Why the Straight One? - Chapter 43: Chapter 43

"Don we now our gay apparel! Fa la la la la-"
"Alex, if you sing that line one more-"
"Can you pass me some of that tinsel over there?" I beamed down at him from the top steps of the little ladder we had brought in from the garage for decorating the tree.
"Where the hell do you even get rainbow tinsel?" All of his annoyance at my singing was quickly replaced by curiosity and genuine amusement.
"We gays have our ways." He shook his head, but couldn't hide his smile as he passed me the tinsel. It was good to see him smile. He was still shaken up from last night, and hadn't left my side all morning, but it seemed that at last he was able to forget about it for a few minutes while we decorated.
"Does your mom know that you planned on decorating like this?" He gestured towards my bedecked tree, the green of which could barely been seen through the layers of color that I had been covering it with.
"She'll know soon enough."
"I can't believe that she let you decorate. I could have seen this coming a mile away." I couldn't quite understand what he was talking about. I was pretty proud of my pride tree.
"What was your first clue?"
"Probably your sweater." I met his eyes and laughed at the face he was making. My sweater was everything I could ask for in an ugly sweater. Rainbow lettering from my favorite line from any Christmas song accompanied by a unicorn. What was there not to like?
"Smart guess. Then when I compared the tree to my sweater, it was found very lacking. In fact, it looked quite dull compared to it. So, just had to do something about it. And that is how this pride tree came into being." I held both arms out towards the tree to better show it off.
"I remember last year, we were having this whole protest slash gay Christmas party, and there was this guy that I was convinced was going to ask me on a date. We were setting up this tree together, and spent hours picking out ornaments for it. One of the cutest guys I've—are you even listening to me?
I glanced down from where I was arranging at the top of the Christmas tree, only to find that my audience hadn't even been paying any attention to me. In fact, he was just standing there, staring down at the ground. He jerked out of his reverie at my question, and looked up at me quickly.
"Sorry, I zoned out." He scrubbed at his eyes furiously, but i had already seen the tears there. It wasn't the first time he was emotional after getting lost in his thoughts. It's like last night had wiped away any control he had over his emotions. He went back to sorting through our old boxes of Christmas ornaments, trying to find one I liked.
"Thomas." I sat down in the top step of my ladder, and he looked up at me, waiting for what I had to say. "Come here." I held my arms out for him. I could see the hesitation in his eyes and in every line of his body. It took a few seconds, but then his body relaxed, and he walked over to stand in front of me.
I wrapped my arms around his neck, and he rested his head on my shoulder. Neither of us spoke, and I think Thomas was grateful that I held my tongue. He didn't want to be asked if he was okay, or what was bothering him. We both knew, and we both knew he wasn't okay. All I knew to do was to comfort him in any way he would let me. After a few minutes, he took a deep breath and let it out in a sigh.
"Thanks." His voice was slightly muffled, and I couldn't help the small laugh that escaped from between my lips.
"What?" He lifted his head slightly to look up at me, confusion evident in his dark eyes.
"Your scruff. When you talked." He grasped the meaning of my cryptic message, and when he did, a gleam came into his eyes that I didn't quite like the look of.
"Don't you dare!" But before the words had even left my mouth, his head had resumed its previous position, but this time started rubbing his cheek against my neck.
"Thomas! Stop, I'm gonna fall." I could barely get the words out between my laughter. I mean, it kind of hurt but it was ticklish at the same time? Either way, I was laughing, and in danger of losing my seat on the ladder. Sure the fall was only a few feet, but I wasn't looking forward to it.
"Okay, fine." He pulled away, smiling, and I quickly covered my neck with both hands.
"It's kind of weird, you being taller than me."
"All the better to look down my nose at you." I did just that, but kept my hands where they were. His eyes still looked a little too playful to let my guard down.
"Well, to tell you the truth, up the nose isn't your best angle."
"Shut up." But I tilted my head down. He closed the distance between us and kissed me.
"What was that for?" I asked when he pulled away.
"Well, you told me to shut up. Seemed like the best way to obey."
"Damn! I like it up here. It gives me a feeling of power." I put my arms around his neck again.
"I might have to pull you down if you start strong too comfortable."
"You wouldn't."
"I would." The look in his eyes removed all my doubt on that score.
"Kiss me instead." He smiled, but didn't move.
"Why don't you kiss me? Since you are feeling so comfortable up there."  I didn't need to be told twice. We were still so new to just kissing one another, that each time felt like the first. I kept my arms around his neck, keeping him as close to me as my position on the ladder would allow. Even if we had been fooling around for the last few minutes, I still remembered why I brought him over here. He let me kiss him, kissing back but not taking over control.
For once in my life i could imagine what it was like to be the taller guy in the relationship. To be honest I was going to have a hard time going back to being not in control.
"Yep! That is definitely going on the family photo stream." Thomas pulled away from me so quickly that I almost fell off the ladder. After I regained my balance, I glared down at my dad who was smiling fondly at the phone he had just taken.
"Wow, way to ruin the moment. At least tell me I look good in the picture."
"You guys looked adorable. Actually you probably will want to post this somewhere. Perfect pride moment if you ask me."
Upon seeing the photo I had to admit that the rainbow tree behind us really added to the aesthetic of the picture. And my profile was fine as hell. Thomas' was pretty good too, I guess.
"You guys have a family photo stream?"
"Well, obviously. Do you-"
"No!" I cut in, and my dad frowned at me.
"But isn't he—"
"No! Nope. Not happening."
"Don't you want your own husband on your family photo stream?" My dad asked, putting his hand on Thomas' shoulder as if they were old buddies.
"No, I don't."
"Why not?" Thomas added to argument, showing who's side he was on with a smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
"First of all, I never know what mom is going to post, and you," I pointed to my dad. "Are the absolute worst. I don't need Thomas seeing various horrible home pictures of me through my adolescence."
"But he's—"
"No! That's my final answer. Go find a unicorn or a star or something good to top my tree," I commanded Thomas, who laughed but went back to rummaging in the bin of ornaments. "And you, stop ruining every good moment I have with my husband. Please?
"Oops." My dad glanced over at Thomas, and dropped his voice.
"Is he okay?"
"Thomas?" I knew my dad was observant, but I didn't quite see how he picked up on how different Thomas was acting.
"Yes. You see, your mom put the two of you in the only unused rooms, so I was sleeping on the couch. I thought I heard...well, it wasn't you having a nightmare or whatever that was, so I wondered if he was okay."'
"You were sleeping on the couch?"
"Alex." He warned, and I knew he wasn't going to be distracted that easily.
"Yeah, he'll be fine, dad. He went through some stuff a while back, and I'm really hoping he'll talk to me about it soon." Dad smiled understandingly at me, and didn't push the point. He was concerned for Thomas but knew there were boundaries.
"You know," He said, much louder than before. "The one and only time I kissed a guy was on a Christmas 30 years ago."
"You never told me you were into guys!"
I was shocked. All these years of me being gay, and I never knew this.
"Well, I wasn't. I was bi curious, but that kiss was as far as it went for me. But I think it would be fun to be gay."
"TMI, dad. TMI." I shook my head, but Thomas was grinning at my dad who grinned back. I don't know why, but those two were getting pretty close for just having met, and I was a little scared of what they might get up to.
"You already act like you are, so that's half the fun."
"And how, exactly, do I act like I'm gay?" Asked the man with his hands on his hips.
"You act like Alex, and Alex is gay personified."
"Excuse me, but I do not act like Alex." He clarified.
"That's right, I got all my sass from you, dad. Now can we go back to finishing his tree?"
"And that reminds me of once when Alex was only about twelve..."
He walked over to sit by where Thomas was and began telling stories about me when I was younger. How that progressed to the three of us half-drunk and laying around the living room three hours later, I will never know. I blame my dad entirely.
"When I taste tequila, baby I still see ya
Cutting up the-"
"That's isn't even tequila and you sing really bad." Thomas cut me off mid-song, and I glared at him from my end of the couch.
"I sound amazing! I bet you can't sing any better."
"I bet I could, but you wouldn't catch me singing shit like that. Your music style...is shit. I've been meaning to tell you for days." My dad started laughing, which only deepened my frown.
"He's had horrible musical taste all his life. S-something his mom passed on to him." My mom appeared in the doorway as of just the mention of her had brought her there.
"Arthur! I was gone for a few hours and you let this happen? You're all drunk." Dad shrank beneath her glare, but Thomas was unfazed.
"Actually, I think you'll find that only your son is actually drunk. He's never been able to hold his alcohol, a trait that Arthur definitely passed down to him."
"You talk too smart when you are buzzed." I kicked his leg to his attention, and he friend to look at me.
"Alcohol makes you more of who you are."
"Which is a bad singer!" My dad pointed at me and started laughing hysterically. Yep, he's drunk too.
"Alex, go to your room." My mom tried to diffuse the situation by bossing everyone around.
"But I don't want to. I want to stay with Tommy." I whined, scooting closer to him. He wrapped an arm protectively around me.
"Well, Thomas can go to his room too. Tomorrow is Christmas morning and you are all going to wake up with massive hangover's.
Go, Alex."
Thomas' arm around me gave me a boost of confidence, and instead of giving her an answer, I stuck my tongue out at her, and buried my head in Thomas' neck.
"C'mon, I'll bring you up to your room." Thomas sat up, pushing me into a standing position as he did so.
Halfway up the stairs, Thomas hiccuped. My arm was slung around his shoulder, and we both turned to look at each other. As if I'm cue, we both burst out laughing, almost falling down the few stairs we had climbed.
"I knew you were drunk!" I cheered.
"I'm not! I'm just...tipsy."
"Same thing."
"Is not."
"Is too."
"Is not."
"Is too."
"I forgot to get you a Christmas present."
"Is-wait! What?" We had reached my bedroom door, and Thomas opened the door with one hand and dragged me in. Somewhere along the way my legs had decided to stop working.
"I had no idea what to get you, so i kept putting it off. So I don't have anything." I started laughing.
"Okay. My present for you is shit anyways, so it's fine."
"Okay, good." Thomas was a truthful drunk, and he looked genuinely relieved that I was okay without a present. That seemingly the only thing on his mind, he plopped down on the bed next to me, and closed his eyes.
Feeling the need to say something of my own that I had messed up, my alcohol controlled mind blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
"Elliot kissed me a few weeks ago."
Thomas opened his eyes. Stared at me for a few seconds. Then burst out laughing.
"I'm serious." But I was laughing too, and I didn't quite know why, but laughing with Thomas was fun.
"That's so weird." He finally calmed his laughter enough to say.
"I know!"
"I ship it." Thomas lifted up his hand as if adding it to a tally, then dropped it back down by his side.
"You what? Your husband and brother?" Now I might be drunk but I could still get mad. He was fine shipping me with someone else?
"Totally. You guys would be adorable."
I stared at him for a solid ten seconds. Finally, unable to handle it any longer, Thomas rolled over so that he was on top of me, and giggled. Yes, giggled, but he would never call it that.
"I'm just joking, babe. I only ship you with me."