Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery

It was unseasonably cool for autumn and the guys were sitting on the floor of the loft, gazing at the flickering flames of the fake fireplace, which had just had its heating element turned on for the season. So the guys were quite comfortable – except maybe for Justin.

"Hey, Brian," he opened the evening's discussion. "I need to talk to you about Halloween."

"Geez, Baby," Brian responded. "Halloween is still like two weeks away and you want to talk about it already. You must have something really terrible planned if it's gonna take you two weeks to wear me down."

"Thanks for making this easier for me," Justin grouched mildly. "Like I could ever wear you down or get you to do anything you didn't want to do. That'd be the day. But can I please ask you something?"

"I don't see why not," Brian smiled at him. "Anyhow, you would whether I said you could or not. That's my guess."

"OK, Bri," Justin continued, ignoring the provocation. "I maybe did a dumb thing. Jason and me were talking about Halloween. You know we'll be seeing them at the Gay and Lesbian Center on Halloween night. Well, anyhow, I was telling him about how we watch the scary movies a couple of nights before…."

"And you invited him and Brandon to join us," Brian presumed. "Maybe I ought to rent one of the screens at the Waterfront complex. Would we need a 60 seat room or should we try for the 100 seater? There'll be us and Mikey and Ben and Hunter and Malcolm and the probably the nephews and…."

"Cut it out Brian," Justin stopped him. "I hope you realize that you're picking on me again. And I'm insulted too that you think I'd invite them without asking you first."

"So you didn't invite them?" Brian asked with a laugh.

"No, Mr. Kinney, Sir," Justin came back. "I did not invite them, but I could see pretty much that Jason wanted me to invite them. He said how much Brandon likes scary movies."

"You know what is scary, Sweetheart," Brian opined. "What's scary is that Jason and Brandon seem to like everything we like. Maybe if you'd have met Brandon before you met me…."

"Forget it, Kinney," Justin laughed too. "Wishful thinking. You can't get rid of me that easily. You may wish I had taken up with Brandon but it would have never happened. It was you I was looking for and I usually get what I'm looking for. Anyhow, I think Brandon picks on Jason too – so that wouldn't be any improvement."

"Another example of what I'm talking about," Brian decided. "Those two are too much like us two."

"Brian, Honey," Justin complained. "Remember how I just said I usually get what I'm after. Well, I need to talk to you about Halloween and I'm going to do it eventually."

"Well why don't you just quit beating around the bush and come out with it?" Brian wanted to know. "Why don't you just go ahead and tell me what you want to tell me?"

"I don't know, Bri," Justin smiled. "I guess I just can't keep my mind focused. I'd like your permission to invite them to join us for the scary movies. We have room. We all just sit on the floor."

"Correction, Baby J," Brian grinned. "Some of us sit on the floor. You don't. You sit on my lap with both my arms around you all night so the ghouls don't bite you. And I think maybe Hunter ended up on Malcolm's lap last Halloween and I'm betting Mikey ends up on Ben's lap before we're finished this year. So we don't all sit on the floor."

"Well then Jason will certainly sit on Brandon's lap," Justin conjectured. "So they'll take up even less space than I was thinking. Is it OK to ask them to come? You know what, Brian, maybe you can sit on my lap this year. How does that sound?"

"Sounds good to me," Brian accepted the offer. "Then when the mummies and vampires sneak up behind us, they'll get to you first. OK with me."

"I hope you know I was only kidding, " Justin retracted the offer on second thought. "I know how much you like it better with me on your lap. And anyhow, if you sat on my lap, I bet Brandon would sit on Jason's lap and that would freak you out."

"Yeah it would," Brian said, as Justin sidled himself up onto Brian's lap in a kind of preview performance.

And the conversation died out for a considerable period – but later on resumed – as usual.

"OK, Baby," Brian resumed the chat. "Jason and Brandon are in. Now can I ask you a question about Halloween since we're on the subject? Do I get to pick my own costume this year?"

"Well," Justin equivocated. "Melanie and Linz are taking Gus to the circus next week with his class from school and Mel thought Gus might like it if we all dressed up like circus animals for Halloween. But we don't have to do that. We can dress however you want. It's all up to you. So yes, you can pick your own costume this year."

"Well maybe I think we should all dress like circus animals," Brian decided. "I think we should all be circus animals. Is that OK with you?"

"Anything you say, Mr. Kinney," Justin agreed. "You know it's always anything you say? Which circus animal do you want to be?"

"Did you have anything in mind?" Brian wondered.

"Well, Melanie thought you'd make a good gorilla," Justin ventured.

"She would," Brian replied laconically. "But I think maybe the gorilla idea will work. Yep, I think I like it. I'll be a gorilla all right, maybe even King Kong I bet Gus would like it if I were King Kong. Now what are you going to be?"

"Well, Mel thought maybe a duck," Justin informed him.

"Nope," Brian demurred. "Ducks are not even circus animals. I think you should be a platypus."

"Brian," Justin answered, "I don't even know what a platypus looks like, and I don't know if they're a circus animal or not, and I don't know if we can find a platypus costume, but if that's what you decide, then I'll be a platypus. Who cares what Melanie thinks. You're the decision maker around here."

Brian squeezed the kid even closer to himself. "Hey, Baby," he asked, "You don't think Brandon and Jason will dress up as a gorilla and a platypus, do you?"

"Nope," Justin assured him. "They're gonna be clowns. Jason told me already."

"Well, just to be on the safe side," Brian suggested. "How about not telling them what we'll be wearing, OK?"

"You know what, Brian Kinney," Justin told him. "I really love you when you get paranoid."

Another pause in the discussion occurred at this point and it could have been over – but it wasn't.

Brian again broke the silence. "You know, Kiddo," he told the twink. "You could have asked Jason and Brandon to come to the scary movies without asking me first. You know that, don't you?"

"Maybe. But I really like to ask your permission to do stuff," Justin replied. "I guess it's crazy but I like to ask you. You don't really mind me asking, do you?"

"Nope," Brian confided. "I don't mind at all. I kind of like saying 'yes' to you. And sometime I might even get the guts to say 'no,' but I'm not at all sure about that."

Justin nuzzled Brian's cheek with his head. "I'll bet you Jason and Brandon aren't as happy as we are," he mused.

"No, I don't think they could be," Brian mused back. "But I bet they're trying."



 

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