Evening at Chip'n'Dan's (some days pre-Halloween)

[Kat]

Ace grinned at the mention of the outfits. "Sadly my Halloween was already planned before I even met Chip. I already have my personal warrior bodyguard and my servant girl, so there was nothing left for Chip except being the samurai who invades my kingdom." Ace winked at Chip before turning to Colorado.

"So, are you coming to our party Friday night? It's bound to be a good one. Lots of hot guys in hot costumes." Ace winked at Collie, curious as to what the eccentric young man would dress up as.

[Cres]

Chip chuckled at the mention of Samurai invading the kingdom. Collie, for his part, grinned when Ace asked about his plans. He nodded at once.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world!" he exclaimed, then looked at Chip slyly. "And I think I may have just the thing to match Chip's costume. I had planned to go as Ziggy Stardust, and I've got the costume all ready and everything, but this Samurai business deserves some recognition." A thought came to him, and his smile widened into a grin. "How do your friends feel about strip-tease?"

Chip had to raise a brow. Colorado was not quite the type to do striptease in front of dozens of people.

[Kat]

Ace grinned at the mention of strip-tease, knowing that it would indeed go over very well with the group. "I think you'll find them quite perceptive to anything exciting you may have to do. And now I must say I'm rather intrigued. Oh, you'd make a fantastic Ziggy though! Most of them would probably recognize the costume, at least most of the one I'm friends with as I'm quite the avid Bowie fan. I loved his Ziggy phase." Ace nodded his approval.

[Cres]

From farther off, Jamie cleared his throat before Collie could answer Ace. Colorado glanced at the two men, still waiting nearby, and looked a little annoyed at the interruption as he raised his hand and made a shooing gesture.

"Run along," he said, "I'll call you when I need you again, which probably won't be before tomorrow, so you can have the evening off. Go chase down a girl or something."

The driver and Jamie smiled and nodded, leaving the apartment and closing the door behind them as Colorado turned to Ace, his eyes glimmering.

"I'll show you what I have in mind," he said excitedly and bounded to the suitcases. He opened one and shuffled through the neat, clearly colour-arranged piles until he pulled out a silky long piece of oriental-looking cloth. It was a long gown of sorts, and Colorado pressed it against his chest as he turned to Chip and Ace, waving his hips a bit to show off the dress. "Geisha's costume. I bought it just last week when I was visiting the orients with mom. Expensive as hell, of course, but well worth it - hand-made stitching and all. I had it custom-made, so it fits perfectly."

Colorado was grinning now, and Chip's forehead cleared off when he suddenly realised what his friend was getting at.

"You'd do Geisha striptease?" Chip asked, and gave a laugh. "Into Ziggy Stardust?"

Colorado nodded excitedly, laughing, his eyes sparkling.

"Like a beautiful butterfly, out of its shell," he said. "Ziggy Stardust will emerge in all his glitter - just when everyone thinks the Geisha will soon stand naked."

[Kat]

As Colorado bounded over to his suitcase, Ace snuggled a little closer to Chip and pressed a quick kiss to his neck. When he saw the Asian fabric he grinned, guessing the same as Chip. Going from Geisha to Ziggy, it would definitely amuse the crowd. "You're a creative genius, what can I say. That will definitely spark some excitement, maybe even some jealousy from others since you'll definitely be stealing the spotlight with that performance." Ace smiled, then suddenly realized that he wouldn't really be able to spend too much time with Chip and Colorado at the party. There were bound to be people there who would jump at the chance to expose the relationship if they had even the slightest idea there was anything there. Would he be able to handle not walking around for a while night on Chip's arm? He felt better now knowing that Colorado would be there with Chip, but still felt a little sad that he would have to keep his distance, at least emotionally and physically.

[Cres]

Colorado grinned at Ace's notion of stealing the spotlight. He danced a little like an excited schoolboy, and seemed almost reluctant as he put the Geisha costume down onto his suitcase.

"I will be the Queen of the Ball," he said dreamily and then giggled a little. He remembered something, and looked a little sad - though in a fake-pout which showed that he hadn't truly taken a turn for a more depressed state of mind. "Do you know, Ace, Chip and I never got to go to our prom when we graduated? Or actually, we decided not to go."

"Yeah," Chip nodded, holding Ace tightly, quite happy with him snuggling so close. "I didn't really want to take any girl there, and of course Collie didn't either, so we decided to have a private prom ball. We knew we would have been teased at the party anyway, so it wasn't really worth it." He grinned. "We went to this old cottage Dan and I had found from near the school grounds, and decorated it all nice. Glittery stars..."

"...and a real disco ball!" Colorado provided, grinning madly. "I'd got it for a birthday present from my mom. Can you imagine - birthday present? But I loved it anyway. And we danced, do you remember, Chip, I think that was the only time we've ever danced nice and slow."

Chip nodded and the smile faded a little when he realised that here he was again in the same situation as he had been during the prom, though even worse. Now he had a boyfriend, with whom he again couldn't go openly to the party and dance with him, and kiss him and hold him in front of everyone. The thought wrung his heart. He looked at Ace and turned him round, to face him properly. His eyes examined him quietly.

"You know, we should do something like that," he said. "You know, after the party, have our own party somewhere private."

Colorado's face had grown more serious too when he had realised where he had unwittingly taken the topic - of course unaware that Ace's mind had already gone there before he had brought the prom up.

[Kat]

At the mention of the pair not going to their prom, Ace felt a great deal of sympathy. The issue of the prom had been worrying him before he'd all but put it out of his mind with Chip. He had a lot of girls he could bring as potential dates and he'd had no idea how to go about choosing one. He probably would have ended up taking Princess, just out of the sheer desire he had to protect her from her own troublesome plans. But now with Chip, would he still be taking her? Would she still even want to go with him, knowing that he was in love with someone that wasn't her? Though she'd been supportive so far, he knew that after a while his diverted attention would start to bother her. And how he would feel about going to his prom without Chip? Would he even be able to enjoy it?

When Collie mentioned the disco ball, he couldn't help but smile. It was cute and fitting, given what he knew of Colorado so far. When he faced Chip and heard him mention that they should have their own party, he smiled and nodded. "That would be nice. Would probably make it a little more special, without having to worry about what anyone else might have to say." He leaned forward and kissed Chip softly on the lips, not wanting him to think that he was too upset over it. Tonight was a good night, and he didn't want to ruin the happy moment by admitting he was more upset than he seemed.

[Cres]

Chip smiled and closed his eyes as he wrapped his arms round Ace tighter and kissed him back. Colorado saw this, and his eyes widened for just a short moment before a wide grin found its way onto his lips. He might not have known about Chip's double identity with the mafia, but he did know that Chip never closed his eyes when kissing someone. Never. He'd asked about it from Chip once, and been answered that he didn't trust anyone enough, nor could anyone make him forget about the surrounding world enough to do that.

Ace had apparently succeeded. The thought made Colorado happy, even if the slightest touch of regretful longing also shifted through him. He'd never been madly in love with Chip, but the truth was that he had often wondered "what if". Now he could see that it wouldn't happen. But Colorado wasn't sad or resentful. He only wanted the best of happiness for his best friend, and if he was to have it with someone else than him, he would just be happy. At least, this was what he firmly believed.

Chip, for his part, raised his head from the kiss with a happy smile on his lips. He seemed like he was about to say something, when suddenly his nostrils caught a scent in the air, and he jerked his head up, his eyes widening.

"Oh, shit, my roast!" he exclaimed and took off in a bit of a run toward the kitchen. The roast wasn't yet burning, but the smell that was beginning to float in the air told him that it was getting ready, and he needed to do something about it. "Excuse me," he called back over his shoulder as he checked the roast and then started to look for the stuff he needed for the next phase in the cooking, "I need to take care of our food." He peeked out from the kitchen and grinned. "I'm sure you two can find ways to amuse yourselves meanwhile."

While Chip vanished back into the kitchen, Colorado grinned and walked closer to Ace.

"Yeah, don't worry, I'll tell all your dirty secrets to your little friend here in the meanwhile!" he called out. Chip snorted but made no other reply as his mind was already in the cooking. Colorado looked at Ace and leaned his behind on the backrest of the couch, crossing his arms over his chest. "Truth be told though, I'd have loads to tell you." He winked, then grew more serious. "I don't know if you know just how lucky you are, though. He's never felt like that about anyone before."


[[and here come Ace's big chance to ask questions... ]]

[Kat]

Ace couldn't help but laugh at the fact that Chip had nearly burnt their meal, watching with amusement as he bounded off toward the kitchen. When Collie came and sat by him, though, he got a bit more serious and looked up at Chip's friend. He wondered just what Colorado would tell him if he asked? "Well now you've certainly gone and caught my curiousity. Exactly how diferent are his feelings for me than they've been for anyone else?" Ace didn't want to start out prying too deeply, first he'd see what Colorado would be willing to offer.

(Yay for questions!)

[Cres]

Colorado, of course, didn't mind talking. As Chip had once said, it was harder to shut him up than make him talk. Even though he did keep the most important secrets, he was also sometimes a bit of a blabbermouth, at least when it came to people he trusted, or people he knew Chip trusted. And he had already in his mind put Ace up for the spot of "Chip's significant other", which automatically meant that he could be told anything.

Of course, Collie hadn't trusted Flash that way, but that was different. Flash had been plain bad news, as far as Collie was concerned.

"Well, to start from the most obvious," Colorado began, smirking. "You probably haven't noticed, but Chip generally never closes his eyes when he's kissing someone. Never. It's a trust issue, apparently. I've never seen him do it... except with you." He winked. "It might not seem like much, but it's a sign. You learn to read these little things when you spend most of your life with someone, and Chip and me've been pretty close. He never even closed his eyes with Flash, and we, Dan and I, that is, both thought that was It - you know, the One and all that. Not that we liked it, but there wasn't much we could do."

For some reason, Colorado assumed Ace knew all about Flash. Seeing how tough Chip acted all the time, and especially near Colorado, he didn't realise that the matter might be too painful for Chip to talk about.

[Kat]

Ace couldn't help but smile when Colorado mentioned Chip never closing his eyes except with him. He knew and appreciated how important that could be for someone, since he had his own similar quirks. He was about remark on it when Flash was mentioned. "Who was Flash? Old boyfriend?" Ace was honestly a little surprised he'd never heard about Flash. From the way Collie spoke of him, he must have meant an awful lot to Chip. What had happened to cause Chip to never mention him?

[Cres]

Colorado looked at Ace, a surprised expression on his face. His eyes shifted quickly toward the kitchen, then he looked at Ace again. His expression was a lot more serious now.

"He hasn't told you about Flash? Well, I guess it's understandable... after the hell he went through." He shrugged. "Yes, Flash was an old boyfriend. He was Chip's first real boyfriend, I suppose. The first one he was serious with, I mean. Sure he'd had flings before, one-night-stands, things like that, but never anything he might have called a boyfriend. And has never had since, either, not really. He's not the type, I guess, to settle down." Colorado met Ace's eyes seriously. "That's why I was so surprised to hear about you - and suspicious. None of us wants Chip to go through anything like that again."

Colorado stretched his muscles a little and seemed just a little nervous for talking about it.

"It's a long story, though, if you want to hear all of it. But I guess if Chip hasn't told you by now, he probably doesn't mind I tell you instead. It's probably a sore spot." He turned round and hopped over the backrest, to sit properly on the couch. "Best make myself comfortable, if I'm going to tell you about it. He does have a picture of Flash on his wall still, I think. Remember seeing it? The guy looks rather stoned in it, I think it's black and white. It's the only one of that type, I'm sure you'd remember if you've seen it. He used to hang it on the wall, I guess just so he wouldn't forget."


[[the picture Collie's referring to is the picture Ace saw in the studio. I mistakenly called Flash's hair green at the time; I just picked a colour, any colour. But I've decided now that the picture is black-and-white instead. I'll probably edit it in the studio thread at some point. In any case, Ace would have seen the picture but Chip only told him that it was an unfortunate relationship with a junkie and never even mentioned Flash's name.]]

[Kat]

Ace listened attentively to Colorado, a little taken aback when he mentioned being suspicious of the relationship. He tried not to take it personally, but it was hard when he was so used to everyone assuming he had the wrong intentions about everything he did and everyone he did it with. But that wasn't what he should be focusing on, after all didn't Colorado trust him now? When Colorado mentioned the picture it immediately sprang up in his mind, he was quite good with remembering pictures, especially striking ones like that one had been. "I remember it. He didn't really say much about it, from the way he talked it sounded as though it had only been some casual fling that turned out bad. Was Flash into drugs? He'd mentioned him being a junkie, but that was about it." Ace desperately wanted to hear more and hoped Chip would stay in the kitchen. The older male's original attitude was now starting to make sense to Ace even more.

[Cres]

Colorado nodded.

"Into drugs, alcohol, just about everything that's not good for you. But it wasn't just casual. Well, it started that way, but then Chip got involved. See, they first met at this bar. I was there too, we'd taken Dan over, trying to get him to look at our world differently. He left soon though. Anyway... Chip saw Flash the first time on the dance floor. I guess he liked the way the boy danced, and I have to admit that he was a fine thing to look at. And of course Chip had to go for it. That's what he's like, I guess. He's the type that can pick up random boys from random places, and I don't think anyone's ever turned him down. So I wasn't surprised when he ended up taking Flash to his place. What I didn't expect was how serious it all got."

Colorado sighed and curled his feet up under him on the couch. The period in time was painful for him too, because it had marked a definite change in his relationship with Chip. It had been the first time they argued.

"Both me and Dan saw quickly that the relationship wasn't good for Chip. Flash wasn't the settling type, and I'll be permitted to say he wasn't exactly stabile, either. It was a rollercoaster ride from beginning to the end. Personally I think Flash just used him. He gave Chip these sob stories about how bad his life was - he'd been beaten as a kid, apparently, and I think even worse - and of course Chip got all involved. I have to admit, of course, I probably would have done the same. I mean, it's horrible that kind of things happen, and I felt sorry for Flash in the beginning too. Dan was the only one who really kept a cool head about it. He was downright harsh. I guess he was the first one of us to see through it all.

"Eventually, Flash started getting these fits. He'd start screaming at little things going wrong, and blamed Chip for all kinds of things. Sometimes he wasn't paying enough attention to him, sometimes too much, or he obviously didn't approve of Flash the way he was, or he didn't give Flash enough money to spend, or whatever. They'd have fights and a few times Flash even walked out with some of Chip's stuff, to buy more drugs, but every time Flash came back with this story of how fucked up he was inside, and how much ne needed Chip after all, and how he couldn't live without him."

Collie shook his head, glancing toward the kitchen again. When he started talking again, his voice was quieter.

"Chip broke it off with Dan and me, too, because of Flash. It was the first time the three of us were really separated from one another. Dan pushed me away as well when Chip closed up from us. I don't know as much as I'd like to on what happened between Chip and Flash toward the end. All I know is that Chip finally had to tell Flash to go. I didn't think he ever would, he loved that boy too much. But he did. I hear from Dan that he picked Chip up from the apartment Chip and Flash had moved in - Chip's place, actually, Flash never had any money. Anyway, the next day Chip went back to the apartment." Colorado looked quite reluctant to talk about it, but he felt he had to tell the story to the end, now that he'd started. "He found Flash overdosed, dead in the bathtub. There wasn't a note, nothing. Chip called me, I was the first to get there. The place looked horrible, especially the bathroom. Broken glass and needles and whatever... And Chip was totally broken. He cried. He actually cried. I've never seen him do that before."

Colorado's voice had grown more silent toward the end, and when he stopped talking he hardly even noticed it. He still shuddered at the memory of that night. It had shaken him up worse than he liked to admit.

[Kat]

Ace listened quietly to Colorado's story, feeling slightly chilled by it. It certainly explained Chip's behaviour toward him when they first started hanging out, and he briefly wondered if Chip had ever doubted his story, given what he'd been through with Flash. Or is that what had drawn Chip even more toward him to begin with? Was he an attempt to fix things in Chip's head? Was Chip still feeling guilty over not being able to help Flash, and now he was going to use Ace as a means to make himself feel better? The blond hated the thoughts the moment they entered his head. He wasn't just another Flash. Chip loved him and cared about him and wasn't looking for any absolution to the way things had ended with the junkie. After all, while he did have his quirks and his fair share of emotional drama, overall he was pretty stable, wasn't he? Unlike Flash, the only thing he needed from Chip was emotional, not material and financial. And though he hadn't exactly sensed that Dan had been overjoyed with him, that had just seemed to stem more from his feelings about gay men in general, it hadn't seem like anything personal. And Colorado liked him. No, he definitely wasn't another Flash in Chip's eyes. He was something more.

"I can see why he never wanted to talk about it. That must have been hell to go through." Ace looked at Colorado, noticing how upset the other had gotten in rehashing the old story. "I guess I can see why you guys were a little suspicious at first and I don't know how much Chip has told you about me, but you know now I'd never do anything like that to Chip, right? You trust me with him?" Even though he knew Colorado's answer would be yes, after hearing the story he just wanted to reinforce with the other exactly how he felt about Chip. He wanted him to know that he wasn't just playing with Chip, having some fun for a while before moving on. He was in love with the redhead and he wanted Colorado to know that.