Chapter 2
“Stand still, Chad,” Parker scolded his boyfriend.
Chad tried to do as he was told, standing as still as possible in Parker’s bedroom while his lover carefully made sure that the costume that Chad was wearing was sitting right on his long, lanky body, and that the head piece wasn’t crooked. Finally Parker made a satisfied sound and stepped back. He looked Chad over. “Pretty good,” he said, giving Chad a ‘thumb’s up’ gesture. “How does it feel?”
“Kinda heavy. And hot,” came Chad’s muffled voice from out of the half open mouth of the realistic-looking Chewbacca mask.
Parker frowned. “Hmm. Well, we won’t make you wear it all weekend, then. I don’t want you passing out from heat stroke. Since you’re not in the costume contest this year, it won’t matter if you take it off.” He added.
Chad felt utterly grateful for his words, since the costume was already not only hot and heavy, it also itched. Parker turned to the mirror to look himself over, studying his reflection to make sure that his Han Solo costume looked good. Chad thought it looked more than good; it looked utterly, completely hot as well. Parker was just so gorgeous…made him feel amazed and astonished that this was HIS boyfriend. “Okay, I’m good,” Parker remarked, making Chad think to himself: ‘Yeah, really, really good,’ as Parker turned away from the mirror. “Let’s hit it, Chewie,” Parker added, patting his brown-furred arm.
They left the bedroom, Chad walking kind of slow since he was getting used to the costume. “Let’s hear you speak, Chewie,” Parker said to him.
Chad did his best imitation of the wookie’s half-warbling, half-roaring voice. “Not bad,” Parker said. “Hmm. You should probably sit in the back seat,” he went on as they left his apartment and made their way to Parker’s car. “I’m not sure that your legs will fit in the front seat, not in that costume.”
Chad had to agree with him. Somehow he managed to wedge himself into the back seat, and Parker closed the door for him before circling the car to get behind the wheel. He started the car and pulled out into the Friday afternoon traffic, which was heavy as usual. He had to concentrate on his driving, so he said little to Chad. He sat there in the heavy costume, wishing desperately to scratch the itch that he couldn’t reach high up on his back. He squirmed a bit on the seat, wishing that they were at the convention center already.
He finally got his wish, although it took longer than he would have liked. Parker turned into the bustling parking lot, fighting for a space that wasn’t ten miles away from the building. He didn’t want Chad to have to walk too far in his weighty costume in this heat. He smirked in triumph when he managed to steal a space not far from the convention center, not caring that he’d pissed somebody off. They’d live. He hopped out and circled the car to open Chad’s door and help him get out of the car, which wasn’t easy at all. Once his boyfriend was safely on the pavement, he said: “I’ll get the suitcases out of the trunk. You head inside. I don’t want you cooking out here.”
Chad nodded and lumbered off toward the convention center and its nicely air-conditioned interior. Parker pulled the suitcases out and began to carry them inside. He knew better than to look for Derek and Cassie right now; there were too many people streaming into the building for him to hope to spot them. But that was all right. They were all going to meet up later in the lobby at five o’clock, once they’d gotten settled into their rooms. Then they were going to dinner together.
Inside the busy, crowded lobby, Parker stopped and looked around. It didn’t take him long to spot his boyfriend – Chad towered over many of the other Con goers, and his Chewbacca costume made it pretty easy to find him. Parker began to fight his way toward Chad, finally arriving at his side. There was a small crowd around him, as many people stopped to admire his costume. There were exclamations when Parker appeared as Han Solo. “Hey, you aren’t bothering my co-pilot, are you?” he asked, looking around.
Laughter. “Those are awesome costumes, man,” somebody said.
“Thanks. We’ll be here all day; try the beef,” Parker said drolly.
More laughter. Chad tried some wookie sounds, which were well received. Suddenly a familiar voice called: “Can he juggle?!” and Cassie pushed her way to the front, with Derek’s help since she was so petite that otherwise she wouldn’t have made it.
Parker grinned at her. Cassie had decided to wear the elegant coat and robe combo from Leia’s time in Cloud City. Her hair was pulled back into a soft chignon, and she looked great. Derek did too; the stupid foam storm trooper costume of last year had been replaced with the brown-and-white-robes of a Jedi Knight. He waved at Chad with a grin on his face. “Hey, guys,” Cassie said merrily. “Looks like we didn’t have to look for you after all. So what do you think?” she waved a hand at her outfit and Derek’s.
“You both look great, Cass. You do good work,” Parker complimented her.
She preened. “I know,” she said.”So have you checked in yet?”
“Nope. We just got here. We can all check in together,” Parker replied.
She nodded. “Let’s get that over with and get settled into our rooms, then we can hit the displayed. Is Chad gonna keep wearing that?” she indicated the Chewbacca outfit.
“Nah. It’s too hot and heavy for him. I don’t want him passing out. We just thought he’d wear it for a bit to show off, and then take it off after that.”
“All right. Come on, let’s go to the front desk and get our rooms. It’s nice to have to only pay for a room with one bed in it,” she added merrily, twining her arm with Derek’s.
Parker laughed. “Yeah. Come on, Chad; let’s get settled in. Then we can go show off
our costumes some more.”
They spent the rest of the evening parading around the convention center showing off their costumes and accepting praise for how realistic they looked. They went to dinner at the restaurant in the convention center, where no one turned a hair at how they looked. Chad had to take the headpiece of his costume off to eat, of course; and the gloves as well, since he couldn’t have held a fork or spoon otherwise. They chattered away together, happy to be at another Con (especially this year, since they were with their significant others this time), and after dinner they browsed through some of the stalls and poked through some of the things being sold there. Finally, satisfied and tired, they retired to their rooms to sleep. Parker helped Chad take off his costume, and they put it away neatly in a dry cleaning bag since he didn’t intend to wear it for the rest of the weekend. Then they got in bed, although they didn’t sleep for a good long time after that.
The next morning (although it was almost the afternoon by then, since both couples had spent a late night celebrating being at the Con), all of them were in the video game room watching the displays of the various games being demonstrated. Derek had his arm firmly around Cassie’s waist, and he was smirking at the envious looks he kept getting from his fellow geeks. Cassie only looked amused at her boyfriend’s behavior; she didn’t mind being a ‘trophy’ for the weekend. Chad and Parker were holding hands as they watched a man play a new Star Wars Clone Wars video game on an Xbox.
Suddenly something flew at Parker’s free side. He staggered a bit as he was glomped on, and a voice cried out: “Parker! Hey, it’s great to see you, you stud!”
Chad looked startled as Parker fended off the person who’d thrown himself onto his shoulder and side and was grabbing at him energetically. “Hello, Jamie,” Parker said tightly.
The man called Jamie pulled back and grinned wickedly at Parker. “You’re looking as good as ever,” he said archly. “And that costume is delish,” he went on, his eyes hungrily taking in Parker’s Han Solo costume.
“Uhh, thanks. I thought you stopped coming to Cons,” Parker said politely through his teeth.
“Oh, well. You know me. I just LOVE trolling Cons. Desperate geeks with lots of cash who’ll do anything for you…” he fluffed his hair (which had at least six different colors dyed into it) and gave Parker a sloe-eyed look. “So what about you? Are you still with that one guy?”
“Jace? No, we broke up almost two years ago,” Parker replied. “I’m with Chad now. This is my boyfriend, Chad Walinski. Chad, this is Jamie Gutterman,” Parker added for his lover’s benefit.
Chad didn’t know what to say. Not so Jamie, however. His eyes ran over Chad’s tall, skinny form in disbelief. “THIS is your boyfriend?!” he said to Parker.
Parker frowned. “Chad is not a THIS, Jamie,” he said sharply. “And yes, he is my boyfriend. We’ve been together for a year, now. We met at the Con last year, in fact.”
“Sheesh. Honey, it’s okay to fuck geeks at the Con, but to take one home with you afterward? Unbelievable,” Jamie said in disgust. “You can do much better than that, don’t you think?”
Chad flinched at these caustic words and the accompanying dismissive hand wave. This was exactly what he’d often thought during the last year – that Parker was too good for him by miles. He felt miserable and sick to his stomach as Parker said angrily to Jamie:
“No, I can’t do better, because Chad is the best I’ve ever had. Now why don’t you get lost, Jamie? Go find some gullible geek to hang off of. You’re not wanted here.”
Jamie lifted his brows and smirked. “If you say so, honey. Anyway, I’ll just be running along. Enjoy your weekend with Mandark there,” he blew Parker an air kiss, gave Chad a last disbelieving look, and sauntered off without another word to either of them.
Cassie appeared just then. “Was that Jamie?” she demanded in disgust. “What’s he doing here?”
“Trolling,” Parker said dryly. “He admitted it himself.”
She made a face. “God, that little pissant. I thought that we were done with him when he said that he wouldn’t be coming to anymore Cons.”
“No such luck,” Parker remarked in resignation.
“Are you okay, Chad?” Cassie asked in concern, seeing how pale he looked, and the expression of misery on his face.
Parker turned to his boyfriend. “Don’t pay any attention to anything that asshole said, Chad,” he told his boyfriend urgently. “Jamie just likes to be nasty and get people’s goat. Don’t let him get to you.”
Chad nodded, but inside he still felt terrible. It wouldn’t have been so bad if there hadn’t been a grain of truth in those nasty words. But as it was, a kernel of uncertainty and anxiety had been planted in his mind.
Chad felt glum and totally downcast as he followed Parker, Cass, and Derek through the crowds of people. He kept looking around and seeing just how much he resembled so many of the other male Con-goers. All of the other nerds, and geeks, and basement-dwelling fan boys. Losers, in other words. Just like he was a loser. Somebody like Parker Jones was way too good for him…about a thousand times too good, frankly. Miserably he fought back tears, wishing that he were still wearing the Chewbacca costume. At least then he’d have a mask to hide his feelings behind. As it was, he felt naked and exposed for the entire world to see.
Parker glanced back over his shoulder at Chad, seeing the expression of misery on his boyfriend’s face. He sighed internally, feeling a twinge of irritation. It kind of annoyed him that they’d been together for a year, he’d done everything that he could to show Chad how he felt about him, but no amount of reassurance seemed to make any difference at all. He stopped in his tracks and turned to his friends. “Cass, Derek, would you guys go ahead? I have to have a talk with Chad,” he said grimly.
Cassie studied his face, a worried expression on hers. “Okay,” she said. “But you won’t be mean to him, will you, Park?”
“Of course not,” he said. “You know me better than that, Cass. But I think it’s beyond time that he and I had a serious conversation about his self-esteem issues. They’re getting in the way of our relationship, and I don’t like that.”
She nodded, touching Derek’s arm. “Let’s go and leave them alone, Derek. We’ll see you later,” she told Parker, drawing a worried-looking Derek away with her. He glanced back at Parker and his best friend, but let his girlfriend lead him away.
Parker turned and approached Chad, who’d stopped when they had. He looked up into the face of his taller boyfriend, and said to Chad: “Listen, Chad, I think we need to talk. Come with me, okay?” and he waved his hand before moving out of the crowded convention room to find a more private place to talk to Chad.
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“Stand still, Chad,” Parker scolded his boyfriend.
Chad tried to do as he was told, standing as still as possible in Parker’s bedroom while his lover carefully made sure that the costume that Chad was wearing was sitting right on his long, lanky body, and that the head piece wasn’t crooked. Finally Parker made a satisfied sound and stepped back. He looked Chad over. “Pretty good,” he said, giving Chad a ‘thumb’s up’ gesture. “How does it feel?”
“Kinda heavy. And hot,” came Chad’s muffled voice from out of the half open mouth of the realistic-looking Chewbacca mask.
Parker frowned. “Hmm. Well, we won’t make you wear it all weekend, then. I don’t want you passing out from heat stroke. Since you’re not in the costume contest this year, it won’t matter if you take it off.” He added.
Chad felt utterly grateful for his words, since the costume was already not only hot and heavy, it also itched. Parker turned to the mirror to look himself over, studying his reflection to make sure that his Han Solo costume looked good. Chad thought it looked more than good; it looked utterly, completely hot as well. Parker was just so gorgeous…made him feel amazed and astonished that this was HIS boyfriend. “Okay, I’m good,” Parker remarked, making Chad think to himself: ‘Yeah, really, really good,’ as Parker turned away from the mirror. “Let’s hit it, Chewie,” Parker added, patting his brown-furred arm.
They left the bedroom, Chad walking kind of slow since he was getting used to the costume. “Let’s hear you speak, Chewie,” Parker said to him.
Chad did his best imitation of the wookie’s half-warbling, half-roaring voice. “Not bad,” Parker said. “Hmm. You should probably sit in the back seat,” he went on as they left his apartment and made their way to Parker’s car. “I’m not sure that your legs will fit in the front seat, not in that costume.”
Chad had to agree with him. Somehow he managed to wedge himself into the back seat, and Parker closed the door for him before circling the car to get behind the wheel. He started the car and pulled out into the Friday afternoon traffic, which was heavy as usual. He had to concentrate on his driving, so he said little to Chad. He sat there in the heavy costume, wishing desperately to scratch the itch that he couldn’t reach high up on his back. He squirmed a bit on the seat, wishing that they were at the convention center already.
He finally got his wish, although it took longer than he would have liked. Parker turned into the bustling parking lot, fighting for a space that wasn’t ten miles away from the building. He didn’t want Chad to have to walk too far in his weighty costume in this heat. He smirked in triumph when he managed to steal a space not far from the convention center, not caring that he’d pissed somebody off. They’d live. He hopped out and circled the car to open Chad’s door and help him get out of the car, which wasn’t easy at all. Once his boyfriend was safely on the pavement, he said: “I’ll get the suitcases out of the trunk. You head inside. I don’t want you cooking out here.”
Chad nodded and lumbered off toward the convention center and its nicely air-conditioned interior. Parker pulled the suitcases out and began to carry them inside. He knew better than to look for Derek and Cassie right now; there were too many people streaming into the building for him to hope to spot them. But that was all right. They were all going to meet up later in the lobby at five o’clock, once they’d gotten settled into their rooms. Then they were going to dinner together.
Inside the busy, crowded lobby, Parker stopped and looked around. It didn’t take him long to spot his boyfriend – Chad towered over many of the other Con goers, and his Chewbacca costume made it pretty easy to find him. Parker began to fight his way toward Chad, finally arriving at his side. There was a small crowd around him, as many people stopped to admire his costume. There were exclamations when Parker appeared as Han Solo. “Hey, you aren’t bothering my co-pilot, are you?” he asked, looking around.
Laughter. “Those are awesome costumes, man,” somebody said.
“Thanks. We’ll be here all day; try the beef,” Parker said drolly.
More laughter. Chad tried some wookie sounds, which were well received. Suddenly a familiar voice called: “Can he juggle?!” and Cassie pushed her way to the front, with Derek’s help since she was so petite that otherwise she wouldn’t have made it.
Parker grinned at her. Cassie had decided to wear the elegant coat and robe combo from Leia’s time in Cloud City. Her hair was pulled back into a soft chignon, and she looked great. Derek did too; the stupid foam storm trooper costume of last year had been replaced with the brown-and-white-robes of a Jedi Knight. He waved at Chad with a grin on his face. “Hey, guys,” Cassie said merrily. “Looks like we didn’t have to look for you after all. So what do you think?” she waved a hand at her outfit and Derek’s.
“You both look great, Cass. You do good work,” Parker complimented her.
She preened. “I know,” she said.”So have you checked in yet?”
“Nope. We just got here. We can all check in together,” Parker replied.
She nodded. “Let’s get that over with and get settled into our rooms, then we can hit the displayed. Is Chad gonna keep wearing that?” she indicated the Chewbacca outfit.
“Nah. It’s too hot and heavy for him. I don’t want him passing out. We just thought he’d wear it for a bit to show off, and then take it off after that.”
“All right. Come on, let’s go to the front desk and get our rooms. It’s nice to have to only pay for a room with one bed in it,” she added merrily, twining her arm with Derek’s.
Parker laughed. “Yeah. Come on, Chad; let’s get settled in. Then we can go show off
our costumes some more.”
They spent the rest of the evening parading around the convention center showing off their costumes and accepting praise for how realistic they looked. They went to dinner at the restaurant in the convention center, where no one turned a hair at how they looked. Chad had to take the headpiece of his costume off to eat, of course; and the gloves as well, since he couldn’t have held a fork or spoon otherwise. They chattered away together, happy to be at another Con (especially this year, since they were with their significant others this time), and after dinner they browsed through some of the stalls and poked through some of the things being sold there. Finally, satisfied and tired, they retired to their rooms to sleep. Parker helped Chad take off his costume, and they put it away neatly in a dry cleaning bag since he didn’t intend to wear it for the rest of the weekend. Then they got in bed, although they didn’t sleep for a good long time after that.
The next morning (although it was almost the afternoon by then, since both couples had spent a late night celebrating being at the Con), all of them were in the video game room watching the displays of the various games being demonstrated. Derek had his arm firmly around Cassie’s waist, and he was smirking at the envious looks he kept getting from his fellow geeks. Cassie only looked amused at her boyfriend’s behavior; she didn’t mind being a ‘trophy’ for the weekend. Chad and Parker were holding hands as they watched a man play a new Star Wars Clone Wars video game on an Xbox.
Suddenly something flew at Parker’s free side. He staggered a bit as he was glomped on, and a voice cried out: “Parker! Hey, it’s great to see you, you stud!”
Chad looked startled as Parker fended off the person who’d thrown himself onto his shoulder and side and was grabbing at him energetically. “Hello, Jamie,” Parker said tightly.
The man called Jamie pulled back and grinned wickedly at Parker. “You’re looking as good as ever,” he said archly. “And that costume is delish,” he went on, his eyes hungrily taking in Parker’s Han Solo costume.
“Uhh, thanks. I thought you stopped coming to Cons,” Parker said politely through his teeth.
“Oh, well. You know me. I just LOVE trolling Cons. Desperate geeks with lots of cash who’ll do anything for you…” he fluffed his hair (which had at least six different colors dyed into it) and gave Parker a sloe-eyed look. “So what about you? Are you still with that one guy?”
“Jace? No, we broke up almost two years ago,” Parker replied. “I’m with Chad now. This is my boyfriend, Chad Walinski. Chad, this is Jamie Gutterman,” Parker added for his lover’s benefit.
Chad didn’t know what to say. Not so Jamie, however. His eyes ran over Chad’s tall, skinny form in disbelief. “THIS is your boyfriend?!” he said to Parker.
Parker frowned. “Chad is not a THIS, Jamie,” he said sharply. “And yes, he is my boyfriend. We’ve been together for a year, now. We met at the Con last year, in fact.”
“Sheesh. Honey, it’s okay to fuck geeks at the Con, but to take one home with you afterward? Unbelievable,” Jamie said in disgust. “You can do much better than that, don’t you think?”
Chad flinched at these caustic words and the accompanying dismissive hand wave. This was exactly what he’d often thought during the last year – that Parker was too good for him by miles. He felt miserable and sick to his stomach as Parker said angrily to Jamie:
“No, I can’t do better, because Chad is the best I’ve ever had. Now why don’t you get lost, Jamie? Go find some gullible geek to hang off of. You’re not wanted here.”
Jamie lifted his brows and smirked. “If you say so, honey. Anyway, I’ll just be running along. Enjoy your weekend with Mandark there,” he blew Parker an air kiss, gave Chad a last disbelieving look, and sauntered off without another word to either of them.
Cassie appeared just then. “Was that Jamie?” she demanded in disgust. “What’s he doing here?”
“Trolling,” Parker said dryly. “He admitted it himself.”
She made a face. “God, that little pissant. I thought that we were done with him when he said that he wouldn’t be coming to anymore Cons.”
“No such luck,” Parker remarked in resignation.
“Are you okay, Chad?” Cassie asked in concern, seeing how pale he looked, and the expression of misery on his face.
Parker turned to his boyfriend. “Don’t pay any attention to anything that asshole said, Chad,” he told his boyfriend urgently. “Jamie just likes to be nasty and get people’s goat. Don’t let him get to you.”
Chad nodded, but inside he still felt terrible. It wouldn’t have been so bad if there hadn’t been a grain of truth in those nasty words. But as it was, a kernel of uncertainty and anxiety had been planted in his mind.
Chad felt glum and totally downcast as he followed Parker, Cass, and Derek through the crowds of people. He kept looking around and seeing just how much he resembled so many of the other male Con-goers. All of the other nerds, and geeks, and basement-dwelling fan boys. Losers, in other words. Just like he was a loser. Somebody like Parker Jones was way too good for him…about a thousand times too good, frankly. Miserably he fought back tears, wishing that he were still wearing the Chewbacca costume. At least then he’d have a mask to hide his feelings behind. As it was, he felt naked and exposed for the entire world to see.
Parker glanced back over his shoulder at Chad, seeing the expression of misery on his boyfriend’s face. He sighed internally, feeling a twinge of irritation. It kind of annoyed him that they’d been together for a year, he’d done everything that he could to show Chad how he felt about him, but no amount of reassurance seemed to make any difference at all. He stopped in his tracks and turned to his friends. “Cass, Derek, would you guys go ahead? I have to have a talk with Chad,” he said grimly.
Cassie studied his face, a worried expression on hers. “Okay,” she said. “But you won’t be mean to him, will you, Park?”
“Of course not,” he said. “You know me better than that, Cass. But I think it’s beyond time that he and I had a serious conversation about his self-esteem issues. They’re getting in the way of our relationship, and I don’t like that.”
She nodded, touching Derek’s arm. “Let’s go and leave them alone, Derek. We’ll see you later,” she told Parker, drawing a worried-looking Derek away with her. He glanced back at Parker and his best friend, but let his girlfriend lead him away.
Parker turned and approached Chad, who’d stopped when they had. He looked up into the face of his taller boyfriend, and said to Chad: “Listen, Chad, I think we need to talk. Come with me, okay?” and he waved his hand before moving out of the crowded convention room to find a more private place to talk to Chad.
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