I would start a riot

A Lopsided Kangaroo ~ December 2015

Dec was slightly embarrassed to admit he'd been counting down the days until one particular date in December. It was a long overdue visit and he was still slightly frustrated that conflicting schedules had meant that it had taken so many years to happen.

This was the fourth year spent in Australia since Stephen's role in his life had been upgraded quite significantly. The first, Dec had moped far more than he wanted to, getting used to Ant's knowing smiles and constant light-hearted teasing. The second, one he didn't want to remember. Late (and early) phone calls; Stephen upset on his own; an all-consuming feeling of helplessness. Last year had been uneventful in comparison. Leaving had been hard but it always seemed to be. Being in Australia had been easier.

He'd got over the barrier of seeing the Australian crew he only saw once a year, people he considered to be good friends who had found out like the rest of the world about him and Stephen earlier that year. It had been strange to realise it had been news on the other side of the planet, even if the focus was more on the fact that two presenters had been outed against their will rather than the fact that it was him and Stephen specifically. In some ways, Dec preferred the comparative anonymity of that, although it was odd to think that he would always be 'the presenter who got outed' to a lot of people who weren't familiar with his actual work.

"Very hot, isn't it?" Stephen said the second he walked over to Dec in the airport, having spotted him from some distance away even with a cap pulled down halfway over his eyes in an attempt to avoid the attention of anyone who might recognise him.

He tried to roll his eyes, the gesture taken over by a fond smile all too quickly when he craned his neck upwards and swiftly kissed Stephen. "Nice to see you too."

"I didn't say it wasn't nice to see you," Stephen replied with a grin, his hand snaking behind Dec's back, settling just above his hip. Dec tilted into his side as they started to walk towards the exit, still careful to keep a low profile, not that they were as well-recognised in Australia as they were in the UK.

"Are you going to complain about the temperature for ten days straight?" he asked amusedly.

"Is it going to be this hot for ten days straight?" Stephen said in return, squinting unhappily as the sun beat down through the glass façade of the airport. "You'd think they wouldn't make buildings like greenhouses if it was going to get this sunny."

"God, you never stop complaining," Dec teased.

Stephen's tongue poked out of his mouth slightly as he smiled but he quickly reverted to annoyance. "It was basically snowing when I left home. I looked like a right idiot in shorts."

For a minute, Dec felt a faint pang of homesickness, still not quite used to experiencing the opposite weather to what he expected in the middle of winter. It didn't make sense for him to suddenly miss home, not when Stephen had just arrived – the younger man was normally one of the only reasons he wanted to be at home and not in the middle of an Australian summer.

"You always look like a right idiot in shorts," he retorted, swiftly pushing thoughts of home to one side.

"I'm going to buy a decoration for the tree while I'm here," Stephen continued, making a point of ignoring the previous remark in favour of making Dec groan exaggeratedly. "Something really tacky."

"You've really lowered the tone of my Christmas decorations since you moved in," he said with a helpless shake of his head. "Only one, alright?"

"I think I've added character," Stephen retorted, ignoring Dec's warning before relenting when Dec stared at him firmly. "Fine, only one." They walked a little further and then he grinned. "A kangaroo doing something stupid."