Tom took a long sip from his glass of whisky while he listened to his friend Mark explain the details of a new Dungeons and Dragons character they were running in a weekend campaign. As usual their Halloween party had gone from games and shots to small clumps of people nursing drinks and discussing whatever was on their mind, from the mundane to the philosophical. The conversations were helped along by copious amounts of alcohol and a few blunts strategically making their rounds through the party.
Tom had initially been dressed as a classical fantasy wizard, though calling it a costume may have been a stretch. It was an outfit he had put together for the Renn Faire, including a staff he had carved himself then topped with a clever bit of engineering for a glowing orb. Now the staff sat propped in the corner, the robes were tossed haphazardly in a pile in the bedroom, and Tom was wearing a zip-up panda adult onesie. It had long ago become a tradition as the party wound down for people to change out of costumes and into silly pajamas as the mood shifted from party to chill hangout.
He looked around for his wife and found her discussing her latest craft project with a few other people. Tina had initially dressed as a witch, though it wasn't far outside her normal outfits in the fall. The tall boots accented with lavender laces were stunning, but impractical and had quickly been discarded. Now that costumes had been discarded entirely, she was in a bright teal platypus onesie that she, of course, had added a brown fedora to.
A few minutes later Tom was sharing his ideas for his next character's backstory, laying out some fun interactions with the class he was using. Distracted by giving the details, he didn't notice someone creeping up behind him until arms wrapped around his waist and a chin came to rest on his shoulder. Too big to be his wife's arms, he nonetheless knew who was practically hanging off him.
"Hi John. Anyway, if you take three levels of twilight cleric..." He launched back into the conversation.
Pouting, John tilted his head slightly and whispered softly in Tom's ear. "You're no fun, you don't even react anymore."
Tom and Tina had met John years ago at a convention and became fast friends, pulling him into their fairly small circle. It didn't take long for Tom to learn what he was like after a few drinks. John was gay, and when he was drunk he loved to try and get a reaction out of whoever he could. The first few times John had grabbed his waist, Tom had jumped from surprise and pulled away, leaving John in stitches. Now it had become a game, John would try to catch him off guard, and Tom would try to spoil his fun.
Tonight though, Tom had an idea to get his revenge. John's head still perched on his shoulder, Tom kept talking, making sure John was thoroughly bored and zoned out before he made his move. Without warning he swung his head around and gave John a full lipped kiss on the cheek before turning back to the conversation like nothing had happened.
John shrieked in surprise and nearly fell over with how fast he pulled his head back. Tom lost his composure, erupting into laughter. "You're right, it is more fun when they react!" Tom kept on with the conversation as John muttered something and stumbled away, his face clearly showing he was still in a state of shock.
The party wound down slowly as people filtered out until it was just Tom, Tina, and John sunk into the couch, chatting as the credits rolled on some forgettable cheesy comedy. As usual, John had claimed their guest room to avoid a long, late drive home.
"I can't believe you kissed John." Tina was laughing. "I wish I could've seen his face."
"It was just my cheek, calm down." John defended himself, his grin turning cocky as he looked at Tom. "But be careful Tommy boy, next time you try that I'm going to take your first kiss with a guy."
Tom just laughed "You can try, but I don't think you're that fast when you're drunk. Besides, wouldn't be my first guy anyway."
Tom could swear he could hear the sitcom record scratch as John and Tina stared at him, mouths agape. The room was completely silent for a second before they both squealed in unison "WHAT?!"
Tom looked at them blankly, "What?"