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They’ve been perfectly normal friends for over a decade when Eddy kisses him for the first time.
“Dude,” Brett says, cocking his head to one side and touching the spot where Eddy’s lips connected to his cheek, “what was that?”
Eddy just smiles, his eyes doing that thing they do when he’s happy. Not that Brett’s really noticed; it’s not as if they spend their days sitting around gazing into each other’s eyes. “I love you,” Eddy says — and not like he usually says it, half-asleep or tipsy or as a bid for attention.
He swallows, surprised, but recovers within seconds. “Love you too, bro.”
“No, I mean I love-love you.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“No ‘bro’ in there, just love.”
Brett eyes him. “Are you feeling okay?” He touches Eddy’s forehead, joking mostly, and Eddy surprises him by leaning against his hand.
“Yeah,” Eddy breathes. “Can we go watch something and cuddle?”
“You’re really in a mood today, huh?” Brett pauses. “I was actually about to go practice—”
“No.” Eddy’s arms flap. “Come cuddle.”
Brett sighs. “Okay, okay,” he says, because it’s not worth an argument. “What do you wanna watch?”
***
As it turns out, Eddy doesn’t care what they watch. His eyes aren’t even on the screen but glued to Brett’s face, and it doesn’t take long before Brett starts feeling uncomfortable.
“Okay,” he says, hitting pause on the Netflix show everyone has been raving about. Personally he can’t see the appeal, but that’s probably because he can’t focus while Eddy continuously attempts to wiggle closer. At this point that’s an impossibility, unless he finds a way to merge their bodies into one. “What’s going on?”
“What do you mean?” Eddy asks, slow-blinking his pretty eyes at him.
“I mean, why are you in my lap, holding my hand, and smelling my shirt? It’s starting to creep me out a little.”
“Creep you out?” Eddy’s eyes go wide before he turns his head to hide the telltale shimmer of tears. “Sorry,” he manages in a pained gulp. “Didn’t mean to.”
Brett sighs. “Talk to me,” he says. “Clearly something’s up.”
Eddy shakes his head. “I love you,” he chokes out. “I just want to cuddle. And for you to hug me. And maybe kiss me too.”
Brett sits in silence for a few seconds. “Um.”
“Please?”
“Okay,” Brett says, deciding on a new approach. “How about I cuddle you while you tell me what’s going on, and I’ll give you a kiss once you’ve explained it.”
Eddy’s face fills with renewed distress. “I already explained.”
“All you’ve said is you love me, and wanna do things we don’t usually do, and now you’re crying?” He reaches towards Eddy’s cheek with his thumb to brush away a trickling tear. “I think that calls for more of an explanation.”
“Fine.” Eddy shifts around, his gaze on the floor. “Mariella made a potion to help me sleep, but she fucked up and gave me a love potion instead.”
For a moment all Brett can do is sit in horrified silence. When he speaks, he can’t quite manage to keep the displeasure out of his voice despite the fact that Eddy is in tears and he really should be comforting him, not criticizing.
But still.
“You drank a random potion cooked up by that… that quack?”
Eddy sniffles. “It wasn’t random! I needed it to sleep, I’ve barely been getting any rest lately. And she’s not a random quack, she’s a good friend, and besides she’s almost done with her potion-making apprenticeship.”
“She fucked up massively! A love potion isn’t even close to a sleeping draught. It’s not even in the same category as a sleeping draught.” Brett pushes Eddy out of his lap and jumps to his feet, pacing back and forth across their living room. “Give me her number,” he demands on his third pass, fishing his phone from his pocket.
“Why?” Eddy’s question is filled with distress, but Brett’s too livid to stop.
“Because I’m gonna call her and tell her what a shit job she did, and that she’s never allowed to give you any sort of potion ever again or else she’ll be dealing with me.”
“Please don’t,” Eddy says, his chest hitching. “She already feels terrible.”
“Not terrible enough.”
Eddy flinches like he’s been slapped. “Is it really so awful?” he asks, his voice small. “Me being in love with you for a few days?”
Brett comes to a stop. “It’s just for a few days?”
“Yeah.” Eddy drags in a shuddering breath. “Three days, she said. She didn’t brew it very strong.”
He takes a moment to consider. “Okay,” he says, deflating. “I guess anyone can make a mistake, but please, Eddy — don’t drink any more mystery potions, okay?” He settles beside his friend on the couch and tenderly wipes his face. “What if her fuck-up had been something bad? What if she’d poisoned you?” He swallows around a lump in his throat as terrible possibilities flash through his mind.
“It wasn’t though,” Eddy says, burying his face against Brett’s shoulder. “It was just a love tonic that’s gonna wear off.”
Brett sighs and wraps an arm around him. “Promise me. Never again. If you need a potion, we go to the city and buy it from a reputable brewer. Someone that’s finished their apprenticeship and doesn’t fuck up simple formulas.”
“Okay,” Eddy says, his voice muffled. “So now that I told you what’s up, can we cuddle?”
“That was the deal.” Brett shifts around, rearranging parts and limbs until Eddy’s mostly in his lap again, his face wedged against his neck. He jumps a little when soft lips connect with his throat, but Eddy chuckles.
“You agreed to kisses, too.”
“Yeah but I was thinking more along the lines of…” Actually, he didn’t have a plan for this part of the agreement, and the more Eddy’s mouth works at his pulse point, the less he’s able to formulate an alternative proposal. “I was supposed to kiss you,” he says at last, and Eddy laughs again.
“Be patient. Once I’m done here you can kiss me as much as you like.”
***
By the time Eddy’s done with his neck, Brett has matching hickeys on both sides.
“Damn, Eddy,” he says while they brush their teeth together. Eddy has the grace to blush, but also the nerve to playfully slap his ass, almost causing Brett to choke on his toothpaste.
“Not my fault,” Eddy replies with an excess of cheer. “Love potion, remember? I can’t help wanting to kiss you.” He stands and watches while Brett finishes washing up, one hand pressed against the small of Brett’s back like he can’t bear to break physical contact. “So um,” he continues as Brett dries his face, “can I sleep with you tonight? I just wanna be close to you while the potion’s doing its thing.”
Brett hesitates. Sharing a bed with Eddy is never good for his sleep; even without a love potion in his system, Eddy invariably winds up sprawled on top of him or clinging koala-style.
“I don’t think so,” he begins, but Eddy’s face falls so dramatically that he reconsiders. Love potion, he reminds himself. It would be mean to reject Eddy while he’s feeling this way through no fault of his own. “Well, okay. But try not to squish me this time, would you? It’s hard to breathe when you use me as a second mattress.”
Eddy brightens to the point where he’s practically emitting light. “Let’s kiss some more, in bed this time.”
It’s either say yes or risk extinguishing that light, so Brett takes his hand and leads him down the hallway.
***
They don’t wind up getting much sleep, but he learns Eddy’s make-out skills have advanced considerably in recent years. They exchange long, slow kisses until Eddy begins making little whimpering sounds and shifting around like his back is bothering him.
“You okay there bro?” He smooths Eddy’s damp hair away from his face, but Eddy won’t meet his gaze. A second later he realizes what the issue is when Eddy squirms again, inadvertently brushing an impressive erection against Brett’s thigh.
“Oh,” he says, his mind going momentarily blank before he gathers his wits again. “Listen,” he says, dreading Eddy’s disappointment. “I can’t- I mean, it’s one thing to cuddle and kiss, that’s not really a big deal, lots of friends do that but anything more… I mean, you’re under the influence right now, and I can’t risk taking advantage—”
Eddy cuts him off with another kiss. “It’s okay,” he whispers. “I wasn’t expecting anything more than this. But so you know — you wouldn’t be taking advantage. I swear it.”
Brett gives a low chuckle, and when Eddy flinches he moves a hand to the back of Eddy’s neck and caresses his heated skin. “I get that’s how you feel, but um… love potion.”
Eddy sighs, but doesn’t argue. He shifts about, clearly uncomfortable, and Brett feels worse by the moment. Love potion, he reminds himself.
“Tell you what,” he whispers. “How about you—” He guides Eddy into position, helping him turn over and then squirming closer until his chest is flush against Eddy’s back. Once he’s settled, Brett wraps both arms around his midsection and leans his head against his shoulder. “—I’ll hold you while you take care of that.”
Eddy wiggles against him. “Are you sure?” His voice is tentative. “You don’t have to… uh, participate at all if you don’t feel comfortable.”
“I know I don’t,” Brett says into his ear. “But I’m not gonna make my best friend, who’s been drugged into thinking he’s in love with me, go jerk off alone in the bathroom.”
After a moment of hesitation, Eddy lowers his boxers.
“I’ve got lube in the drawer if—”
Eddy gives a faint laugh. “This is already gonna go super quick. God, Brett. Just feeling you against me like this…” He makes a sound Brett’s never heard before, something between a sob and a moan as he takes himself into hand and begins stroking.
Brett gently brushes his palms over Eddy’s skin. “Good,” he murmurs. “I want you to feel good.”
Eddy responds with a strangled groan, his hand pumping faster.
“You’re so good, Eddy,” Brett continues. “So hot, I wish I could…”
Eddy whimpers and shudders.
“Fuck, I’m happy I get to be close to you like this, I wish I could watch your face right now, I want to see you when—”
Eddy tosses his head back as his entire body goes tense; a second later he cries out, Brett’s name mixed in with curses and sighs of pleasure. When he’s done, boneless and breathing heavily, Brett helps him turn over again.
“Go to sleep now,” he murmurs into Eddy’s ear.
Eddy murmurs something as he presses himself closer.
“Yeah?”
“…Made a big mess on your bed…”
Brett smiles against his sweaty hair. “How big?”
“Uhh…”
“Never mind. We’ll change the sheets in the morning.”
“I love you,” Eddy whispers sleepily. “Love you, love you, love you…”
Brett figures he can endure a few more days of this.
***
“I love you,” Eddy is saying when he wakes, heart-eyes fixed on his face.
Brett groans and buries his head in the bedding. “I’m all gross,” he complains into his pillow, not caring that it swallows half his words. “Lemme shower before you start with all the love stuff.”
Eddy tenses. “It’s not like I have any control over it. I can’t turn it on and off when it’s convenient.”
Brett heaves a sigh. “I guess not,” he agrees. “Come here then.” He rolls onto his side and holds out his arm, then cuddles his friend until his bladder insists it’s time to get out of bed.
After he washes his hands and opens the bathroom door, he’s startled to find Eddy lingering just on the other side of it. “Um. Have you been standing here the entire time?”
“Uhh,” Eddy says, dropping his gaze. “…yeah?”
Brett frowns. “Listen, I get how things are for you right now, but love doesn’t mean zero privacy. I really can’t handle anyone standing outside the bathroom door while I do my thing. I need a little space here and there, you know?”
“I know,” Eddy says, his voice going high and thin. “…I’m sorry.”
Brett sighs again. “It’s okay.” He pulls Eddy in for a quick hug, hoping to get through this with minimal drama. “Come on, I’ll make you a coffee, how does that sound?”
He can feel Eddy perking up even though he can’t see his face. “And pancakes?”
Brett chuckles. “And pancakes.”
***
Despite his initial reservations, Brett finds himself enjoying the days of Eddy being in love with him. The only real surprise is how similar their in-love days are to the rest of the time they’ve shared. They play music for each other, take breaks to play games, eat together, go for walks, talk about everything related to their businesses and a bunch of things that aren’t between filming videos and goofing around.
The differences aren’t many, but they’re nice. They cuddle on the couch, Brett’s fingers smoothing paths through Eddy’s silky hair. They kiss, teasing each other about shortcomings in their respective techniques until they’re both laughing and then they try again, eventually getting it right. Eddy’s nice to kiss and caress when they’re being light and playful, and dangerously desirable when his affections turn serious and passionate.
Sometimes he loses himself in their intimacies, forgetting that it’s just to ease Eddy through the misfortune of accidentally quaffing a love potion.
What if it could always be this way, he almost asks once before silencing himself.
He’s just being a good friend, giving Eddy what he needs before things return to normal. In the meanwhile he adjusts to having Eddy in his bed, Eddy in his lap, Eddy in his space and Eddy’s lips pressed against his skin more often than not.
They don’t get much work done, but he doesn’t much mind.
***
On the morning of the third day, he wakes to find Eddy seated on the edge of his bed, his shoulders slumped.
“Eddy?” he asks, struggling towards consciousness. The two of them had been awake far too late the previous night, talking and cuddling and kissing. He expected Eddy to sleep until noon but it’s just past daybreak and it seems he’s been awake for a while.
“Yeah.”
Brett struggles free of the blankets and drags himself to his friend’s side. “Hey, what’s wrong?” he asks, an arm encircling his waist.
“It’s the third day,” Eddy says. “I guess the potion wore off.”
“You guess, or it did?” Brett presses a little closer.
There’s a few beats of heavy silence before Eddy responds. “It’s day three.”
“That’s not an answer.” He begins rubbing Eddy’s back, which is stiff with tension. “How do you feel? Still in love, or…?”
Eddy sighs. “I don’t know,” he says, voice flat.
Then he buries his face in his hands and cries.
***
It takes a long time for Brett to soothe him, coaxing him back into his arms and holding him until he’s calm. “I’m going to kill Mariella for this,” is the first thing he says, and he regrets it when Eddy tenses again.
“No, don’t.”
“Well not literally. But she needs some consequences for this. I get that she didn’t intend to hurt you, but she did, and it’s not right that there’s no consequences for her. Can I at least tell her my opinion of her professionalism?”
Eddy sighs and presses his face against Brett's neck. “That would make me feel worse.”
Brett returns to rubbing his back and making comforting sounds into his ear. “Okay,” he says eventually. “I won’t, then. But I’m still fucking furious.” When Eddy begins to shiver, he reaches around for their second blanket and drags it over him.
“You should be mad at me. I’m the one who drank the dodgy potion.”
“Nah. You just wanted to sleep. If anything it was my fault, not helping you find a reputable potion-crafter. I should have thought of that.” He leans forward to kiss Eddy’s cheek before catching himself — now that the potion’s worn off, it’s time for them to be normal friends again, and normal friends don’t kiss each other in bed.
With a regretful sigh, he pulls free of Eddy’s limbs and tucks the blankets around him. “Sleep a little longer,” he says. “I’ll make coffee. And breakfast. I bet you’ll feel better once you’re caffeinated and fed.”
Eddy makes a distressed little sound, but doesn’t argue.
***
He doesn’t argue much over the next few days, either.
In fact he’s almost completely silent, an Eddy-shaped ghost in their flat, doing things Brett requests but otherwise keeping to himself. Brett checks on him every few hours, usually finding him in his room, listening to music in bed or just sitting motionless by the windows.
Are you sure you’re okay, he asks countless times. Is there anything I can do? How can I make you feel better?
Eddy just shakes his head, occasionally offering a wan smile while assuring Brett he’s fine, just fine.
More concerning is that he doesn’t seem to be eating, not even when Brett tempts him with his favorites. Korean fried chicken is pushed around on his plate, bubble tea is left untouched in the cup, and even coffee is largely ignored.
Brett’s also pretty sure he’s not sleeping, because when he wakes at night he can hear someone moving about in their flat. He’s tempted to get up and see if Eddy will talk to him, maybe darkness is the key to unlocking his recent silence, but he can’t bring himself to intrude further on his friend’s unhappiness.
If anything, he suspects Eddy would prefer being alone, but he can’t bear the thought of leaving him.
Finally, after waking to find Eddy pale with dark shadows smudged beneath his eyes, he decides enough is enough and swipes Eddy’s phone after cajoling him into the shower. The minute the water starts running, he locates Mariella’s number, promising himself that he won’t lose his temper with her. She’s Eddy’s friend, after all.
“Mariella’s charms and potions, Mariella speaking, how can I help you?”
“Oh you’ve already done plenty,” Brett snaps.
“Um. Who’s this?”
“This is Brett Yang, best friend of Eddy Chen, your buddy you dosed with the wrong potion… sound familiar?”
Mariella sighs. “Listen,” she says, her voice shifting from professional tones into a more personal one — although not an especially regretful one, Brett notes with another flare of irritation. “That was… unfortunate, but it should have worn off by now, no?”
“It has,” Brett says, his hand tightening around his phone. “And now he’s depressed and miserable. So what’s going on?”
“Well—”
“I’m guessing it’s some sort of magical withdrawal,” he continues, not giving her a chance to respond because what does Miss Not-Even-An-Apprentice know, anyway? “I need you to tell me what sort of potion will help with that, and the name of an actual, qualified potion crafter to make us one.”
There’s an unacceptably long pause on the other end of the line before she speaks again. “No one goes through withdrawal from a single potion,” she tells him, voice clipped. “What’s happening? Specifically.”
Brett describes the symptoms, his anger increasing with each addition to the list.
“Well,” Mariella replies, not sounding especially sympathetic, “none of that has anything to do with my potion. No one gets addicted after a single dose, certainly not enough to cause a withdrawal reaction. It just sounds like he’s sad.”
“Sad?” Brett’s blood threatens to boil within his veins. “You think this is just him being sad?”
“Yes,” she replies coolly. “It sounds like he’s sad and maybe lonely, too. My suggestion is that you take care of him instead of yelling at me over a simple mistake that Eddy’s already forgiven me for, yeah?”
And infuriatingly, she disconnects the call.
***
By the time Eddy emerges from his shower, Brett’s done some thinking and devised a plan.
“Hey,” he says, walking into the still-steaming bathroom where Eddy is half-dressed. “I’ve got an idea.”
Eddy arches a brow and waits.
“I think your pal’s fucked-up potion has left some residual effects. Not that you’re still in love with me or anything,” he adds hastily. “But I don’t think it wore off the way it should have, either. So instead of going cold turkey and us just being friends again… maybe it would help if we tapered things off instead?”
Eddy’s eyes brighten for the first time in days.
***
They return to cuddling on the couch, exchanging soft kisses, finding excuses to touch each other and generally being in one another’s space most of the time. Brett allows Eddy to cling to him, even encourages it, playfully complaining when they’re too far apart.
“Hey, I’ve got two free hands, what’s up with that?”
Eddy encircles one of them with his warm fingers, sighing with contentment as he leans closer, closer, always finding a way to get closer.
His mood and disposition do a one-eighty. They’re back to talking, laughing, and enjoying their time together as if Eddy’s brief depressive period never happened.
Brett intends to slowly scale down the affection levels as days pass, but the longer they continue, the more natural and comfortable it all feels. They even learn to fit their sleeping bodies together without Eddy migrating on top of him — except when Brett wants him there.
And as it turns out, he often does, although he’s still uneasy about potential lingering effects of the potion.
“Let’s wait,” he pants on a near-nightly basis, forcing his hands away from Eddy’s more responsive regions. “I don’t wanna do anything that you’ll regret in a week or two. That would be terrible. Let’s just… keep cuddling.”
Eddy’s quiet for a moment. “What about me touching you, then? I’d really like to.”
Brett shakes his head. “But maybe that’s only because of the love potion. Or the lingering effects. I can’t risk taking advantage of you.”
“You won’t be.”
“I have to be sure.”
With a sigh, Eddy rolls onto his back. “What if it’s real?” he asks after a pause. “What if I’m just in love with you?”
Brett reaches over to pat his arm as waves of frustration roll off his friend. “That’s what love potions make you believe. Once it fully wears off, you’ll feel differently, and I don’t want either of us having any regrets.”
“The love potion I took weeks ago?”
Brett shrugs. “I guess you’re more susceptible than most.”
Eddy frowns. “You’ve always said you think I’m smart.”
“I do.” Brett runs a hand down his arm. “You are. This has nothing to do with that. It’s more to do with how… um…” Despite his discomfort, he forces himself to continue. “…with how naturally affectionate you are. It makes sense that the potion would affect you more than others.”
Bright color blooms on Eddy’s checks as he both smiles and grimaces. “You make me sound like some sorta simp.”
“Well…”
Eddy laughs. “Okay, we’re done talking about this. Moving on. Next!”
Brett doesn’t have anything more to discuss, so he leans in and presses a kiss against Eddy’s shoulder. “Time for some rest,” he says. “We’ve got to start filming again tomorrow. Not to mention practicing. We’ve been slacking lately and it’s time to get serious.”
Eddy makes an agreeable sound before rolling over and making himself comfortable with his face pressed against Brett’s throat.
***
By the end of the week, Eddy’s mood takes a downturn and Brett can’t figure out why.
He spends more time doting on him, offering hugs and couch-cuddles and kisses, but there’s suddenly a distance between them he can’t understand. He worries at first, thinking maybe his makeshift treatment plan isn’t working after all when it suddenly occurs to him: It’s the potion.
It’s finally worn off, and naturally Eddy wants him to back away. Without the potion’s residual effects fueling his delusions of love, of course he’d prefer things be normal.
It’s time for them to be just friends again, and Brett’s fine with that.
But he figures they should probably talk before he boots Eddy out of his bed and stops kissing him every chance he gets.
He waits until the evening, once their videos are filmed and they’ve both had a chance to practice and Eddy is lounging on the couch with a now-familiar look on his face.
“Hey,” Brett begins, plopping down beside him. “So um. I can’t help but notice that it seems the potion has fully worn off.”
Eddy tilts his head to one side, looking at him with puzzled eyes. “Yeah?”
“Well, only you would know for sure, but that’s the impression I’ve been getting over the past few days. What do you think?”
Eddy shrugs. “Yeah. I don’t think I’m under the influence of anything.”
“Great,” Brett replies with forced cheer. “So um, I take it you’re ready for things to return to normal? I bet you’re eager to get back to your own bed, hey.”
To his surprise, Eddy’s expression goes blank. “Yeah,” he says, followed by an odd pause that extends until he forces a laugh. “And I bet you can't wait to have your bed to yourself again.”
Brett shrugs. “We made it work, and got a lot better at everything before the end, yeah? We really handled the whole situation well. High-five?”
He holds up a hand, but after eying it for a second Eddy’s face crumples and his breathing turns uneven.
“Hey,” Brett says, alarmed. “What… what’s going on?” When there’s no reply, he slides closer. “Please talk to me. Come on, Eddy. After everything we’ve been through in the past month, I think you can tell me.”
“Everything we’ve been through?” Eddy chokes out, like the words hurt. “Was it really so bad? I’m sorry. I’ve been really selfish.”
Brett shakes his head and places a hand on his shoulder. “Nah, you haven't done anything wrong. And I didn’t mean to make it sound like it was bad. It wasn’t. It was another experience for our friendship, yeah? Now I know you’re both super smart and an amazing kisser.”
To his horror, Eddy buries his face into his hands and begins sniffling.
“Oh,” Brett breathes, wrapping an arm around him. Nothing he’s said has made anything better, quite the opposite in fact, so this time he just sits and waits in supportive silence. Like a good, totally normal friend would.
“I have something I need to tell you,” Eddy says after a while, and Brett nods in encouragement even though Eddy’s not looking at him.
“Go on then.”
Eddy drags in a long, shuddering breath. “Mariella called me.”
“Oh, her,” Brett says, unable to keep the distaste from his voice. “I hope it’s because she was begging for your forgiveness.”
Eddy shakes his head, for once not leaping to her defense. “The thing is— it wasn’t a love potion she gave me.”
“…What?”
With visible effort, Eddy meets his eyes with his teary gaze. “It was just sugar water. But she told me it was a love potion, and I believed her. It felt real. It felt one-hundred percent real.”
“I’m sure it did,” Brett manages. “I mean, there’s a word for that, right? When you give someone a fake pill and they believe it’s doing whatever they’re told it would do?”
“Placebo,” Eddy says, wiping his eyes. “So yeah. She said it was a love potion, and I was immediately overwhelmed with feelings for you… but um.” He swallows. “I guess it wasn’t the potion and, um.” He pauses again until Brett prompts him with a gentle nudge.
“Um, what?”
Eddy sighs. “I guess part of me always knew it wasn’t the potion. Or at least, not only the potion. And I should have told you. You’ve been so careful and considerate and worried about taking advantage the whole time and now I sort of feel… sort of feel like I took advantage of you.”
His voice peters into a sub-whisper by the time he finishes, and then his face is in his hands again.
After taking a moment to absorb what he’s been told, Brett tightens his arm around him. “No, Eddy. No, you didn’t. Not at all. If I didn’t want to do the things we were doing, I wouldn’t have. I would have stopped with extra attention and hugs; I wouldn’t have brought you into my bed.” He pauses, swallows, and continues. “The truth is… I don’t think my feelings for you have been entirely platonic for a long time.”
“N-no?” Eddy looks up at him with teary eyes and a hopeful expression.
“No.” Brett leans in, closes his eyes, and kisses Eddy’s lower lip. “And I should have been honest with you, too — but until now, I guess I haven’t been honest with myself.” He releases an embarrassed little laugh.
“Oh,” Eddy says, his eyes shining. “So um…” He kisses Brett back, hesitantly at first and then with growing intensity. By the time he breaks away, he’s making sweet, broken little noises that make Brett want to drag him off to the bedroom right then and there.
“We need to talk more before we do anything else,” Brett says, forcing himself to disengage. “Potion or not, I’m not gonna risk fucking up our friendship with sex until we’ve discussed things and agreed about things and know exactly what we both want.”
Eddy gives a high-pitched little laugh. “That’ll be a quick conversation on my end. I want what I’ve always wanted — you, as my partner in every way, forever.”
Brett rolls his eyes, but he’s grinning like an idiot. “I also still need to deal with Mariella.”
Eddy cocks his head to the side. “Deal with her?”
Brett nods. “She might be the worst friend ever.”
“Or the best,” Eddy offers. “If not for her, we might not have figured things out until we were old and gray. She really just wanted to help.”
Brett takes a few seconds to consider that. “I’m still not happy about it,” he says. “I don’t think we should have people in our lives who lie, or feed you fake drugs, or manipulate us, even if it’s for a good cause. I’m not saying I’ll never forgive her, but…”
“She’s off the wedding invite list for now?”
Brett blushes warm, and laughs. “For certain.”
***
So maybe he and Eddy had never been perfectly normal friends, but Brett is certain they’re going to be perfect as partners.