The Truth of Yesterday (55 page)

     “Well, I want it to be creative. No pirates or vampires. I think we should go with sexy, don't you? Let's make Micah wish he had been there when he sees the pictures. And besides, I might actually meet somebody there, assuming there are any straight chicks.”

     I laughed. “I'm sure you won't be the only straight person, and besides, you'd settle for a bi chick, right?”

     “Settle? That just might be even better,” he said with a wicked gleam in his eye.
“How about Batman and Robin?”

     I shuddered as I sat on my bed and Kane flopped down across his.  “No thanks. I haven't felt the same about Batman since Jake's Halloween dance that first year you moved here.”

     
“Oh yeah.
Sorry, I forgot. Well, um...what other superhero duos are there?”

     “Do you really want to be a superhero? That's still tights, and besides, who would be the hero and who would be the sidekick?”

     “I don't mind being the sidekick. I'm younger so it's only fair. And I know I have the body to pull off spandex. Are you a little worried there, big bro?”

     “Not exactly worried, it's just that I don't especially like showing off all my goods for free.
Ya
know?”

     
“Wimp.”

     
“Exhibitionist.”

     We laughed.

     “Ok, so no superheroes?” Kane asked.

     “If you're really set on it, I guess I can live with it.”

     “Well, there are other choices. We could be characters from Lord of the Rings.”

     “Are you trying to say I'm short?”

     “No comment. But you would look cute in those pointy ears.”

     I threw a pillow at him, which he easily dodged.

     “We could be hippies.”

     “That's not very creative.”

     “Hey, you be creative. I'm the one coming up with all the ideas while you just shoot them down. Are you trying to say you don't want to go?”

     “No,” I said quickly. “I do want to go. Let's see...well, I could go as a mental patient. I wouldn't even have to wear a costume.” Kane shot me a dirty look. “No? Ok, how about gangsters?
Or X-Men?”

     “This is a lot harder than I thought it would be.”

     “Tell me about it.”

     “Oh, wait! I have it!”

     “What?”

     “This is so perfect! Why didn't I think of it sooner?”

     “What is it?”

     
“Sherlock Holmes and Watson!
How perfect is that? You're a detective and everything!”

     I blinked. “That's actually a good idea.
At least for me.
It won't be that great for you. I mean, what did Watson wear?
A gray suit?
Not exactly sexy.”

     “Then I'll go as a super hero.”

     “I thought you wanted to go as a duo.”

     “I did, but this is getting to be more work that it's worth.”

     “Well, what about Rage and Zephyr?”

     
“Who and who?”

     
“Rage and Zephyr.
They're the gay superheroes on Queer
As
Folk.”

     “They have gay superheroes on Queer
As
Folk?”

     “Well, Justin and Michael wrote a comic book and the characters are Rage and Zephyr.”

     “And they're gay superheroes?”

     
“Yeah.”

     
“With good costumes?”

     “I guess. Here, I'll show you.” I booted up the computer and signed onto the internet. I went to the QAF website and clicked on the Rage link. “There, what do you think?”

     “I like it,” he said slowly. “The costumes are sexy, but would you be Rage?”

     “Well, you're a little bigger than me, and you're definitely more built, so you should probably be Rage. I don't mind being Zephyr. I
kinda
like his costume more anyway. It's a lot less...revealing.”

     Kane grinned. “Sounds like a deal. Now, how do we make these costumes?”

     “I was hoping you'd know.”

     “You don't know how to sew?”

     “Not really.”

     
“Boys?”
Adam called from downstairs.

     “Dad can sew,” Kane said. He jumped up and was out of the room before I could even respond. He returned a few minutes later with Adam in tow.

     Kane explained to him what we wanted and after studying the pictures for a minute, he nodded. “Yeah, I can do that. But, Kane, are you sure you want to be a gay superhero?”

     
“Why not?”
Kane said with a careless shrug. “As long as the girls know I'm not gay, who cares?”

     “You can get them done by tomorrow night?” I asked in surprise.

     “No problem. In fact, I can get them done tonight if you just get me the material.”

     “Can you make a list of what you need?”

     “Sure. I'll also have to measure you guys, but it should be a snap, especially if you guys give me a hand.”

     “Wow, you mean we'd actually be doing something together as a family?” Kane said dryly.

     I saw a hurt look flash across Adam's face, but it was gone quickly. “Not quite a family,” he said. “Steve won't be here, but yeah, the rest of us will be. I'll cook dinner while you two go get the material.”

     He quickly measured us and made a list of everything he thought he'd need,
then
sent us out while he started dinner. That night we worked together to make the costumes, which I thought turned out really well...until I went to put it on the next night. I was having second thoughts as I stood in front of the full-length mirror in our bedroom.

     “I don't know,” I said doubtfully.

     “Oh come one, Killian,” Kane moaned. “We have to leave in less than half an hour. What do you mean you don't know?”

     “It's awfully…tight.”

     “It's supposed to be tight,” Adam said.

     “I know. It's just tighter than I expected it to be.”

     “You look great,” Kane said.

     I stared at my reflection. At 18, I still looked pretty much the same as I did two years ago, short and slender. The red Zephyr costume was form fitting to say the least, and I wasn't feeling nearly as brave now as I had when Adam was fitting me for it the night before. I turned to look at Kane in his dark blue rage costume, complete with jagged tear across the chest.

     “That's easy for you to say, you look fantastic.”

     “You both look great,” Adam said, sounding very fatherly, “and after all the work I put into those costumes, you're damn well going to wear them.” He softened his proclamation with a warm smile. “You'll be the two most handsome boys there.”

     “I feel like I'm on display,” I argued weakly, one last time, as I glanced down at my crotch.

     “Oh stop,” Adam said, handing me my mask. “You'll be having so much fun you won't even think about it.”

     “I hope so. I just wish Micah was going.”

     Kane squeezed by me to take one last look at himself now that he had his mask on. “Can we go now?” he asked, never taking his eyes off his image.

     “We'll be early,” I argued.

     “Why don't you go by and see Steve before you go,” Adam suggested. “I know it's out of the way, but he would love to see you in your costumes.”

     “It's not that much out of the way,” I said. “And it will allow us to be fashionably late.”

     “I guess that's ok,” Kane said. “At least that way we can make an entrance.”

     “My thoughts exactly,” I said sarcastically. “Are we going to have to pry you away from the mirror?”

     “What? I'm not that bad.”

     “You haven't stopped starting at yourself since you put that costume on.”

     “So? I look good. And so do you, so don't start. Let's go.” He tossed over his shoulder as he started down the stairs.

     I gave Adam a long-suffering look and grabbed my wallet. It didn't take long to realize that there was nowhere to stick it in this costume.

     “Just leave it in the car,” Adam said. “I know you wanted Micah to go, but try to have fun without him.
Just not too much fun.
Don't forget you're taken.”

     “As much as I've seen him this week, I might as well be single.”

     “This is a critical moment in his career. It won't last forever. Things will be back to normal before you know it.”

     “I can't wait.”

     “Come on!” Kane called from downstairs.

     “You'd better go before the boy wonder wets
himself
,” Adam said with a grin.

     I laughed and headed out the door.

     
“Oh, and Killian?”

     I paused.

     “Keep an eye on Kane.”

* * *

     Steve got a kick out of our costumes, as did the middle-aged gay couple who had checked in that day. They practically drooled over the two of us before we got out the door. It took longer than we had planned since both Steve and the couple insisted on taking pictures. I'm sure I was as red as my costume and I didn't even want to think about what those guys would be doing with our pictures.

     The party was in full swing when we arrived. It was being held in the same building Haven met in, but in a larger room. We found the room by following the thumping sound of the dance music. Everett and the plump blonde girl from the first meeting were sitting at the door selling tickets.
Everett
was dressed up like someone from Star Wars; although I wasn't sure who, the light saber gave it away. The girl, whose name I couldn't remember, was dressed all in black with huge black wings. She looked like an overgrown crow, but I was pretty sure that wasn't what she was going for.

     
“Hey, Killian.
Wow, you guys look great.”
Everett
said. “You remember, Tanya, right?”

     “Of course,” I lied. I handed him the money for our tickets and Tanya stamped our hands while
Everett
eyed Kane.

     “Is this your boyfriend?” he asked finally, his curiosity getting the better of him.

     Kane choked and I bit back a giggle. “No, this is my little brother, Kane.”

     
“Oh, hi Kane.
I'm
Everett
. Are you gay?”

     “Nope, 100% straight, but I'm gay friendly,” Kane said with a grin.

     “Damn. I knew it would be too much to hope there'd be two guys that hot in the same family who were both gay.”