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It’s time, they decide.
It was probably the right time years ago, but some people need more time than others before they’re ready to share personal information about themselves.
“Take you, for instance,” Eddy tells Brett, gazing at him adoringly.
“You take me pretty much every chance you get.”
Eddy grins. “But seriously. It took you what? Eight years before you were comfortable sharing what’s on your Musictopia app? I’m proud that you’re finally ready to share the truth about our relationship. This is a big step for us. An important step for us. I’m excited.”
Brett’s less certain of the decision as they approach the first group of people they’ve decided to tell, but Eddy is reassuring.
“Brett, they’re our employees. We pay them. I’m certain we didn’t hire any bigots, and even if they don’t approve, they can’t be rude about it. Come on,” he coaxes. “We don’t need to make a big deal out of this. We’ll just slide it into the ‘other business’ section and move along.”
Their meeting drags on for longer than usual, with lots of mind-numbing details about logistics and such that try Eddy’s patience because really, this could have been an email and worse, he’s one of the people who could have insisted on it being one.
Well, except for the announcement.
“Okay!” he cuts in once their events coordinator finishes speaking. “If there’s no other new business, Brett and I have something we’d like to share with you.” He casts a loving look at his partner, who smiles back with hearts shining in his eyes.
Everyone turns their attention to him.
“It’s um.” Eddy pauses as he’s hit by a wave of shyness. “It’s something we’ve wanted to tell you for a long time, but it’s uh. Not always easy for us to talk about… personal things. Especially when we like to keep the focus on work. And classical music. Classical music is where it all started, and what matters in the end because playing violin is how I met Brett and um, that’s also how—”
As papers rustle and eyes glaze over, Brett steps in to rescue him. “What Eddy is trying to say is, he and I are together.”
Various heads around the table bob up and down as laptops snap shut and pens vanish into pockets.
Jim, their manager, gives a clap of his hands. “So same time next week, everyone. Be sure to get your deliverables to Tracy by Saturday, and for those of you involved in the apparel management meeting…”
“Wait,” Eddy says, puzzled, but everyone is standing and shuffling out and Brett has him by the crook of his arm.
“Never mind,” he murmurs, watching their teammates exit. “It’s like you said earlier. We didn’t hire any bigots, so it’s no big deal to them. This is the best case scenario, yeah? We tell them, they nod and continue just like before.”
“I guess,” Eddy says, but he can’t keep the disappointment out of his voice. “I mean, I definitely didn’t want to make a big deal of it, but I thought people might… say something? Or have questions?”
Brett draws him into a hug. “Other people we tell will have questions. This was just a trial run to build our confidence and I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling a lot more confident now we know people aren’t freaking out over the news.”
🔅•🔅•🔅
Next up is a group of their close friends, invited over for drinks and conversation. It’s a good time, with music and impromptu dancing and perhaps a few too many cocktails. When people begin yawning and mentioning the late hour and teenage babysitters and early-morning gym visits, Eddy claps his hands together to get everyone’s attention.
“Don’t leave yet,” he says. “Brett and I have something to tell you.”
Curious eyes turn in their direction, and the room falls silent.
Eddy’s cheeks warm once everyone is looking at him. “So um,” he begins, “this has been a long time coming, and we’re sorry it’s taken us so long to share it with you, it’s not that we didn’t want to, it’s more that once we told one person we felt we had to tell everyone because three can keep a secret if one of them is dead… wait… that came out wrong, it’s nothing murdery. I, um…”
Brett reaches for his hand and takes over. “What Eddy is trying to tell you is that he and I are a couple.”
Sleep-heavy eyes blink at them from around the room.
“Yeah,” someone says.
“Of course you are,” someone else adds.
“Me and Jenny are a couple too,” Tyler says with a wide grin, and the room ripples with laughter.
“Coming up on ten years married, aren’t you?” a voice calls from the back. “Congrats you two. The traditional gift is tin, but…”
The room shifts into disconnected conversations as people slip into their shoes and collect jackets on their way out.
Once they’re alone, Eddy turns to Brett with wide eyes.
“I don’t understand,” he says, his lower lip trembling despite his best effort. “No one cares?”
“I guess not.” Brett wraps an arm around him with a sigh. “It’s probably because most of them are married and a lot of them have kids now. An official announcement of coupledom probably doesn’t seem like a big deal.”
“We’ve got to pop out a kid before people will care?”
“Apparently,” Brett says with a laugh. “And considering our low odds of success, I suggest we go to bed and get to work.”
Eddy allows himself to be steered down the hallway. “Good idea,” he agrees sadly. “Who needs friends when I’ve got the world’s best boyfriend?”
🔅•🔅•🔅
They weren’t planning to whine about their disappointment, but Ray comes for a visit the following week and they end up having dinner together, clustered close around their table.
“I don’t see why you guys are surprised by this,” Ray says between bites. “I mean it’s nice you decided to make your status extra-official, but you can hardly expect anyone to be shocked.”
“But no one knew!” Eddy protests, pushing away his mostly-untouched plate. “No one except for you, and they could at least pretend like they care.”
“They all knew.” Ray laughs while twirling up a mouthful of noodles. “Literally everyone knows. They were just being polite and playing along that there was a ‘mystery’ with the two of you, but even that got old years ago.”
Eddy settles into a full pout, and Brett takes over the conversation.
“I don’t understand how you can say ‘everyone knows’ when we’ve never made any sort of announcement.”
Ray rolls his eyes. “Everyone knows that I’m the best violinist of our generation and I’ve never made an official announcement either. Some things don’t require official announcements. Some things, in fact, are so obvious that announcing them makes a person look a bit silly.”
Eddy gapes at him. “We haven’t been obvious. We’ve always been discreet.”
Ray laughs, his large eyes sparkling. “Yes, very discreet. Just a pair of thirty-something buds who happen to live together.”
“As roommates!”
“And share clothes—”
“That’s our merch.”
“And go everywhere together—”
“People only think that because you kept saying it!”
“Oh, and all those ‘we’re totally doing it’ photoshoots. The results of which you publicly posted. Honestly Eddy, people would have to be blind not to realize that the two of you were a couple long ago.”
Eddy crosses his arms over his chest and slumps against his chair. “They could have at least pretended it was a big deal when we told them.”
Ray tilts his head back and forth, grinning. “Next time you want people to play along like that, make your big announcement earlier in the evening, when they still have energy for acting.”
🔅•🔅•🔅
They take his advice when it’s time to tell their families.
They gather in the early evening, in a restaurant, where they reserve a banquet table in a private room. Eddy waits until everyone has eaten and reached the tea-drinking and visiting part of their evening before rising to his feet to speak.
“Brett and I… we have something we’d like to share. I know we probably should have told you earlier, but—”
“Oh,” Belle says, her eyes going bright. “Are you performing with an orchestra for your seven million sub event? Because as much as I’d love to accompany you, I’m probably going to be in France when it rolls around.”
Eddy blinks his attention to his sister, frowning. “What? No, I’m not talking about work. Well, sort of, but only in the way that Brett and I work together, so everything about us ultimately reflects on our work, so—”
“Wouldn’t have been the case if you’d become a doctor,” his mother sniffs before turning to say more to the auntie on her right.
Brett clears his throat. “Eddy is trying to tell you something that’s very important to him,” he says, using a warning tone.
Unfortunately his warning tone is nearly as soft and gentle as his regular speaking voice, so the others don’t recognize it as such and continue with their side chatter until Eddy claps his hands together, hard.
All eyes return to him, half of them annoyed now. “What I’m trying to tell you all is that Brett and I are a couple,” he says, his voice much louder than it needs to be, probably loud enough to carry through the rest of the restaurant, perhaps even loud enough to reach the kitchen.
“Duh,” says his youngest cousin, who immediately returns to whatever he was doing on his phone.
A faint murmur ripples over the table, but no one says anything in return until his father clears his throat to speak.
Eddy leans forward, eagerly anticipating his father’s reaction.
“We thought you might be announcing a wedding,” he says with a sigh. “Your mother and I have been waiting years to help with the planning. How much longer must we wait? We aren’t going to be around forever, you know.”
Eddy stares at him in disbelief. “You’ve been talking about our wedding? Why would you think you’d be planning a wedding for me and my best friend?”
Eyes around the table roll.
“We aren’t blind, Weicheng,” his mother replies. “Nor stupid. We certainly noticed that you live together…”
“And share clothes,” adds another voice.
“And go everywhere together…”
“And always say ‘us,’ ‘we,’ and ‘our.’”
“‘My partner’ was a pretty good clue, too.”
“And the matching watches.”
“Hahaha, they thought this was a secret! That’s so cute.”
Eddy sinks back into his chair, face burning, and Brett slides closer to him, an arm encircling his back.
“You know what?” he says into Eddy’s ear. “I think they can pay for their own meals this time.”
🔅•🔅•🔅
“This is all for the best, really,” Brett cheers him later. “It means we’re normal. Just another normal couple, everyone assumed the truth all along and never doubted our love for each other. That’s actually really nice, if you think about it.”
“I guess so.” Eddy flops into his lap and looks up at the ceiling. “It’s just… am I wrong to want a little attention?”
Brett laughs. “I’ll give you all the attention you need.”
“I mean about us. And our… status.”
“Let’s go into the bedroom. You can tell me I’m your boyfriend and I’ll spend the rest of the night rewarding you for your openness and honesty.”
🔅•🔅•🔅
Under Brett’s loving ministrations, Eddy recovers from his embarrassment and disappointment. Within days, he’s ready to move to the next stage of their plan: informing their fans.
“They’re gonna be so shocked,” he says, gleeful. “They’ve been wanting confirmation for so long, this has been the longest tease ever.”
“Yeah, probably,” Brett replies, his tone and expression equally cautious.
After deliberating over the best way to break the news, they decide to include the announcement in an episode of LL40hrs. There simply isn’t enough to say to pad out an entire episode, and they’re both reluctant to make videos that aren’t focused on classical music, or bubble tea, or their growing skills as gourmet cupcake bakers.
“This really is the best place to talk about important things,” Eddy says, resolute even in the face of Brett’s doubt.
They’re nervous through the first part of the video, talking over each other and rushing their words and making silly mistakes. By the time they reach the final segment, Eddy is practically tongue-tied and Brett is pale and sweating.
“So there’s something we’ve been wanting to share with everyone for a long time,” Eddy says in a tumbling rush. “Sorry it’s taken us this long, we’ve just been shy and nervous is all, but we really wanted everyone to know that – that Brett and I, we’re together.”
“Together as in, a couple,” Brett clarifies.
“Yeah, that.” Eddy beams. “So um. That’s our news! Catch you next time!”
For the first time in years, they edit the video themselves and upload as soon as it’s ready. They take Eddy’s laptop to the couch and settle down together to watch as the comments begin.
“First!”
“40hrs!”
“pleaze check out my website for AWESOME offers—”
“You know, I’m really happy that they covered the meme about classical music being transposed in modern video games, it’s such an important topic that gets overlooked by most—”
“That was my art they shared! They got my username wrong though, it’s…”
“I wish they’d tell us more about the 7M event. Why all the secrecy? Eddy must already be practicing for—”
They refresh, and scroll, and refresh, and scroll, they return to their video and watch it again, because it’s been a long time since they edited anything and it’s possible Brett chopped off the last minutes in his final adjustments.
The video is full and complete, ending with their flushed faces and awkward smiles.
“Huh,” Brett says after the tenth time they refresh. “Let’s uh… go check reddit.”
They brace themselves for a slew of posts on the subject, but there’s only one, and it’s a general posting about the latest video. The comments are much the same as on YouTube, although towards the bottom there’s a few addressing their announcement.
“It’s funny how every single YouTuber feels like they need to tell us the most obvious stuff. Anyway, those were some great memes, I hope they do more vids like this one, I’ve really missed these.”
“Aren’t they married? I thought they were gonna tell us they were adopting twins or something exciting like that.”
“Nice that they’re still together. Can someone help me with the fingerings on the piece I’m working on? My teacher’s out of town and…”
Eddy heaves a sigh, and Brett joins him.
“I guess we should have told them years ago, like you wanted,” Brett offers in a guilty tone. “Back in ‘20 people probably would have lost their minds. Now it’s just what everyone’s assumed for years, I guess.”
He reaches for the laptop to close the lid, but Eddy stops him. “Let’s take a look at twitter.”
“That place is still alive? I thought everyone bailed after Musk took over.”
“Apparently there’s still a few groups hanging around. Let’s see what our fans there have to say.”
It takes a few tries to get the search correct, but eventually they hit on the right keywords and start scrolling.
And scrolling.
And scrolling.
And scrolling.
“Holy moly,” Eddy says, his voice low with awe.
“Yeah, no kidding,” Brett says, blushing bright pink.
After a few more minutes of reading Breddy tweets, gazing at explicit artwork and attempting to read some extremely detailed fic depicting their sex life, Brett reaches for the laptop and slowly closes the lid.
“Let’s um—”
“Back to work, yeah.”