Queer as Muke

1.22.3 Full Circle

"Cosmo please!"

"Double Absolut and cranberry thanks!"

"Oh my god!" Corey grabs Calum's arm, turning to him with a thought, "This might be the very last time we're both here at this bar ordering drinks!"

As Calum's eyes widen, Michael snorts, "Is that all? I thought it was something serious!"

"Do you think they'll have an Arq in Perth?"

"Do they even have any queers in Perth?" Michael breathes into Calum's ear.

"They'll have two that we know of!" Corey reassures Calum.

"You'll come and visit me won't you?"

"If you wanted visitors you probably should be moving to Newcastle!" Michael advises him, toasting him with a glass in his hand.

"Oh Cal! This might be the last time we see each other!" Corey cries, hugging Calum to him and messing up his hair with his dramatic declarations.

Michael rolls his eyes. He may be feeling everything Corey's currently proclaiming but he won't voice it.

"I'm going to miss you so much! No, I'm not going to cry!" Corey wipes away tears on his cheeks, breathing in whilst fluttering his eyelashes, his hands batting in front of his face, trying to not let any more tears spill over. "I know! I'm going to give you a party! Okay, we'll need a theme...what the fuck do they have in Perth?"

"Miners? Millionaires? Surf Life Savers?!" Calum racks his brain, not ever having been there himself.

"Maybe I will come pay you a visit!.." Michael muses.

"Oh I've got it! We'll all wear hi-vis vests!" Corey exclaims, much to the amusement of Calum and Michael.

"Oh that's perfect, if you don't have any you can always borrow from Geordie and Maddie," advises Michael, rolling his eyes.

"Well, I feel much better already!" Corey says, choosing to ignore Michael. At least now he has something to concentrate on, instead of constantly chewing over the fact that Calum's leaving. "Oh my god, my life's going to be so empty!" he wails, his face collapsing as he once again thinks of Calum leaving.

Michael and Calum watch with open mouths as Corey bursts into tears. "You still have me," Michael offers Corey very dryly, "I'm not going anywhere."

"Great!" Corey hiccups unconvincingly, before walking off.

Michael watches him go, then turns to Calum, looks at him and then walks off himself. Of course Corey wouldn't be impressed with Michael staying, it's only Calum that everyone wants to stay. People were shocked, sure, when he said that he was leaving but no-one, apart from Luke, was in tears about it. 

"Michael! Michael! Michael wait a second!" Calum calls, following him across the dance floor and up the stairs.

"Go home and pack," Michael advises him, turning around on the stairs.

"Stephen taking care of that. He's taking care of everything!"

"What are you planning on doing when you get to fabulous Perth, or are you leaving that up to Stephen too?" Michael asks, realising suddenly that Calum's about to become a parody of the housewife tags that Michael's heaped on him ever since he moved in with Stephen.

"I haven't had time to think about it! I've been so busy! Leasing his house and taking care of his practice, shipping his car..."

"Fuck his!" Michael states, looking Calum in the eye, "What about yours?"

Calum's face says it all to Michael. As he thought, this is all about Stephen. Stephen doesn't seem to have thought about anything of what Calum wants or needs to get out of this move. Maybe he does want to turn him into his little housewife after all.

"You know what? Fuck it! Do whatever you want..."

Michael washes his hands of always having to push Calum along, to see his own potential. That's Stephen's job now. And if Calum can't see that Stephen doesn't seem to want to do that, to find out what Calum's dreams are and support them, then that's up to him. If Stephen's obviously happy with a compliant partner who will go along with him with no questions asked, then that's exactly what he's going to get. Heck, he's got it right now.

"He's too young for you!" Luke calls to Michael as the older man starts heading down the stairs following a guy, after turning away from Calum. "Want to dance?" he asks as he leans over the barrier, looking at Michael half way down the stairs.

Michael climbs slowly up a few steps so he's face to face with Luke, "No. In my advanced years I may fall and break my hip..."

"Argh, will you stop with the old age shit already?" Luke looks at him lovingly, his hand around the back of Michael's neck, stroking the soft hair there. "It's not like you're forty!"

Michael looks at him steadily trying not to show any feelings but shit, Luke thinks that forty's ancient?!

"What are you doing Friday night?" Luke asks, still smiling softly at him.

Michael puts a hand to his head, pretending to think, "Friday, Friday, Friday, I don't know, my short term memory's not what it used to be!"

"Do you want to come to my prom with me?" Luke asks quietly, and a little shyly, ignoring Michael's behaviour.

Michael looks at him in shock, "As what? Your chaperone?!"

"As my date!"

"Ha! I'd love to!"

Luke leans over the barrier, his face lighting up, "Yeah?!"

"But my prom dress is still at the dry cleaners!" Michael sarcastically shoots back.

"Oh come on!" Luke really thought he was serious there.

"Are you out of your mind? Go ask some girl!"

"I don't want to go with some girl! I want to go with someone I care about! And if that happens to be a guy...who cares!"

"Yeah, that's just where I need to be. At a dance with a bunch of fucking eighteen year olds!"

Luke's eyes twinkle at Michael, "I thought you like fucking eighteen year olds!"

Michael looks at him, appreciating his humour but not appreciating the offer. Stepping up another stair he puts his mouth close to Luke's face, "Go buy a corsage...for someone else."

Leaving Luke staring at him on the stairs, he turns his back and walks off with no regrets.