Bluebirds Fly [11/14]
Title: Bluebirds Fly
Author: silver_etoile
Rating: NC-17
Pairing: Ryan/Brendon [Pete/Patrick, Alex/Ryland, Frank/Gerard, Tom/Keltie, Gabe/William, and a few surprises]
POV: Third
Disclaimer: Not true.
Summary: The KATU news station is getting a new anchor. Resident meteorologist, Brendon Urie, is beyond excited, but a new anchor is not all that is in store for the station.
A/N: late today, i know. i went out of town. um. yeah. some thing you've all been waiting for is about to happen... so read and find out ;]
Reread: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
*
A collective breath was let out as Maja left, and it felt as though a huge weight had been lifted, the smothering fog cleared within the studio and a few smiles were even cracked.
“Ding dong, the witch is dead,” Jon announced finally and Ryan laughed, feeling incredibly relieved that she was finally gone.
Keltie sighed next to him and cracked a reluctant smile. “Well, that’s over for now.”
“Don’t get complacent,” Pete’s voice was heard over the murmur of conversation. “She still has to talk to Zack and who knows what she’ll say.”
“Way to kill the mood,” Jon tisked, slinging an arm around Pete’s shoulder and ignoring his disgruntled look. “The wicked witch is dead. And when the witch is away, the munchkins will play.”
Pete just rolled his eyes, but didn’t look too upset when Patrick whispered something in his ear and tugged him away from the group. Hardly anyone was paying attention, though, too busy talking amongst themselves.
Ryan broke away from Keltie and Jon and moved over to Brendon, who still looked out of everything.
“Hey, you okay?” he asked cautiously, pulling his chin up.
Brendon nodded. “Yeah, I just feel really tired. Way too much alcohol yesterday. I guess I figured the best way to deal with her was to not.”
Ryan smiled and pulled Brendon into a comforting hug, which Brendon accepted gratefully, clinging to Ryan.
“It’s okay. She’s gone now.”
“Gone but never really gone.” Brendon sighed against Ryan’s shoulder. “I’m worried.”
“Me too,” Ryan muttered. He hadn’t really allowed himself to imagine what possibilities might occur once Maja had her say with the producers. He didn’t want to think that he might get fired, that he might have to go slinking back to Las Vegas and try to start over again.
Brendon pulled away first, smiling slightly at Ryan, but it was more sad than anything.
“All I want to do right now is go home and go to bed,” he murmured, and Ryan nodded.
“I’ll take you,” he offered.
Brendon paused. “If you take me home, you’re not going to kiss me and claim I don’t remember, are you?”
Ryan smiled. “That was just the one time, and I promise to be a complete gentleman.”
“Maybe not a complete gentleman,” Brendon mumbled, smiling and kissing him deeply.
They were broken apart by the loud clearing of a throat and looked up to find Keltie giving them a hard look.
“If you’re going to do that, do it at home where Maja can’t spy on you.”
Ryan wasn’t sure if she was serious about the spying, but knew she had a point.
“Come on, Bren, let’s go.”
“Okay,” Brendon agreed, grabbing Ryan’s hand and letting himself be led out of the building, smiling and resting his head on Ryan’s shoulder as they walked. “You know, Ryan?” he said as they reached the parking lot.
“Hmm?”
“If either of us get fired next week, I still like you.”
Ryan felt a mixture of sadness and happiness at the same time as he opened his car door and guided Brendon inside.
“I’ll still like you too,” he promised, shutting the door and slipping into the driver’s side, starting the car, and taking off for Brendon’s apartment.
*
Monday came and no producers showed at the studio. There was still a punctured air of calm over everyone, but slowly, the practiced ease came back. Brendon perked up and began bothering Patrick again and hanging off Jon.
Spencer didn’t immediately return to his introverted self, but stayed out of it for the most part. He didn’t yell at Jon for mistakes or talk to Ryan at all.
Ryan came to realize that he was actually concerned about Spencer about three days in. As he had suspected, it did seem a little empty without Spencer’s threats to Jon. The atmosphere that had been present before Maja’s arrival would never fully be restored until they knew the full length of the consequences.
It wasn’t until Friday that the crew had any sort of idea what was going on. Zack stopped in for an unexpected visit early in the afternoon. Ryan was uneasy when he saw the producer step through the door and his eyes swept the place.
Zack didn’t stop to chat, but headed for Pete’s office and entered. The few people who had noticed Zack’s arrival gathered together to watch the door of the office.
“What do you think’s going on?” Brendon whispered, clinging to Ryan’s arm as he, Ryan, Jon, Gabe, and Alex stood in a group.
“Talking about us,” Gabe whispered back.
“You didn’t do anything,” Alex replied, keeping his voice low. “They’re probably talking about me.”
“Or Spencer,” Jon added.
“Or me,” Brendon whispered, his grip tightening for a second.
“Just hold on a minute, guys,” Ryan tried to reassure them. “They might just be talking about other things.”
“Like how Maja thinks we’re all gay and should be shut down?” Gabe snapped. “Yeah, they’re talking about that.”
Rolling his eyes, Ryan sighed. “Well, we won’t know until they tell us. Speculating won’t do any good.”
“Gossip queen, party of one,” Brendon whispered, pointing to himself. “You obviously don’t know me very well, Ryan.”
Ryan gave him a light squeeze. “Okay, but the more you think of it, the worse it will be.”
Brendon didn’t appear to be listening, so Ryan just sighed and stepped back to wait for Zack to emerge.
By the time he finally did, the whole studio had gathered and was whispering amongst themselves. Zack stepped out of the office, looking surprised at the group.
“Oh, well, this is nice. Don’t have to call for a meeting this time.” He smiled at them, but received no smiles in return. There was a pause for a moment, then Zack cleared his throat. “All right, no sense in beating around the bush. The producers have talked to Maja and talked amongst ourselves and we’ve decided on a course of action. We’ll be talking to you all individually, and unfortunately, we won’t be able to keep everyone on or in their current position. I hope there are no hard feelings.”
Zack glanced at Pete, who was looking at the ground and not meeting any of his staff’s eyes.
“Right, so we’ll just do it now and get it over with. I’d like to see Gabe first, please.”
Gabe slunk forward, his eyes darting to Bill as he went, the office door shutting behind him. As soon as it was shut, the rest of the staff crowded around Pete.
“What’s going on, Pete? Are people getting fired?”
Rubbing his forehead and pushing his way through the crowd, Pete shook his head. “I think you should just let Zack talk to you all. I need to get a drink.” He pushed past them all and headed for the fridge on the other side of the room.
They waited in silence after that, listening hard for any sign of the conversation, but heard nothing. When Gabe finally came out, he said nothing, and just told Bill that he was next.
Gabe joined Pete at the fridge and they started talking in whispered voices that no one heard.
It went like that for a while; each person emerging straight-faced and sending in another. Ryan was growing nervous and he could feel Brendon shaking beside him as he stared at the door.
Spencer had gone in a while ago and Jon was staring at the door intently as though he could see through it. He had his hands clasped behind his back and was occasionally muttering to himself.
Finally, Spencer came out and Jon’s head snapped up. Spencer sent Ryland in and hesitated before looking at Jon. There was a second’s pause and then he shook his head.
Jon’s hands unclasped and he took a swift step forward.
“Spence, they can’t do that,” he said quickly, ignoring the people watching them.
Spencer’s smile was bitter and sad. “They just did.”
“No!” Jon insisted, staring past Spencer at the door. “They can’t. You’re the best writer in Phoenix news. This is unfair!”
Spencer grabbed Jon’s arm as he made to storm into the office, and Ryan watched, stunned at the interaction. Everyone was watching, even Pete from across the room, though his expression was knowing and sad.
“Jon, stop. You remember what I told you? What we talked about?”
“Well, I don’t care!” Jon exclaimed, staring at Spencer now. “Just because you aren’t nice at work. Do they know why? Did you tell them why?”
“Oh, yeah, I told them why so that you would get fired too,” Spencer scoffed, then sighed and pulled Jon to face him. “Of course not. I wouldn’t risk your job for mine.”
“I’m going to quit then,” Jon said instead, pulling away and looking at the door again.
A quiet gasp ran around the watching crowd, but Spencer ignored them, rolling his eyes.
“No, you can’t. I’ll be fine. Don’t worry. I’ll get another job. I’m the best writer, remember?”
“That’s not funny,” Jon mumbled at Spencer’s weak smile.
“I wasn’t trying to be funny.” He sighed and wrapped his arms around Jon, despite the looks of shock they were receiving from their coworkers.
Jon sighed against Spencer’s shoulder. “Fine, I won’t quit.”
“Thank you.”
Ryan watched in complete disbelief at the change in Spencer and Jon. Spencer was whispering something in his ear and his hand was on the back of his neck. Finally, he pulled away and gave Jon a small smile.
“I have to go clean out my desk,” he said, his voice breaking slightly as he moved back.
Jon nodded resignedly. “Hey, come over later, okay?”
Spencer nodded too and backed away, making his way through the staring crowd and disappearing down the hall.
Ryan glanced at Brendon, who was staring at Jon. Jon had leaned back against the wall and was staring at the floor. He gave Brendon’s hand a slight squeeze and took a breath as the door to the office opened and Ryland emerged.
“Ryan,” he said, his voice low. Instead of continuing, he nodded at the door and Ryan prepared himself, letting go of Brendon’s hand and heading inside.
Previous Chapter Next Chapter
Author: silver_etoile
Rating: NC-17
Pairing: Ryan/Brendon [Pete/Patrick, Alex/Ryland, Frank/Gerard, Tom/Keltie, Gabe/William, and a few surprises]
POV: Third
Disclaimer: Not true.
Summary: The KATU news station is getting a new anchor. Resident meteorologist, Brendon Urie, is beyond excited, but a new anchor is not all that is in store for the station.
A/N: late today, i know. i went out of town. um. yeah. some thing you've all been waiting for is about to happen... so read and find out ;]
Reread: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
*
A collective breath was let out as Maja left, and it felt as though a huge weight had been lifted, the smothering fog cleared within the studio and a few smiles were even cracked.
“Ding dong, the witch is dead,” Jon announced finally and Ryan laughed, feeling incredibly relieved that she was finally gone.
Keltie sighed next to him and cracked a reluctant smile. “Well, that’s over for now.”
“Don’t get complacent,” Pete’s voice was heard over the murmur of conversation. “She still has to talk to Zack and who knows what she’ll say.”
“Way to kill the mood,” Jon tisked, slinging an arm around Pete’s shoulder and ignoring his disgruntled look. “The wicked witch is dead. And when the witch is away, the munchkins will play.”
Pete just rolled his eyes, but didn’t look too upset when Patrick whispered something in his ear and tugged him away from the group. Hardly anyone was paying attention, though, too busy talking amongst themselves.
Ryan broke away from Keltie and Jon and moved over to Brendon, who still looked out of everything.
“Hey, you okay?” he asked cautiously, pulling his chin up.
Brendon nodded. “Yeah, I just feel really tired. Way too much alcohol yesterday. I guess I figured the best way to deal with her was to not.”
Ryan smiled and pulled Brendon into a comforting hug, which Brendon accepted gratefully, clinging to Ryan.
“It’s okay. She’s gone now.”
“Gone but never really gone.” Brendon sighed against Ryan’s shoulder. “I’m worried.”
“Me too,” Ryan muttered. He hadn’t really allowed himself to imagine what possibilities might occur once Maja had her say with the producers. He didn’t want to think that he might get fired, that he might have to go slinking back to Las Vegas and try to start over again.
Brendon pulled away first, smiling slightly at Ryan, but it was more sad than anything.
“All I want to do right now is go home and go to bed,” he murmured, and Ryan nodded.
“I’ll take you,” he offered.
Brendon paused. “If you take me home, you’re not going to kiss me and claim I don’t remember, are you?”
Ryan smiled. “That was just the one time, and I promise to be a complete gentleman.”
“Maybe not a complete gentleman,” Brendon mumbled, smiling and kissing him deeply.
They were broken apart by the loud clearing of a throat and looked up to find Keltie giving them a hard look.
“If you’re going to do that, do it at home where Maja can’t spy on you.”
Ryan wasn’t sure if she was serious about the spying, but knew she had a point.
“Come on, Bren, let’s go.”
“Okay,” Brendon agreed, grabbing Ryan’s hand and letting himself be led out of the building, smiling and resting his head on Ryan’s shoulder as they walked. “You know, Ryan?” he said as they reached the parking lot.
“Hmm?”
“If either of us get fired next week, I still like you.”
Ryan felt a mixture of sadness and happiness at the same time as he opened his car door and guided Brendon inside.
“I’ll still like you too,” he promised, shutting the door and slipping into the driver’s side, starting the car, and taking off for Brendon’s apartment.
*
Monday came and no producers showed at the studio. There was still a punctured air of calm over everyone, but slowly, the practiced ease came back. Brendon perked up and began bothering Patrick again and hanging off Jon.
Spencer didn’t immediately return to his introverted self, but stayed out of it for the most part. He didn’t yell at Jon for mistakes or talk to Ryan at all.
Ryan came to realize that he was actually concerned about Spencer about three days in. As he had suspected, it did seem a little empty without Spencer’s threats to Jon. The atmosphere that had been present before Maja’s arrival would never fully be restored until they knew the full length of the consequences.
It wasn’t until Friday that the crew had any sort of idea what was going on. Zack stopped in for an unexpected visit early in the afternoon. Ryan was uneasy when he saw the producer step through the door and his eyes swept the place.
Zack didn’t stop to chat, but headed for Pete’s office and entered. The few people who had noticed Zack’s arrival gathered together to watch the door of the office.
“What do you think’s going on?” Brendon whispered, clinging to Ryan’s arm as he, Ryan, Jon, Gabe, and Alex stood in a group.
“Talking about us,” Gabe whispered back.
“You didn’t do anything,” Alex replied, keeping his voice low. “They’re probably talking about me.”
“Or Spencer,” Jon added.
“Or me,” Brendon whispered, his grip tightening for a second.
“Just hold on a minute, guys,” Ryan tried to reassure them. “They might just be talking about other things.”
“Like how Maja thinks we’re all gay and should be shut down?” Gabe snapped. “Yeah, they’re talking about that.”
Rolling his eyes, Ryan sighed. “Well, we won’t know until they tell us. Speculating won’t do any good.”
“Gossip queen, party of one,” Brendon whispered, pointing to himself. “You obviously don’t know me very well, Ryan.”
Ryan gave him a light squeeze. “Okay, but the more you think of it, the worse it will be.”
Brendon didn’t appear to be listening, so Ryan just sighed and stepped back to wait for Zack to emerge.
By the time he finally did, the whole studio had gathered and was whispering amongst themselves. Zack stepped out of the office, looking surprised at the group.
“Oh, well, this is nice. Don’t have to call for a meeting this time.” He smiled at them, but received no smiles in return. There was a pause for a moment, then Zack cleared his throat. “All right, no sense in beating around the bush. The producers have talked to Maja and talked amongst ourselves and we’ve decided on a course of action. We’ll be talking to you all individually, and unfortunately, we won’t be able to keep everyone on or in their current position. I hope there are no hard feelings.”
Zack glanced at Pete, who was looking at the ground and not meeting any of his staff’s eyes.
“Right, so we’ll just do it now and get it over with. I’d like to see Gabe first, please.”
Gabe slunk forward, his eyes darting to Bill as he went, the office door shutting behind him. As soon as it was shut, the rest of the staff crowded around Pete.
“What’s going on, Pete? Are people getting fired?”
Rubbing his forehead and pushing his way through the crowd, Pete shook his head. “I think you should just let Zack talk to you all. I need to get a drink.” He pushed past them all and headed for the fridge on the other side of the room.
They waited in silence after that, listening hard for any sign of the conversation, but heard nothing. When Gabe finally came out, he said nothing, and just told Bill that he was next.
Gabe joined Pete at the fridge and they started talking in whispered voices that no one heard.
It went like that for a while; each person emerging straight-faced and sending in another. Ryan was growing nervous and he could feel Brendon shaking beside him as he stared at the door.
Spencer had gone in a while ago and Jon was staring at the door intently as though he could see through it. He had his hands clasped behind his back and was occasionally muttering to himself.
Finally, Spencer came out and Jon’s head snapped up. Spencer sent Ryland in and hesitated before looking at Jon. There was a second’s pause and then he shook his head.
Jon’s hands unclasped and he took a swift step forward.
“Spence, they can’t do that,” he said quickly, ignoring the people watching them.
Spencer’s smile was bitter and sad. “They just did.”
“No!” Jon insisted, staring past Spencer at the door. “They can’t. You’re the best writer in Phoenix news. This is unfair!”
Spencer grabbed Jon’s arm as he made to storm into the office, and Ryan watched, stunned at the interaction. Everyone was watching, even Pete from across the room, though his expression was knowing and sad.
“Jon, stop. You remember what I told you? What we talked about?”
“Well, I don’t care!” Jon exclaimed, staring at Spencer now. “Just because you aren’t nice at work. Do they know why? Did you tell them why?”
“Oh, yeah, I told them why so that you would get fired too,” Spencer scoffed, then sighed and pulled Jon to face him. “Of course not. I wouldn’t risk your job for mine.”
“I’m going to quit then,” Jon said instead, pulling away and looking at the door again.
A quiet gasp ran around the watching crowd, but Spencer ignored them, rolling his eyes.
“No, you can’t. I’ll be fine. Don’t worry. I’ll get another job. I’m the best writer, remember?”
“That’s not funny,” Jon mumbled at Spencer’s weak smile.
“I wasn’t trying to be funny.” He sighed and wrapped his arms around Jon, despite the looks of shock they were receiving from their coworkers.
Jon sighed against Spencer’s shoulder. “Fine, I won’t quit.”
“Thank you.”
Ryan watched in complete disbelief at the change in Spencer and Jon. Spencer was whispering something in his ear and his hand was on the back of his neck. Finally, he pulled away and gave Jon a small smile.
“I have to go clean out my desk,” he said, his voice breaking slightly as he moved back.
Jon nodded resignedly. “Hey, come over later, okay?”
Spencer nodded too and backed away, making his way through the staring crowd and disappearing down the hall.
Ryan glanced at Brendon, who was staring at Jon. Jon had leaned back against the wall and was staring at the floor. He gave Brendon’s hand a slight squeeze and took a breath as the door to the office opened and Ryland emerged.
“Ryan,” he said, his voice low. Instead of continuing, he nodded at the door and Ryan prepared himself, letting go of Brendon’s hand and heading inside.
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