Falling Into Fervour: Chapter Four
Title: Falling Into Fervour - 4/6
Pairing: Colin/Ryan
Overall Rating: R
Chapter Rating: PG-13 (bordering on R, maybe)
A/N: I hope you all like bombshells. :D
~~~
Ryan awoke to the sight of sunlight flowing through the curtains, casting a bright yellow line across the room. He yawned and tried to stretch only to wince when the familiar dull ache had returned. It took him a while to realise that he was in Colin’s comfortable bed and he smiled in retrospect of Colin‘s generosity. Inhaling, Ryan breathed in the instantly recognisable musky scent of Colin that was contained within the duvet and it soothed him beyond comfort, sinking back into the mattress as if all his muscles were made of jelly. So away with the fairies was he that he never heard the door open.
“Good morning, Ryan.” Colin’s voice was soft and cheerful as he approached, breaking Ryan out of his relaxation.
“Hi,” he replied as his eyes adjusted to the light. “What time is it?”
“Coming up to 10am. Here, I made you breakfast.” Sure enough, Colin was carrying a tray of something and lowered it down so Ryan could see what was being served: Waffles with a drizzling of maple syrup and a glass of orange juice on the side.
Ryan laughed at the meal being presented to him, touched that Colin would make it for him without even asking. “Mother Hen, huh?”
“Obsessive,” Colin grinned before setting the tray down on a nearby bedside table and leaning in close to inspect the cuts on Ryan’s face, seeing if there had been any change overnight. “How’re you feeling, did you sleep okay?”
Ryan shifted, wincing ever so slightly as the familiar pain returned, a lot duller than before however. “My back hurts a bit when I move, but it’s a lot better than it was last night.”
After a minute of thought, Colin had a spark of inspiration. “Do you want me to rub your back, Ryan?” he asked, his smile warm and serious. Ryan certainly wasn’t crazy enough to turn down an offer like that.
“Sure Col. That’d be nice.”
In minutes, Ryan has rolled over onto his belly on the bed and Colin had pulled back the covers to expose his back. The bruises were still there, keeping an angry possession of the skin over Ryan‘s spine and Colin felt strangely outnumbered by them. Nevertheless, he began to glide his warm hands over the skin, smoothly and gently, as to not to hurt Ryan.
Ryan usually didn’t fancy the whole servant idea of being waited on hand and foot, but when Colin was a willing and eager volunteer, he simply couldn’t refuse him. And Ryan was, after all, in a pretty bad state to complete his daily tasks by himself. All those thoughts were now slowly disappearing as Colin’s knowing hands worked their magic over Ryan’s back, careful to avoid any sensitive spots where pain might be inflicted if he pressed too hard.
“Hmm, I have an idea.”
Before Ryan could even register Colin’s words, he felt the mattress dip as Colin crawled on top of it and then a pair of knees settled on either side of his hips when the Canadian straddled him to get a better angle. Ryan gulped silently when he felt Colin’s weight very near to his butt and he tried his best not to stiffen up (in more ways than one).
Try though he might, his body simply ignored him and began to react to Colin’s sudden extreme proximity. His mind seemed to be against him too; conjuring up images that related to the current position of their bodies. Holding back a moan, he desperately wanted to ease the growing pressure in his groin but Colin’s weight was preventing him from doing so.
“Is this all right, Ry? I’m not hurting you, am I?” Colin asked, concerned when he felt Ryan squirm a little underneath him. The tall man swallowed another whimper when Colin subconsciously rubbed the rough denim of his pants against the back of Ryan’s bare thigh.
“No… you’re not,” Ryan replied quietly, praying to whatever God there was that his voice didn’t crack.
Colin was just about to continue the massage when at that point, mercifully, the phone began to ring in the other room, completely breaking the mood. But that was okay - Ryan had found it quite unbearable.
“Hold on, I’d better get that,” Colin said apologetically and climbed off of Ryan and the bed.
Once Colin was gone, Ryan turned himself over with a groan of frustration, his expectant hard-on pushing against the constricting cloth of his boxer shorts. He huffed, thinking about what he should do. Relieving the predicament in Colin’s bedroom sounded a bit… exotic, in a weird kind of way, but it really didn’t feel like it was going to go away on its own. Considering other possibilities, Ryan then remembered the en suite bathroom and deemed this as his only option.
He slid out from under the duvet and slinked away in the direction of the bathroom, quite painfully as his body still hurt somewhat. He closed the door behind him and made sure the lock was securely in place before swiftly tending to the problem, using a towel to gag himself with for convenience.
He’d already cleaned himself up and made it back into bed before Colin returned and by this time, Ryan was busy tucking into his waffles.
“Are they nice?” Colin asked sweetly, to which his friend smiled around his mouthful of breakfast.
“Lovely,” he replied once he’d swallowed.
“That was... that was Pat on the phone.” Colin said, to which his friend began to splutter around his next mouthful of waffles. Looking up in surprise, Ryan silently thanked his wife for calling when she did. It was the second time she’d saved his bacon that week, the first time being when she said she‘d cover for him whilst he was up here in Toronto. “You didn’t tell her what happened, did you?” he asked anxiously.
Colin shook his head, sitting down on the edge of the bed and sighing. “I told her you’d be staying with me for a while, but she didn’t actually ask why. Then she started chatting to me about my divorce and all that formality.”
Ryan looked blankly into the distance for a while; so much for knowing her husband back to front. “She didn’t sound worried at all?”
“Well, she did sound concerned when she realised you might not have enough clothes here,” Colin laughed a bit. “And she wondered when you were coming home.”
Ryan sighed, looking down at his half-eaten waffles. “Maybe I’ll give it a week or two. I’m not sure if I can go out on my own again after last night…” He shivered as the unwelcome memories returned. “And I… I don’t want to leave you yet.” he admitted, fiddling with his fork. Colin leaned over and placed two fingers under Ryan’s chin, tilting his head up.
“You take as long as you need. I‘m not expecting you to leave anytime soon and the company is nice. We‘ll be like roommates, only… older and more odd than the Odd Couple. The gay Mother Hen and the tall circus freak, coming soon to ABC.”
Ryan laughed, put at ease as usual by Colin’s comedic side. “Thanks, Col,” he said softly. The older man put on a sweet smile, getting up to leave when Ryan suddenly clapped his hands twice. “Cup of coffee, my servant. Chop, chop!”
“Whatever you say, oh great big-nosed one.” Colin said innocently when Ryan rolled his eyes and glared, then laughed manically and scrammed out the door as Ryan tossed a shoe at him, only for it to hit the doorframe and land on the carpet with a soft ‘thump’.
He leaned back against the headrest and sighed. The next few weeks were going to be a lot of fun.
~~~
As time progressed, the pain began to subside from Ryan’s body as his injuries slowly healed. Colin’s tender loving care and selfless nature had made the time Ryan had stayed with him very comfortable and memorable. This however, did continue the development of certain feelings and emotions towards Colin that Ryan found harder and harder to suppress each time. Though it killed him to say it, he always managed to convince himself that it meant nothing and that these new perseverant feelings were simply the result of living so close to Colin.
All in all, both men were enjoying the company immensely. The old chemistry that somehow connected them was stronger than ever and it felt like they were 20 years old again. It was a bit like a mini-vacation and Ryan really wasn’t looking forward to going home since he and Colin had such a great time living together. The only other time they felt like this was when the both lived in Vancouver together thirty odd years ago, when their friendship first blossomed.
Despite the enjoyable time he’d spent at Colin’s, Ryan felt like it was compulsory to return home and he awaited the day that he would inevitably drive back to America. It wasn’t that he didn’t love his family or his home very much, but since he had gone into semi-retirement he felt like all he had done for the past 5 years was kick around the place, moping about how great life had been once upon a time. Whereas over the last few weeks, he had made some terrific memories. It’s just ironic how it took such unpleasant events for things to unfold this way.
So, now that his wounds had nicely restored leaving a barely noticeable collection of scars, Ryan decided to drive home the following Wednesday, giving one more week in Colin’s company. A week, he figured, would give him just enough time to build up the courage and tell Colin how he really felt about him, how he’d always felt. The plan was perfect, Ryan assumed; until Colin dropped a massive bombshell, of course, tearing the plan to shreds.
“Ryan! I’ve got great news,” he said, running into the living area all excited like a young boy who’d been given a new puppy. Ryan had been flicking through channels on the TV, but finding nothing to watch had lead him to read the newspaper instead. He glanced up at the excitable man and smiled.
“You’re hair is growing again?” he joked, earning a light slap on the arm as Colin sat down beside him.
“No, I’ve found this great new house on the market that’s just brilliant. It’s a fantastic price, the layout is perfect and there’s a cool climate. I absolutely love it.” Colin described this new accommodation like he was dreaming and Ryan felt his insides melt when he saw the dazed look on his face.
“Col, that’s great!” Ryan grinned, clapping his friend on the shoulder. “Where is this dream house then?”
Colin’s smile faltered slightly when he replied. “It’s… it’s in New Zealand.”
The newspaper almost fell from Ryan’s grasp when he heard that; the news hit him like a punch to the face. “New Zealand?” he repeated, a little more squeaky than he’d intended.
“I know it’s really far away but it’s such beautiful place, the weather’s always nice… I’ve just always wanted to go there.”
Ryan was still completely stunned speechless, so Colin kept going. “Think about it: I get divorced and then this fantastic house becomes available. Can you not see that as a sign?”
Ryan wanted to argue, plead, beg with Colin to stay in Canada or somewhere that wasn’t over thousands of miles of ocean away. How could Colin fly off and expect everything to go on as normal? It was clear that Ryan had fallen into fervour; this deep passion and commitment to Colin that he simply couldn’t extinguish or disregard.
But for some reason, Ryan didn’t argue or plead or beg. Something told him to go along with it and pretend to be happy. Hell, he was happy for Colin. He’d found somewhere he belonged, but it just broke Ryan’s heart to think that this somewhere Colin belonged didn’t include Ryan standing beside him, the way that Ryan himself had recently pictured it.
“When are you leaving?” he heard himself ask, a frown on his face.
Colin shrugged. “I figured I’d catch a flight out the same day you went home, next Wednesday. It just… kinda makes sense I suppose.”
Ryan nodded automatically, feeling a strange new weight on his shoulders. Forcing a smile, he reached out and hugged Colin close, breathing in his scent, memorising it. “I’m happy for you,” he said, but he didn’t even know if he really meant it. “Thanks Ryan, thank you for being so supportive,” replied Colin as they pulled back, looking into each other’s eyes.
Once Colin had retreated into the bedroom, Ryan looked sadly at the door he had just gone through, tears obscuring his view.
“Yeah, supportive...” he whispered solemnly as the tears slipped down his cheeks.
To be continued…