A Matter of Perspective

22 - Byron

"Byroooooon," Joe bellowed as Byron let himself into his old home. "Looking sharp!"

"Right back at ya, bru," Byron grinned, pulling him in for a quick hug, clapping a hand on his friend's back that was covered by a crisp white shirt.

"The bloody BAFTAs," Joe shook his head ruefully as he pulled away. "Who would have thought?"

"Not me," Byron shrugged. "Kind of mad, huh?"

Joe shrugged right back, the look on his face similar to how Byron was feeling - slightly confused, but excited nonetheless. He still wasn't sure how or why they'd all been invited to the British Academy Film and Television Awards, but here they were. Wearing tuxedos, about to meet up with their friends to drive to the bloody BAFTAs.

"Can I get you a drink?" Joe offered as he fiddled with his bow tie in the mirror. "Actually just go grab one, you know where they are!"

"Already on it," Byron replied, making his way into the kitchen, still familiar with where things were. His eyes lingered on a few new additions to the space that made him smile - a tea towel hanging off the stove with a kangaroo on it, red hair ties scattered across the countertop and bottles of sparkling water lined up on the top shelf of the fridge. All evidence of the fact that he had moved out and a certain redheaded Australian had moved in.

"Do you like sparkling water?" Joe asked from the hall. "Because it's taking over our fridge, please drink some."

Byron chuckled to himself, picking up on the usage of the term "our" instead of "my", bypassing the water and grabbing a can of soda, "Sorry bru, not a fan of fizzy water. It tastes like static."

Joe groaned, "Yes! That's exactly what I say. Di set up some sort of weekly delivery since I kept forgetting to buy it at the store, but then didn't cancel it when she went on tour."

"Just leave it out of the fridge," Byron grinned, flopping heavily down onto the sofa.

"Nah, there's actually plenty of room," Joe conceded, finally getting the bow tie right as he made his way into the sitting room, a sheepish smile on his face, "I'm just looking for things to complain about because I miss her."

Byron smiled as he studied his friend who was now shrugging on his tux jacket and checking his phone. Joe had changed a lot in the last year and a half. When Byron had lived in this flat, Joe was just a YouTuber. Today, he was a YouTuber, a voice actor, a talent manager, a TV host, a singer, and even a dancer.

And, Byron thought with a smirk, Joe was also a boyfriend.

As he gazed around the sitting room, noticing even more subtle Dianne touches like a few new candles and house plants, dance magazines, and a pair of high heels shoved in the corner, Byron's brain was assaulted with a memory from Joe's Strictly days. They had been sitting right here...

~~~

"Brooooo," Joe groaned, wincing as he massaged his calf as he sprawled out across the sofa, pouting pathetically as Byron let himself in the front door after grabbing a late-night dinner with his girlfriend Emily.

"Byron, I'm dying," he whined, as Byron smirked, coming over to lay on the opposite side of the sofa. "Who knew dancing could be so hard?"

Joe had made it through the first four weeks of Strictly Come Dancing - longer than either of them had bet back in August when he had first signed on - and he was still marching on near the top of the leader board each week.  Though Joe's success had caught Byron a bit off guard, he wasn't surprised to watch his friend work extremely hard each week in rehearsals. Joe was never one to half ass an opportunity.