✥ ✥ ✥

A secret so the spies
Could never find us out

✥ ✥ ✥

Tilly began to make regular visits to the bank after their kiss. Sometimes she pretended to deposit money and other times she didn't. Brendon was more afraid of falling in love with her than getting caught and it haunted him more than the memories of Sandburg's. It hurt to kiss June when he'd been thinking about kissing Tilly again. He hadn't brought himself to kiss her since that afternoon at Moretti's speakeasy and he wasn't sure if he ever would, no matter how bad he wanted to.

June was silent as he got dressed for the club opening. She watched him run back and forth between the bathroom and the bedroom from their bed. She wasn't thrilled that he'd gone from performing at Sandburg's to performing at a gang leader's speakeasy but there wasn't much she could do about it. June Urie wasn't going to say no to a check.

"How do I look?" Brendon asked, turning to his wife when he was fully dressed. "Not bad, right?"

June shrugged. "Sure."

"I'll see you when I get home, okay? Please don't wait up for me. I don't know how long I'll be."

"Don't drink yourself to death. I can't believe I'm letting you go out there," June sighed, picking up a novel. "This is even worse than Sandburg's."

"I'll be fine. Just trust me." He rounded the bed and kissed June's forehead. "I'll tell you all about it when I get back."

"Don't. That way if you get arrested I won't have to lie. Plausible deniability."

"See you later, June," Brendon laughed.

The walk to the speakeasy was rather lengthy but Brendon didn't mind. He warmed up his voice and sang his new song on the way all while ignoring his anxiety. The new audience and amount of money on the line really stressed him out but he knew he could do it. All he had to do was close his eyes and sing.

He barely found the first door since the alleyway was poorly lit and he almost screwed up the password at the second door but he got in. The lack of familiar faces didn't soothe his nerves once he was inside. He searched for anyone he might know and finally found the one person he was always dying to see.

"Miss Clarke," he said, tapping Tilly's shoulder.

She turned away from her conversation with a group of women and smiled when their eyes met. "Mr. Urie! I'm so happy you made it! Here's your entertainment for the night, ladies!" she told her friends. "Let me show you to your new dressing room." Tilly excused herself and linked arms with Brendon. "You look nice."

"So do you. I love white on you," he said.

"This dress was custom made for tonight, can you believe that?" Tilly scoffed, leading him through a door near the stage. "Henry said I had to look perfect."

"And you do."

She opened a door at the end of the hallway. "This one's yours!"

"Surprise!"

Angelina, Pete, and Spencer cheered when Tilly opened the door, almost giving Brendon a heart attack but overwhelming him with happiness once he caught his breath. He swore he was alone at this club but his friends had been here the whole time.

"What are you guys doing here?" Brendon cried. "How did you...?"

"I invited them!" Tilly explained, laughing along with Brendon's friends. "I knew it wouldn't feel like home without them so I told them to come. Pete's still gonna serve you whiskey and Angelina is still gonna dance. Spencer has to find a different job, unfortunately, but I know you two are still friends so I told him to come too. Surprise!"

"Tilly, that's amazing, darlin', thank you," he sighed, wrapping her in a hug. "Thank you so much."

"Should we leave?" Pete asked. "I forgot you two had a thing."

"You should see them at work," Spencer said. "I get worried sometimes."

"We should probably let him get ready, actually. He goes on in ten minutes." Tilly squeezed his hand. "He's gonna be amazing."

"Not without his routine drink of whiskey," Angelina interjected, handing Brendon a glass. "Please drink this, you look terrified."

"I am," he replied, downing the liquor in one swallow. "I'm playing paid gigs for Henry Moretti now. I can't mess up."

"You shouldn't even worry about that because you won't mess up. They're gonna love you, I promise." Tilly kissed his cheek and encouraged everyone to leave the room so he could be alone, which was the last thing he needed.

A stage manager knocked on his door to tell him to be on deck. Brendon stood behind the curtain and quietly sang to himself as he waited for his turn. The emcee announced his name and a thunderous round of applause rang out; it got even louder when he stepped out onstage.

"I hope you don't mind if I sing a few songs tonight," he joked, sitting at the piano. "I'm so excited to be here and I owe it all to Henry Moretti. I wrote this song based on your password, I hope that's okay. It's called 'Old Fashioned'."

The song got people out of their seats and onto the dancefloor in no time. This audience was much livelier than his audience at Sandburg's which was definitely something he could get used to. Surprisingly, Brendon didn't want to leave the stage and he soaked up every ounce of applause. This performance was quite fulfilling considering he'd been so nervous about it before.

Tilly was waiting for him in his dressing room with another glass of whiskey and that cute little smile he loved. He kissed her cheek before accepting the drink.

"Remember when I told you not to worry because you'd be incredible up there?" she said, closing and locking the door of his dressing room. "And then remember when I ended up being right?"

"It actually went pretty well," he responded, leaning on the vanity table. "I might like it here."

"Good. Here's your compensation." She held out an envelope.

Brendon put his glass down and took the package, shocked out how much cash was inside. "How much money is this?"

"$500," Tilly answered, watching him gawk over the generous amount of cash. "$250 from the party and $250 for tonight. Is that okay?"

"Are you insane? Yes, this is okay," Brendon said, looking away from the money. "Thank you."

"Of course. You'll have to talk to Henry about having an official schedule but if he likes you enough he'll probably give you a raise," Tilly said, taking Brendon's hand in hers. "I'll make sure he gives you a raise."

"You should be my manager," he laughed, as their fingers intertwined. "You're always looking out for me."

"That's what..." She hesitated as she searched for the right word to use.

"...that's what...?"

"I was gonna say 'That's what friends do' but are we really friends?" Tilly asked, looking down at their hands. "Last time you thanked me you also kissed me and I know for a fact friends don't kiss each others lips."

Brendon smirked. "Well, what do you qualify as being friends?"

"Well, I know that friends usually aren't romantically attracted to each other right? I feel like if that type of energy is going on they might need to have an important conversation," Tilly answered, rubbing her thumb over the back of Brendon's hand. "We both know we like each other, Brendon. We don't have to act like we don't."

"But whatever this is can't go too far. I don't want to face Moretti and I know you don't want to face him either."

"Obviously but we also know I'm not happy with Henry either. I'd rather be with you." She wrapped her arms around his waist and held him tight. "That kiss made me sure of it."

Brendon grinned and hugged Tilly back, resting his head on top of hers. It felt safe here and he hadn't felt this safe in ages.

"Me too, sweetheart."

"So let's not put a label on this quite yet. We just know that we really like each other and if anyone besides our closest friends found out we'd die. Does that sound right to you?"

"Yeah, that sums it up."

"This is just...casual," Tilly concluded, her voice muffled in his suit jacket.

"This is an affair," he corrected her. "It's okay to say it."

"I don't like that word. It's scandalous."

"How about a casual affair. It is what it is, doll. We have to lock the doors when we hug. Look at us."

He could tell she was rolling her eyes and it amused him.

"I never thought I'd have an affair," she scoffed, looking up at Brendon from the embrace. "How shitty does your partner have to be for you to have an affair?"

Brendon thought about his own wife who was sitting at home, completely unaware that he cared deeply for another woman. "Pretty shitty."

✥ ✥ ✥

When's he gonna tell Tilly the truth I can't believe he's lying to 2 people what is wrong with him

Btw Brendon and Tilly's songs are I Have Friends In Holy Spaces and Casual Affair (if that last one wasn't obvious enough). I'll let you know if I think of any more lmao see you later