OC Fic : Fork In The Road (6/9)
One chapter quickly, before I go to bed...
Title : Fork In The Road
Author : Helen C.
Rating : R (M)
Summary : AU. Dawn never left in the Pilot, and Ryan came back to Chino for a while. Years later, he and Seth meet in Los Angeles.
Spoilers : Everything is fair game.
Disclaimer : The characters and the universe were created and are owned by Josh Schwartz. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
joey51 stayed up until some ungodly hour in the night to beta this, and that's one of the many reasons why she's the best beta ever. :) Thanks, Joey!
Chapter Six
Ryan doesn't think of himself as straight, or gay, or even bisexual for that matter. To him, sex is sex, pleasure is pleasure, no matter who's in bed with him.
After all, he has never been interested in putting labels on things or people, besides useful/not useful, and dangerous/not dangerous.
He can spot signals; he has always been good at reading people, so he can't say he's surprised when Seth kisses him, one night, about four weeks after their first meeting.
He has seen the signs-the lingering looks, the subtle blushes, the innuendo.
He and Seth tend to hang out together a lot, now. Whoever finishes work first calls the other and goes to wait at his place.
Ryan hasn't been out with the other guys at the construction site for almost a month, and they've gone from being worried to teasing him whenever they get the chance. "When do we meet her?" they often ask, making Ryan smile and shrug, and go back to his task without answering that loaded question.
He likes the friendship he has with Seth, but he's curious too, because clearly, there's sexual tension there; he would have to be blind not to see it. After all, they're both young, lonely and attractive, and they have a few fond shared memories binding them.
So, he kisses back, almost grateful that Seth took the initiative-a very un-Sethish thing to do, from what Ryan knows.
Then Seth pulls back, looking like he expects Ryan to either punch him or throw him out, and Ryan smiles.
Seth smiles back, still looking unsure, and Ryan fumbles for something reassuring to say.
"Have you ever…?" he finally asks. "With another guy?" It's the only thing he could think of that would make it clear that he's open to possibilities.
"Yeah. Sure."
Ryan raises an eyebrow, so Seth elaborates, "Once or twice. In college."
Which is pretty much what Ryan expected.
"I'm all about experimenting," Seth adds. Ryan bites back an incredulous laugh, and refrains from asking Seth whether or not he's just "experimenting" with Ryan.
After all, it doesn't matter.
Sure, they like each other, but clearly, they're not in love or anything. They're just two adults who spend time together and want to take it up a notch.
They're from different worlds, they expect different things out of life, and sooner or later, Seth will realize that, and move on.
There's no way they can have a long-term relationship, of that, Ryan is sure. They're too different, and their respective issues would be unmanageable if they ever tried to have a "serious" relationship.
"What about you?" Seth asks.
Ryan leans back in the couch, shoots a distracted glance at the TV-he can't even remember what they were watching before this-and nods. "Yeah. Few times." He smiles. "Experimenting."
Seth chuckles. "I thought this kind of stuff only happened in college," he says.
Ryan shrugs. "Evidently, it doesn't."
Seth drops his eyes, looking mortified. "Sorry. I didn't mean to imply-"
Ryan raises a hand to make him stop. "I know you didn't. I'm just saying, lots of people never go to college and still have lives."
Seth nods eagerly. "Right. No, yeah, you're right." He gulps nervously, audibly. "So, now what?"
Ryan rolls his eyes. "Well, we can go fuck in the bedroom, or we can fuck right here, or in the kitchen, or in the shower-which isn't my favorite place, really, but still, it's a possibility-or we can take it slow and see where it goes."
Seth's face has turned a bright scarlet by the time Ryan stops talking, and Ryan smirks slightly-really, what he said was hardly that offensive.
Seth finally manages to choke out, "Er, yeah."
Amused, Ryan crosses his arms and gnaws at his lower lip. "Yeah to what? Bed, shower, kitchen? Or yeah to the waiting part?"
"You're messing with my head, aren't you?"
At that, Ryan barks out a sharp laugh. "Yes. And no," he says, wondering how long it'll take for Seth's head to explode at this rate.
Seth frowns and ponders that before nodding. "Yes, you're messing with me about the vast array of options we have. No, you're not messing with me about wanting to… you know…"
"Yeah," Ryan says.
Seth nods, looking less nervous and more like, well, Seth, and Ryan relaxes back in the couch.
***
Seth doesn't know what possessed him.
One minute ago, he was talking with Ryan, and now, his lips are on Ryan's, and he's sure next thing he knows, he'll be on the ground with a shiner or possibly some broken bones.
He braces himself for just that, so it's kind of a surprise when, after a brief hesitation, Ryan kisses back.
Never one to look a horse gift in the mouth-and what an unfortunate mental picture to think about at such a time-Seth enjoys the moment.
Ryan is a good kisser, which Seth would have bet his right arm on, if he had ever thought about it.
Which, okay, he did.
A little.
Or a lot.
It's not that he's gay, exactly.
Sure, he has had sex with guys, during his experimentation phase, but these days, who hasn't had at least one same-sex night, right?
The 80's were all about home-made sex-tapes, and in the early 2000's, the new furor was the same-sex experimentation.
Big deal.
Perhaps a therapist would tell Seth that he's starting relationships that are doomed from the start because deep down, he wants to remain free for Summer, but who cares what a therapist says anyway?
He was there, Ryan was there, and they get along well, for all their differences, and for a moment, it seemed like a perfect idea.
Of course, most plans that eventually go awry start out as good-ideas-at-the-time, but life is all about needing to take chances, and about checking which good ideas are really good, and which are, really, terrible.
Seth has never allowed himself to take many chances. Back in high-school, he kept trying to work up the guts to walk to Summer and ask her out, and he'd always freeze before taking the first step. When he was home, he usually thought that he had to, that nothing could be worse than this constant waiting for something to happen, that even if she laughed at him, at least he would have asked.
Screw that, he'd think then. She can only say yes if I ask.
And then, the next day, he'd see her in the hallways and he'd get petrified again.
Sadly, he never got into a "screw that" state of mind while he was at school, where it could have made a difference.
As they pull back, and Ryan softly inquires whether he has ever done it with a guy, Seth can't help but wonder what'll happen now, and then later. Are they going anywhere with this, and if so, where?
He sounds like a girl in his own mind, but Seth has never been one to have normal thoughts, for all the good that ever did him.
So, naturally, the question slips out. "So, now what?"
He can't quite bring himself to look Ryan in the eye after asking that question.
"Well, we can go fuck in the bedroom, or we can fuck right here, or in the kitchen, or in the shower-which isn't my favorite place, really, but still, it's a possibility-or we can take it slow and see where it goes."
Seth feels his cheeks burn-and fuck if that's not the least mature reaction he has ever had when faced with the real possibility of having sex.
"Er, yeah," he finally manages, eloquently.
And to think that his Dad wanted him to join the debate team in high school.
What a wonderful asset Seth would have been…
"Yeah to what?" Ryan asks, and Seth relaxes a little, because obviously, even though Ryan is having a little fun at his expense, that fun isn't mean-spirited in the least. "Bed, shower, kitchen? Or yeah to the waiting part?"
"You're messing with my head, aren't you?"
"Yes and no," Ryan replies, which confirms it.
Ryan is probably just trying to make it easier by laying down all the options on the table, and that's good.
He hasn't kicked Seth out yet, he hasn't flat out refused anything, he's just careful, and that's very… Ryan-ish.
***
As for many other things in his life, Ryan has rules when it comes to sex.
Always use condoms, because he really doesn’t need an unplanned pregnancy, or a STD.
Nothing kinky with someone he doesn't know and trust-male or female.
When sleeping with a guy, never bottom, because he tends to freak out when he tries it, and he doesn't want to bring back to the surface unwanted memories.
Never, ever, stay the night when it's someone he doesn't know, because he doesn't want his partner to get the wrong idea.
His first night with Seth is a quiet affair-there's no in-depth discussion, no questioning about the right moment, no real build-up. Simply, they meet, eat Chinese, start kissing in front of a movie, and one thing leads to another.
Seth gasps and bites his lip and clenches the sheet, the pillow, writhing under Ryan as Ryan pushes into him, gently at first, then more roughly.
Ryan grunts, bites Seth shoulder, hard enough to mark but not hard enough to really hurt him, muffles his own cries into a pillow because he was never a loud lover-that must be rule number nine or something; don't wake the neighbors.
Ryan comes a few seconds before Seth-who, big surprise, is rather loud in bed.
"Wow," Seth says when Ryan collapses next to him, catching his breath.
Ryan nods, spent. "Yeah."
"Cool," Seth adds, and Ryan might be offended by Seth's lackluster description of what they just did, if he hadn't noticed that Seth tends to run out of words when he's overwhelmed.
"Yeah."
"You ever going to say anything else?"
"Yeah," Ryan replies, chuckling.
Seth nods, leans on an elbow, smiles down at Ryan, and Ryan knows what Seth's next words will be before the other man opens his mouth.
"So, was it-"
"God, don't say it!" Ryan says, half-laughing, half-horrified.
"-as good for you as it was for me?"
Ryan reaches behind him, grabs his pillow, and smashes it on Seth's face.
"No clichés in this bed," he warns.
That's rule number eleven.
Chapter 7
Title : Fork In The Road
Author : Helen C.
Rating : R (M)
Summary : AU. Dawn never left in the Pilot, and Ryan came back to Chino for a while. Years later, he and Seth meet in Los Angeles.
Spoilers : Everything is fair game.
Disclaimer : The characters and the universe were created and are owned by Josh Schwartz. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
joey51 stayed up until some ungodly hour in the night to beta this, and that's one of the many reasons why she's the best beta ever. :) Thanks, Joey!
Chapter Six
Ryan doesn't think of himself as straight, or gay, or even bisexual for that matter. To him, sex is sex, pleasure is pleasure, no matter who's in bed with him.
After all, he has never been interested in putting labels on things or people, besides useful/not useful, and dangerous/not dangerous.
He can spot signals; he has always been good at reading people, so he can't say he's surprised when Seth kisses him, one night, about four weeks after their first meeting.
He has seen the signs-the lingering looks, the subtle blushes, the innuendo.
He and Seth tend to hang out together a lot, now. Whoever finishes work first calls the other and goes to wait at his place.
Ryan hasn't been out with the other guys at the construction site for almost a month, and they've gone from being worried to teasing him whenever they get the chance. "When do we meet her?" they often ask, making Ryan smile and shrug, and go back to his task without answering that loaded question.
He likes the friendship he has with Seth, but he's curious too, because clearly, there's sexual tension there; he would have to be blind not to see it. After all, they're both young, lonely and attractive, and they have a few fond shared memories binding them.
So, he kisses back, almost grateful that Seth took the initiative-a very un-Sethish thing to do, from what Ryan knows.
Then Seth pulls back, looking like he expects Ryan to either punch him or throw him out, and Ryan smiles.
Seth smiles back, still looking unsure, and Ryan fumbles for something reassuring to say.
"Have you ever…?" he finally asks. "With another guy?" It's the only thing he could think of that would make it clear that he's open to possibilities.
"Yeah. Sure."
Ryan raises an eyebrow, so Seth elaborates, "Once or twice. In college."
Which is pretty much what Ryan expected.
"I'm all about experimenting," Seth adds. Ryan bites back an incredulous laugh, and refrains from asking Seth whether or not he's just "experimenting" with Ryan.
After all, it doesn't matter.
Sure, they like each other, but clearly, they're not in love or anything. They're just two adults who spend time together and want to take it up a notch.
They're from different worlds, they expect different things out of life, and sooner or later, Seth will realize that, and move on.
There's no way they can have a long-term relationship, of that, Ryan is sure. They're too different, and their respective issues would be unmanageable if they ever tried to have a "serious" relationship.
"What about you?" Seth asks.
Ryan leans back in the couch, shoots a distracted glance at the TV-he can't even remember what they were watching before this-and nods. "Yeah. Few times." He smiles. "Experimenting."
Seth chuckles. "I thought this kind of stuff only happened in college," he says.
Ryan shrugs. "Evidently, it doesn't."
Seth drops his eyes, looking mortified. "Sorry. I didn't mean to imply-"
Ryan raises a hand to make him stop. "I know you didn't. I'm just saying, lots of people never go to college and still have lives."
Seth nods eagerly. "Right. No, yeah, you're right." He gulps nervously, audibly. "So, now what?"
Ryan rolls his eyes. "Well, we can go fuck in the bedroom, or we can fuck right here, or in the kitchen, or in the shower-which isn't my favorite place, really, but still, it's a possibility-or we can take it slow and see where it goes."
Seth's face has turned a bright scarlet by the time Ryan stops talking, and Ryan smirks slightly-really, what he said was hardly that offensive.
Seth finally manages to choke out, "Er, yeah."
Amused, Ryan crosses his arms and gnaws at his lower lip. "Yeah to what? Bed, shower, kitchen? Or yeah to the waiting part?"
"You're messing with my head, aren't you?"
At that, Ryan barks out a sharp laugh. "Yes. And no," he says, wondering how long it'll take for Seth's head to explode at this rate.
Seth frowns and ponders that before nodding. "Yes, you're messing with me about the vast array of options we have. No, you're not messing with me about wanting to… you know…"
"Yeah," Ryan says.
Seth nods, looking less nervous and more like, well, Seth, and Ryan relaxes back in the couch.
***
Seth doesn't know what possessed him.
One minute ago, he was talking with Ryan, and now, his lips are on Ryan's, and he's sure next thing he knows, he'll be on the ground with a shiner or possibly some broken bones.
He braces himself for just that, so it's kind of a surprise when, after a brief hesitation, Ryan kisses back.
Never one to look a horse gift in the mouth-and what an unfortunate mental picture to think about at such a time-Seth enjoys the moment.
Ryan is a good kisser, which Seth would have bet his right arm on, if he had ever thought about it.
Which, okay, he did.
A little.
Or a lot.
It's not that he's gay, exactly.
Sure, he has had sex with guys, during his experimentation phase, but these days, who hasn't had at least one same-sex night, right?
The 80's were all about home-made sex-tapes, and in the early 2000's, the new furor was the same-sex experimentation.
Big deal.
Perhaps a therapist would tell Seth that he's starting relationships that are doomed from the start because deep down, he wants to remain free for Summer, but who cares what a therapist says anyway?
He was there, Ryan was there, and they get along well, for all their differences, and for a moment, it seemed like a perfect idea.
Of course, most plans that eventually go awry start out as good-ideas-at-the-time, but life is all about needing to take chances, and about checking which good ideas are really good, and which are, really, terrible.
Seth has never allowed himself to take many chances. Back in high-school, he kept trying to work up the guts to walk to Summer and ask her out, and he'd always freeze before taking the first step. When he was home, he usually thought that he had to, that nothing could be worse than this constant waiting for something to happen, that even if she laughed at him, at least he would have asked.
Screw that, he'd think then. She can only say yes if I ask.
And then, the next day, he'd see her in the hallways and he'd get petrified again.
Sadly, he never got into a "screw that" state of mind while he was at school, where it could have made a difference.
As they pull back, and Ryan softly inquires whether he has ever done it with a guy, Seth can't help but wonder what'll happen now, and then later. Are they going anywhere with this, and if so, where?
He sounds like a girl in his own mind, but Seth has never been one to have normal thoughts, for all the good that ever did him.
So, naturally, the question slips out. "So, now what?"
He can't quite bring himself to look Ryan in the eye after asking that question.
"Well, we can go fuck in the bedroom, or we can fuck right here, or in the kitchen, or in the shower-which isn't my favorite place, really, but still, it's a possibility-or we can take it slow and see where it goes."
Seth feels his cheeks burn-and fuck if that's not the least mature reaction he has ever had when faced with the real possibility of having sex.
"Er, yeah," he finally manages, eloquently.
And to think that his Dad wanted him to join the debate team in high school.
What a wonderful asset Seth would have been…
"Yeah to what?" Ryan asks, and Seth relaxes a little, because obviously, even though Ryan is having a little fun at his expense, that fun isn't mean-spirited in the least. "Bed, shower, kitchen? Or yeah to the waiting part?"
"You're messing with my head, aren't you?"
"Yes and no," Ryan replies, which confirms it.
Ryan is probably just trying to make it easier by laying down all the options on the table, and that's good.
He hasn't kicked Seth out yet, he hasn't flat out refused anything, he's just careful, and that's very… Ryan-ish.
***
As for many other things in his life, Ryan has rules when it comes to sex.
Always use condoms, because he really doesn’t need an unplanned pregnancy, or a STD.
Nothing kinky with someone he doesn't know and trust-male or female.
When sleeping with a guy, never bottom, because he tends to freak out when he tries it, and he doesn't want to bring back to the surface unwanted memories.
Never, ever, stay the night when it's someone he doesn't know, because he doesn't want his partner to get the wrong idea.
His first night with Seth is a quiet affair-there's no in-depth discussion, no questioning about the right moment, no real build-up. Simply, they meet, eat Chinese, start kissing in front of a movie, and one thing leads to another.
Seth gasps and bites his lip and clenches the sheet, the pillow, writhing under Ryan as Ryan pushes into him, gently at first, then more roughly.
Ryan grunts, bites Seth shoulder, hard enough to mark but not hard enough to really hurt him, muffles his own cries into a pillow because he was never a loud lover-that must be rule number nine or something; don't wake the neighbors.
Ryan comes a few seconds before Seth-who, big surprise, is rather loud in bed.
"Wow," Seth says when Ryan collapses next to him, catching his breath.
Ryan nods, spent. "Yeah."
"Cool," Seth adds, and Ryan might be offended by Seth's lackluster description of what they just did, if he hadn't noticed that Seth tends to run out of words when he's overwhelmed.
"Yeah."
"You ever going to say anything else?"
"Yeah," Ryan replies, chuckling.
Seth nods, leans on an elbow, smiles down at Ryan, and Ryan knows what Seth's next words will be before the other man opens his mouth.
"So, was it-"
"God, don't say it!" Ryan says, half-laughing, half-horrified.
"-as good for you as it was for me?"
Ryan reaches behind him, grabs his pillow, and smashes it on Seth's face.
"No clichés in this bed," he warns.
That's rule number eleven.
Chapter 7