’t worry.” 
Because it would be the death of Brett and they’d have to write something super embarrassing on his tombstone if he’d really be this dumb to try. 
“Oh, man! Oh shit!”, Eddy huffed, squeezed his eyes shut and that was the moment Brett knew he just had to look away. He pulled down his own boxers and they flew uncontrollably somewhere in the direction to where his other stuff had been nervously thrown to the side. His glasses were placed down more carefully and off he went, jumping from stone to stone until he reached the waves. 
“Brett! Fuck… don’t just…”, Eddy yelled from behind and Brett heard barefeet hitting rocky underground until the taller was next to him. 
“How can you just leave me behind? Jeez!”
“You were taking too long”, Brett lied and threw his hands up as he commanded his gaze to fucking stay on Eddy’s anxious eyes for the same reason he’d gone off first: to avoid seeing a certain body part he definitely couldn’t handle tonight! 
“I’m here now! Don’t jump in head first, you hear me?”
“I know! I’m not stupid!”

They carefully took step after step, eventually half crawling on the sharp rocks until they could glide into the warm, salty water, enveloping and securing their bodies from undesired (and desired?) glances. Brett swam and swam, overcoming the gentle waves with ease and felt an incredulous laugh bubble up until it rang over the surface of the sea. 
“Brett, you freaking…”, Eddy cursed behind him, but Brett could hear the contained grin in his voice and turned around with waggling eyebrows. 
“Yeah?”, he asked, floating on the spot while checking the water for any rocks nearby with his feet. They seemed to be clear. 
Eddy crawled closer at an impressive speed. “Well… freak!”
“Admit it! It’s pretty nice after being covered in sweat all day!”
“There might be some truth to that”, Eddy bubbled and circled around Brett. He was a graceful swimmer, confident strokes, getting him far without unnecessary movements. 
It made Brett admire him even more.

“Didn’t know you were such a trained swimmer”, Brett remarked, turning his voice to neutral mode. 
“Mum forced me to take lessons when I was little. Said something about currents pulling me to my certain death otherwise.”
“Well, she’s not entirely wrong there.”
“You’re not bad yourself”, Eddy smirked and came closer, “Wanna race?”
“Now look who’s talking now who was shitting his pants before?”, Brett jibbed, already positioning himself next to Eddy, “Along the shore to the height of that lamppost over there?”
“Good length!”, Eddy nodded and immersed his head halfway into the dark water. Brett mirrored his actions, counted to three and off they went. 

Brett found his tempo within seconds, gliding through the waves with ease and still, Eddy was a few meters ahead, claiming wave after wave with his freestyle. Brett squinted his eyes in determination and stretched his arms even further. 
You might win tomorrow, but no way I’m gonna let you have this one!, he grimly thought to himself, legs kicking stronger and faster and the next time he checked, he had indeed taken the lead! 
“Noo!”, Eddy half yelled, half bubbled behind him. Brett grinned victoriously, forced his muscles to turn more ATP into ADP and yes, the light of the lamppost was close already! One more stroke, one more kick and…
 
“Yes!!!”, Brett cheered, fist raised out of the surface into the air, illuminated by the artificial light, “I got you! Oh, I beat you, slowcoach!”
“Don’t you dare…”, Eddy mumbled and Brett could hear the famous film music depicting evil sharks, stolen from Dvořák’s ninth in his head as the other approached, eyes sending lightning and hands suddenly shooting evil splashes towards Brett. 
“Aargh!”, was the only thing Brett could gargle before a mouthful of saltwater shut him up. He flailed around, started a counterattack, reached out and pressed the mop of hair he got a hold of down. 
“Br-”, Eddy pressed out as he sank down, not without dragging Brett down into the darkness with him. 

Normally, Brett considered it to be a real bummer that his vision was dependent on glasses with strong corrections to be useful in any way, but this time around, silent praises were sent to heaven. The light from the lamp and the moon was enough for Brett to make out Eddy’s frame under the water, floating around like a mysterious sea spirit, sent to bewitch him and take him to an underwater kingdom and he was sure he would have seen every bit of Eddy quite clearly if it hadn't been for the lack of the aforementioned visual aid. Reaching the surface and taking a much needed breath of air had no priority anymore as Brett was mesmerized by the beauty in front of him, which approached him slowly and pulled him back up. 

A/N: If there are any readers from Taiwan here, hope you're all safe and sound after today's earthquake! We were quite scared ourselves! And as always, thanks for your patience, guys!!