We're All Born With a Year's Worth of Apologies [1/3]
Title: We're All Born With a Year's Worth of Apologies
Author: gothicxpianist
Pairing(s): Brendon/Ryan, Jon/Spencer
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Brendon didn't come back to Vegas to fall in love.
POV: Third Person
Beta: infrontofthesea
Disclaimer: All fake.
A/N: Just a little AU. 9,000+ words. Enjoy!
-
Las Vegas has been a place of comfort and pain for Brendon, and as July grows closer he's conflicted with the thought of actually returning, if only for a while.
He hasn't thought much about it, really. Just tells his roommate Shane one night during a movie that he is going to go home for a little. Shane just nods, says, "Have fun," and then smiles at him like he knows way more than he's letting on. Brendon smiles back hesitantly, and doubt soon clouds his mind. He pushes it away, and continues watching the movie, snuggling up to Shane's side.
The next night Brendon finds himself sitting in the middle of his bed, cell phone clutched in his hand and finger poised over the 'call' button. He shakes his head and rolls his eyes, and then punches in the little green button.
"Hello?"
Spencer's voice is way more comforting than it should have been. Brendon smiles shakily and grips the phone tighter.
"Hi, Spence," He says, quietly. There's a pause on the other end, and Brendon holds his breath.
"...Brendon? Brendon Urie? Wow, I-I haven't heard from you in forever. How are you doing man? How's New York?" Spencer's relieved, excited voice makes Brendon bite his lip from guilt. He's fucking missed his best friend, and he feels like an ass for dropping contact with him after he ran away from Vegas.
"I'm sorry," Brendon says, ignoring the previous questions. His voice sounds small to his own ears, and he winces. "I should've called more often, and kept in touch, and....I just, sorry."
Spencer makes a frustrated noise on the other end. "Brendon, Bren, you're an asshole." Brendon flinches. "But, I love you, man. And yeah, I fucking missed you, but I could care less about the past, because you're calling now, and you better keep calling after this, okay?"
Brendon sits back, startled. Then he smiles. "I've missed you too Spence," He says, then remembers his purpose for calling and fidgets. "But, I have a small favor to ask..."
--
Brendon leaves for Vegas on July 3rd. It's an early ass flight, and Shane drives him to the airport, gives him a long hug, and whispers, "Good luck, B." Brendon's not sure what exactly he needs luck for, but takes it anyways. Just in case.
The flight is long and boring, and he frantically texts Spencer the whole time even though it's five AM and Spencer could be asleep if he wanted.
It feels just like old times, and Brendon wants to cry.
--
Spencer eyes Brendon's lime green suitcase and laughs. "Same old Brendon, I see."
Brendon tackle-hugs him. Right in the middle of the airport.
He clutches at Spencer's shirt and Spencer buries his face in Brendon's hair. He's gotten taller and his face looks older, and Brendon's a little put out because he himself, surprisingly, feels exactly the same as he had before he even moved.
He sighs deeply, and Spencer rubs circles into the nape of Brendon's neck. "Missed you, jerk."
Brendon smiles.
--
Spencer lives with a boy named Jon Walker, and Brendon shyly shakes his hand, trying to put on a good impression since he's going to be living together with him for three weeks.
Spencer shows Brendon to his room. The walls are a pale yellow color, and there's a few posters of bands that Brendon knows. The comforter looks like it could eat you, and Brendon grins.
Spencer vaguely flicks his hand at the room. "This used to be my room, before Jon moved in. After we got together we just decided to move into one room and use this as a guest room. Ryan stays over enough to claim this room as his anyways," Spencer laughs, and Brendon doesn't ask who Ryan is.
Brendon's oddly shocked by how casually Spencer came out and announced him and Jon's relationship. Spencer's usually reserved with that sort of stuff, and even though he knew Brendon wouldn't mind (being gay himself), it was still unexpected.
But with the way Spencer's eyes lit up when he announced it, Brendon sort of guessed he said it so casually because there was a hint of pride underneath it all. Brendon couldn't help but smile at him.
--
At 3 PM, Spencer comes into Brendon's room. Brendon is putting his stuff away in dressers and getting settled in.
Spencer sits on the bed and watches Brendon fold up a light blue tee shirt and tuck it in a drawer. "Hey Bren, I forgot to mention me and Jon are going to this fourth of July thing down at this park, and we wanted you to come with us."
Brendon turns around, and says, "Well, sure. I guess. Why not?"
"I know you like, just got here," Spencer says. "but we didn't want to leave you home and bored, and this is always fun. Me and Jon go every year, you'll love it." Spencer grins. "There's this hillside by a river, and everyone lays out blankets and stuff and when the fireworks go off it reflects in the water and it's just, awesome dude."
Brendon smiles at how excited Spencer seems to get about it. Fourth of July was always his favorite holiday as a kid, and obviously that hasn't changed after all the years.
"Yeah," Brendon says, grinning. "I'd love to come."
--
At 6 PM, Spencer, Jon, and Brendon pile in a taxi. It takes them thirty minutes to get to the park, and when Brendon steps out of the car he sees a large parking lot with food stands scattered around. He sees various hot dog and cotton candy stands, and as they walk towards the lake hillside, Brendon eyes a funnel cake stand hungrily. Spencer notices, and says, "Later, pumpkin," while laughing obnoxiously. Brendon stares, and realizes how much he's missed this.
They soon reach the top of the hill, and Brendon stares in awe. The river is huge, and the hill is wide and slightly steep. There's tons of families and groups of people lounging on blankets strewn about the hill, facing the water.
He follows Jon and Spencer towards an empty patch of grass, and Jon lays out the large blanket, then plops down happily. Spencer sits in between his legs and leans back contently.
Brendon sits down cross legged next to them, the hill's angle causing him to have to lean back just slightly. They sit in content silence, before Spencer jumps slightly and tugs out his phone. He scans the screen before hopping up and brushing his jeans off.
"Ryan's here," He clarifies. "I'm going to go get him." Jon nods and smiles lazily up at him as he hurries off.
"Ryan?" Brendon questions. Spencer mentioned him earlier, while showing Brendon his room, and Brendon forgot to ask about him.
Jon looks over and nods. "We forgot to tell you, but Ryan comes with us every year here too. He's pretty awesome, I think you'll like him. Spencer met him a few months after you left, and they act as if they've known each other their whole lives." Jon laughs. "I wouldn't be surprised if they were brothers."
Brendon swallows down the faint jealousy, because he has known Spencer his whole life, and Brendon feels sort of stupid for not expecting it. Of course Spencer would find a new best friend. He wasn't just going to wait around for Brendon to come back, was he? No.
Still, Brendon feels sort of replaced. He brushes off the feeling though, and smiles when Spencer comes back with a boy trailing behind him.
The boy is tall and lanky, and is dressed in a white v-neck and black skinny jeans. He has caramel brown hair that hangs slightly over one eye, and a warm smile. Brendon sort of finds it really hard to dislike him.
"Bren, this is Ryan. Ryan, Brendon," Spencer greets. He turns to Ryan. "Brendon moved to New York a few years ago, and finally decided to get his lazy ass down here to visit his old best friend." He playfully glares at Brendon, and Brendon blushes slightly, smiling ashamedly. "He's staying for a few weeks, and we're sorry but he now has rein over your room." He laughs, and Ryan shrugs lazily.
"Eh, it's cool. I always have the couch." He says, and then winks at Brendon. Brendon tries to ignore the slight flutter in his stomach.
Ryan settles between Brendon and Jon, and leans back on his elbows. The sun is setting, and Spencer said once it's dark they start the fireworks, which is usually about nine.
The orange glow from the sky reflects along the lake, and Brendon watches in fascination. The bright color explodes across the river, and the water ripples slightly from the warm breeze.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" A voice next to him says, startling Brendon from his thoughts. He turns and sees Ryan squinting slightly at the setting sun. An orange-y yellow glow is cast across his face, making his eyes shine. Brendon swallows, his throat suddenly dry.
He nods and says, "Yeah," leaning his elbows on his knees, resting his chin in his palms. "I never usually get to enjoy this stuff in New York because the sun set is usually hidden behind buildings and I'm too lazy to go drive to a park like this somewhere."
Ryan 'hmm's in acknowledgement, then suddenly turns to Brendon, letting his head loll lazily to the side, exposing his pale neck. "Spencer mentions you a lot," Ryan says, and Brendon blinks, startled. "He tells me stories about you two in high school and stuff. You were one crazy ass kid, weren't you?" Ryan smiles amusedly, and Brendon rolls his eyes fondly.
"Spencer was just a wuss. I was the adventurer. My motto: Never take life seriously; nobody gets out alive anyway, so live it up while you can, you know?"
Ryan nods, seemingly understanding, and says, "Why did you ever move to New York anyways?"
Brendon hesitates, and considers actually telling him the truth, but settles on, "I just needed to get out of here." His voice grows soft, and Ryan eyes him curiously, but doesn't push any further.
Brendon suddenly remembers something, and sits up, turning to Spencer. "Spencer!" He exclaims. "Spencer, you promised me funnel cake!" Spencer groans and shifts more into Jon, letting his head fall back. Jon strokes his hair and laughs.
Brendon pouts, and reaches over Ryan to poke his hip. Spencer squeaks, pushing Brendon's hand away.
"I'm comfy!" He says. "Go get your own damn funnel cake!"
Brendon whines, "Jon, c'mon, help me out here!" Jon shrugs, and tickles Spencer until he jumps up with a huff.
"Assholes," He says matter-of-factly. Then sighs, "C'mon, you little five year old, let's go get you some damn funnel cake before the fire works begin."
Brendon hops up excitedly, when Ryan suddenly says, "Well, I'll take him if you want Spence. I need to stretch my legs anyway." He shrugs, and Spencer gapes at him.
"Why couldn't you offer before Jon attacked me and made me lose my comfortable spot?!" Spencer whines. Ryan just laughs and says, "'Cause I'm an asshole like that."
Spencer makes a noise of agreement and throws Ryan a five dollar bill, settling back down onto his "jerk face of a boyfriend" he mutters quietly, and Jon just kisses his neck.
Brendon's a little surprised, but happy none the less. Him and Ryan seem to have hit it off nicely, and Brendon thinks Spencer chose a good replacement for him.
--
Brendon and Ryan return bit later with the funnel cake, Brendon munching happily as he sits back down on the blanket. During the small trip, Brendon had become increasingly more comfortable around Ryan, even unexpectedly stuffing a piece of funnel cake into Ryan's face and laughing hysterically while he spluttered.
Brendon leans back, the paper plate of funnel cake resting on his lap, and he idly stuffs another piece in his mouth. The sun is fully set by now, and the lights from up on the parking lot in the food stands slightly illuminate the area around them, getting dimmer near the bottom of the hill.
"The fire works are about to start," Ryan says excitedly, and Brendon turns and smiles at him. Ryan blinks, then smiles softly, laughter in his eyes.
"You got a little..." Ryan trails off, and not so subtly licks his lips. Brendon blinks, confused, and Ryan sighs amusedly, before reaching out and swiping his thumb along the corner of Brendon mouth. Brendon jumps, startled and before he can say anything the sky explodes with color, and loud booms fill the air. Brendon turns towards the sky, and doesn't notice Ryan licking the powdered sugar from his finger.
He's absolutely in awe, and even though the loud noise makes him jump a bit, he tries to ignore it. The different colors, the brightness, the reflection in the water. His eyes are blown wide, and Ryan watches his reaction fondly.
"Never seen fireworks before?" He asks, chuckling quietly. Brendon shakes his head.
"I have," He says faintly, still mostly focused on the show in front of him. "Just...never like this. Not for a long time."
Ryan nods, and turns back to the sky. The shows lasts for about fifteen minutes, and Ryan turns back to Brendon right as the grand finale starts, to see his face.
As the end grows near, and the colors bloom on Brendon's pale skin, the noise louder than ever, Brendon suddenly erupts in a face splitting grin, childish excitement glowing in his eyes.
"Did you see that?" Brendon asks frantically, flailing his arms a little. Ryan laughs. "That was awesome!"
Spencer and Jon are talking contently, having seen this a thousand times but still enjoying it every year. There are still a handful of people loitering on the hill, relaxing on their blankets and just enjoying the night sky for a while before they decide to go home. Brendon's still breathless, and he lays back on the blanket, folding his arms behind his head.
Ryan stays sitting up, cross legged, peering down at Brendon.
"I forgot what it was like," Brendon says, "being with Spencer and doing stuff like this; celebrating holidays, living carefree, having a family." Because Brendon does consider Spencer family. Well, he's more of a family than his ever was anyways.
Brendon thinks of Shane, and yeah, Shane's family, but.
But he's not home.
Brendon looks over to Spencer, laughing at something Jon said, blue eyes twinkling in the moonlight and cheeks flushed from the evening heat. He looks up at the Vegas stars and feels the grass under him beneath the thin blanket. He looks at Ryan, eyes closed contently, and then at Jon, staring at Spencer adoringly, and thinks how he's made two new friends, and maybe even new additions to his makeshift family with Spencer, he's not sure yet. Maybe.
Brendon smiles and thinks, yeah, this is home.
--
Brendon is woken up the next morning by his phone vibrating annoyingly on the bedside table. He groans and fumbles for it just before it ends up falling off the table completely.
"Mnf?" He says groggily, and a laugh comes from the other end.
"Wake up, it's Shane."
Brendon rolls over and rubs his eyes. "Oh, hi," he says, still a little scratchy and dry. Water sounds really fucking awesome right now.
"So, how was your first day? How's Spencer?" Shane says, and it sounds like he's driving somewhere. Brendon glances at the clock. 6:43 am. Fuck, he hates Shane.
Brendon sits up and stretches until his back cracks. "It was actually really awesome. Spencer has a boyfriend, Jon, and he's really chill. They took me to see fire works at this river side. I have to say it was pretty epic."
Shane makes a noise of acknowledgment, and Brendon thinks somebody just cut him off and he's trying not to curse out loud while on the phone with Brendon. Shane was always an active one for road rage.
"And Spencer has this friend, Ryan, and he's seems really nice and stuff." Brendon doesn't mention what exactly about Ryan is nice; the way his face glowed in the sunset; the way his v-neck hugged his arms, defining his biceps; the way his soft smile made something warm and pleasant ripple through Brendon's body.
Shane 'hmm's. "Well, it sounds like things are going pretty swell. What are you going to do there for three weeks though?" and Brendon can tell the subject of are you going to visit your parents is on the tip of his tongue.
Brendon shrugs, mostly to himself. "Well, Jon works at Starbucks, but he has crazy early hours so he's usually done by like, early afternoon. Which is probably when I'll just be waking up anyways," he laughs. "Ryan works at home on this like, online magazine thing. I don't know, Spencer didn't say much about it. But he like, makes his own hours. As long as he gets his shit done by the deadline, he can do whatever the hell he wants. And Spencer, really surprisingly enough, is a kindergarten teacher, so he has nothing to do during summers."
Shane laughs on the other end. "Dude, really? I thought you told me Spencer was the one with the epic bitch face and the 'glare of death', as you described it."
Brendon laughs back. "I know! I guess he's had a soft spot all these years. Damn if I could ever find it."
Brendon hears the constant hum on the other end stop, and a jingle of car keys. "Sorry, but I have to go. I'm at work. I'll call you tomorrow, okay?" Shane says.
Brendon huffs. "No," he says, thinking about 6:43 am, "I'll call you."
Shane laughs. "Okay, sure. Bye, Bren."
The phone clicks shut, and Brendon closes his too and sets it back on the dresser. He runs a hand through his hair, and the clock now reads that it's seven. He doubts he'll be able to go back to sleep by now.
He gets out of bed and slips out his door, finding Spencer in the kitchen drinking coffee. He looks like he got up not too long ago either.
"Morning," Brendon says, mouth still parched, and he practically dashes for the cabinet for a cup, and downs three glasses of tap water in record time.
"Hey," Spencer echoes. Brendon sits at the table across from him, his fourth glass of water still clutched in his hands. They sit in content silence while Spencer texts away, probably to Jon, in between sips of caffeine. Brendon could never afford texting.
"So," Brendon says, "what are we going to do today?"
Spencer shrugs. "I don't know. I really don't have much planned for today. I was thinking maybe we'd just hang out, and catch up you know?" Brendon nods in agreement, and is secretly thankful. He's kind of exhausted from the early flight and then the late night. Just hanging out sounds pretty nice. Spencer takes another drink and continues, "Ryan comes over like, everyday to keep me company. Seriously, he practically lives here. He's usually around by noon."
Brendon nods and finishes his water. He stands up to put the glass in the sink, downs a quick cup of the now cold coffee, and says, "I'm going to take a shower. Don't want to snuggle during movies smelling like day old sweat, now do we?" Spencer rolls his eyes, and Brendon smiles, bounding off to his room to shower.
Part Two >>
Author: gothicxpianist
Pairing(s): Brendon/Ryan, Jon/Spencer
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Brendon didn't come back to Vegas to fall in love.
POV: Third Person
Beta: infrontofthesea
Disclaimer: All fake.
A/N: Just a little AU. 9,000+ words. Enjoy!
-
Las Vegas has been a place of comfort and pain for Brendon, and as July grows closer he's conflicted with the thought of actually returning, if only for a while.
He hasn't thought much about it, really. Just tells his roommate Shane one night during a movie that he is going to go home for a little. Shane just nods, says, "Have fun," and then smiles at him like he knows way more than he's letting on. Brendon smiles back hesitantly, and doubt soon clouds his mind. He pushes it away, and continues watching the movie, snuggling up to Shane's side.
The next night Brendon finds himself sitting in the middle of his bed, cell phone clutched in his hand and finger poised over the 'call' button. He shakes his head and rolls his eyes, and then punches in the little green button.
"Hello?"
Spencer's voice is way more comforting than it should have been. Brendon smiles shakily and grips the phone tighter.
"Hi, Spence," He says, quietly. There's a pause on the other end, and Brendon holds his breath.
"...Brendon? Brendon Urie? Wow, I-I haven't heard from you in forever. How are you doing man? How's New York?" Spencer's relieved, excited voice makes Brendon bite his lip from guilt. He's fucking missed his best friend, and he feels like an ass for dropping contact with him after he ran away from Vegas.
"I'm sorry," Brendon says, ignoring the previous questions. His voice sounds small to his own ears, and he winces. "I should've called more often, and kept in touch, and....I just, sorry."
Spencer makes a frustrated noise on the other end. "Brendon, Bren, you're an asshole." Brendon flinches. "But, I love you, man. And yeah, I fucking missed you, but I could care less about the past, because you're calling now, and you better keep calling after this, okay?"
Brendon sits back, startled. Then he smiles. "I've missed you too Spence," He says, then remembers his purpose for calling and fidgets. "But, I have a small favor to ask..."
--
Brendon leaves for Vegas on July 3rd. It's an early ass flight, and Shane drives him to the airport, gives him a long hug, and whispers, "Good luck, B." Brendon's not sure what exactly he needs luck for, but takes it anyways. Just in case.
The flight is long and boring, and he frantically texts Spencer the whole time even though it's five AM and Spencer could be asleep if he wanted.
It feels just like old times, and Brendon wants to cry.
--
Spencer eyes Brendon's lime green suitcase and laughs. "Same old Brendon, I see."
Brendon tackle-hugs him. Right in the middle of the airport.
He clutches at Spencer's shirt and Spencer buries his face in Brendon's hair. He's gotten taller and his face looks older, and Brendon's a little put out because he himself, surprisingly, feels exactly the same as he had before he even moved.
He sighs deeply, and Spencer rubs circles into the nape of Brendon's neck. "Missed you, jerk."
Brendon smiles.
--
Spencer lives with a boy named Jon Walker, and Brendon shyly shakes his hand, trying to put on a good impression since he's going to be living together with him for three weeks.
Spencer shows Brendon to his room. The walls are a pale yellow color, and there's a few posters of bands that Brendon knows. The comforter looks like it could eat you, and Brendon grins.
Spencer vaguely flicks his hand at the room. "This used to be my room, before Jon moved in. After we got together we just decided to move into one room and use this as a guest room. Ryan stays over enough to claim this room as his anyways," Spencer laughs, and Brendon doesn't ask who Ryan is.
Brendon's oddly shocked by how casually Spencer came out and announced him and Jon's relationship. Spencer's usually reserved with that sort of stuff, and even though he knew Brendon wouldn't mind (being gay himself), it was still unexpected.
But with the way Spencer's eyes lit up when he announced it, Brendon sort of guessed he said it so casually because there was a hint of pride underneath it all. Brendon couldn't help but smile at him.
--
At 3 PM, Spencer comes into Brendon's room. Brendon is putting his stuff away in dressers and getting settled in.
Spencer sits on the bed and watches Brendon fold up a light blue tee shirt and tuck it in a drawer. "Hey Bren, I forgot to mention me and Jon are going to this fourth of July thing down at this park, and we wanted you to come with us."
Brendon turns around, and says, "Well, sure. I guess. Why not?"
"I know you like, just got here," Spencer says. "but we didn't want to leave you home and bored, and this is always fun. Me and Jon go every year, you'll love it." Spencer grins. "There's this hillside by a river, and everyone lays out blankets and stuff and when the fireworks go off it reflects in the water and it's just, awesome dude."
Brendon smiles at how excited Spencer seems to get about it. Fourth of July was always his favorite holiday as a kid, and obviously that hasn't changed after all the years.
"Yeah," Brendon says, grinning. "I'd love to come."
--
At 6 PM, Spencer, Jon, and Brendon pile in a taxi. It takes them thirty minutes to get to the park, and when Brendon steps out of the car he sees a large parking lot with food stands scattered around. He sees various hot dog and cotton candy stands, and as they walk towards the lake hillside, Brendon eyes a funnel cake stand hungrily. Spencer notices, and says, "Later, pumpkin," while laughing obnoxiously. Brendon stares, and realizes how much he's missed this.
They soon reach the top of the hill, and Brendon stares in awe. The river is huge, and the hill is wide and slightly steep. There's tons of families and groups of people lounging on blankets strewn about the hill, facing the water.
He follows Jon and Spencer towards an empty patch of grass, and Jon lays out the large blanket, then plops down happily. Spencer sits in between his legs and leans back contently.
Brendon sits down cross legged next to them, the hill's angle causing him to have to lean back just slightly. They sit in content silence, before Spencer jumps slightly and tugs out his phone. He scans the screen before hopping up and brushing his jeans off.
"Ryan's here," He clarifies. "I'm going to go get him." Jon nods and smiles lazily up at him as he hurries off.
"Ryan?" Brendon questions. Spencer mentioned him earlier, while showing Brendon his room, and Brendon forgot to ask about him.
Jon looks over and nods. "We forgot to tell you, but Ryan comes with us every year here too. He's pretty awesome, I think you'll like him. Spencer met him a few months after you left, and they act as if they've known each other their whole lives." Jon laughs. "I wouldn't be surprised if they were brothers."
Brendon swallows down the faint jealousy, because he has known Spencer his whole life, and Brendon feels sort of stupid for not expecting it. Of course Spencer would find a new best friend. He wasn't just going to wait around for Brendon to come back, was he? No.
Still, Brendon feels sort of replaced. He brushes off the feeling though, and smiles when Spencer comes back with a boy trailing behind him.
The boy is tall and lanky, and is dressed in a white v-neck and black skinny jeans. He has caramel brown hair that hangs slightly over one eye, and a warm smile. Brendon sort of finds it really hard to dislike him.
"Bren, this is Ryan. Ryan, Brendon," Spencer greets. He turns to Ryan. "Brendon moved to New York a few years ago, and finally decided to get his lazy ass down here to visit his old best friend." He playfully glares at Brendon, and Brendon blushes slightly, smiling ashamedly. "He's staying for a few weeks, and we're sorry but he now has rein over your room." He laughs, and Ryan shrugs lazily.
"Eh, it's cool. I always have the couch." He says, and then winks at Brendon. Brendon tries to ignore the slight flutter in his stomach.
Ryan settles between Brendon and Jon, and leans back on his elbows. The sun is setting, and Spencer said once it's dark they start the fireworks, which is usually about nine.
The orange glow from the sky reflects along the lake, and Brendon watches in fascination. The bright color explodes across the river, and the water ripples slightly from the warm breeze.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" A voice next to him says, startling Brendon from his thoughts. He turns and sees Ryan squinting slightly at the setting sun. An orange-y yellow glow is cast across his face, making his eyes shine. Brendon swallows, his throat suddenly dry.
He nods and says, "Yeah," leaning his elbows on his knees, resting his chin in his palms. "I never usually get to enjoy this stuff in New York because the sun set is usually hidden behind buildings and I'm too lazy to go drive to a park like this somewhere."
Ryan 'hmm's in acknowledgement, then suddenly turns to Brendon, letting his head loll lazily to the side, exposing his pale neck. "Spencer mentions you a lot," Ryan says, and Brendon blinks, startled. "He tells me stories about you two in high school and stuff. You were one crazy ass kid, weren't you?" Ryan smiles amusedly, and Brendon rolls his eyes fondly.
"Spencer was just a wuss. I was the adventurer. My motto: Never take life seriously; nobody gets out alive anyway, so live it up while you can, you know?"
Ryan nods, seemingly understanding, and says, "Why did you ever move to New York anyways?"
Brendon hesitates, and considers actually telling him the truth, but settles on, "I just needed to get out of here." His voice grows soft, and Ryan eyes him curiously, but doesn't push any further.
Brendon suddenly remembers something, and sits up, turning to Spencer. "Spencer!" He exclaims. "Spencer, you promised me funnel cake!" Spencer groans and shifts more into Jon, letting his head fall back. Jon strokes his hair and laughs.
Brendon pouts, and reaches over Ryan to poke his hip. Spencer squeaks, pushing Brendon's hand away.
"I'm comfy!" He says. "Go get your own damn funnel cake!"
Brendon whines, "Jon, c'mon, help me out here!" Jon shrugs, and tickles Spencer until he jumps up with a huff.
"Assholes," He says matter-of-factly. Then sighs, "C'mon, you little five year old, let's go get you some damn funnel cake before the fire works begin."
Brendon hops up excitedly, when Ryan suddenly says, "Well, I'll take him if you want Spence. I need to stretch my legs anyway." He shrugs, and Spencer gapes at him.
"Why couldn't you offer before Jon attacked me and made me lose my comfortable spot?!" Spencer whines. Ryan just laughs and says, "'Cause I'm an asshole like that."
Spencer makes a noise of agreement and throws Ryan a five dollar bill, settling back down onto his "jerk face of a boyfriend" he mutters quietly, and Jon just kisses his neck.
Brendon's a little surprised, but happy none the less. Him and Ryan seem to have hit it off nicely, and Brendon thinks Spencer chose a good replacement for him.
--
Brendon and Ryan return bit later with the funnel cake, Brendon munching happily as he sits back down on the blanket. During the small trip, Brendon had become increasingly more comfortable around Ryan, even unexpectedly stuffing a piece of funnel cake into Ryan's face and laughing hysterically while he spluttered.
Brendon leans back, the paper plate of funnel cake resting on his lap, and he idly stuffs another piece in his mouth. The sun is fully set by now, and the lights from up on the parking lot in the food stands slightly illuminate the area around them, getting dimmer near the bottom of the hill.
"The fire works are about to start," Ryan says excitedly, and Brendon turns and smiles at him. Ryan blinks, then smiles softly, laughter in his eyes.
"You got a little..." Ryan trails off, and not so subtly licks his lips. Brendon blinks, confused, and Ryan sighs amusedly, before reaching out and swiping his thumb along the corner of Brendon mouth. Brendon jumps, startled and before he can say anything the sky explodes with color, and loud booms fill the air. Brendon turns towards the sky, and doesn't notice Ryan licking the powdered sugar from his finger.
He's absolutely in awe, and even though the loud noise makes him jump a bit, he tries to ignore it. The different colors, the brightness, the reflection in the water. His eyes are blown wide, and Ryan watches his reaction fondly.
"Never seen fireworks before?" He asks, chuckling quietly. Brendon shakes his head.
"I have," He says faintly, still mostly focused on the show in front of him. "Just...never like this. Not for a long time."
Ryan nods, and turns back to the sky. The shows lasts for about fifteen minutes, and Ryan turns back to Brendon right as the grand finale starts, to see his face.
As the end grows near, and the colors bloom on Brendon's pale skin, the noise louder than ever, Brendon suddenly erupts in a face splitting grin, childish excitement glowing in his eyes.
"Did you see that?" Brendon asks frantically, flailing his arms a little. Ryan laughs. "That was awesome!"
Spencer and Jon are talking contently, having seen this a thousand times but still enjoying it every year. There are still a handful of people loitering on the hill, relaxing on their blankets and just enjoying the night sky for a while before they decide to go home. Brendon's still breathless, and he lays back on the blanket, folding his arms behind his head.
Ryan stays sitting up, cross legged, peering down at Brendon.
"I forgot what it was like," Brendon says, "being with Spencer and doing stuff like this; celebrating holidays, living carefree, having a family." Because Brendon does consider Spencer family. Well, he's more of a family than his ever was anyways.
Brendon thinks of Shane, and yeah, Shane's family, but.
But he's not home.
Brendon looks over to Spencer, laughing at something Jon said, blue eyes twinkling in the moonlight and cheeks flushed from the evening heat. He looks up at the Vegas stars and feels the grass under him beneath the thin blanket. He looks at Ryan, eyes closed contently, and then at Jon, staring at Spencer adoringly, and thinks how he's made two new friends, and maybe even new additions to his makeshift family with Spencer, he's not sure yet. Maybe.
Brendon smiles and thinks, yeah, this is home.
--
Brendon is woken up the next morning by his phone vibrating annoyingly on the bedside table. He groans and fumbles for it just before it ends up falling off the table completely.
"Mnf?" He says groggily, and a laugh comes from the other end.
"Wake up, it's Shane."
Brendon rolls over and rubs his eyes. "Oh, hi," he says, still a little scratchy and dry. Water sounds really fucking awesome right now.
"So, how was your first day? How's Spencer?" Shane says, and it sounds like he's driving somewhere. Brendon glances at the clock. 6:43 am. Fuck, he hates Shane.
Brendon sits up and stretches until his back cracks. "It was actually really awesome. Spencer has a boyfriend, Jon, and he's really chill. They took me to see fire works at this river side. I have to say it was pretty epic."
Shane makes a noise of acknowledgment, and Brendon thinks somebody just cut him off and he's trying not to curse out loud while on the phone with Brendon. Shane was always an active one for road rage.
"And Spencer has this friend, Ryan, and he's seems really nice and stuff." Brendon doesn't mention what exactly about Ryan is nice; the way his face glowed in the sunset; the way his v-neck hugged his arms, defining his biceps; the way his soft smile made something warm and pleasant ripple through Brendon's body.
Shane 'hmm's. "Well, it sounds like things are going pretty swell. What are you going to do there for three weeks though?" and Brendon can tell the subject of are you going to visit your parents is on the tip of his tongue.
Brendon shrugs, mostly to himself. "Well, Jon works at Starbucks, but he has crazy early hours so he's usually done by like, early afternoon. Which is probably when I'll just be waking up anyways," he laughs. "Ryan works at home on this like, online magazine thing. I don't know, Spencer didn't say much about it. But he like, makes his own hours. As long as he gets his shit done by the deadline, he can do whatever the hell he wants. And Spencer, really surprisingly enough, is a kindergarten teacher, so he has nothing to do during summers."
Shane laughs on the other end. "Dude, really? I thought you told me Spencer was the one with the epic bitch face and the 'glare of death', as you described it."
Brendon laughs back. "I know! I guess he's had a soft spot all these years. Damn if I could ever find it."
Brendon hears the constant hum on the other end stop, and a jingle of car keys. "Sorry, but I have to go. I'm at work. I'll call you tomorrow, okay?" Shane says.
Brendon huffs. "No," he says, thinking about 6:43 am, "I'll call you."
Shane laughs. "Okay, sure. Bye, Bren."
The phone clicks shut, and Brendon closes his too and sets it back on the dresser. He runs a hand through his hair, and the clock now reads that it's seven. He doubts he'll be able to go back to sleep by now.
He gets out of bed and slips out his door, finding Spencer in the kitchen drinking coffee. He looks like he got up not too long ago either.
"Morning," Brendon says, mouth still parched, and he practically dashes for the cabinet for a cup, and downs three glasses of tap water in record time.
"Hey," Spencer echoes. Brendon sits at the table across from him, his fourth glass of water still clutched in his hands. They sit in content silence while Spencer texts away, probably to Jon, in between sips of caffeine. Brendon could never afford texting.
"So," Brendon says, "what are we going to do today?"
Spencer shrugs. "I don't know. I really don't have much planned for today. I was thinking maybe we'd just hang out, and catch up you know?" Brendon nods in agreement, and is secretly thankful. He's kind of exhausted from the early flight and then the late night. Just hanging out sounds pretty nice. Spencer takes another drink and continues, "Ryan comes over like, everyday to keep me company. Seriously, he practically lives here. He's usually around by noon."
Brendon nods and finishes his water. He stands up to put the glass in the sink, downs a quick cup of the now cold coffee, and says, "I'm going to take a shower. Don't want to snuggle during movies smelling like day old sweat, now do we?" Spencer rolls his eyes, and Brendon smiles, bounding off to his room to shower.
Part Two >>