Externalizing [mxm]

Chapter 21 (End)

"I didn't even know there were two," Marc pointed out.

"Exactly." Brendan scowled, shuffling some papers together. "And, we've been invited to some staff Christmas party."

"We?" Marc echoed curiously.

"Yes, we. As in I and my 'significant other', as the staff invite so politely put it." He sighed.

"That's a good thing, isn't it?" Marc laughed it off.

"Yes, I mean, the Dean is the one setting everything up and sending out the invitations. It's just weird to get, I think." Brendan made a face between confusion and distaste. "You don't have a staff Christmas party at your work, do you?"

"I do, actually," Marc remembered. "I got an e-mail the other day but I didn't actually read it."

"Shit," Brendan sighed.

Marc shrugged it off. "We can go to both, unless you don't want to."

"I mean it was one thing telling the Dean I was gay when there was the whole accusation thing, but I don't think anyone else knows, really. Would it be weird if I just showed up with you?" Brendan asked.

"Well they'd figure it out pretty damn quick I imagine. Same goes for my workplace. I'll probably only have to tell one person and then everyone else will get it down the grapevine." Marc never had much mixing of his personal and work life, and so he wasn't even sure if anyone knew he was married, divorced, or in this case, dating Brendan. "I don't have a problem letting people know if you don't," Marc added.

"I don't, really. Just... you can't ever know how someone is going to react about it until it's too late, you know?" Brendan settled back in his chair with a huff.

Marc picked at the corner of his desk. "True, I guess. But I would think the people that are okay with it outweigh the ones that aren't, right? And it's just a Christmas party."

"This means presents are coming, too." Brendan sneered. "Time to start making some extra prints, because I'm cheap and I have tons of art I can always give away."

Marc laughed then. "Maybe you could do something with Ariel too? Like a combined thing, for Whitney and her parents and for me. I think that'd be cool."

"Could do woodblock with her," Brendan mused. "Assuming she doesn't somehow stab her hand."

"Maybe not, actually," Marc quickly decided.

"No, no, relax, I'm kidding. There's a rubber stamp kind of printing I could do with her." Brendan waved him off dismissively. "I'll take her into the studio with me sometime soon. But I don't think she gets to come to the staff Christmas party."

"Maybe Whitney could spend a few nights with her, then," Marc suggested.

Brendan sighed and saved a few of the project outlines he had been working on. "Well we've got a week before the one here. And I can probably warn you, teachers can be some of the most embarrassing drunks, compared to how you might have seen them at parent teacher conferences."

***

"Whoever planned these parties must not like us," Brendan decided. "Having them both on the same night."

"It's a few days before Christmas, there's not a lot of other time to do it. Any later and no one would show up because they'll be out of town. Any earlier for you, and it's during the school week," Marc tried to rationalize it. "But we have our plan. Yours first, then we'll split and go to mine, and then home."

"You make it sound so easy," Brendan snorted. "Drunk people never want you to leave."

The school had rented out an event room at a hotel, and the alcohol was already flowing when they got there. One of the kindergarten teachers was already leaning heavily into a table, and the gym teacher had decided to profess his love of his old high school team by loudly singing their fight song.