What Happens At Cons

“Next time, YOU get to be the girl!” Bill had told him, after they finished dancing to the song “Rasputin” at the convention’s opening night dance.

Ralph gave Bill an odd look as they returned to the table, with Prince Ra and his minions in attendance.

“That was marvelous, Spoiler! How on earth do you DO that? You were flinging my man Maximillian around here as if he were weightless!”

“Ah, the art of illusion! The magician Tony Roberts is my favorite. Bill and I met him some time ago, and he was gracious enough to show us a few tricks,” Ralph said, having already worked the explanation out as they left the dance floor. Bill was right: they didn’t want to push it TOO far, with Ralph using the suit’s unusual powers.

“I was actually doing more than it appeared, Your Highness. It simply looked like Ralph was doing all the work!” Bill added.

“Then you both must be in fine shape,” Rob opined, drawing out the word “fine” in great appreciation, looking them both up and down suggestively.

Bill shrugged and sipped the remainder of his second beer. “No complaints so far.”

Ralph, who had taken a sip of his own beverage, almost sputtered it out, suppressing his laughter.

“What?” Bill demanded to know, his voice sounding annoyed but his dark pine green eyes twinkling with mischief.

“Oh, nothing, nothing,” Ralph said, resuming his interrupted sip.

Rob, ever sensitive to people’s body language, couldn’t help but notice a difference in his two new companions. Ralph was sitting next to Bill, as usual, but was leaning toward the older man at a provocative angle. He didn’t even seem to be aware of what he was doing; he just automatically fell into the pose as the two took their seats.

Bill, in the meantime, was also leaning toward his best friend. He crossed his legs, fixing the kilt over his knees. Ralph, without thought, reached down to straighten a portion of the folded fabric that Bill missed.

“Here,” Ralph said, continuing to re-adjust various bits of Bill’s outfit. He fixed the Maxwell family pin that had gone askew on the faux fur vest, and boldly reached down to move the sporran directly over the center of Bill’s lower abdomen.

Bill didn’t say a word all this time while his younger friend fussed over him. His heart raced with a thrill when Ralph touched him, and he didn’t understand why. All he knew was that he was reveling in the attention.

When it appeared Ralph was through, Bill said, “Well? Are you finished? Is my ensemble proper once again?”

Ralph looked him up and down, pausing for a moment at Bill’s muscular calves showing from under the kilt. He absentmindedly stretched out his hand, and surprised Bill with a tickle on a bare knee.

“RALPH!” Bill laughed and scolded at the same time, playfully batting Ralph’s hand away.

“There, I’m done. For now at least.”

Ralph’s tone of voice was low and thick, and Bill’s heart inexplicably raced faster. The older partner’s ever-expressive face changed from playful annoyance to something Ralph couldn’t understand; all he knew was he loved looking at the eyes of his best friend that couldn’t decide if they were brown, green or both.

The two men locked gazes, closing out everyone and everything around them. The darkened room, lit only on the dancefloor by the evocatively flashing disco lights, the throbbing bass of the huge speakers reaching into their chests, the alcohol flowing through their veins were all commingling to enhance the illusion that they were in another time, another place.

It was as if an electric circuit had grown between them, invisible and palpible. Ralph, as he’d done so many times before in the suit, reached for Bill’s hand, wrapping his own around the long slender digits of his partner.

Bill gasped, his eyes wide, but he never looked away from the dark sapphire pools of his partner’s eyes. The images hit him, hard, overwhelming Bill with confusion. No word, no thought, could adequately describe what he was sensing. The circuit was completed and the universe ceased to be, except for those glowing blue eyes and driving, pounding beat reaching into the core of his being, physical and spiritual.

“What—“ Bill started in surprise, unable to continue when Ralph softly nodded his head, as if saying, Let it be, Bill.

Did that thought come to him, or was he creating the illusion himself, of him and Ralph, together, writhing around in bed… naked?

Convinced his heart would burst from the confines of his chest if he didn’t escape the glory of this experience, and soon, Bill pulled his hand away.

Ralph released Bill, but placed his hand on his partner’s shoulder instead, knowing that the bond would resume, as had happened so many times before when they shared holographs or precognitive visions.

Unaware that everyone at the table was watching, Bill said, “What WAS that, Ralph? A new power?”

“I don’t know, Bill, but… was it really so bad?” Ralph asked, his voice quiet and husky.

“NO!” Bill said vehemently, “it was… it was… WONDERFUL, Ralph! It was too much, it was overpowering, it was….”

He paused, embarrassed to share with his best friend how glorious the sensation was, how heady and sensual, how if he ever gave into the desire to live it, in reality, not in the privacy of his own mind, he’d never be able to pull himself away.

Ralph nodded in understanding, his hand still grasping Bill’s shoulder lightly. He gave his partner a gentle squeeze, silently conveying to him that he didn’t need further explanation, he knew what had transpired.

It was so fast, yet went so deep, permanently embedding itself in both men’s memories. Weekend or not, he wasn’t sure if they’d be able to leave this behind on Sunday night, when it was time to go back to their jobs and their lives in Los Angeles.

I never want this to end, was the sensation that touched Bill’s mind.

The two had reached a new stage in their partnership, with the new-found power of telepathy, and Bill “heard” Ralph. He boldly thought back to Ralph, Does it have to?

The two men smiled simultaneously, and the thoughts cycled between them, as fast as light. Thoughts, images, sensations flowed between the two. They reacted physically to what was going through their minds, and Bill squirmed uncomfortably, self-consciously adjusting his kilt and sporran once more.

Ralph broke into laughter again, gently releasing Bill’s shoulder, then arm, drawing his hand in a languid slide down to his partner’s hand, to finally sever the physical connection.

Maxwell cleared his throat dramatically and chuckled nervously, once again in the here and now. Hinkley did too, looking sheepishly about him. They’d been so lost in the discovery of this new power, and the sensations they’d shared, that they had no idea how long they’d been sitting there, motionless and gazing into one another’s eyes.

“I get the feeling a milestone’s been reached, my friends,” Rob adroitly pointed out, smiling at the two when they realized they’d been watched the whole time. “But what did you mean by this ‘new power,’ Maximillian?”

“Oh, uh, Your Highness. Part of the con persona, you know how it goes.”

Ralph stood abruptly to discourage any further questioning. He looked down at his taller friend. “Hey, Bill, let’s make tracks. There’s a movie on in the video viewing room we can watch. I need to take a break, I’m worn out from dancing.”

Bill held back the laugh, knowing Ralph was nowhere near tired in his special suit. He turned to bid farewell to Prince Ra, and the young lady who’d danced with him earlier.

He took the small man’s hand, bowing over the ring with respect as a good courtier would do.

Rob smiled up at Bill, and added in an aside to Ralph, “Oh, didn’t you know? You and my man Maximillian here can watch it in the privacy of your own hotel room. It’s got a video feed.” He ended that with a wink at Ralph.

This time, Bill touched Ralph’s shoulder, and the younger partner felt that ZING! cut through him like the sweetest knife, driving into his gut. No words passed along the connection, but that sensual taste of what was to be did. He gasped as Bill had earlier when he initiated the bond, and looked up into his partner’s brownish-green eyes.

The conscious communication resumed, faster than speech would ever allow:

I’m hungry, came a thought.

There’s always room service, came the reply.

It’s been so long.

I know, for me too.

Oh my God, I want this. I want YOU! I can’t believe this is happening, I can’t… I’m terrified and excited, this is killing me, I don’t think I can WALK!

Me too, partner, me too.

Is this going to happen every time we touch, every time we’re on a scenario and need to share a holograph?

We’ll just have to get it out of our systems before the next scenario. Or Monday. Whichever.

God, YES!