BAR-BE-Q
"Nicky, hurry up!" Rod called through the bedroom door as he pulled on his high-button, Pal Joey shoes. His creased-iron brown pants perfectly matched his brand new collared white shirt, giving him a sharp yet casual look. He sighed as he turned to face a still unopened bedroom door. His companion most likely had barely even begun to get ready. "Nicky, we're going to be late for Brian and Christmas Eve's anniversary party!"
"Alright, I'm comin'!" Nicky opened the door, causing Rod to gasp. He was wearing a brown button-up shirt and a pair of blue and white swimming trunks. Rod just stared.
"What?" Nicky asked irritably. Rod was about to say something before glancing at his watch. Two minutes to twelve. He looked at Nicky long and hard for a minute, then finally said, "Nevermind. We're late as it is." He grabbed a small gift bag from a table and walked out the door, Nicky close behind.
The backyard area of Avenue Que was busier than usual. Brian and Gary were trying to cook burgers on a discarded grill that probably hadn't been used in decades. Lucy, who had misunderstood Christmas Eve when she had asked if she could bring some 'melons' with her to the bar-be-que, was carrying in grocery bags filled with watermelons. Kate and Trekkie were setting the picnic table, and Princeton was doing his best to keep the Bad Idea Bears away from the lighter fluid. Rod and Nicky surveyed the scene as they walked into the yard. Christmas Eve smiled at them as they came closer into the yard. "Rod! Nicky! So glad you come!"
"We wouldn't miss it for the world, honey!" Rod hugged her as Nicky went off to go help Brian and Gary. "This is for you." Rod handed her the gift bag. "I'm just so happy for you and Brian! I can't believe it's already been a year since you two got married."
Christmas Eve smiled as she pulled out the bright tissue paper, revealing a decorative picture frame with the words: "Love...Making Your Fantasies Come True" and a wedding picture of Brian and Christmas Eve. Christmas Eve smiled at Rod, wrapping him in another hug. "You so sweet, Rod. One day your fantasies come true too." Rod glanced at Nicky as she said this, sniffling a little. Nicky was attempting to stoke the small fire in the grill pit, but all that he was accomplishing was burning himself and covering himself with charcoal. He smiled at him, blinking back the tears as he pulled away from Christmas Eve's hug.
Eventually the guys got the food cooked. As everyone sat down to eat their food, Gary and Nicky started a contest to see who could shoot the most straw wrappers down Lucy's shirt without her noticing, and Trekkie soon joined in. The women(with the eception of Lucy) and Rod rolled their eyes as each paper wad disappeared into Lucy's cleavage, never once attracting her attention. Brian stopped laughing long enough to stand up and tap his fork against his plastic cup, trying to get everyone's attention. He cleared his throat as a few faces turned his way. When they turned back to whatever they were doing, however, Christmas Eve slapped her hands down on the table. "EVERYBODY LISTEN TO BRIAN!"
"..."
She smiled. "That better."
"Yes, well um," Brian began. "My wife and I would like to thank you all for coming to our first anniversary barbeque on Avenue Q." He waited for everyone to laugh at his little joke. No one did. "Uh, well, we'd just like to thank you all for making our first year together so wonderful. Without you guys, this wouldn't be-"
"Aw, Brian cut the crap and let's eat." Gary rolled his eyes.
"Gary!" Kate frowned.
"Nah, he's right; let's eat!" Brian sat down, smiling at Christmas Eve, who was holding onto his arm affectionately. Rod sighed at their happiness. Would he ever be lucky enough to find someone he could love? He glanced at Nicky, who had resumed his earlier games of throwing straw wrappers at the now well-aware Lucy. Of course not; the only one that he could be truly happy with was straight-as-an-arrow Nicky. He had tried to make it work with Ricky, but it was no use. Though he might look like Nicky, he was completely different from him in everyway. They had broken up only a few weeks after being together.
His thoughts were interrupted by a loud thump. He turned to see Brian slicing open a large watermelon. He divided it into four sections, then started on another one. "Alright, everyone! Time for watermelon contest!" Christmas Eve cheerfully laid out paper towels along one row of the picnic table. Everyone stood up out of their seats as Trekkie and Brian turned the table around and put down watermelon slices on the paper towels.
"Okay, we decided to have a little melon eating contest." Brian smiled competitively. "Though I hate to win a contest at my own party."
"Finally, this party starting to get fun." Lucy undid the top button of her blouse.
"No, Lucy! Water-melon eating contest." Christmas Eve rushed over to her. Reluctantly, Lucy buttoned her shirt again.
"Damn." Gary muttered under his breath. Trekkie frowned.
"Okay, this is how we're gonna do this," Brian began. "We'll go two at a time. Whoever eats the fastest, blindfolded and no hands, is the winner of that round. The winner then faces off against someone else. Who wants to go first?"
Nicky eagerly raised his hand. "I'll go!"
"We have our first contestant!" Smiling, Nicky sat down next to Brian at the table. Christmas Eve blindfolded each of them and they put their hands behind their back.
"Go!"
Both Brian and Nicky face planted their slices, the red fruit quickly pealing away from the green rinds and into their mouths. Rod resisted the urge to cheer for Nicky, despite that fact that Christmas Eve was cheering for Brian. But it was their party; wouldn't it be rude(if not weird) to cheer for someone else, even if that someone else was the love of your life? He stayed silent next to Gary, who was cheering for Nicky with great enthusiasm.
Finally, Nicky stood up, pulling off his blindfold. Brian stood up only a second later, but it was obvious that Nicky had won. Brian seemed sad for a moment, but when Christmas Eve wiped his mouth clean and gave him a quick kiss he smiled again. He slapped Nicky on the back, congradulating him. "Who's next?"
"How 'bout Rod?" Nicky asked. Rod froze as everyone turned to face him. "Oh no, your not getting me into this! I'm wearing a brand new-"
Nicky smiled at him with his brown puppy-dog eyes.
"...shirt." Rod finished quietly. He knew that he couldn't resist that look, and he sighed as he made his way to the table. He thought he heard Gary make a 'phh-choo' sound as he walked by, bu when he turned around he was looking away. He sat next to Nicky, who punched him playfully on the shoulder. Despite his annoyance, Nicky's touch sent shivers down Rod's spine as usual, and he prayed that a blush wasn't spreading across his warm, blue skin. Christmas Eve blindfolded each of them, and Rod rolled his covered eyes as he slipped his hands behind his back. Alright, Nicky, Rod thought, you want a competition; I'll give you a competition.
"Go!"
Rod pushed his head down...right into the table. His face burned as he heard a few laughs. At least Nicky hadn't seen. He quickly moved his head to the left, finding a watermelon slice. He ate the juicy fruit as quickly as he could, chewing it down to the rind. He had started on the right side; now he was moving closer to the left. He heard...laughing? Ignoring it, he ate quicker than before, hoping that Nicky hadn't already finished his.
He reached the middle of the fruit. His competitive side had broken through, and he was not going to loose now. At the corner of his mouth, he began to feel something...soft. Definetely not watermelon. As he moved closer, he started to feel something darting back and forth, something soft and wet...
Rod bolted upright, jerking off his blindfold to see and equally horrified Nicky. He looked down at the table and saw a green watermelon rind placed about midway between their spots on the table and another, untouched slice to the right of Rod's place. The yard erupted with laughter, and both Rod and Nicky looked down, blushing with embarrassment. Christmas Eve frowned at Brian, who immediately stopped laughing. Rod closed his eyes and clenched his teeth, hoping that this nightmare would end soon.
Nicky prayed that his friend didn't notice the blush that was still spread across his green skin. He also hoped that he didn't notice the fact that he was still darting looks in Rod's direction. It had felt...strange. Good strange.
Rod didn't notice either of these things. He also didn't notice or care about the red juice that was dripping quietly down his shirt.