A couple of weekends later Calum and Stephen spend the morning messing around in Hyde Park. It's one of those unusual Spring days that pops up occasionally where it's positively hot but also everyone knows is not going to last. The day before was raining, it's scheduled to be much chillier the following day and so it feels like the entire city is out enjoying the sunshine before it goes away again for a few weeks until Spring kicks in properly.
They get ice-creams in the park, Stephen whipping out his wallet to pay as fast as their ice-cream melts.
They decide on lunch at a cafe near the water, the harbour blue and sparkly with the sunshine. Stephen pays with a $100 bill so Calum puts his wallet away.
They go to a grocery shop nearby to get some fish and seafood for the BBQ they're planning tomorrow. Stephen tells Calum to put his wallet away again as he pays by card.
Catching a taxi back into the city from Stephen's house later that evening he once again pays before Calum can even climb out, before they go inside one of Sydney's best restaurants which he's booked as a surprise for Calum.
"Can we have the bill please? Unless you want something else?" Stephen asks over their table for two as the waiter hovers next to them.
"Yeah I do."
"Dessert? Good boy! Can we have the chocolate death with two forks please?"
"No, I don't want dessert."
It's something in Calum's tone that makes Stephen look up and realise that whatever it is, it's not good. "Oh. One fork please."
"I want you to stop paying for everything!" Calum hisses over the table.
"I don't know what you mean!" But Stephen can't look Calum in the face as he says it.
"You do know what I mean! You're always picking up the bills and buying the cinema tickets and paying for food..."
"So?"
"So I'm working, you don't have to support me?"
"I can afford it, you can't. What's the big deal?"shrugs Stephen.
Calum blinks, "Well it's a big deal to me!"
"I like to take you to nice places Calum!"
"And I like to go to nice places! But I don't like you paying for me all the time! I feel...funny about it," Calum finishes, pulling a face.
Stephen looks at him, "You pay when you can don't you?
"Yeah. Oh, speaking of which, this month's house expenses..." Calum produces a cheque from his wallet that he'd written out that morning and never given to Stephen because he'd never let him get his wallet out all day long.
"Thank you. See, I'm taking your money," Stephen says, taking the cheque with a flourish but pocketing it without looking at it.
"$300 a month, are you sure that's half of everything?" Calum looks at him suspiciously.
"Sure!" Stephen says a little too perkily.
"The cleaning lady, utilities..?" Calum never takes his eyes off Stephen as he starts to squirm under his gaze.
"Chocolate death!" Stephen announces with a smile, disguising his relief when he sees the waiter coming back over to them. "You want a bite?"
Calum shakes his head as he looks at Stephen a little sadly, knowing full well that he's not going to tell him the truth.
~~~
Maddie stands in the middle of Arq looking around at everyone dancing with partners with a heavy heart, every single person in there seems to be paired up. It's 60's Sunday and she should be having a good time but she just wants to be home with Geordie.
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Queer as Muke
Fanfiction"The thing you need to know is, it's all about sex. It's true. In fact they say men think about sex every twenty-eight seconds. Of course that's straight men. With gay men it's every nine." Twenty nine year old advertising executive Michael Cliffor...
