OC Fic : The Sad, Sad Tale of Two White Knights (2/3)
Title : The Sad, Sad Tale of Two White Knights
Author : Helen C.
Rating : PG
Summary : Title says it all…
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.
AN. Written for brandywine421's hiatus challenge. My prompts were : bullet, haze, pink.
Many, many thanks to joey51, who beta'd this and to brandy for organizing the challenge :)
Part Two
Summer got the first joke in, three days later.
It wasn't a very good joke-too obvious, vastly inappropriate-but it made both Ryan and Seth smile.
Seth was lying on the couch, on his belly, studiously avoiding looking anyone in the eye.
"This is so embarrassing," he mumbled from time to time, usually a propos of nothing.
Ryan and Summer could only sympathize, and offer proper words of comfort-"It'll be over soon," and "Things will get better," and the always popular, "Come on, it could have been a lot worse."
So, yes, eventually, after three days of watching Seth drowning in self-pity, Summer couldn't resist any longer.
"This is just so…" Seth said. He didn't need to finish his sentence anymore. Summer and Ryan both knew what he meant.
"Yeah, I'm sure it must be a real pain in the ass," Summer said.
She could have pretended she hadn't meant to say that.
It would have been a lie.
She thought that maybe, laughing about the whole situation would help Seth in the long run.
Ryan, arm in a sling, the living picture of the injured hero, bit back his own smile, waiting for Seth's reaction.
Only when Seth snorted, then chuckled, did Ryan laugh a little too.
Summer shot him a triumphant look and he nodded in return.
And so Operation Cheer Seth Up started.
*
The Cohens seemed to be expecting Ryan and Seth to freak out.
The way they hovered, making sure they both took their medication, making sure they got enough rest, making sure they knew they could talk to them, were proof enough.
Kirsten had actually tucked Ryan into bed when he had first come back, and for the most part, Ryan hadn't minded. It was nice having the Cohens' attention again; he just regretted that they had been so frightened in the process.
"I know it was scary," Sandy said the day after Ryan had come home. "And I want you to know that I'm here, if you want to talk. You and Seth… Well, I'm here for you, you know that, right?"
Ryan smiled and nodded, knowing that Seth was too embarrassed yet to realize that he had been shot-it would sink in eventually, but for now, the least of Seth worries was the actual shooting.
As for Ryan…
Well, sure, he had been scared-he remembered the girls' panic in the parking lot, and he remember how freaky it had been to lie on his back in the ER, allowing nurses to cut the clothes from his body while doctors were yelling strange names all around him, calling for tests and talking about surgery.
They had barely paused when he had asked for news of Seth, and it was only when he had threatened to go look for himself that one of the nurses had gone for news, and come back a few minutes later smiling reassuringly.
Still, now that the truly bad part was over, now that he was home safe, Ryan wasn't even remotely disturbed by what had happened.
He had gone through worse, and in far more challenging circumstances. Compared to AJ, compared to Juvie, compared to what had happened with Trey, this was a walk in the park.
He was surrounded by people who loved him, people who were going out of their way to make sure he was well cared for.
He knew he had nothing to fear anymore.
Now, if he could convince the Cohens of the fact...
*
Ryan was sleeping in the pool house when Taylor dropped by.
She all but jumped on the bed, waking him with a start.
"What?"
"Hey!" She smiled her ten-thousand-megawatt smile his way, making him regret not having his sunglasses in hand. He frowned at the thought. Damn, but the painkillers were seriously messing with his thought processes. "How are you?"
Ryan liked Taylor. She amused him, she had proven she could be a good friend sometimes, and she was more interesting than she came across.
"She has layers," Seth had once said, and Ryan had come to see that.
She also scared him sometimes.
Right this moment, for example, when she had that gleam in her eyes telling him she was up to something.
"I brought you something!" She handed him a wrapped, oddly-shaped package that he accepted carefully, still trying to clear the last cobwebs of sleep from his brain.
"Thanks," he said, proceeding to unwrap the package-not an easy feat with only one arm available.
After a few minutes of struggling under her perky smile, he found himself holding, of all things, a-
"It's a bear!" Taylor exclaimed as he stared at the thing.
"It's pink." He tried to keep his tone neutral but he was pretty sure it caught on the last syllable.
"Yeah, I know. Pretty isn't it? I got flowers for Seth and a little something for his injury, but you don't strike me as the flower type."
Ryan nodded dumbly.
Looked at her triumphant smile.
Thought back to some of the stories he'd heard about her and her boyfriend.
Made a mental note to check that there weren't any cameras hidden in the bear. He wouldn't put it past Taylor. He wouldn't put anything past Taylor.
"Thanks," he repeated.
And, his luck being what it was, Kirsten stepped in at that point, finding him holding a pink teddy bear and smiling at Taylor like an idiot.
Just great.
*
Seth was moping in his room when Taylor came in.
She all but jumped on the bed and he glared at her as well as he could-funny how even three years in the company of Ryan hadn't made Seth a master in the art of glaring at people. Hell, he wasn't even a decent apprentice yet.
"What?"
"Hey!" She smiled her ten-thousand-megawatt smile his way. "How are you?"
I got shot in the ass. How about you? Done anything interesting recently? "Fine."
"I got you some flowers," she said. "Your mom is putting them in a vase."
"Er," Seth said.
Sometimes, Taylor was a little weird.
Sometimes, she was downright scary.
She even managed to make Ryan squirm sometimes, and Seth would never have thought he'd see the day when any girl would be able to do that.
"There's also this." She handed him a wrapped, oddly-shaped package that he accepted carefully, wondering what she could possibly offer him. Knowing Taylor, anything was possible.
He proceeded to unwrap the package, tearing up the paper and finding himself with a-
"It's a cushion!" she explained. "It'll help when you can sit again. Make seats more comfy, you know."
He stared at her, speechless. "I…"
"You're welcome," she said generously. "I can't stay long. I need to meet Sung Ho at the Mall." She leaned in, whispered, "We have plans for tonight."
Seth got a very powerful mental image of the two of them-some of the stories circulating about Taylor were pretty colorful-and swallowed thickly. "Good for you." I'll be here feeling miserable, thanks for asking.
"Well, I should go." She patted Seth's shoulder gently. "See you soon, Seth."
She went just as she had come-abruptly, without a goodbye.
*
"So, you got a visit from Taylor too?" Seth asked Ryan, later that day.
Interestingly, Ryan flushed a light shade of pink.
"Yeah."
"What did she want?"
"She wanted to see how I was doing. I guess." Ryan looked at the ceiling for a while, entranced by whatever he was seeing up there. "She came see you too?"
"Yup."
They fell silent.
"Okay, I give," Seth said after a while. "What did she bring you?"
Ryan bit his lip, looked down. "Hm." He shot a look at Seth. "What did she bring you?"
Seth swallowed, thinking about Taylor's gift (carefully hidden under piles of clothes.)
"Never mind."
"Yeah."
"Definitely scary," Seth said.
Ryan nodded in heartfelt agreement.
On to Part Three
Author : Helen C.
Rating : PG
Summary : Title says it all…
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.
AN. Written for brandywine421's hiatus challenge. My prompts were : bullet, haze, pink.
Many, many thanks to joey51, who beta'd this and to brandy for organizing the challenge :)
Part Two
Summer got the first joke in, three days later.
It wasn't a very good joke-too obvious, vastly inappropriate-but it made both Ryan and Seth smile.
Seth was lying on the couch, on his belly, studiously avoiding looking anyone in the eye.
"This is so embarrassing," he mumbled from time to time, usually a propos of nothing.
Ryan and Summer could only sympathize, and offer proper words of comfort-"It'll be over soon," and "Things will get better," and the always popular, "Come on, it could have been a lot worse."
So, yes, eventually, after three days of watching Seth drowning in self-pity, Summer couldn't resist any longer.
"This is just so…" Seth said. He didn't need to finish his sentence anymore. Summer and Ryan both knew what he meant.
"Yeah, I'm sure it must be a real pain in the ass," Summer said.
She could have pretended she hadn't meant to say that.
It would have been a lie.
She thought that maybe, laughing about the whole situation would help Seth in the long run.
Ryan, arm in a sling, the living picture of the injured hero, bit back his own smile, waiting for Seth's reaction.
Only when Seth snorted, then chuckled, did Ryan laugh a little too.
Summer shot him a triumphant look and he nodded in return.
And so Operation Cheer Seth Up started.
*
The Cohens seemed to be expecting Ryan and Seth to freak out.
The way they hovered, making sure they both took their medication, making sure they got enough rest, making sure they knew they could talk to them, were proof enough.
Kirsten had actually tucked Ryan into bed when he had first come back, and for the most part, Ryan hadn't minded. It was nice having the Cohens' attention again; he just regretted that they had been so frightened in the process.
"I know it was scary," Sandy said the day after Ryan had come home. "And I want you to know that I'm here, if you want to talk. You and Seth… Well, I'm here for you, you know that, right?"
Ryan smiled and nodded, knowing that Seth was too embarrassed yet to realize that he had been shot-it would sink in eventually, but for now, the least of Seth worries was the actual shooting.
As for Ryan…
Well, sure, he had been scared-he remembered the girls' panic in the parking lot, and he remember how freaky it had been to lie on his back in the ER, allowing nurses to cut the clothes from his body while doctors were yelling strange names all around him, calling for tests and talking about surgery.
They had barely paused when he had asked for news of Seth, and it was only when he had threatened to go look for himself that one of the nurses had gone for news, and come back a few minutes later smiling reassuringly.
Still, now that the truly bad part was over, now that he was home safe, Ryan wasn't even remotely disturbed by what had happened.
He had gone through worse, and in far more challenging circumstances. Compared to AJ, compared to Juvie, compared to what had happened with Trey, this was a walk in the park.
He was surrounded by people who loved him, people who were going out of their way to make sure he was well cared for.
He knew he had nothing to fear anymore.
Now, if he could convince the Cohens of the fact...
*
Ryan was sleeping in the pool house when Taylor dropped by.
She all but jumped on the bed, waking him with a start.
"What?"
"Hey!" She smiled her ten-thousand-megawatt smile his way, making him regret not having his sunglasses in hand. He frowned at the thought. Damn, but the painkillers were seriously messing with his thought processes. "How are you?"
Ryan liked Taylor. She amused him, she had proven she could be a good friend sometimes, and she was more interesting than she came across.
"She has layers," Seth had once said, and Ryan had come to see that.
She also scared him sometimes.
Right this moment, for example, when she had that gleam in her eyes telling him she was up to something.
"I brought you something!" She handed him a wrapped, oddly-shaped package that he accepted carefully, still trying to clear the last cobwebs of sleep from his brain.
"Thanks," he said, proceeding to unwrap the package-not an easy feat with only one arm available.
After a few minutes of struggling under her perky smile, he found himself holding, of all things, a-
"It's a bear!" Taylor exclaimed as he stared at the thing.
"It's pink." He tried to keep his tone neutral but he was pretty sure it caught on the last syllable.
"Yeah, I know. Pretty isn't it? I got flowers for Seth and a little something for his injury, but you don't strike me as the flower type."
Ryan nodded dumbly.
Looked at her triumphant smile.
Thought back to some of the stories he'd heard about her and her boyfriend.
Made a mental note to check that there weren't any cameras hidden in the bear. He wouldn't put it past Taylor. He wouldn't put anything past Taylor.
"Thanks," he repeated.
And, his luck being what it was, Kirsten stepped in at that point, finding him holding a pink teddy bear and smiling at Taylor like an idiot.
Just great.
*
Seth was moping in his room when Taylor came in.
She all but jumped on the bed and he glared at her as well as he could-funny how even three years in the company of Ryan hadn't made Seth a master in the art of glaring at people. Hell, he wasn't even a decent apprentice yet.
"What?"
"Hey!" She smiled her ten-thousand-megawatt smile his way. "How are you?"
I got shot in the ass. How about you? Done anything interesting recently? "Fine."
"I got you some flowers," she said. "Your mom is putting them in a vase."
"Er," Seth said.
Sometimes, Taylor was a little weird.
Sometimes, she was downright scary.
She even managed to make Ryan squirm sometimes, and Seth would never have thought he'd see the day when any girl would be able to do that.
"There's also this." She handed him a wrapped, oddly-shaped package that he accepted carefully, wondering what she could possibly offer him. Knowing Taylor, anything was possible.
He proceeded to unwrap the package, tearing up the paper and finding himself with a-
"It's a cushion!" she explained. "It'll help when you can sit again. Make seats more comfy, you know."
He stared at her, speechless. "I…"
"You're welcome," she said generously. "I can't stay long. I need to meet Sung Ho at the Mall." She leaned in, whispered, "We have plans for tonight."
Seth got a very powerful mental image of the two of them-some of the stories circulating about Taylor were pretty colorful-and swallowed thickly. "Good for you." I'll be here feeling miserable, thanks for asking.
"Well, I should go." She patted Seth's shoulder gently. "See you soon, Seth."
She went just as she had come-abruptly, without a goodbye.
*
"So, you got a visit from Taylor too?" Seth asked Ryan, later that day.
Interestingly, Ryan flushed a light shade of pink.
"Yeah."
"What did she want?"
"She wanted to see how I was doing. I guess." Ryan looked at the ceiling for a while, entranced by whatever he was seeing up there. "She came see you too?"
"Yup."
They fell silent.
"Okay, I give," Seth said after a while. "What did she bring you?"
Ryan bit his lip, looked down. "Hm." He shot a look at Seth. "What did she bring you?"
Seth swallowed, thinking about Taylor's gift (carefully hidden under piles of clothes.)
"Never mind."
"Yeah."
"Definitely scary," Seth said.
Ryan nodded in heartfelt agreement.
On to Part Three