World Tour

Brisbane

Eddy felt like he was sleepwalking as he lifted the last suitcase out of the boot of the taxi. That last long flight had really taken it out of him: he was exhausted. 
Brett had already started walking up to the door, pulling his suitcase behind him, his violin case on his back. 
That made him remember something important. 
¨Stop!!¨ he yelled, making Brett turn around in surprise. 
¨What?¨ he asked. 
¨Hang on a sec!¨
He rushed up, suitcase trailing behind him. 
¨Something I need to do, my love¨, he said. 
He opened the door and took Brett's violin case off his back, putting it softly onto the ground. Brett eyed him with question marks in his eyes. 
Then Eddy stroked Brett's hair and kissed him on the lips, before whispering: 
¨Welcome home, husband.¨
He put one arm on Brett's back and one under his bum and lifted him up. 
Brett yelped in surprise. 
¨Just following convention¨, Eddy laughed. 
¨For fuck's sake, just don't drop me!¨ Brett said, between his teeth.
¨Excuse me, you weigh about 20 kilos. I will not drop you!¨
Eddy staggered through the door, carrying his man over the threshold like he was supposed to, and set him down on the other side.  
Brett stared at him, amazed he had done that. 
¨Since when did you become such a stickler for convention? Last time I checked I had a penis, how's that for conventional?¨
Eddy grinned.
¨Some conventions are worth following¨, he said, giving Brett a quick peck on the lips. 
He knew from Brett's smile that he'd liked it a lot more than he let on. 

Brett stood still then, and looked silently around the room.
Eddy understood. Brett had been here a hundred thousand times, but now he lived here. Everything was the same, and yet everything was different. 
¨Home¨, Eddy breathed, putting his arm around Brett's shoulders.
Brett turned around, a smile that lit up his eyes on his lips. 
¨Yeah. Home.¨

They quickly got the suitcases and violins in and then they stumbled to the bed, where they crashed, fully clothed. 
They didn't even have time to pull the duvet over them before they both sank into a deep sleep. 

When Eddy woke up he knew he'd been sleeping a long time. He looked at the clock. Wow, it was afternoon already. 
Brett was still sleeping peacefully next to him, and he would have loved to let him sleep as long as he wanted to, but a pressing need from his bladder meant he had no choice but to get up soon. 
He rolled over as quietly as possible and got out of bed slowly, tiptoeing to the door. 
But when he came back he saw open eyes. Shit. 
¨Sorry my love, I tried to let you sleep! I had to go toilet, I'm sorry.¨
¨It's fine, me too anyway¨, Brett said, getting up as well now. ¨We just crashed last night, hey?¨

When Brett came back from the bathroom Eddy was sat cross legged on the bed. 
¨Good morning, sunshine.¨ he said. ¨Has it sunk in yet where we are?¨
Brett smiled widely, sitting down as well. 
¨Yup. We're home.¨
Eddy shook his head in amazement when he thought of it all. 
¨We sure fit a lot into 9 1/2 weeks, Brett. We did a world tour. We gave a million concerts, saw a million fans. We fell in love, and we got married. Wow.¨
¨I know¨, Brett breathed, his eyes suddenly watery. ¨I'm gonna need about two months to process it all. But Eddy?¨
¨Uhuh?¨
¨We did it. They all said we were crazy, but we did it!¨
A tear rolled down his cheek now, and he swiped at it. 
¨I know¨, Eddy said softly, moving to hug him, ¨We really did. And to be honest, I don't even feel like I'm the same person anymore. I've changed so much, grown so much.¨
Brett nodded, resting his head on Eddy's shoulder. 
¨Me too¨, he said simply. ¨You complete me.¨

They sat like that for a while, Eddy stroking Brett's back, Brett holding him tight. 
Then Eddy let go and leaned to kiss Brett, a spark in his eye.
¨You know what we haven't done yet in our home?¨
Brett grinned slightly. 
¨I like your thinking...¨
And just like that the mood was suddenly very different.
Brett kissed Eddy deeply and then pushed him onto the bed, moving to straddle him again, just like he had all those weeks ago, in another lifetime.