I would start a riot

Twenty Questions ~ October 2015

"You always pick the nicest flowers, Stephen," Anne said approvingly over her shoulder as she walked through to the kitchen with her newly gifted bouquet, missing Stephen's gloating smile aimed at Dec and his answering frown.

"I helped," Dec said petulantly, glaring again when Stephen scoffed under his breath.

"Helped," he repeated sarcastically.

"Got in the way?" Anne suggested an alternative knowingly, her mouth twitching when she looked over at Dec. Beyond their ulterior motive for being there, Dec was surprised just how nice it felt to be at home when he normally wouldn't be. He was used to visiting in the summer with the knowledge that he wouldn't be back there before Christmas. It had been a long time since he'd seen Newcastle in the autumn.

"If I'd known I'd get treated like this, I wouldn't have suggested coming up here to visit you again," he retorted, feeling a smile slip through his annoyed façade.

"It was a lovely surprise," Anne said genuinely before turning to Stephen with a shake of her head. "He forgets about us when you're down in London."

"I'm right here, mam!" Dec complained as Stephen huffed out a laugh.

Anne smiled teasingly and started to boil the kettle. Dec concentrated on the reason they were there once more, always taking a great deal of comfort from the way she was so carefree around the two of them. It wasn't any different to the way she was around his siblings and their partners. He hoped her reaction to their news wouldn't be any different either.

"I'm presuming you have something you want to tell me, if you've come all this way," she said knowingly. Dec was surprised she brought it up so quickly, wondering if what they were really there to say had crossed her mind.

"We can't just pop in for a visit?" he asked momentarily, delaying the inevitable with another joke. He glanced at Stephen, getting an affectionate smile in return, the younger man's head ducking to the floor slightly. Nerves, Dec could tell, but good ones.

"The 10-hour roundtrip counts as 'popping in', does it?" Anne asked in return. Her eyes gleamed with a steady reassurance that Dec didn't really need, clear evidence that she'd guessed what it was he was going to say. And she looked so happy, behind the pretence of not knowing what was happening.

"So," Dec said slowly, prevaricating for the time it took to take a deep breath and look over at Stephen again, starting to get used to the flood of warmth in his chest whenever he thought about what they were about to do. It grew every time he said it out loud too, even if it was just a murmur against the younger man's shoulder. He didn't need everyone to know for it to feel real, although telling Ant had been an indescribable relief. "Me and Stevie are getting married."

Anne's face broke into a smile, no longer held back by her clear desire to at least pretend to be surprised. Dec felt his expression mimicking hers automatically, following Stephen's lead and ducking his eyes to the tiles for a moment, his top lip disappearing between his teeth.

"That explains why Anthony was behaving so strangely when I called him a couple of days ago," she said immediately, her eyes still twinkling mischievously. Dec shook his head faux wearily but walked into her arms willingly, inhaling the floral scent that followed her around the house and reminded him so deeply of home.

"Can't keep anything to himself," Stephen said ruefully as Dec pulled away again. He watched as Anne's attention flickered between the pair of them. She only seemed to look more overjoyed every time she glanced from him to Stephen, as if she really understood how important this was to both of them – how important one was to the other.

"Have you asked him yet?" She looked at Dec expectantly and he felt his mouth twitch amusedly. Of course she would ask about Ant being the best man; his best friend was alarmingly similar to his mum.