come together - brendon/ryan/keltie
brendon/ryan/keltie, '06 vmas to present
very light r, ~2700 words ♥
i.
Ryan sees her first, but Brendon talks to her first. That's how it is with them, for now - Ryan never acts fast enough, too shy, too afraid. He needs Brendon to be his voice for more than just his songs.
Brendon makes her laugh, loud and bright, and Ryan feels like an idiot when jealousy twists in his stomach. They've barely known each other three hours and she's already half bent over from laughter, hand pressed tight over the corset around her waist. Brendon looks stupid with his bright red, skin tight t-shirt, standing next to beautiful women in costume, but he fits.
When she's pulling Brendon's black Sharpie out of his pocket (he keeps one on him all the time now, it's just a habit,) and neatly printing a number onto his palm, Ryan makes himself turn away.
Fifteen minutes later, he gets a text message from Brendon with a 10-digit number and you should talk to her. Ryan's heart flutters in his chest and he locks the message, biting his lip.
ii.
Keltie knows her routine backwards and forwards - she picks up the moves faster than she gets credit for. When they finally move out to practice on the main stage, she sees how they act together, even during run-throughs. She knows what it's like to be in tune with people, she has to, it's her job.
Oh, she thinks, and smiles to herself.
iii.
Brendon stares at the black smudge on the inside of his glove, ink transferred to fabric from his sweat.
iv.
They find each other at the after-party, and she smiles while Ryan resists rubbing his face, knowing it would just smudge his makeup. He's nervous - Brendon has Brittany and Spencer has Haley and Jon has Cassie and he feels more alone than he has in years.
"Happy late birthday, by the way," she says, smiling softly, looking right at him. Ryan stares at his feet. "Brendon told me it was yesterday. Brendon, Bden? That's what he told me to call him, at least," she shrugs, and Ryan snorts despite himself.
"He's stupid," he mumbles, "Thank you." He can't seem to get more words out.
"I gave him my number to give to you, by the way," she clarifies, and he raises an eyebrow. "He told me more about you than he did himself."
Ryan kisses her before he leaves. He pulls out his phone before he's even settled in his seat on the van.
v.
Ryan's not a virgin, but the first time he's with Keltie, he sure as hell feels like it.
She takes the lead and pushes him onto his back, straddling his thighs and undoing his jeans quickly. After she gets his pants down far enough to pull his cock out, she laughs a little in surprise, "Jesus, Ryan," and wraps her hand around him.
Keltie stays on top (the first time), grabbing Ryan's hands and lacing their fingers together, holding him down while she rides him.
He comes faster than he should.
vi.
More than halfway through the European tour, after their set of dates at the Brixton (the fucking Brixton, four nights sold out, they're still fucking baffled), Ryan is tired.
He and Brendon watch the default hotel menu for a half hour, Brendon slumped over in Ryan's lap, falling asleep on his thigh. Ryan sighs and scratches absently at his head, smiling when Brendon hums sleepily.
"M'tired," Brendon mumbles, as if it wasn't obvious.
"Get up, then," Ryan says, barely stopping himself from yawning. Brendon grumbles but obeys, sitting up blearily and blinking at Ryan.
"Gonna sleep," Brendon murmurs, looking over Ryan's face. He doesn't move. Ryan looks back at him, somewhat curious, and he gasps quietly in his throat when Brendon leans in close enough for their noses to brush.
"What're you-" Ryan starts, cutting himself off when Brendon softly kisses his mouth. Ryan kisses back.
vii.
The message comes through at around 9pm, and Keltie knows that's got to be at least 4am where they are, somewhere in Europe. He seems mostly confused, maybe less upset than he should be, and Keltie's just surprised it hadn't happened before now (or hadn't been happening all along).
whatever makes you happy, she sends back, and gets you make me happy in return.
viii.
Somewhere in the short time between the Europe tour and Nothing Rhymes With Circus, something shifts with Brendon. His gaze lingers longer and darker and it makes Ryan uncomfortable with want every time he catches him looking.
It's not just onstage, but that's when it's magnified. The words are scripted, but the actions are all Brendon - usually Ryan can restrain himself, but some nights Brendon's fingers brush over the curve of his ass when he presses up close, his lips burning hot against Ryan's jaw, and those nights, Ryan always ends up hard.
Brendon turns rough and sadistic, and Ryan would push him away and tell him to fucking stop it, but he can't. He likes it more than he'll ever admit - likes the anxiety beforehand, how hard his heart beats when Brendon pins his wrists to the wall and presses his thigh between his legs.
He's irrationally possessive and jealous, and it pisses Ryan the fuck off and makes him feel too hot in his skin. He's aware their relationship is completely unhealthy and sometimes he convinces himself he's going to break it off, he has to.
Quickly, he realizes he can never say no to Brendon and mean it.
ix.
He might be the only one to feel it, but Brendon is tense during dinner. It's New Year's and they're playing live again soon and he should be excited, but - Keltie looks gorgeous and he's somewhat intimidated.
She reaches over, more than once, and scratches lightly at his head, amused by how much he enjoys it. Ryan rolls his eyes, but Brendon can feel the press of their knees together under the table, and he leans in to Keltie's touch.
x.
They're together, all three of them, for the first time that night.
Instead of staying at the hotel like they planned, Keltie invites them to her apartment. "It's not much," she says with a shrug. Ryan's been there, but Brendon hasn't. "It's cozier than a hotel, at least."
Brendon tries to decline, doesn't want to intrude, but Keltie convinces him while Ryan holds her hand, watching quietly.
They don't touch each other at all, at least not on purpose. Brendon takes Ryan from behind while he's fucking Keltie - he feels her legs brushing against the outsides of his thighs each time he thrusts, and he groans into the back of Ryan's neck, biting down as he comes to orgasm.
xi.
Keltie touches Ryan with twice the intensity that she usually does, her nails leaving red lines under his ribs. She bites her lip and wonders what it would be like to bite Brendon's instead.
xii.
Somehow, during their stay at the cabin, Brendon falls in love with Ryan.
Or, rather, he realizes he's in love with Ryan, has been for a while. The songs they're writing are complicated and gratifying, but it takes a lot out of Ryan. He goes off by himself often, and Brendon knows he should give him space, but he can't help it when he looks for him.
He finds him sitting in the woods this time, looking up through the ceiling of leaves to the overcast sky. It's Ryan's favorite kind of day - the sky is dark but not menacing, and the absence of the sun makes the breezes cooler. He looks darkly ethereal in the light, the stubble on his face accentuated by the shadows.
"I love you," Brendon says before he can think about it, and Ryan just looks at him. He's not particularly surprised, and Brendon can't see it, but his pulse speeds up significantly.
"I know," he says carefully, and Brendon's content to sit beside him and think for a while.
xiii.
Keltie doesn't get lonely much. She knows Ryan loves her and she knows she has Brendon if she needs him, but sometimes it hurts for her, having to be so far away.
"He won't get off me," Ryan laughs, and she thinks they're probably high. She sighs and holds the phone against her other ear.
"C'mon, baby," Brendon murmurs, and she hears them kiss, Ryan's quiet hum.
"I'm just gonna call you back, Ryan," she sighs again. She'd kind of wanted to talk to her boyfriend, but he's obviously a bit preoccupied.
"Are you sure? I can - stop, I'm - I can still talk!"
"No, it's okay. I'm gonna go. I have to get ready to meet Christina anyway, she's got a gig tonight," she lies.
"If you're sure," Ryan says, and she's angry at the smile in his voice. "I love you, babe."
"I love you too," she mumbles back. It doesn't matter how mad she is at him or if he's even too trashed to remember later. He deserves to hear it every day.
xiv.
Turning twenty-one, Ryan decides, is the best thing he's ever done.
Keltie pops out of a box for him, and he's got a refreshing break from his band for the night, heading back to Keltie's apartment after the party. It's messy and small, like always, a comforting contrast to how bare his new house is.
She undresses him slowly, pressing soft kisses along his throat and shoulder while she pushes his shirt off. Ryan sighs happily and runs his fingers through her hair - he missed this, how soft and sweet she can be, too used to Brendon's rougher hands instead.
He laces their fingers together while he's inside her and realizes they do that often, always trying to get closer, keep holding on. After, Keltie tells him she loves him and Ryan says it back.
xv.
At the airport in Seattle, Brendon sings him happy birthday and laughs when Ryan rolls his eyes. He asks where Spencer and Jon are, and Brendon just smiles and shrugs.
They go out, just the two of them, and Brendon pays for Ryan, buys him another Long Island iced tea. Back at their hotel, Brendon watches him and smiles. Ryan thinks this is my favorite city.
While Brendon's inside him, he laces their fingers together and Ryan isn't drunk enough to ignore that this means more than it usually does. This time, when Brendon says he loves him, Ryan says it back.
xvi.
Things are so, so much easier with Keltie. That's what Ryan loves most about her - when his band and his boyfriend and his life get too hard to handle, he knows that she's the one that will make him feel better and support him if he's right and tell him to get his shit together if he's wrong.
Fighting is unavoidable, they both know that. They usually argue about the distance and how they thought it could work but it can't, about Brendon and how Keltie thought it was a good idea at first but it's not. In the end, things are okay again and she makes them both tea.
Hobo is like his child, and he treats her as such. When they're getting ready to sleep, he'll pick her up even after she's fully grown and tuck her between them on the mattress no matter how little room they have and Keltie always smiles and indulges him, kissing her fuzzy head. He kisses Keltie over their puppy and tells her he loves her, and sometimes lets himself think about it. About how Keltie would look in a wedding dress, with a baby sleeping in her arms. She'd make a wonderful mother and he'd make an awful father, they're both something like terrified of marriage, but he can't help but wonder what it would be like, sleeping with her every night instead of in fleeting moments across the year.
She almost always sleeps with the smallest, content smile on her face, laugh lines around her eyes crinkling when Ryan brushes her hair from her face. His heart clenches, and sometimes he wishes this was all he needed.
xvii.
When Ryan sings it onstage every night, one and lonely, it never means what people think it means. Every once in a while he wishes that the lyric was literal, that he was actually lonely. That way, he'd could give his entire being to himself and only himself instead of trying to equally split his love between two people.
Keltie comes with the band on a few dates of the Honda Civic Tour. All three of them are in a good position, they feel balanced and equal and happy. The week she stays with them, she watches Brendon whisper what she imagines to be an I love you in Ryan's ear before Northern Downpour, and they both always look to wherever she's standing.
Brendon's starting to think there may be more than one person at the top of his lungs.
xviii.
"Hi," Keltie says brightly to Brendon on the other line, still breathless from the late afternoon show the Rockettes just finished. "I got a new phone!"
"What was wrong with your old one?"
"I threw it. I was still pissed about that email I got the other day, and I just kept thinking about it, and, well. One thing led to another. My poor Sidekick got cracked."
"I think you have anger issues. I hope you didn't get another 'kick, those things are shit," Brendon says decisively. "What kind do you have now?"
"It's an iPhone. I named it Bden Junior." She smiles when Brendon cackles to himself.
"You did not."
"Okay, I didn't, but I could. We're like twins now. Ryan's the only one stuck in Sidekick-land. But that's why I didn't text him back earlier, I'm still... It's really hard to use this fucking touch screen. I'm used to the keys," she rambles, claiming a spot on the floor by a window, hoping for a cold draft. She's burning up.
"I don't like texting anymore," Brendon says, "I think I'm just lazy."
"You really are. You need to get your lazy ass out here and visit me," Keltie smiles. "I'm free on Monday."
"Monday is like, day after tomorrow."
"And? You can get a plane ticket, I know that's not a problem. I'll give you the name of the hotel I'll be at once I get there, you can take a cab."
"I was just going t--"
"I miss you," Keltie adds an afterthought, interrupting Brendon's sentence. "I want you to come by yourself." Brendon's silent for a moment, and Keltie chews on her lip.
"Ryan's going to be jealous," Brendon finally says.
"It's only fair that we get alone time, too," she responds, and Brendon can't argue with that.
xix.
Brendon comes. She laughs when he pulls out a crumpled loaf of white bread and a jar of peanut butter from his suitcase, handing them to her. She tells him he's a bad influence, but makes them both sandwiches. They don't notice the crumbs on her hotel bed.
Keltie cries when he leaves. Ryan sits at home and scratches Hobo's ears.
xx.
It's different when Brendon decides he's fallen in love with Keltie, too. He's happy spooned up against Ryan's back in their bunk, but he's not completely happy, like he used to be. There's something scarily similar to emptiness that settles in his stomach at night.
Keltie cries herself to sleep more often. She tours and dances and high-kicks and she does it all without a boy, without two boys. She thought she'd given herself over to Ryan entirely, but with Brendon really in the picture now, she aches with loneliness sometimes. It didn't used to hurt so much.
Ryan never once feels like he doesn't belong, but he gets jealous more. Keltie can put the same soft smile on Brendon's face that he used to put there, and it takes time to understand the fact he's not the only one for either of them.
When they're all together, they always wake up sweaty and overheated. Brendon and Ryan link their fingers together and rest them on Keltie's hip, talking softly over her. Hobo curls up at their feet, their faces hurt from smiling, and it's all worth it.
very light r, ~2700 words ♥
i.
Ryan sees her first, but Brendon talks to her first. That's how it is with them, for now - Ryan never acts fast enough, too shy, too afraid. He needs Brendon to be his voice for more than just his songs.
Brendon makes her laugh, loud and bright, and Ryan feels like an idiot when jealousy twists in his stomach. They've barely known each other three hours and she's already half bent over from laughter, hand pressed tight over the corset around her waist. Brendon looks stupid with his bright red, skin tight t-shirt, standing next to beautiful women in costume, but he fits.
When she's pulling Brendon's black Sharpie out of his pocket (he keeps one on him all the time now, it's just a habit,) and neatly printing a number onto his palm, Ryan makes himself turn away.
Fifteen minutes later, he gets a text message from Brendon with a 10-digit number and you should talk to her. Ryan's heart flutters in his chest and he locks the message, biting his lip.
ii.
Keltie knows her routine backwards and forwards - she picks up the moves faster than she gets credit for. When they finally move out to practice on the main stage, she sees how they act together, even during run-throughs. She knows what it's like to be in tune with people, she has to, it's her job.
Oh, she thinks, and smiles to herself.
iii.
Brendon stares at the black smudge on the inside of his glove, ink transferred to fabric from his sweat.
iv.
They find each other at the after-party, and she smiles while Ryan resists rubbing his face, knowing it would just smudge his makeup. He's nervous - Brendon has Brittany and Spencer has Haley and Jon has Cassie and he feels more alone than he has in years.
"Happy late birthday, by the way," she says, smiling softly, looking right at him. Ryan stares at his feet. "Brendon told me it was yesterday. Brendon, Bden? That's what he told me to call him, at least," she shrugs, and Ryan snorts despite himself.
"He's stupid," he mumbles, "Thank you." He can't seem to get more words out.
"I gave him my number to give to you, by the way," she clarifies, and he raises an eyebrow. "He told me more about you than he did himself."
Ryan kisses her before he leaves. He pulls out his phone before he's even settled in his seat on the van.
v.
Ryan's not a virgin, but the first time he's with Keltie, he sure as hell feels like it.
She takes the lead and pushes him onto his back, straddling his thighs and undoing his jeans quickly. After she gets his pants down far enough to pull his cock out, she laughs a little in surprise, "Jesus, Ryan," and wraps her hand around him.
Keltie stays on top (the first time), grabbing Ryan's hands and lacing their fingers together, holding him down while she rides him.
He comes faster than he should.
vi.
More than halfway through the European tour, after their set of dates at the Brixton (the fucking Brixton, four nights sold out, they're still fucking baffled), Ryan is tired.
He and Brendon watch the default hotel menu for a half hour, Brendon slumped over in Ryan's lap, falling asleep on his thigh. Ryan sighs and scratches absently at his head, smiling when Brendon hums sleepily.
"M'tired," Brendon mumbles, as if it wasn't obvious.
"Get up, then," Ryan says, barely stopping himself from yawning. Brendon grumbles but obeys, sitting up blearily and blinking at Ryan.
"Gonna sleep," Brendon murmurs, looking over Ryan's face. He doesn't move. Ryan looks back at him, somewhat curious, and he gasps quietly in his throat when Brendon leans in close enough for their noses to brush.
"What're you-" Ryan starts, cutting himself off when Brendon softly kisses his mouth. Ryan kisses back.
vii.
The message comes through at around 9pm, and Keltie knows that's got to be at least 4am where they are, somewhere in Europe. He seems mostly confused, maybe less upset than he should be, and Keltie's just surprised it hadn't happened before now (or hadn't been happening all along).
whatever makes you happy, she sends back, and gets you make me happy in return.
viii.
Somewhere in the short time between the Europe tour and Nothing Rhymes With Circus, something shifts with Brendon. His gaze lingers longer and darker and it makes Ryan uncomfortable with want every time he catches him looking.
It's not just onstage, but that's when it's magnified. The words are scripted, but the actions are all Brendon - usually Ryan can restrain himself, but some nights Brendon's fingers brush over the curve of his ass when he presses up close, his lips burning hot against Ryan's jaw, and those nights, Ryan always ends up hard.
Brendon turns rough and sadistic, and Ryan would push him away and tell him to fucking stop it, but he can't. He likes it more than he'll ever admit - likes the anxiety beforehand, how hard his heart beats when Brendon pins his wrists to the wall and presses his thigh between his legs.
He's irrationally possessive and jealous, and it pisses Ryan the fuck off and makes him feel too hot in his skin. He's aware their relationship is completely unhealthy and sometimes he convinces himself he's going to break it off, he has to.
Quickly, he realizes he can never say no to Brendon and mean it.
ix.
He might be the only one to feel it, but Brendon is tense during dinner. It's New Year's and they're playing live again soon and he should be excited, but - Keltie looks gorgeous and he's somewhat intimidated.
She reaches over, more than once, and scratches lightly at his head, amused by how much he enjoys it. Ryan rolls his eyes, but Brendon can feel the press of their knees together under the table, and he leans in to Keltie's touch.
x.
They're together, all three of them, for the first time that night.
Instead of staying at the hotel like they planned, Keltie invites them to her apartment. "It's not much," she says with a shrug. Ryan's been there, but Brendon hasn't. "It's cozier than a hotel, at least."
Brendon tries to decline, doesn't want to intrude, but Keltie convinces him while Ryan holds her hand, watching quietly.
They don't touch each other at all, at least not on purpose. Brendon takes Ryan from behind while he's fucking Keltie - he feels her legs brushing against the outsides of his thighs each time he thrusts, and he groans into the back of Ryan's neck, biting down as he comes to orgasm.
xi.
Keltie touches Ryan with twice the intensity that she usually does, her nails leaving red lines under his ribs. She bites her lip and wonders what it would be like to bite Brendon's instead.
xii.
Somehow, during their stay at the cabin, Brendon falls in love with Ryan.
Or, rather, he realizes he's in love with Ryan, has been for a while. The songs they're writing are complicated and gratifying, but it takes a lot out of Ryan. He goes off by himself often, and Brendon knows he should give him space, but he can't help it when he looks for him.
He finds him sitting in the woods this time, looking up through the ceiling of leaves to the overcast sky. It's Ryan's favorite kind of day - the sky is dark but not menacing, and the absence of the sun makes the breezes cooler. He looks darkly ethereal in the light, the stubble on his face accentuated by the shadows.
"I love you," Brendon says before he can think about it, and Ryan just looks at him. He's not particularly surprised, and Brendon can't see it, but his pulse speeds up significantly.
"I know," he says carefully, and Brendon's content to sit beside him and think for a while.
xiii.
Keltie doesn't get lonely much. She knows Ryan loves her and she knows she has Brendon if she needs him, but sometimes it hurts for her, having to be so far away.
"He won't get off me," Ryan laughs, and she thinks they're probably high. She sighs and holds the phone against her other ear.
"C'mon, baby," Brendon murmurs, and she hears them kiss, Ryan's quiet hum.
"I'm just gonna call you back, Ryan," she sighs again. She'd kind of wanted to talk to her boyfriend, but he's obviously a bit preoccupied.
"Are you sure? I can - stop, I'm - I can still talk!"
"No, it's okay. I'm gonna go. I have to get ready to meet Christina anyway, she's got a gig tonight," she lies.
"If you're sure," Ryan says, and she's angry at the smile in his voice. "I love you, babe."
"I love you too," she mumbles back. It doesn't matter how mad she is at him or if he's even too trashed to remember later. He deserves to hear it every day.
xiv.
Turning twenty-one, Ryan decides, is the best thing he's ever done.
Keltie pops out of a box for him, and he's got a refreshing break from his band for the night, heading back to Keltie's apartment after the party. It's messy and small, like always, a comforting contrast to how bare his new house is.
She undresses him slowly, pressing soft kisses along his throat and shoulder while she pushes his shirt off. Ryan sighs happily and runs his fingers through her hair - he missed this, how soft and sweet she can be, too used to Brendon's rougher hands instead.
He laces their fingers together while he's inside her and realizes they do that often, always trying to get closer, keep holding on. After, Keltie tells him she loves him and Ryan says it back.
xv.
At the airport in Seattle, Brendon sings him happy birthday and laughs when Ryan rolls his eyes. He asks where Spencer and Jon are, and Brendon just smiles and shrugs.
They go out, just the two of them, and Brendon pays for Ryan, buys him another Long Island iced tea. Back at their hotel, Brendon watches him and smiles. Ryan thinks this is my favorite city.
While Brendon's inside him, he laces their fingers together and Ryan isn't drunk enough to ignore that this means more than it usually does. This time, when Brendon says he loves him, Ryan says it back.
xvi.
Things are so, so much easier with Keltie. That's what Ryan loves most about her - when his band and his boyfriend and his life get too hard to handle, he knows that she's the one that will make him feel better and support him if he's right and tell him to get his shit together if he's wrong.
Fighting is unavoidable, they both know that. They usually argue about the distance and how they thought it could work but it can't, about Brendon and how Keltie thought it was a good idea at first but it's not. In the end, things are okay again and she makes them both tea.
Hobo is like his child, and he treats her as such. When they're getting ready to sleep, he'll pick her up even after she's fully grown and tuck her between them on the mattress no matter how little room they have and Keltie always smiles and indulges him, kissing her fuzzy head. He kisses Keltie over their puppy and tells her he loves her, and sometimes lets himself think about it. About how Keltie would look in a wedding dress, with a baby sleeping in her arms. She'd make a wonderful mother and he'd make an awful father, they're both something like terrified of marriage, but he can't help but wonder what it would be like, sleeping with her every night instead of in fleeting moments across the year.
She almost always sleeps with the smallest, content smile on her face, laugh lines around her eyes crinkling when Ryan brushes her hair from her face. His heart clenches, and sometimes he wishes this was all he needed.
xvii.
When Ryan sings it onstage every night, one and lonely, it never means what people think it means. Every once in a while he wishes that the lyric was literal, that he was actually lonely. That way, he'd could give his entire being to himself and only himself instead of trying to equally split his love between two people.
Keltie comes with the band on a few dates of the Honda Civic Tour. All three of them are in a good position, they feel balanced and equal and happy. The week she stays with them, she watches Brendon whisper what she imagines to be an I love you in Ryan's ear before Northern Downpour, and they both always look to wherever she's standing.
Brendon's starting to think there may be more than one person at the top of his lungs.
xviii.
"Hi," Keltie says brightly to Brendon on the other line, still breathless from the late afternoon show the Rockettes just finished. "I got a new phone!"
"What was wrong with your old one?"
"I threw it. I was still pissed about that email I got the other day, and I just kept thinking about it, and, well. One thing led to another. My poor Sidekick got cracked."
"I think you have anger issues. I hope you didn't get another 'kick, those things are shit," Brendon says decisively. "What kind do you have now?"
"It's an iPhone. I named it Bden Junior." She smiles when Brendon cackles to himself.
"You did not."
"Okay, I didn't, but I could. We're like twins now. Ryan's the only one stuck in Sidekick-land. But that's why I didn't text him back earlier, I'm still... It's really hard to use this fucking touch screen. I'm used to the keys," she rambles, claiming a spot on the floor by a window, hoping for a cold draft. She's burning up.
"I don't like texting anymore," Brendon says, "I think I'm just lazy."
"You really are. You need to get your lazy ass out here and visit me," Keltie smiles. "I'm free on Monday."
"Monday is like, day after tomorrow."
"And? You can get a plane ticket, I know that's not a problem. I'll give you the name of the hotel I'll be at once I get there, you can take a cab."
"I was just going t--"
"I miss you," Keltie adds an afterthought, interrupting Brendon's sentence. "I want you to come by yourself." Brendon's silent for a moment, and Keltie chews on her lip.
"Ryan's going to be jealous," Brendon finally says.
"It's only fair that we get alone time, too," she responds, and Brendon can't argue with that.
xix.
Brendon comes. She laughs when he pulls out a crumpled loaf of white bread and a jar of peanut butter from his suitcase, handing them to her. She tells him he's a bad influence, but makes them both sandwiches. They don't notice the crumbs on her hotel bed.
Keltie cries when he leaves. Ryan sits at home and scratches Hobo's ears.
xx.
It's different when Brendon decides he's fallen in love with Keltie, too. He's happy spooned up against Ryan's back in their bunk, but he's not completely happy, like he used to be. There's something scarily similar to emptiness that settles in his stomach at night.
Keltie cries herself to sleep more often. She tours and dances and high-kicks and she does it all without a boy, without two boys. She thought she'd given herself over to Ryan entirely, but with Brendon really in the picture now, she aches with loneliness sometimes. It didn't used to hurt so much.
Ryan never once feels like he doesn't belong, but he gets jealous more. Keltie can put the same soft smile on Brendon's face that he used to put there, and it takes time to understand the fact he's not the only one for either of them.
When they're all together, they always wake up sweaty and overheated. Brendon and Ryan link their fingers together and rest them on Keltie's hip, talking softly over her. Hobo curls up at their feet, their faces hurt from smiling, and it's all worth it.