Chapter Text
Eddy loves their fans. He really does. I mean, who wouldn’t want to hang out with your best friend and play violin every day? He’s so lucky, so grateful, that he’s provided these opportunities to travel and perform and meet inspiring musicians. It’s a true dream come true. So yes. Eddy loves their fans.
But.
But but but.
They can be dangerous, too.
Brett and Eddy.
Brett x Eddy.
Breddy.
See? Danger. It’s there. Lurking around every corner…
Shipping.
It was funny at first, just some fans with wild imaginations, a tiny microcosm. They were a young channel, no followers and huge dreams. It was difficult at first, getting their footing and working out how to make everything make sense. It was just the two of them, editing and promoting and making scripts. But it was fun, so fun, the most fun Eddy had ever really had, so they continued on. It was a true labor of love.
And then the channel grew, and the shipping comments started falling to the back, and Eddy started dating Toni, and, in all honesty, he completely forgot that part of the fanbase. He and Toni were going strong, the channel was picking up steam, that far-fetched dream they had was finally coming to fruition. His life was perfect. Tiring, yes. But perfect.
It was actually Toni who brought it up again. She wasn’t upset, oh no, she was amused. It was just something to poke fun at, make a stray joke every once in a while. But now Eddy was aware, was paying attention to those hidden comments that were slowly becoming more and more common. It was a little unsettling, what were the fans seeing that Eddy wasn’t? Okay, sure, sometimes Eddy looked at Brett a bit wistfully, and Brett would do that little secret, small smile when Eddy’s back was turned, but that didn’t mean Brett was interested in him, that he was interested in Brett. It was just the lighting, the camera angle, he wasn’t looking at Brett with that sort of intent, of course not. He loved Brett, but as a friend, a platonic life partner, that’s all. And he had Toni, beautiful, lovely, sweet Toni.
And it was beautiful, lovely, sweet Toni, who suggested to up the fanservice.
“It’ll increase your views,” she said. “C’mon, don’t you wanna grow bigger? I don’t mind, really, it’s just a joke.”
So, they followed her advice. They upped the fanservice and the comment sections went wild. Brett was blasé beyond belief about it, and Eddy was…pretending to be blasé. They started haunting him, those comments. Suddenly his friend went from best platonic soulmate to…to…handsome, kind, maybe romantic partner material. But he had Toni, so there was no chance for them to be anything mo–
“Fuck! Chance? Chance? I don’t want a chance with Brett.”
So, in his ever-infinite intelligence and wisdom, he packed all those absolutely ludicrous ideas into a suitcase and threw them out the window of his brain. Fanservice was just that, fanservice. Fake, silly little jokes that have no basis in reality. He holds onto Toni tight and looks forward.
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Breaking up is hard. Something changed between them in those four years. One day it just…flipped. The light started flickering, the bulb burning out. It was an amicable breakup, or at least, as amicable as they can be. Tears were shed on both sides, four years is a long time, but twenty-two-year-old Eddy isn’t anything near twenty-six-year-old Eddy. He had shifted, and so had she. It was time. They left on good terms with mostly intact hearts.
It was difficult for a little, Eddy won’t lie, but he had the channel and Brett and the fans. He didn’t have that crippling lonely feeling so many of his friends described when they had broken up. He felt different, a little lost sometimes, but never alone. Brett supported him through it all, rubbed his back those first few nights when he got nostalgic, reminded him how great he was, how it wasn’t his fault, it was just the circumstances. It worked. He overcame it and never looked back.
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Twenty-eight-year-old Eddy is nothing like twenty-six-year-old Eddy. He’s no longer that awkward kid who’s self-conscious about his teeth and his skin and his shaky bow. He’s truly confident now, in his looks, his talent. He’s still shy, that part will never change, but who needs to be outgoing when you have a Brett Yang to do all the talking for you.
So that’s why it isn’t a big deal that the Breddy ship has picked up some frigates as reinforcements. The comments exist on reddit, but reddit is a cesspool, so it can’t be taken that seriously. It’s even fun for Eddy, seeing how far he can take it, pushing the boundaries. Or at least, it was fun, until Brett pulls him aside after a shoot, expression serious.
Oh no.
“Hey, Eddy,” he starts. “Listen…”
Eddy is getting worried. It’s been months since that difficult, scary time, but it’s still fresh enough to make Eddy’s neck hair stand on end.
“A-are you okay, bro? I’m here for you, y’know.”
Brett fixes him with a confused look for a minute, then gasps, eyes flying wide.
“No, nonono, nothing like that,” he says. Eddy could almost cry with relief. “There’s just been this thing that’s sorta bothering me.”
“Thank fuckin’ god,” Eddy breathes. He shakes his head, slaps his cheeks a few times. “Okay, something bothering you, what’s up, how can I help?”
“I-I love our fans, man. But, er, it makes me a little nervous, this, uh, Breddy thing.”
This time Eddy’s eyes fly wide open. “Oh shit, have I been taking it too far? Are you uncomfortable?”
Eddy has been awfully flirty recently, but he thought Brett was in on the joke. Hearing he wasn’t makes it…
Oh no.
“Holy shit, I am so sorry, oh my god, Brett, I didn’t mean to–”
“Nonono,” Brett says, cutting him off. “It’s not you, it’s the fans. Seriously, it’s just, they’re getting a bit, uh, wild.”
Well…that’s true. The fandom had been a little ravenous lately, months of quarantine has probably made everybody a little stir-crazy, including the fans, and now with the tour announced, the energy can only soar higher.
“Okay, but hear me out,” Brett says, putting out some placating hands.
Oh no.
“What if…we dated…?” Brett sounds nervous, as he should be. Eddy is…uh…
Fuuuuuuuuuuuck fuckfuckfuck what the fuck what oh god.
Eddy is doing great.
“What,” he deadpans.
Jesus fuck shit shit oh my god.
“Okay, I know, it sounds crazy,” Brett starts. “But, like, what if we dated, and then, uh, broke up?”
“What.”
“Okay, like, do the whole ‘oh yeah we tried to date but it didn’t work out.’ You know, something like that, that could work, right?”
“You’re fucking insane, dude. We aren’t in some shitty romcom, nobody is going to actually believe that.”
“But it’s worth a shot, though, right? I’m…I’m getting a little tired of the fans thinking there’s something, you know, going on between us.”
Eddy can’t even formulate words anymore, his mind has gone completely empty too. He’s just staring at Brett, jaw slack, eyebrows knitted together, mouth open.
“I mean–not that I wouldn’t want to date you–you’re super hot, bro, very sexy, uh, wait–I mean, just, uh, shit–”
Brett takes a minute to compose himself, ruffles his hair and coughs once. “Y-you look good, and anybody would be honored to date you, but I’m not interested in you like that or anything, dude.”
“Uh,” Eddy says eloquently. At least his mouth has finally closed.
“Just to get the fans, you know, off our backs. If we date and then break up, fans will calm down. They’ll be like ‘oh, they gave it their best shot’ and then they’ll back off.”
That is not how fandoms work.
But Brett is his best friend, and sometimes, you have to do stupid things for your best friend.
“Okay,” Eddy says, finally. “This plan is so dumb, so fuckin’ dumb, but if this whole ‘Breddy’ thing is really bothering you, then...”
Deep breath, here we go.
“I’ll…I’ll fuckin’ do it,” he groans.
Brett’s smile is pure sunshine. “Thanks Eddy, you’re seriously the best, dude.”
“Yeah, haha, I’m the best…hahaha…of course…ha…”
What in the actual fuck have I gotten myself into?