World Tour

Brisbane X

 Waking up next to Brett would never, ever, ever get old. Even if all his muscles were still heavy from the storm of emotions from the day before, even if there was a lot to sort through: lying there, eyes still closed, consciousness slowly seeping in, listening to Brett's deep breathing... Eddy couldn't think of a better place to be as he snuggled slightly deeper into the crook of Brett's arm. 
His stirring must have woken him though, because Brett breathed in quickly through his nose and turned his head. 
¨Hey beautiful¨, he said in his croaky morning voice. 
¨Hey yourself¨, Eddy croaked back. 
He gave Brett a quick kiss on the cheek and hauled himself out of bed. 
¨I'm making eggs!¨ he called as he walked off to the living room. 
He heard Brett grunting behind him as he, too, got out of bed and made his way into the studio. 
In the kitchen Eddy had taken out the pan and the oil and he was reaching into the fridge for the eggs, when he almost dropped the carton in shock at the sound of Brett's shriek.
What the?
He ran to the studio, where he found Brett in front of his computer, his phone in his hand, mouth agape and eyes wide. 
¨What?! What's up?¨ he asked. 
Brett turned towards him and beamed. ¨I just called my uncle. I figured I wouldn't tell you until I knew, because I didn't want to stress you out even more. But...¨ he swallowed visibly.
¨But what? You're looking happy? Did he say yes?¨
Brett just looked at him, his eyes still wide, and nodded. ¨Yeah...¨ he whispered. ¨He said he'd be honoured.¨
¨Brett! That's so awesome!¨ Eddy gushed. ¨So we'll have to set a date next, I guess?¨
Brett nodded again. ¨Do you think we should ask Ibo to officiate? I mean, it's not legal tender anyway as we're already married, so anyone can, I guess?¨
¨I love that. I'm sure he'll be great.¨
Eddy installed himself on Brett's lap, the wooden chair creaking ominously under their combined weight, and put his arms around his husband. 
¨It's awesome, Brett. Nicely done.¨
He could feel Brett's smile against his own cheek. 
¨I gotta do some work, Eddy, there's a ludicrous amount of stuff that needs my attention. Can you do without me for a bit?¨
¨Yeah, absolutely. Just come for a quick breakfast in a couple of minutes, okay?¨

Eddy was pensive as he whisked the eggs around in the bowl, and after a beat he abruptly put them down and picked up his phone. It didn't take much googling to find what he was looking for, and with a quick look to the studio door he dialed the number. 
A pleasant female voice answered the phone promptly.
¨Surrogacy Australia, how may I help you?¨
¨Eh, hi, this is Eddy Chen.¨ he said, hesitantly. ¨Err, we... errr, me and my husband are looking into the option of finding a surrogate, and I was wondering if you could give me some more information.¨
¨Sure!¨ she said brightly, and launched into her spiel. 

After a few minutes his head was reeling. He'd said his friendly goodbyes and thank yous to the lady of the agency and was now sitting at the table, his head in his hands, the eggs forgotten on the counter top. 
That's where Brett found him when he came to check on him. 
¨Hey! What's going on?¨
Eddy startled out of his daze and shook his head, wondering what to say. He sighed deeply.
¨So.... I just called to find out more about surrogacy and our options and I spoke to this lady.¨
Brett said nothing, but Eddy could feel the immediate tension radiating off him. 
He looked at Brett, his face somewhat resigned. 
¨Basically, she said that it wouldn't be easy, Brett. She said there's not many surrogates and a lot of the ones that are there will choose couples who are infertile, rather than same-sex couples. And apparently it doesn't help that we're Asian either.¨
He was quiet for a moment, and then added:
¨She asked if we didn't know anyone who would volunteer. She was quite clear that that is by far our best chance.¨ 
Brett was quiet for a long while, and Eddy got up to whisk the ignored eggs some more and turn the fire on. It was better to do something. 
¨So¨. Brett said then, his voice full of the emotion he was carefully holding back. Everyone always saw Brett as so deadpan. Eddy knew better. 
¨Do we know anyone?¨
Eddy sighed. ¨Not really. I mean, I don't know who we could ask. It's not like asking to borrow a cup of sugar, is it? 'Hey Janelle, how would you like to be pregnant for nine months and then suffer excruciating pain giving birth, and then give the baby to us?'¨
Brett's mouth twisted slightly in wry humour.
¨Yeah, no, that's not necessarily something I've envisaged asking.¨
¨We could go oversees, as well¨, Eddy said. ¨But it's incredibly expensive and we're not that rich.¨
Brett shook his head, thinking hard.
¨We could come out, I guess, and ask our fans. But I'm really not comfortable with someone doing that just because they want to be closer to us, you?¨
Eddy thought for a moment.
¨No, I don't think I would be comfortable with that either. You'd have to be very sure of their motives. And also, after the birth the baby's parents are officially the surrogate and her partner at first until all the paperwork gets sorted out. So that just sounds like a wasp's nest.¨
Brett nodded bitterly and then he shook his head.
¨It's a wasp's nest anyway. Because if we ask anywhere too openly we'll be outed too.¨
Eddy nodded as he put the eggs in the pan and scraped the spatula around it. Brett got up automatically, popped some bread in the toaster and got two plates out of the cupboard. 
As Eddy slid the eggs on their plates he said:
¨I don't know, Brett. I guess we have to give it a little bit of time, let it all sink in a bit.¨
¨Yeah¨, Brett agreed, turning to Eddy, taking the empty pan out of his hands and putting it back on the cooker, and then pulling him into a hug. 
¨Thank you for calling, though. It means a lot.¨
Eddy smiled against Brett's head. 
¨It does to me as well.¨