The One Thing I Never Expected - Chapter 4 (part 1)
Rating: NC-17
Pairings: Ryan/Brendon
POV: 1st, Brendon's
Summary: Ryan is Brendon's best friend, they grew up together. But Ryan is different. An accident when he was a child left him deaf. Brendon has always taken care of Ryan, but now he's starting to care for Ryan in a different way...
Disclaimer: Fiction, I own nothing. It's not real.
Author's Note: Again, I had to post this chapter in two parts. I always write my chapters too long. :x
Masterpost
Chapter 4 (part 1)
I’m in the middle of my peaceful sleep when something wakes me up. I lie there, trying to figure out what it was, when I hear a soft whimper. I look over at Ryan to see him with a frightened expression painted onto his features. He starts to twitch and jerk in his sleep, all the while letting out those quiet whimpers. He has nightmares sometimes. It’s not ridiculously often or anything, but he gets them every once in a while. He hates them. He always wakes up terrified.
Slowly, I lay my hand on his back. He’s lying on his stomach with his face smashed against the pillow. That’s going to make his nose hurt really badly when he wakes up. I gently shake his shoulder until he jumps and stirs. When his eyes finally focus, he looks at me. “Brendon,” he whimpers. “It was a really bad one this time…” he says while he wraps his arms around me. I just hold him and rub his back, because I know that’s what he needs.
***
After the whole middle-of-the-night incident, I actually got some decent sleep. I woke up before Ryan, so I went downstairs to make him pancakes, which he loves. My goal today is to make him as happy as I possibly can. That’s all I want.
Just as I’m about to pour the pancake batter into the pan, I hear a loud ‘thud’ and then a groan, followed by, “Fuck! BRENDONNNN!” I shake my head with a small smile. That boy. I hop up the stairs two at a time and hurry to my bedroom, only to be greeted with the sight of Ryan on the floor, groaning and rubbing his ankle.
I put my hands on my hips as he looks up at me with a sheepish grin. “What did you do to yourself, Ryan Ross?”
“Uhm…I fell off the bed and twisted my ankle,” he says shyly, cheeks flushed.
“I think you’re just trying to find ways to get hurt now because you like me treating you like a baby,” I tease.
“Will you just help me up? My ankle really hurts. Shit, I’m falling apart, Brendon,” he giggles. He’s so cute when he giggles. Or you know, always.
I sigh before leaning down to pick him up and throw him over my shoulder and head back down to the kitchen. He’s giggling the entire way. “I didn’t mean you had to carry me,” he says around laughs. I sit him in one of the kitchen chairs.
“I’m making you pancakes,” I tell him, smiling.
“Oh my God, you’re my hero.”
I just giggle. “So, since you’re a cripple now, what are we going to do all day, hmm?”
“I don’t know. Sit around and be lazy and watch movies like we do every other day?” he says with a sexy smirk.
“Sounds like a plan,” I laugh.
There’s a pause for a minute. And then…
“I wish I could hear your laugh, Bren…” Ryan says quietly. He isn’t smiling anymore. “I hate not knowing what your voice sounds like. I still remember what it sounded like when you were eight, so at least I have that.”
I walk over to him and kneel on the ground beside him so we’re eye-level. “Hey,” I say softly, “none of that. It’ll only make you upset. This is gonna be a good day. I’m gonna make sure you’re happy,” I tell him, smiling sweetly. He leans his forehead against mine, and then we’re just…staring at each other. It’s kind of intense.
“If I didn’t have you I would’ve given up on everything a long time ago,” he murmurs, his breath tickling my lips because we’re so close. I could kiss him right now.
Suddenly, he starts giggling. “I think your pancakes are burning,” he whispers. His hot breath sends a tingle down my spine, making me shiver.
“Well fuck,” I say, standing up and running over to the stove. “I ruined them,” I pout. Ryan walks up behind me, assessing the damage. He laughs at my failure. “So, cereal then?” he says.
I look at him. “I guess so,” I sigh.
“It’s the thought that counts, right?” he grins.
After we eat, we retreat back to my bedroom to watch movies. Ryan wanted to watch them in here because my bed is comfy, according to him.
I’m asleep within thirty minutes. I don’t know how long I’m asleep for, but I’m woken up by Ryan elbowing me. “Brendon, how do you expect me to have fun if you’re asleep?” he grumbles.
“Sorry, sorry.” I sit up on the bed. “How is your nose feeling?”
“Worse than yesterday,” he pouts, “but not unbearable.”
“Aw, should I kiss it and make it better?” I’m just teasing, but he nods his head, so I lean in and peck his nose, making him giggle. I don’t miss the pink that crept up on his cheeks. “And how’s your ankle?”
“Hurts,” he whines.
“Lemme see,” I shift farther down the bed so I can get a closer look at his ankle.
“Yeah, it’s definitely swollen. You’re so clumsy,” I say before I ruffle his hair affectionately. “Just try not to-oh my God, Ryan, you shave your legs?” I burst out into loud laughter because I find this quite funny.
“Shut up!” he says, trying to hide his red cheeks. “It makes them soft and I like it!”
“Hm. Let’s see then.” I run my hand slowly up his leg under his jeans. It actually is really soft. “Wow, it is soft. Why are you so abnormally soft?” I giggle out.
“You’re so gay.” He’s smiling adoringly at me when he says it.
I scoff at him. “Whatever, I might be gay, but you act way gayer than I do. For example…” I trail off as I run my hand up his leg again.
“What?” he sounds and looks surprised.
“…What?” I ask, unsure.
“You just said you’re gay.”
“Uhm, yeah, because I am? We already had this conversation, dude.” I have no idea what he’s going on about.
“No, no. You said you thought you were gay. I wasn’t aware that you’d figured it out.”
“Oh…well yeah.” Well, that was unintelligent.
“When did you figure it out?” He looks curious.
“Just now,” I reply as I’m rubbing his leg again. His eyes widen a bit before he smiles, looks down, bites his lip, and blushes furiously. I think it might be the most adorable sight I’ve ever laid eyes on. I wish I had a camera right now.
***
“Brendon, you don’t have to be my fucking bodyguard,” Ryan signs, chuckling lightly. “I’m pretty sure Zack won’t touch me after what you did, and everyone else probably heard about it, too. I think I’m safe.” I sigh but nod anyway and step away from him, putting distance in between us. His head snaps up.
He leans in close to me and whispers, very quietly, “Whoa, whoa, who gave you permission to move so far away, huh?” His breath tickles my ear. He smiles, biting down on his lip, and tugs me closer to him again.
So maybe I’m just over-analyzing things here, but if I didn’t know better, I’d say that Ryan likes me too. I just don’t know for sure. It’s like he’s just now starting to show it. Maybe it’s because he knows I’m gay now. He probably doesn't like me at all, and I'm imagining things. I figure I should probably tell him how I feel about him pretty soon, but I'm scared.
“So, I think I’m gonna tell the guys I’m gay pretty soon, maybe tomorrow,” I murmur. Ryan looks happy about this, so I’m happy about it.
“Well, you know you have me to talk to if you start to freak. That’s the best thing about signing. You can say whatever you want whenever you want without having to worry about other people-" Ryan abruptly gets cut off when some kid I don’t know shoves him into a locker to get by.
“Watch it, fag,” the guys sneers. Ryan seems to have caught what he said, because his face takes on one of the most hurt looks I’ve ever seen.
I grab the guy by the back of his shirt and pull him back toward me. “Don’t you fucking talk to him like that, kid. I think you should apologize. Now,” I say, giving a threatening look to the small kid. He glares at me but says ‘sorry’ to Ryan, who just smiles at him. Honestly, the kid pushes him and calls him a fag, and Ryan still smiles at him. That’s just how much of an amazing person he is. He’s so sweet and loving.
The guy goes on about his business and Ryan smiles at me. “Thanks,” he whispers, giving me chills. He’s good at doing that. Not that I’m about to tell him that.
I’m about to reply when I hear, “Hey, guys!” behind me. I turn around to see William.
“Are you alright, Ryan?” he asks. Ryan looks at me, letting me know that I should answer for him. I thought maybe he’d talk to William after yesterday, but maybe he will when it’s just the three of us.
“He’s okay. His nose is just bruised, and the cut in his lip wasn’t bad enough for stitches,” I reply. William looks relieved, but then he looks confused.
“Wait, why were you limping? You weren’t limping the other day…” he trails off, looking at Ryan questioningly. Ryan looks at me with a sheepish grin. Then I remember him falling off my bed and I start giggling, which causes Ryan to start giggling. William stares at us with a half-smile on his face and an amused expression.
“Well,” I say when the giggles subside. “Ryan fell off my bed yesterday morning and hurt his ankle. I had to carry him down the stairs over my shoulder,” I giggle again.
“I didn’t ask you to carry me, you just took it upon yourself,” Ryan signs, smiling and shaking his head.
“Yeah, but how else were you supposed to get down the stairs?” I say with a smile. He just rolls his eyes at me.
“You know, Brendon,” William starts, “it’s really cool how you always sign everything you say. And when we’re all talking, you’ll sign what other people say for Ryan, so he can follow along. It’s almost like you don’t even realize that you’re doing it,” he muses.
I guess he’s right. I mean, half the time I really don’t realize I’m doing it. It’s my second language; I don’t have to think about it.
“Yeah, I don’t really think about it anymore, it’s just a habit now. I mean, Ryan can read lips a little, but not enough that he can follow along an entire conversation. He can read yours the best though, which is why I don’t have to sign for you that much.”
We chat a little more until the bell for first period rings. William heads off to class.
“Ready for math, Bren? I know it’s your best subject,” Ryan smirks.
“Shut up. You know I suck hardcore at math,” I mutter.
“Well, I can be your tutor,” he replies slyly. Private study sessions with Ryan? I can live with that.
Part 2