Alex Greenwald Smells Like Team Spirit [standalone]
Title: Alex Greenwald Smells Like Team Spirit [standalone]
Author: minus_four
Rating: R (sexual content)
Pairing: Ryan Ross and Alex Greenwald - Rolex ;)
POV: 3rd, present
Summary: “But I have to get on the team,” he says, frowning worriedly and shaking his head, eyes still staring slightly upwards into Alex’s. “I won’t get into college without those extra credit requirements. I’ll never get a decent job and I’ll end up doing something soulless and vacuous for money like modelling for The Gap,” Ryan finishes, his voice still begging but one corner of his lips twitching upwards in a definite teasing smirk, Alex returning the smile as they both recognise the ridiculousness of what they’re doing.
Disclaimer: This wasn’t caught on video like Alex’s singing and Ryan dancing and playing percussion with the football, so the world will never know. Not real guys.
Author Notes: This was born out of this video, elements of which I mention in the disclaimer, and mine and lolab’s minds from which came the assumption they were role playing lol (because seriously, what else is Ryan doing with a football?), and my new obsession with Alex Greenwald’s voice. Basically.
Dedication: lolab, of course, and all lovers of Alex Greenwald’s voice ♥
Ryan had known. He’d known that giving a very distractible Brendon Urie a football to throw around near trees was not exactly the greatest of ideas if the Phantom Planet guys wanted to still have a football at the end of the day. But apparently they just haven’t been on tour with them long enough yet to learn this because ten minutes later here they are.
Or, more accurately, here Ryan is.
Brendon had dragged Ryan off in the direction of his miscalculated throw where the football had bounced off into the nearby trees. It isn’t exactly a forest or anything, more a stretch of trees and bushes and grass only really thick enough to separate the areas of field around them but apparently thick enough to lose a football in quite easily. It might have been easier to find the thing, Ryan thinks, if it wasn’t such a similar color to the wood and earth and everything, but also if Brendon hadn’t abandoned the search after poking around for all of three minutes and declaring the football ‘lost forever’ in a sad, defeated tone.
Well, Ryan reconsiders as he keeps on poking around some of the longer grass with his foot, smirking a little just to himself, it was sad and defeated until, that is, until his face lit up on remembering that Darren had a hackey sack with him “because Darren’s just awesome like that”, and Ryan’s pretty sure the look on Brendon’s face wasn’t so much to do with the new game as much as who he was getting to play it with. Ever since Brendon had seen Darren playing the Mario Brothers theme on his bass (which, Ryan has to admit, was pretty cool), Ryan had been hearing the words “because Darren’s just awesome like that” come from Brendon’s mouth at least once on a daily basis, and frequently nudging Jon and Spence, nodding his head in the direction of where Brendon was talking to Darren, backstage or maybe outside their bus, so they could all share a smile at how excited and rambling Bren was getting, longing puppy eyes in full effect on an oblivious Darren.
Finally locating the football (a whole two minutes after Brendon declared the search a hopeless cause and a waste of their time, though for that Ryan read ‘a waste of Brendon’s time when he could be hanging out with Darren’), Ryan hooks the ball from under the bush with his foot and picks it up before walking over to the nearest tree and sitting down with his back leaning against the trunk. It’s nice, he thinks to himself; the shade of the trees, the quiet, a little solitude. And it really, really has nothing to do with sucking at Hackey Sack and much more to do with having a little time to himself, to think, as if Ryan doesn’t do enough of that already.
Ryan’s kind of jealous if he’s honest with himself. Not of Darren. Not of the way he’s suddenly getting all of Brendon’s attention. No way. That’s… No, Ryan tries not to think about what that little burst of defensiveness means when, you know, it’s in his head, not out loud, and there’s no one around anyway. But no, Ryan’s kind of jealous of how easy Brendon seems to find it to be open around someone he likes, or anyone really. And sure, it’s maybe got something to do with the way the filter between Brendon’s brain and his mouth sort of disappears completely when he’s around someone he likes, but it does just seem so easy for Brendon anyway, and Ryan just doesn’t get it. When Ryan tries to get anything out, especially if he’s around someone who he really cares about liking him, it’s like the opposite happens and Ryan has to really push it, just like force words to pass from his mind to his mouth.
Still staring down at the football in his lap, Ryan hears the sounds of feet moving through grass and a couple of twigs snapping, and looks up quickly to see the approaching someone. Given what Ryan has just been thinking about, it would be Alex, wouldn’t it? And, of course, Ryan’s mind, which is always working, always thinking, comes up with nothing. Not even a “Hi” for fuck’s sake. No, of course Ryan just sits there, awkward and silent, for the ten seconds or so which pass until Alex smiles at him, luckily speaking soon after because, that? That doesn’t exactly help with the whole inability to form words thing.
“I’m the search party,” Alex states simply, still smiling.
“I already found it,” Ryan lifts the football in one hand as if Alex can’t already see it right there in front of him.
“The Ryan Ross search party,” Alex clarifies, walking over and sitting down next Ryan, nudging him with an elbow to get him to move up a little so they can both fit there leaning back against the tree. “We could buy a new football, but I’m pretty sure we couldn’t buy another Ryan Ross, and I’m definitely sure that the football would suck at filling in on ‘Do the Panic’ for me,” he laughs, and Ryan finds a similar sound drawn from himself even as his stomach keeps twisting itself into nervous knots, because… well. Because maybe Ryan really cares about Alex liking him.
“Yeah, it kind of helps if you can actually, you know, hold a guitar,” Ryan says, turning his head to see Alex just nodding at him before he answers solemnly:
“Exactly.”
After a pretty good start (a whole sentence, with emphasis and everything), Ryan’s mind goes blank again. Or rather he can’t pick out anything from the huge number of thoughts buzzing in his brain, of how this should be easy, but isn’t, and there’s so many things he could just start talking about, if Ryan could just pick one. The second Ryan forces himself to just say something and throws it out into the slightly awkward silence which has fallen, he regrets it.
“I always kind of wanted to play football,” he says, fidgeting with the football in his lap and turning it around in his hands. Taking just a moment to close his eyes and cringe inwardly, Ryan makes himself look at Alex.
Alex stares. Alex stares for a few seconds, and then he laughs. He laughs loud and long, almost losing his balance leaning back against the tree as he just goes on, even surprising Ryan with the sheer length of time his laughter laughs for, because on tour with Phantom Planet you see a lot of laughter.
After a while he manages to control himself again, taking in a couple of deep breaths through his nose and forcing himself to think about things which are Not Funny At All, which is just so hard right now since all Alex can see in his mind is Ryan trying to face down some huge quarterback on the field, or better yet trying to throw a football more than a few feet (which is easier since Alex had actually gotten to see that one for himself earlier).
“That’s… uh. That’s nice,” Alex finally says, trying and failing to hide another bubble of laughter under a cough.
Ryan just rolls his eyes at Alex before pushing himself up with one hand and getting to his feet, picking up the football from the ground as soon as he’s regained his balance.
“I could totally get on any team I wanted,” Ryan declares matter of factly as Alex gets up as well, because just about enough defensiveness and pride has kicked in at this point to make Ryan’s nervousness fade into the background.
“And how is that?” Alex answers sceptically. “Killing off the competition?” he asks teasingly, laughing a little.
“No,” Ryan just shakes his head. “Special skills,” he says, letting a smirk creep onto his face as he watches Alex think about exactly what he means by that for a few seconds. “Just imagine,” Ryan continues, focusing on maintaining the expression of curiosity and bemusement which now graces Alex’s features, “if you were the coach, and I came into your office,” he goes on slowly, stepping just a little closer to Alex and staring into his eyes, only a few inches away now as he keeps going without letting himself think too much, because really, this is just… very different now, and a little weird, but he just doesn’t want to stop just yet, “and I begged you to give me a place on the team, would you say no?”
“Well.” Alex silently congratulates himself on that syllable not coming out high pitched or anything and his ability to keep his voice pretty level after that, given the way Ryan’s looking at him now, eyes wide while he’s fucking well biting his lip now. “Wouldn’t really be fair to the rest of the team now, would it?”
“But…” Ryan feels himself slip into… what? A character? A game? Whatever it is, and for whatever reason neither of them are stopping it, Ryan’s voice changes then, taking on a tone of need, of… desperation. “But I have to get on the team,” he says, frowning worriedly and shaking his head, eyes still staring slightly upwards into Alex’s. “I won’t get into college without those extra credit requirements. I’ll never get a decent job and I’ll end up doing something soulless and vacuous for money like modelling for The Gap,” Ryan finishes, his voice still begging but one corner of his lips twitching upwards in a definite teasing smirk, Alex returning the smile as they both recognise the ridiculousness of what they’re doing. It’s a game, though, and it may be pretty different from the game going on out in the field between their bandmates, but it’s still what a game is meant to be: Fun.
“I wish I could help,” Alex shakes his head, “but -”
“Please,” Ryan bites his lip again and suddenly there’s an innocence to Ryan’s tone along with the desperation that shouldn’t be hot, shouldn’t make something deep inside Alex’s stomach jump, but it is, and it does. “I’ll do… anything.” Ryan slowly trails his index finger down the length of Alex’s chest, the innocence in his eyes being replaced by a dark kind of intent and… lust, Alex’s mind supplies without his permission, perhaps because the very same feeling has just flared up in his own head. Except maybe ‘head’ isn’t exactly the right word. Or, you know, maybe it is Alex corrects himself as another part of him, a little lower than his stomach, jumps and twitches slightly when Ryan smirks at him. And… yeah. When did that happen?
His expression going back to normal, the look on Ryan’s face more self satisfied now than desperate and wanting, despite the fact that he does… want, the younger man goes to step away only to find Alex reaching out to grab the sleeve of his shirt, keeping him where he is.
“Hey.” Alex registers acting after he’s actually done it and pauses, letting a smile creep onto his face as he decides to speak again. Apparently, even surprising himself, Alex isn’t done playing yet. “So… Ross. Just how badly do you want to get on this team, again?” Alex asks, looking Ryan up and down as the other male smiles before forcing himself to straighten his face and get back in the game.
“So bad,” Ryan works at putting a little more emotion in his voice, widening his eyes again as he begs. “Please. Please, coach,” Ryan has to fight really hard now to keep himself from breaking into a full on smirk as he watches Alex’s Adam’s apple bob when he swallows hard, the older man trying to step back a little when Ryan leans closer only to make it barely half a step before his back hit’s the tree behind him and Alex stumbles a little, looking down and breathing out a laugh before raising his head to meet Ryan’s pleading gaze again. For someone who isn’t exactly hugely expressive most of the time, Ryan’s pretty good at calling it up when he wants to. And he knows it, Alex thinks as he and Ryan exchange a slight smile, Alex nodding as Ryan moves forward a little, raising a questioning eyebrow. “I…” Ryan starts as the idea enters his mind and he stops himself from thinking too much about it, then lifts his hands to his collar and slowly begins to undo the first few buttons of his shirt without ever taking his eyes off Alex’s. “I’ll do anything,” he repeats, his heart suddenly thudding hard in his chest because this… this is maybe just not a game anymore, and Ryan’s terrified he’s misjudged Alex’s reactions, overstepped boundaries, and quite possibly fucked everything up.
Then Alex grins, his expression slightly disbelieving but undeniably seeming pretty happy about the situation, and Ryan starts breathing again. A second or two after that, though, the whole process of breathing in and out becomes inexplicably hard again. Okay, not so inexplicably, Ryan acknowledges as Alex reaches forward to replace Ryan’s hands with his own, undoing the rest of Ryan’s buttons and letting his shirt fall open.
Alex strokes the back of his hand down across Ryan’s chest for a few moments, just barely letting his knuckles graze over Ryan’s skin, and the only coherent thought Ryan manages right then is something about how this is definitely not just a game anymore.
“Anything,” Ryan whispers, because he knows that if he lets himself break out of the game mindset completely he’s going to freeze up again and run away from this opportunity, which Ryan really, really does not want to do. So he lets his tongue edge out to lick his lips, and keeps playing, Ryan dropping to his knees on the ground in front of Alex before he even has time to think twice, or at all really.
Ryan raises his hands to Alex’s waistband, about to start undoing his jeans when fingers grip at his collar, pulling gently but insistently until Ryan gets up again, his eyes on Alex’s, questioning for a second until the same hand at his collar pulls him forward into a kiss; Alex’s lips warm and soft on his own while his thumb slowly stokes in arcs across the back of Ryan’s neck, in and out of his hair where it curls slightly at his nape.
“Playing or no,” Alex says quietly when they break apart. “I wasn’t going to let anything start like that,” he finishes, returning the smile Ryan can’t keep off his face at the word start and what it implies.
Slowly, Ryan sinks back down to his knees, his hands going right back to where they were, undoing Alex’s fly before they move to Alex’s hips instead, where Ryan pauses suddenly because the realisation has hit him that they’re outside right now, up against a tree, but not even in a forest. It’s not like anyone can see them or anything, but they totally could if they just pushed past those branches and… yeah, this whole thing is maybe a little insane.
It doesn’t exactly feel wrong though, especially when Alex’s fingers trail through Ryan’s hair, prompting the younger male to look up from where he’s just been staring into the pale material of the part of Alex’s t shirt lying over his stomach.
“Hey,” Alex murmurs. His index finger traces around the shell of Ryan’s ear as he continues quietly. “This… you don’t have to -”
“I -” Ryan cuts in, not sure what else he’s going to say until he realises that it’s okay. Just because Alex just said that, and he’s looking at Ryan like that, it’s okay. Sometimes - not often, Ryan knows, but sometimes things can be that simple if you just let them. “I really want to be on that team,” he says playfully, sharing a smile with Alex as he hooks his thumbs into the waistband of Alex’s jeans and boxers.
One tug and they’re pooling around Alex’s ankles, leaving him half hard and exposed to the world. Mostly to Ryan, though.
Ryan only hesitates for a second before curling one hand around Alex’s cock, slowly stroking up and down experimentally a couple of times before speeding up a little once he hears Alex hissing out the words holy shit above him and Ryan smiles to himself as he feels the member harden in his hand, Alex’s hips bucking out a bit when Ryan lets his thumb ghost over the head of Alex’s erection, now leaking just slightly and fully hard in Ryan’s hand.
Shifting forward slightly on his knees, Ryan licks his lips as he readies himself. It feels like his first time for all the anticipation involved, though it really isn’t even close. There’s an air of it, though, the memories rising subconsciously in Ryan’s mind, because he so wanted to be liked back then, too, and… admired Pete in a similar way to how he admires (though Brendon tends to use a different word to describe Ryan’s feelings towards them, and as much as the word ‘fangirl’ makes Ryan cringe, he can hardly argue with it’s accuracy) Alex. It’s different though. It’s always different because every person is unique even if Ryan hasn’t changed as much as he likes to think he has in recent times.
Pushing those thoughts and any others out of his mind, Ryan glances up to give Alex one more shy smile before leaning forward to close his lips around the head of Alex’s cock, one steadying hand still holding it at the base as he bobs his head about halfway down a couple of times, the tip of Ryan’s tongue running up the underside of Alex’s erection when he pulls back, Alex letting out a low groan which he subsequently chokes on when Ryan presses his tongue into the slit, his fingers still working at the base of his cock.
“Jesus, Ry,” Alex’s gasp turns into a deep hum of pleasure when Ryan’s free hand reaches forward to tease at Alex’s balls for a few seconds before finding it’s way to grip at Alex’s hip, pressing him back against the tree as Ryan starts sucking Alex off again, working his lips a little further down his cock with each bob of his head. Alex watches, slightly mesmerised by the sight of Ryan’s cheeks hollowing when he pulls back to suck a little harder on the head, his cheekbones even more defined than usual as he works his mouth and tongue around Alex’s dick, using every trick he knows to catch the Phantom front man off guard, to make him choke back a moan as his hips try in vain to push back in an unconscious desire for more. “God.”
Alex’s head tips back against the tree and his fingers which had still been trailing their way through Ryan’s hair the entire time, tracing random patterns, tighten suddenly, as if his body can’t just do nothing, it can’t just take it. Alex has never been that kind of person, yet here he is, completely under the control of one Ryan Ross, his body apparently struggling but his mind as high as a kite and just a shade of sensation away from begging for something, something Alex can’t even remember now.
“Fuck, Ryan. Fuck.” If possible, Alex would swear that Ryan’s fucking smirking around his cock now, the guitarist just sucking that little bit harder, fighting past his gag reflex now to take Alex into his mouth as deep as he can as his fingers dig into Alex’s hip to keep him still. “Ry… Ryan.” Alex’s fingers tug at his hair in warning but Ryan just ignores it because hey, who knows if he‘s going to get a chance like this again? Ryan pulls back to flick his tongue over the head of Alex’s erection once more before he has to press his hand down hard at Alex’s hip as it bucks against his hold, Alex coming with a low groan of Ryan’s name, his fingers tightening painfully in his short hair for a while before his grip relaxes, Ryan swallowing as best he can before slowly letting Alex’s softening cock slip from his lips.
Hesitating slightly, Ryan pauses before leaning forward to clean Alex up as best he can, the older man letting out a couple of hummed grunts at the contact of Ryan’s tongue on his oversensitive cock. Looking up at Alex, he and Ryan exchange shy little breaths of laughter; expressions of disbelief, maybe, as Ryan slides Alex’s clothes back up over his hips, letting him do them up himself as Ryan gets to his feet.
“Hey.” Alex calls out softly as Ryan goes as if to walk towards the football . Left abandoned on the ground a little way away. “C’mere,” he says, tugging at Ryan’s sleeve until the younger male steps back towards him, Alex’s hands at Ryan’s shoulders turning him and manoeuvring him around until they’re back to back, Alex’s still up against the tree. “What kind of coach would I be if I didn’t reward good work on the field?” Alex asks, leaning his head forward so he can speak quietly, right into Ryan’s ear. Even as an involuntary shiver runs its way down Ryan’s spine he lets out a laugh, Alex echoing the sound as his hands snake around Ryan’s waist, one on each side, to undo his pants.
Only opening the fly enough to free Ryan’s cock from his boxers, Alex is surprised, not so much that Ryan’s hard after that build up, but that he was just going to leave it, like it didn’t matter. As he takes Ryan into his hand Alex presses his lips to Ryan’s neck and just below his jaw, smiling against the younger male’s skin as he tilts his head away to give Alex better access before turning his head so their lips can meet instead.
Ryan’s body starts forward, hips bucking a little as Alex starts jerking him off, but Alex just secures his free arm around Ryan’s skinny waist, anchoring him against his own body as he works his fingers around Ryan’s erection, his lips back working up and down Ryan’s neck as he gasp out Alex’s name, almost whining a little as Ryan reaches back to grip Alex’s shirt in his fingers, just so close now.
As the rocking of Ryan’s hips becomes jerkier, a little more desperate, Alex finds Ryan’s lips with his own again and he moans into Alex’s mouth as he comes, hips bucking into Alex’s grip until Ryan finally relaxes against him, the both of them leaning back against the tree as Ryan’s breathing slowly steadies.
“No one’s come out to look for us,” Alex says, finally breaking the natural silence which had fallen when Ryan steps away from him on only slightly shaky legs, doing up his pants and running a hand through his hair as Alex bends down to quickly wipe his hand on some of the longer tufts of grass. He sounds slightly put out that no one’s sent out a search party for him yet, Ryan notes with a smile as Alex speaks again. “Do they really think it took us this long to find it?” he asks, picking up the football and tossing it from one hand to the other as he looks at Ryan questioningly. “And what do we say if they ask?” he adds, a distinctly playful note to his voice as a smile spreads across his face.
“I guess we tell them the truth,” Ryan answers, mirroring Alex’s expression as he walks up to him, taking the football from his hands as he begins to make his way out of trees, calling back to Alex. “We were practising,” he laughs, glancing back once more before pushing his way back out into the bright sunshine, leaving Alex still just standing there by that tree, shaking his head as he echoes Ryan’s laughter.
If that was practice, Alex thinks to himself as he starts following Ryan back out onto the field, he can’t wait for them to try the real thing.
***A/N: There needs to be More Alex/Ryan in the world. Everyone write some. I mean, look at them! Ryan likes sitting on Alex's shoulders (and Alex likes letting him) and Ryan's squeesome FACE. *smishes him*
EDIT: Oh, and this video, in which Ryan drops in around 1.08 just to make heart eyes at Alex and smile like a loon. I love it.
Author: minus_four
Rating: R (sexual content)
Pairing: Ryan Ross and Alex Greenwald - Rolex ;)
POV: 3rd, present
Summary: “But I have to get on the team,” he says, frowning worriedly and shaking his head, eyes still staring slightly upwards into Alex’s. “I won’t get into college without those extra credit requirements. I’ll never get a decent job and I’ll end up doing something soulless and vacuous for money like modelling for The Gap,” Ryan finishes, his voice still begging but one corner of his lips twitching upwards in a definite teasing smirk, Alex returning the smile as they both recognise the ridiculousness of what they’re doing.
Disclaimer: This wasn’t caught on video like Alex’s singing and Ryan dancing and playing percussion with the football, so the world will never know. Not real guys.
Author Notes: This was born out of this video, elements of which I mention in the disclaimer, and mine and lolab’s minds from which came the assumption they were role playing lol (because seriously, what else is Ryan doing with a football?), and my new obsession with Alex Greenwald’s voice. Basically.
Dedication: lolab, of course, and all lovers of Alex Greenwald’s voice ♥
Ryan had known. He’d known that giving a very distractible Brendon Urie a football to throw around near trees was not exactly the greatest of ideas if the Phantom Planet guys wanted to still have a football at the end of the day. But apparently they just haven’t been on tour with them long enough yet to learn this because ten minutes later here they are.
Or, more accurately, here Ryan is.
Brendon had dragged Ryan off in the direction of his miscalculated throw where the football had bounced off into the nearby trees. It isn’t exactly a forest or anything, more a stretch of trees and bushes and grass only really thick enough to separate the areas of field around them but apparently thick enough to lose a football in quite easily. It might have been easier to find the thing, Ryan thinks, if it wasn’t such a similar color to the wood and earth and everything, but also if Brendon hadn’t abandoned the search after poking around for all of three minutes and declaring the football ‘lost forever’ in a sad, defeated tone.
Well, Ryan reconsiders as he keeps on poking around some of the longer grass with his foot, smirking a little just to himself, it was sad and defeated until, that is, until his face lit up on remembering that Darren had a hackey sack with him “because Darren’s just awesome like that”, and Ryan’s pretty sure the look on Brendon’s face wasn’t so much to do with the new game as much as who he was getting to play it with. Ever since Brendon had seen Darren playing the Mario Brothers theme on his bass (which, Ryan has to admit, was pretty cool), Ryan had been hearing the words “because Darren’s just awesome like that” come from Brendon’s mouth at least once on a daily basis, and frequently nudging Jon and Spence, nodding his head in the direction of where Brendon was talking to Darren, backstage or maybe outside their bus, so they could all share a smile at how excited and rambling Bren was getting, longing puppy eyes in full effect on an oblivious Darren.
Finally locating the football (a whole two minutes after Brendon declared the search a hopeless cause and a waste of their time, though for that Ryan read ‘a waste of Brendon’s time when he could be hanging out with Darren’), Ryan hooks the ball from under the bush with his foot and picks it up before walking over to the nearest tree and sitting down with his back leaning against the trunk. It’s nice, he thinks to himself; the shade of the trees, the quiet, a little solitude. And it really, really has nothing to do with sucking at Hackey Sack and much more to do with having a little time to himself, to think, as if Ryan doesn’t do enough of that already.
Ryan’s kind of jealous if he’s honest with himself. Not of Darren. Not of the way he’s suddenly getting all of Brendon’s attention. No way. That’s… No, Ryan tries not to think about what that little burst of defensiveness means when, you know, it’s in his head, not out loud, and there’s no one around anyway. But no, Ryan’s kind of jealous of how easy Brendon seems to find it to be open around someone he likes, or anyone really. And sure, it’s maybe got something to do with the way the filter between Brendon’s brain and his mouth sort of disappears completely when he’s around someone he likes, but it does just seem so easy for Brendon anyway, and Ryan just doesn’t get it. When Ryan tries to get anything out, especially if he’s around someone who he really cares about liking him, it’s like the opposite happens and Ryan has to really push it, just like force words to pass from his mind to his mouth.
Still staring down at the football in his lap, Ryan hears the sounds of feet moving through grass and a couple of twigs snapping, and looks up quickly to see the approaching someone. Given what Ryan has just been thinking about, it would be Alex, wouldn’t it? And, of course, Ryan’s mind, which is always working, always thinking, comes up with nothing. Not even a “Hi” for fuck’s sake. No, of course Ryan just sits there, awkward and silent, for the ten seconds or so which pass until Alex smiles at him, luckily speaking soon after because, that? That doesn’t exactly help with the whole inability to form words thing.
“I’m the search party,” Alex states simply, still smiling.
“I already found it,” Ryan lifts the football in one hand as if Alex can’t already see it right there in front of him.
“The Ryan Ross search party,” Alex clarifies, walking over and sitting down next Ryan, nudging him with an elbow to get him to move up a little so they can both fit there leaning back against the tree. “We could buy a new football, but I’m pretty sure we couldn’t buy another Ryan Ross, and I’m definitely sure that the football would suck at filling in on ‘Do the Panic’ for me,” he laughs, and Ryan finds a similar sound drawn from himself even as his stomach keeps twisting itself into nervous knots, because… well. Because maybe Ryan really cares about Alex liking him.
“Yeah, it kind of helps if you can actually, you know, hold a guitar,” Ryan says, turning his head to see Alex just nodding at him before he answers solemnly:
“Exactly.”
After a pretty good start (a whole sentence, with emphasis and everything), Ryan’s mind goes blank again. Or rather he can’t pick out anything from the huge number of thoughts buzzing in his brain, of how this should be easy, but isn’t, and there’s so many things he could just start talking about, if Ryan could just pick one. The second Ryan forces himself to just say something and throws it out into the slightly awkward silence which has fallen, he regrets it.
“I always kind of wanted to play football,” he says, fidgeting with the football in his lap and turning it around in his hands. Taking just a moment to close his eyes and cringe inwardly, Ryan makes himself look at Alex.
Alex stares. Alex stares for a few seconds, and then he laughs. He laughs loud and long, almost losing his balance leaning back against the tree as he just goes on, even surprising Ryan with the sheer length of time his laughter laughs for, because on tour with Phantom Planet you see a lot of laughter.
After a while he manages to control himself again, taking in a couple of deep breaths through his nose and forcing himself to think about things which are Not Funny At All, which is just so hard right now since all Alex can see in his mind is Ryan trying to face down some huge quarterback on the field, or better yet trying to throw a football more than a few feet (which is easier since Alex had actually gotten to see that one for himself earlier).
“That’s… uh. That’s nice,” Alex finally says, trying and failing to hide another bubble of laughter under a cough.
Ryan just rolls his eyes at Alex before pushing himself up with one hand and getting to his feet, picking up the football from the ground as soon as he’s regained his balance.
“I could totally get on any team I wanted,” Ryan declares matter of factly as Alex gets up as well, because just about enough defensiveness and pride has kicked in at this point to make Ryan’s nervousness fade into the background.
“And how is that?” Alex answers sceptically. “Killing off the competition?” he asks teasingly, laughing a little.
“No,” Ryan just shakes his head. “Special skills,” he says, letting a smirk creep onto his face as he watches Alex think about exactly what he means by that for a few seconds. “Just imagine,” Ryan continues, focusing on maintaining the expression of curiosity and bemusement which now graces Alex’s features, “if you were the coach, and I came into your office,” he goes on slowly, stepping just a little closer to Alex and staring into his eyes, only a few inches away now as he keeps going without letting himself think too much, because really, this is just… very different now, and a little weird, but he just doesn’t want to stop just yet, “and I begged you to give me a place on the team, would you say no?”
“Well.” Alex silently congratulates himself on that syllable not coming out high pitched or anything and his ability to keep his voice pretty level after that, given the way Ryan’s looking at him now, eyes wide while he’s fucking well biting his lip now. “Wouldn’t really be fair to the rest of the team now, would it?”
“But…” Ryan feels himself slip into… what? A character? A game? Whatever it is, and for whatever reason neither of them are stopping it, Ryan’s voice changes then, taking on a tone of need, of… desperation. “But I have to get on the team,” he says, frowning worriedly and shaking his head, eyes still staring slightly upwards into Alex’s. “I won’t get into college without those extra credit requirements. I’ll never get a decent job and I’ll end up doing something soulless and vacuous for money like modelling for The Gap,” Ryan finishes, his voice still begging but one corner of his lips twitching upwards in a definite teasing smirk, Alex returning the smile as they both recognise the ridiculousness of what they’re doing. It’s a game, though, and it may be pretty different from the game going on out in the field between their bandmates, but it’s still what a game is meant to be: Fun.
“I wish I could help,” Alex shakes his head, “but -”
“Please,” Ryan bites his lip again and suddenly there’s an innocence to Ryan’s tone along with the desperation that shouldn’t be hot, shouldn’t make something deep inside Alex’s stomach jump, but it is, and it does. “I’ll do… anything.” Ryan slowly trails his index finger down the length of Alex’s chest, the innocence in his eyes being replaced by a dark kind of intent and… lust, Alex’s mind supplies without his permission, perhaps because the very same feeling has just flared up in his own head. Except maybe ‘head’ isn’t exactly the right word. Or, you know, maybe it is Alex corrects himself as another part of him, a little lower than his stomach, jumps and twitches slightly when Ryan smirks at him. And… yeah. When did that happen?
His expression going back to normal, the look on Ryan’s face more self satisfied now than desperate and wanting, despite the fact that he does… want, the younger man goes to step away only to find Alex reaching out to grab the sleeve of his shirt, keeping him where he is.
“Hey.” Alex registers acting after he’s actually done it and pauses, letting a smile creep onto his face as he decides to speak again. Apparently, even surprising himself, Alex isn’t done playing yet. “So… Ross. Just how badly do you want to get on this team, again?” Alex asks, looking Ryan up and down as the other male smiles before forcing himself to straighten his face and get back in the game.
“So bad,” Ryan works at putting a little more emotion in his voice, widening his eyes again as he begs. “Please. Please, coach,” Ryan has to fight really hard now to keep himself from breaking into a full on smirk as he watches Alex’s Adam’s apple bob when he swallows hard, the older man trying to step back a little when Ryan leans closer only to make it barely half a step before his back hit’s the tree behind him and Alex stumbles a little, looking down and breathing out a laugh before raising his head to meet Ryan’s pleading gaze again. For someone who isn’t exactly hugely expressive most of the time, Ryan’s pretty good at calling it up when he wants to. And he knows it, Alex thinks as he and Ryan exchange a slight smile, Alex nodding as Ryan moves forward a little, raising a questioning eyebrow. “I…” Ryan starts as the idea enters his mind and he stops himself from thinking too much about it, then lifts his hands to his collar and slowly begins to undo the first few buttons of his shirt without ever taking his eyes off Alex’s. “I’ll do anything,” he repeats, his heart suddenly thudding hard in his chest because this… this is maybe just not a game anymore, and Ryan’s terrified he’s misjudged Alex’s reactions, overstepped boundaries, and quite possibly fucked everything up.
Then Alex grins, his expression slightly disbelieving but undeniably seeming pretty happy about the situation, and Ryan starts breathing again. A second or two after that, though, the whole process of breathing in and out becomes inexplicably hard again. Okay, not so inexplicably, Ryan acknowledges as Alex reaches forward to replace Ryan’s hands with his own, undoing the rest of Ryan’s buttons and letting his shirt fall open.
Alex strokes the back of his hand down across Ryan’s chest for a few moments, just barely letting his knuckles graze over Ryan’s skin, and the only coherent thought Ryan manages right then is something about how this is definitely not just a game anymore.
“Anything,” Ryan whispers, because he knows that if he lets himself break out of the game mindset completely he’s going to freeze up again and run away from this opportunity, which Ryan really, really does not want to do. So he lets his tongue edge out to lick his lips, and keeps playing, Ryan dropping to his knees on the ground in front of Alex before he even has time to think twice, or at all really.
Ryan raises his hands to Alex’s waistband, about to start undoing his jeans when fingers grip at his collar, pulling gently but insistently until Ryan gets up again, his eyes on Alex’s, questioning for a second until the same hand at his collar pulls him forward into a kiss; Alex’s lips warm and soft on his own while his thumb slowly stokes in arcs across the back of Ryan’s neck, in and out of his hair where it curls slightly at his nape.
“Playing or no,” Alex says quietly when they break apart. “I wasn’t going to let anything start like that,” he finishes, returning the smile Ryan can’t keep off his face at the word start and what it implies.
Slowly, Ryan sinks back down to his knees, his hands going right back to where they were, undoing Alex’s fly before they move to Alex’s hips instead, where Ryan pauses suddenly because the realisation has hit him that they’re outside right now, up against a tree, but not even in a forest. It’s not like anyone can see them or anything, but they totally could if they just pushed past those branches and… yeah, this whole thing is maybe a little insane.
It doesn’t exactly feel wrong though, especially when Alex’s fingers trail through Ryan’s hair, prompting the younger male to look up from where he’s just been staring into the pale material of the part of Alex’s t shirt lying over his stomach.
“Hey,” Alex murmurs. His index finger traces around the shell of Ryan’s ear as he continues quietly. “This… you don’t have to -”
“I -” Ryan cuts in, not sure what else he’s going to say until he realises that it’s okay. Just because Alex just said that, and he’s looking at Ryan like that, it’s okay. Sometimes - not often, Ryan knows, but sometimes things can be that simple if you just let them. “I really want to be on that team,” he says playfully, sharing a smile with Alex as he hooks his thumbs into the waistband of Alex’s jeans and boxers.
One tug and they’re pooling around Alex’s ankles, leaving him half hard and exposed to the world. Mostly to Ryan, though.
Ryan only hesitates for a second before curling one hand around Alex’s cock, slowly stroking up and down experimentally a couple of times before speeding up a little once he hears Alex hissing out the words holy shit above him and Ryan smiles to himself as he feels the member harden in his hand, Alex’s hips bucking out a bit when Ryan lets his thumb ghost over the head of Alex’s erection, now leaking just slightly and fully hard in Ryan’s hand.
Shifting forward slightly on his knees, Ryan licks his lips as he readies himself. It feels like his first time for all the anticipation involved, though it really isn’t even close. There’s an air of it, though, the memories rising subconsciously in Ryan’s mind, because he so wanted to be liked back then, too, and… admired Pete in a similar way to how he admires (though Brendon tends to use a different word to describe Ryan’s feelings towards them, and as much as the word ‘fangirl’ makes Ryan cringe, he can hardly argue with it’s accuracy) Alex. It’s different though. It’s always different because every person is unique even if Ryan hasn’t changed as much as he likes to think he has in recent times.
Pushing those thoughts and any others out of his mind, Ryan glances up to give Alex one more shy smile before leaning forward to close his lips around the head of Alex’s cock, one steadying hand still holding it at the base as he bobs his head about halfway down a couple of times, the tip of Ryan’s tongue running up the underside of Alex’s erection when he pulls back, Alex letting out a low groan which he subsequently chokes on when Ryan presses his tongue into the slit, his fingers still working at the base of his cock.
“Jesus, Ry,” Alex’s gasp turns into a deep hum of pleasure when Ryan’s free hand reaches forward to tease at Alex’s balls for a few seconds before finding it’s way to grip at Alex’s hip, pressing him back against the tree as Ryan starts sucking Alex off again, working his lips a little further down his cock with each bob of his head. Alex watches, slightly mesmerised by the sight of Ryan’s cheeks hollowing when he pulls back to suck a little harder on the head, his cheekbones even more defined than usual as he works his mouth and tongue around Alex’s dick, using every trick he knows to catch the Phantom front man off guard, to make him choke back a moan as his hips try in vain to push back in an unconscious desire for more. “God.”
Alex’s head tips back against the tree and his fingers which had still been trailing their way through Ryan’s hair the entire time, tracing random patterns, tighten suddenly, as if his body can’t just do nothing, it can’t just take it. Alex has never been that kind of person, yet here he is, completely under the control of one Ryan Ross, his body apparently struggling but his mind as high as a kite and just a shade of sensation away from begging for something, something Alex can’t even remember now.
“Fuck, Ryan. Fuck.” If possible, Alex would swear that Ryan’s fucking smirking around his cock now, the guitarist just sucking that little bit harder, fighting past his gag reflex now to take Alex into his mouth as deep as he can as his fingers dig into Alex’s hip to keep him still. “Ry… Ryan.” Alex’s fingers tug at his hair in warning but Ryan just ignores it because hey, who knows if he‘s going to get a chance like this again? Ryan pulls back to flick his tongue over the head of Alex’s erection once more before he has to press his hand down hard at Alex’s hip as it bucks against his hold, Alex coming with a low groan of Ryan’s name, his fingers tightening painfully in his short hair for a while before his grip relaxes, Ryan swallowing as best he can before slowly letting Alex’s softening cock slip from his lips.
Hesitating slightly, Ryan pauses before leaning forward to clean Alex up as best he can, the older man letting out a couple of hummed grunts at the contact of Ryan’s tongue on his oversensitive cock. Looking up at Alex, he and Ryan exchange shy little breaths of laughter; expressions of disbelief, maybe, as Ryan slides Alex’s clothes back up over his hips, letting him do them up himself as Ryan gets to his feet.
“Hey.” Alex calls out softly as Ryan goes as if to walk towards the football . Left abandoned on the ground a little way away. “C’mere,” he says, tugging at Ryan’s sleeve until the younger male steps back towards him, Alex’s hands at Ryan’s shoulders turning him and manoeuvring him around until they’re back to back, Alex’s still up against the tree. “What kind of coach would I be if I didn’t reward good work on the field?” Alex asks, leaning his head forward so he can speak quietly, right into Ryan’s ear. Even as an involuntary shiver runs its way down Ryan’s spine he lets out a laugh, Alex echoing the sound as his hands snake around Ryan’s waist, one on each side, to undo his pants.
Only opening the fly enough to free Ryan’s cock from his boxers, Alex is surprised, not so much that Ryan’s hard after that build up, but that he was just going to leave it, like it didn’t matter. As he takes Ryan into his hand Alex presses his lips to Ryan’s neck and just below his jaw, smiling against the younger male’s skin as he tilts his head away to give Alex better access before turning his head so their lips can meet instead.
Ryan’s body starts forward, hips bucking a little as Alex starts jerking him off, but Alex just secures his free arm around Ryan’s skinny waist, anchoring him against his own body as he works his fingers around Ryan’s erection, his lips back working up and down Ryan’s neck as he gasp out Alex’s name, almost whining a little as Ryan reaches back to grip Alex’s shirt in his fingers, just so close now.
As the rocking of Ryan’s hips becomes jerkier, a little more desperate, Alex finds Ryan’s lips with his own again and he moans into Alex’s mouth as he comes, hips bucking into Alex’s grip until Ryan finally relaxes against him, the both of them leaning back against the tree as Ryan’s breathing slowly steadies.
“No one’s come out to look for us,” Alex says, finally breaking the natural silence which had fallen when Ryan steps away from him on only slightly shaky legs, doing up his pants and running a hand through his hair as Alex bends down to quickly wipe his hand on some of the longer tufts of grass. He sounds slightly put out that no one’s sent out a search party for him yet, Ryan notes with a smile as Alex speaks again. “Do they really think it took us this long to find it?” he asks, picking up the football and tossing it from one hand to the other as he looks at Ryan questioningly. “And what do we say if they ask?” he adds, a distinctly playful note to his voice as a smile spreads across his face.
“I guess we tell them the truth,” Ryan answers, mirroring Alex’s expression as he walks up to him, taking the football from his hands as he begins to make his way out of trees, calling back to Alex. “We were practising,” he laughs, glancing back once more before pushing his way back out into the bright sunshine, leaving Alex still just standing there by that tree, shaking his head as he echoes Ryan’s laughter.
If that was practice, Alex thinks to himself as he starts following Ryan back out onto the field, he can’t wait for them to try the real thing.
***A/N: There needs to be More Alex/Ryan in the world. Everyone write some. I mean, look at them! Ryan likes sitting on Alex's shoulders (and Alex likes letting him) and Ryan's squeesome FACE. *smishes him*
EDIT: Oh, and this video, in which Ryan drops in around 1.08 just to make heart eyes at Alex and smile like a loon. I love it.