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Despite the fact that Kip still harbored some lingering discomfort with the idea that his boyfriend (wait, now husband!!) was a millionaire, he had to admit that he was grateful they could fly business class when they made the decision to travel to the other side of the earth and honeymoon in Western Australia.
Okay, to be more accurate, it had mainly been Kip who made the decision. He was the one who ended up on #TravelTok and fell in love with videos of white sandy beaches, bright blue skies, beautiful karri forests, and unique wildlife. He had talked Scott into the idea, although that didn't take a lot of convincing. Scott was generally very willing to cater to anything Kip desired. This was a power Kip was very aware of and one which he swore he tried to only use sparingly.
What Kip hadn’t quite grasped was just how far away Western Australia was from New York City. Not until he and Scott found themselves in Auckland after a flight time of 17 hours, with absolutely no concept of what time… or day… or season… it was. Adding to this, there had been a six-hour cross-country flight to LA, and before that there was three days of frenzied wedding celebrations with the closest people in their lives. Thanks to those lie-flat seats he had managed to sleep for several hours of the transpacific flight, but he still felt completely disoriented. And yet, at the same time, Kip was so, so happy. He hadn't know it was possible for his heart to feel quite this full, but it turned out that marrying the love of your life in the company of all the people you love and care about could do that to a guy. Who'd have thought?
Kip looked out the airport windows at the still-dark sky as they followed the signs towards the gate for their next flight. As they stepped onto the travelator, Kip leaned into his husband and rested his head against his shoulder. Scott instinctively wrapped his arms around Kip and held him close.
“What time is it?” Kip yawned.
Scott looked at his phone. “It’s just after 5am”. Kip grumbled in reply, pressing his face into Scott’s bicep. After a pause, Scott added, “On Wednesday”.
Kip pulled his head back in surprise and then leaned over to look at the phone. “No?! We left New York on Monday night. I know the flight was, like, nearly 18 hours… but how did we skip Tuesday completely?”
“Well, we crossed the International Date Line.”
Kip looked up at his husband expectantly, waiting for further explanation. It seemed that none was forthcoming, so he added, “...and?”
“I, uh - well, see, the way it works is…" Scott paused for a moment and then grinned sheepishly. "Look, I got nothing, really.”
Kip laughed softly and rested his head on Scott’s shoulder again. “I guess we're both just a couple of pretty faces. It’s way too early to try to work out math. Or physics. Or whatever that involves. Let’s find the lounge… I need a shower and I need coffee, in that order”.
45 minutes later they were settled in the business class lounge, feeling refreshed and each nursing a hot cup of coffee. Their next flight was running on time (so far) and they had found a quiet spot near the window to relax for the 90 minutes until they were due to board. Kip donned his reading glasses and opened up the copy of The Song of Achilles that he’d packed in his carry-on, while Scott wandered over to the buffet. When he returned, Scott settled in to continue reading The Road to Jonestown, and they sat in companionable silence sharing a plate of fruit and pastries.
Scott noticed an older couple had sat down at a table nearby, the woman with short cropped gray hair and a friendly face, and the man bald and stocky with a serious demeanor. The woman leaned towards them and, with a smile and a very distinct Australian accent, said, “Well, this is pretty flash, isn't it? How the other half lives!".
Scott, who felt a touch of annoyance that their peaceful silence had been interrupted, as well as a sudden rush of self-consciousness, said nothing. Luckily for him, his more socially adept husband was ready with a polite smile. "It's very nice, yes."
The chatty woman continued. "We would never really dream of flying business, but the kids surprised us with a holiday in New Zealand for our 35th wedding anniversary."
"Wow, 35 years? Congratulations!"
"Thank you very much. The only problem is, I'm not sure I'll be able to go back to flying economy after this," she gave a high-pitched laugh. "Barry here might have something to say about that, though!"
The man next to her (Barry, presumably), glanced up from his newspaper. "What's that, Sharon?"
"I was just telling these two gentlemen that I'm getting a bit too used to the high life!"
The man looked fondly at his wife and huffed. "Yeah, I'll have to remember to thank those kids of ours for setting some high expectations." He looked over his reading glasses at Scott and Kip and said "So, you blokes traveling for work or holiday?"
Scott and Kip exchanged a smile and Scott replied, "We just got married, actually. So we're on our way to Australia for our honeymoon." Kip placed a hand over his, interlinking their fingers. Scott wondered if he would ever stop feeling giddy any time he got to tell someone that he was Kip's. That feeling definitely hadn't started to wane yet, in the three or so years since he had come out.
Sharon clapped her hands and exclaimed, "Oh! How wonderful!"
Barry's cheeks had flushed slightly pink and he looked taken aback for a second, before his previously serious face broke into a grin. "Oh - well - bloody good for you fellas!"
Scott and Kip thanked them, and then Kip found himself showing off his wedding band and scrolling through the small collection of "sneak peak" shots the photographer had emailed them, Sharon exclaiming animatedly at every detail of their private wedding in the Catskills. Meanwhile, Barry decided it was his duty to educate Scott on how to avoid all the dangerous wildlife in Australia - crocodiles, sharks, snakes, and something called a "drop bear", which Scott made a mental note to search online later, because he was sure that one couldn't be real.
Kip awoke with a groan as sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling hotel windows. He thought he remembered closing the curtains before they tumbled into bed at 11pm the evening before after checking in to their hotel in Perth (and actually went to sleep, being too wiped out from their 30-something hours of traveling to do much else).
Looking over at the empty space next to him in the enormous king-sized bed he realized Scott was already up and must have opened the curtains. Kip grabbed his phone from the nightstand and saw a message from his husband, sent about 45 minutes earlier:
Scott ❤️ (6:28am): Gone for a run. Back soon. Love you 💕 P.S. Enjoy the view when you wake up, it’s the second most beautiful sight I’ve seen this morning 😘
Scott ❤️ (6:30am): Your face was the first, just to be clear 😋
Kip also noticed the time - 7:14am. He rolled his eyes but couldn’t keep a grin from his face while reading his husband’s adorably cute and somewhat awkward messages. Given that he was now married to a recently-retired professional athlete, he knew he shouldn’t be surprised that Scott woke up at dawn on holiday to go for a run when Kip still felt like jet lag had hit him like a truck.
Kip sat up and threw the covers to the side, stretching and yawning as he stood up from the bed. He shuffled over to the windows and found himself immediately squinting into the bright daylight outside. How was it this bright at 7am? Once his eyes had adjusted to the glare, he was immediately grateful that Scott had insisted on booking a room on a higher floor with a water view. Looking out from their window on the 17th floor, Kip had an unobstructed view of the Swan River and the waterfront area of Elizabeth Quay. The river stretched out in an incredible shade of bright blue, which almost perfectly matched the backdrop of the clear blue sky with only a few wisps of white clouds. Across the other side of the river was a beautiful tree-filled park situated on a hill above the city. In the foreground, ferries and other small boats were leisurely making their way across to the opposite shore, cutting trails through the calm water and leaving soft ripples in their wake.
Kip was so caught up in admiring the view that he didn’t hear the beep of the card sensor, and he jumped slightly when the heavy door opened suddenly. Kip turned to see Scott walking through the door, his beautiful face flushed slightly from exertion, his short curls a sexy mess as he elbowed the door open with a cardboard tray and a paper bag in his hands. He smiled brightly when he saw Kip and set the tray and the bag down on the coffee table, quickly striding over to where Kip was standing and wrapping his arms around his husband’s waist.
“Hi,” Scott smiled softly and placed a kiss on Kip’s lips. “I hope I didn’t wake you when I left, I tried to be as quiet as I could.”
Kip placed his hands on his husband’s shoulders and leaned up for another kiss. “Not at all, I just woke up a few minutes ago”.
“Did you sleep well?”
“Ehhh… I definitely slept soundly, which was nice, but I still feel a bit disoriented with the time change”.
Scott laughed. “Yeah, I think that’s why I found myself awake at five-thirty.” He noticed Kip tilting his head to one side and narrowing his eyes. “What?”
“Scott, my love, we both know that’s just your default setting.”
Scott conceded with a shrug and a smile. “Yeah I guess you’re right. Well, I think the run helped me clear some of the brain fog. There’s a running path along the river and I saw the sun rise. And there are so many black swans out on the water! It was so peaceful.”
Kip smiled at his husband’s enthusiasm and kissed him again, longer this time. “It really does look beautiful out there. We’ll have to take a walk in a little while, some fresh air would be good.”
“We have the whole day ahead of us, we can do whatever you want.” Scott said, squeezing Kip tightly. “Oh, also, I picked up coffee on the way back. Flat white. And a croissant with ham and cheese. I figured you might need a pick-me-up.”
Kip beamed. “Oh my god, I love you so much. This is definitely evidence that marrying you was a good decision.”
Scott laughed and pressed a kiss to Kip’s temple. “Well, I am relieved to hear that. I mean, it's too late for that annulment… you know, since we already consummated the marriage."
"Oh, is that so?" Kip trailed his fingers over his husband's chest and stomach, before slipping them under the waistband of his shorts. "In that case, we might as well make the most of it…"
The coffees ended up going cold.
"Are you sure self-driving was a good idea?"
Scott stopped himself from sighing as his husband asked this question for approximately the fiftieth time that morning since they had picked up the hire car.
"Baby, please, it will be fine. I'm a good driver, and it's barely a three-hour trip."
"Scott, I've never really seen you drive further than Tarrytown... and that's on the right side of the road. And with everything in miles."
Scott placed a hand on his thigh and gave it a light squeeze. "I promise you - I've got this." He gave Kip a reassuring smile. "The speedometer is in kilometers anyway, so it's not like I've having to do conversions while I drive. The radio is starting to cut out, so why don't you pick some driving music for us?"
Kip decided to drop the subject for the moment (marriage is all about picking your battles, after all), and opened up the Aussie road trip playlist he had saved. The opening synth line of The Triffids' "Wide Open Road" started and Kip settled in to try and relax, looking out the window at that bright blue sky that he still could not get enough of.
It was mid-afternoon when they reached the private villa they had booked near Yallingup, nestled among peaceful bushland and overlooking a vineyard, which was even lovelier than they had expected. They spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the wine, the hamper of gourmet local produce, and the very plush king bed. And that set the general theme for the rest of their stay - languid days filled with beach visits, flavorful meals, soaking in the outdoor tub, and the occasional spa treatment. They test the structural integrity of the king bed (and a handful of other surfaces) and determine that it meets regulatory standards.
They had found a secluded beach spot accessible by a narrow path between the sand dunes, which they often had to themselves. That was something of a blessing, as the red Speedos that Kip had bought Scott at the airport left little to the imagination. Scott had acquired a moderate sunburn on the first day, very quickly learning the lesson that you really do need to re-apply the sunscreen after going for a swim. Luckily for him, ever since then Kip had been vigilant about rubbing a new layer of sunscreen into his husband's skin every hour or so. Scott honestly couldn't complain about that, even if Kip took his new duty very seriously and refused to be distracted by Scott's attempts to "return the favor", at least until Scott had so much sunscreen slathered on his skin that he had started to take on a ghostly appearance.
Early one afternoon they were getting ready to return to the villa after a delightful couple of hours spent at the beach, where some playful splashing had turned into wrestling which had turned into making out in the shallow surf like they had walked onto the set of From Here to Eternity. They had gathered up their belongings and were walking towards the path, chatting and laughing in a relaxed manner, when Scott glanced ahead and stopped in his tracks. He put a hand out in front of Kip to stop him as well.
A few feet ahead of them, a large olive-brown snake was stretched across the path, clearly making the most of the midday sunshine. Scott tried his best to resist the involuntary shudder that ran down his spine, and remembered Barry's advice - snakes want to avoid people as much as they can, and the 'galahs' who get themselves bitten are usually trying to corner or harass it. Of course, Barry had also told him that smearing Vegemite on your ears would keep drop bears away, but Scott felt that his advice about snakes had been pretty factual.
Luckily, the snake seemed to have heard them approaching and was not keen on a confrontation either, so it slowly started to slither off the path and away into the dunes. Scott breathed a sigh of relief and turned to Kip, opening his mouth to speak, but stopped short. "Kip?"
Kip was frozen in place, eyes fixed on the spot the snake had just been. "Hey, Kip - you okay? It's gone." Kip looked at Scott, his eyes still wide with fear, and shook his head wordlessly. "Hey," Scott said softly, pulling Kip towards him and wrapping him in a hug. "You're okay. It was just as scared of us, and it's gone now."
Kip leaned into the hug and rested his head on Scott's chest. Scott felt a shudder pass through his body. "I'm sorry, I know it's stupid. Turns out I'm afraid of snakes. I just… froze. My legs are like jelly, still."
Scott kissed his husband on the temple. "It's not stupid," he said, as he bent slightly and put his hands under Kip's thighs, lifting him up.
"Scott!" Kip protested. "What are you -"
"I've got you." Kip threw his arms around Scott's neck and wrapped his legs around his waist, and Scott proceeded to carry him all the way along the path until they reached the other side of the dunes, where he carefully placed his husband feet back on the sandy path.
Kip looked wide-eyed again for a couple of seconds, before he grabbed the back of Scott's head and pulled him down into a kiss. "That," he breathed against Scott's mouth, "was incredibly hot."
Scott grinned, kissing his husband back. "Who said chivalry is dead?"
The private villa they booked featured an outdoor shower, which had taken up residence in Scott’s imagination from the moment they arrived. When they returned after their close encounter of the scaly kind, he finally got the opportunity to push his husband up against the sun-baked terracotta wall after they’d rinsed off the sand from their morning spent at the beach. He trailed kisses along Kip’s jaw and down his neck, tasting the salt left behind on his skin from the cool water of the Indian Ocean. Brushing his lips against the crook of Kip’s neck, Scott heard a surprised gasp escape his husband’s mouth.
Scott groaned softly and focused his attention on this particular spot. “Mm, does that feel good, baby?”
What he heard next was unexpected - Kip huffed a short laugh and tapped him on the shoulder, whispering “No, Scott, look.”
Dragging his lips away reluctantly, Scott turned to look in the direction his husband was pointing. Staring out into the bushland surrounding their villa, it took him a few seconds to spot what Kip had seen - a kangaroo, reddish-brown fur and about four feet tall, stood still staring back at them, absently chewing on a mouthful of grass.
Suddenly, there was movement in the kangaroo’s abdomen, and a smaller kangaroo head popped up out of a previously invisible pouch. They watched as the joey’s legs also popped up, and it was hard to imagine how this lanky baby kangaroo could possibly still fit in the pouch. The joey proceeded to stretch it’s neck down to the ground to nibble at patches of grass while still nestled in its mother’s pouch. All the while, the mother kangaroo seemed unfazed by any of this and just kept staring at the two naked men.
Kip rested his head on Scott’s shoulder and said, “Awww! That’s so cute”.
“It is.” Scott replied with a smile. After a brief pause he said “but, uh...she’s just not going to stop staring, is she?”
"I don't think so. Are you feeling a bit awkward also?"
"Yes. Yes I am." He took Kip's hand and led his husband to the door of the villa. "Let's continue this inside…"
A week later, Scott and Kip were back in Auckland Airport. Scott was still slightly pink and both of them were quite tired, but in a way that felt warm and relaxing and lovey-dovey.
"What time does our flight leave again?"
Scott checked the app on his phone. "We leave here at 4.35pm."
"And what time do we land in New York? Dad's asking."
"We land at… 4:30. Tell your Dad he doesn't have to go all that way, babe. We can get a car."
Kip reached over to pat his husband's hand. "You know he's not going to take no for an answer, sweetheart. He says he missed us."
Scott felt a warmth settle in his chest at those words, realizing that he now remembered how it felt to have a parent who loved and cared for him, thanks to George Grady. He squeezed Kip's hand. "Tell him I appreciate it. I'm looking forward to seeing him."
His husband smiled and kissed him softly before returning his attention to his phone. "Okay, so we land at 4.30pm Friday."
"Uh, no… 4.30pm Thursday," he said, holding up his phone to show Kip the booking details in the app.
Kip stared. "But… today is Thursday. So we leave here at 4.35pm on Thursday, fly for 16 hours, and then land in New York… 5 minutes earlier than when we took off? How?!"
"International Date Line, babe. Look, I know you're an art guy so I don't expect you to know the ins and outs of science -"
"Sorry, do you even know how the International Date Line works yet?"
Scott grinned. "Not a clue."