Business and Pleasure: Chapter 28

[saiya-tina.livejournal.com]

Title: Business and Pleasure
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Brad/Ryan
Summary for the chapter: Settling in. 

Overall Summary: Brad's running his own large business and has everything but what he wants the most: someone to be there for him. After 'purchasing' Ryan from the Utopia group to serve the purpose, he slowly realizes that he's breaking their most important rule: he's falling in love with him. After two years together, two years of love, the time has come for Ryan to be taken away. The rules will change, the game will too and the three friends are going to go through the ultimate test.

A/N: Admittably not some of my best work, but this darn chapter had me stumped! :( And I'm feeling a little blah due to a cold and fever.... but please leave a comment!

It was astonishing how fast Ryan could move, agitated or not. Brad had barely taken his eyes off of him for a second before he disappeared completely, both sides of the street empty and no sign of humans anywhere, besides the far-off sounding voices of children playing. After searching the streets for another few minutes, he tried to think of the places Ryan would potentially go to think and the first that came to mind was their favorite place: the park.

 

It was crowded and filled with kids of all ages, running around, shouting for their parents to look at what they were doing, crying as they got scolded for pushing their brother or sister and some even sulking on a seat. He highly doubted Ryan would have come here for some peace and quiet until he saw a small girl sitting on a man’s lap under a tree as he showed her a flower and recognized the over-sized jacket she was wearing immediately. That could only be Ryan.

 

“And that’s why the flowers are all different colors,” he heard him saw as he made his way over to the tree and the little girl giggled, taking each of the flowers Ryan was handing to her. That sight made Brad smile wide enough that he was worried his face would split, especially when he wondered if one day, it would be their little girl on Ryan’s lap. That though, however, was best not thought of until this fiasco was resolved.

 

“Teaching her about flowers, Ry?” Brad grinned as he squatted down next to them. The girl waved at him cheerfully and he laughingly did the same.

 

“Just the basics,” Ryan grinned back, before telling her to go play with the other children for a while. She nodded eagerly and kissed him on the cheek before dashing off, the coat trailing behind her like a cape.

 

“You’re going to freeze to death now, you know?” Brad watched her go and then took in Ryan’s thin sweater.

 

“I’ll be fine. Cold hasn’t bothered me before, plus she needed it more than me,” Ryan shrugged, “threadbare clothing isn’t exactly very good for this type of weather either.”

 

“Your generosity will be the death of you one day, you know that?” Brad sighed and then winced at the choice of words.

 

“I think there are plenty of other things that’ll get me first,” Ryan responded with a chuckle, folding his knees to his chest and resting his head on top of them. The two of them sat in companionable silence for a few moments and just enjoyed the atmosphere around them. The sound of children laughter was oddly soothing in a way and Brad felt lightened in a matter of seconds. Whether Ryan felt the same was a different matter.

 

“So why did you come here?” Brad asked, his voice oddly clear in the otherwise garbled noise.

 

“To be honest, I don’t know. I saw this place while walking and I just....I wondered if my parents ever brought me here,” Ryan plucked at a strand of grass, “If they ever thought about the day that they’d be chasing me around the playground like all the other parents do. Hell, I even wonder if they thought about scolding me for hanging upside down off the monkey bars.”

 

He sighed and looked over at a father holding his son up in the air as the toddler giggled and cooed, “I never had anything like that, you know. In Utopia, we were forced to raise ourselves and the older members would just give us advice on how to live. Some of the nicer ones would play with us, but those were few and far between. Every time I think about it now.....this was all stolen from me. I was supposed to have this life....and now I never will.”

 

Brad didn’t know what he could say to make him feel better, watching the other man lower his head to hide his face in his forearms. Admittedly, he himself hadn’t had the best childhood with his parents caring only about their money, but he had had some good times with his grandparents and housekeeper. Ryan didn’t even have the chance for that.

 

“I truly don’t know what I can say to you,” Brad admitted, “I can’t change your past, Ry, and neither can you. But you can do something about your future.”

 

Ryan looked at him curiously and Brad moved his hand to stroke along a scarred cheek, “You’ve got people who care about you now. Me, Wayne, Colin and his parents....we all love you. They were ecstatic to have you back, Ryan, and I have no doubt that if you let them, they could be the family you never had. Tell me in all honesty, did you feel like you were at home when you stepped foot into that house?” A nod. “Then that’s home. Didn’t you always tell me home is where the heart is?”

 

Ryan shook his head with a slightly amused grin, “And hear I thought you weren’t listening. I’m flattered.”

 

“I’m sorry, did you say something?,” Brad teased and laughed as Ryan punched him in the shoulder, “Ow! Hey, I’m fragile!”

 

“Oh, you’re a lot of things, Bradley, but fragile isn’t one of them,” Ryan purred, leaning forward for a kiss before realizing where they were and pulling back.

 

“Judging by your expression, I take it that you’re ready to go back and talk to them now?”

 

“I suppose so,” Ryan sighed and then looked at him with an uncharacteristically vulnerable expression, “You’ll come with me, right?”

 

Brad’s response was to get up and hold his hand out to pull him to his feet, “After you.”

 

They walked in silence, must like how they had that one night they had spent in each other’s company a week ago. The only difference was that this time Brad didn’t hesitate before gripping Ryan’s hand in his and Ryan let him, only offering a small smile in return. A wind picked up, blowing some leaves across the road and Brad noticed Ryan shiver slightly, though he tried hard to hide it. Before he knew it, his coat was off him and being wrapped around Ryan’s shoulders, startling the other man.

 

“You’ll freeze,” Ryan protested, trying to shrug it off but Brad just held it on him more firmly.

 

“So will you. You can keep me warm,” Brad responded, wrapping one arm around his shoulders. Ryan just sighed and shook his head before moving closer until their sides were pressed together, sharing their body heat.

 

“Why do you have to be so giving?” Ryan asked with mock exasperation.

 

“Pot, meet kettle,” Brad said dryly, rolling his eyes, “What’s the reason you don’t have a jacket?”

 

“Hm, I’ll give you that one.”

 

“I’m so glad. Truly, I am.”

 

Dl

 

Dl

 

“Are you sure you’re ready for this?”

They were standing in front of the Mochries’ household and staring at the door as if it would suddenly grow teeth and eat them. Ryan looked ready to bolt and Brad was sure that if it weren’t for the iron grip he had on the other man, he would follow that thought.

 

“I’m never going to be ready for this,” Ryan sighed, rubbing his eyes, “But it’s not like anything is going to get solved by running away. Plus, it’s not their fault, it’s just that getting all this information in one go is....stressful....and I haven’t exactly had the best few weeks. Or years, come to think of it.”

 

“Are you going to go in or will I have to force you?” Brad asked, only half serious.

 

“Maybe a bit of both,” Ryan chuckled nervously before slowly making his way to the front door. He raised his hand hesitantly and knocked on the dark wood door, waiting only a second before turning away and running.

 

“Oh no, you don’t!” Brad caught him before he could get more than a couple of steps and swung him back towards it, “You have to get through this!”

 

“I’ll get through it when I want to! Let go!” It was hard for anyone, even Colin, to hold onto Ryan when he wanted out, but Brad had the advantage of knowing his ticklish spots well enough to know that was one of the best ways to calm him down.

 

“No! Stop it, you bastard! I’m going to kill you!” Ryan shouted out various threats and curses between breathless giggles as Brad’s hands traced over his sides, tickling him into submission until Ryan was struggling to remember why he had been panicking while still trying to bat off Brad’s hands.

 

“Am I interrupting something?”

 

Both heads turned up to see Andrew Mochrie staring at them with a raised eyebrow while his wife looked at them with an adoring expression. Colin was behind them, barely holding back a grin while Wayne was laughing his head off.

 

“Uh, hello?” Ryan said sheepishly from his position on the cold path, craning his head up to grin at them. He could feel the panic rising once again, but squelched it down with years of practice. He could do this.

 

“I assume there’s a logical explanation?” Colin mirrored his father’s raised eyebrow.

 

“There is, but I can’t think of it now,” Brad brushed the dirt off his clothes before giving Ryan a hand up.

 

“Long story,” Ryan shrugged sheepishly. He stalled for a moment and  then opened his mouth to say something to them, but Andrea lifted her hand to stop him.

 

“Don’t worry about that now, if you don’t want to,” she smiled reassuringly, “We know you’re going through a tough time and the last thing we want is to make it harder on you. We can discuss this in detail when you don’t have so much on your mind. Fresher minds always prevail.”

 

Ryan’s relieved expression said it all and if that wasn’t enough, the way he hugged her conveyed his thanks with a neon sign. Andrea was startled at first but then she simply smiled and hugged him back, stroking his hair with a hand in a way that Brad knew would instantly relax him. He was right when the tense lines of Ryan’s back disappeared and he heard a contented ‘Thank you’ from the man.

 

“You’re very welcome,” she pulled back, cupping his face in her hands, “Now, you should go upstairs and get some rest. We can get better acquainted when you’re not so tired.”

 

Ryan nodded and Colin offered to show him to his room. Brad opened his mouth to ask where he was staying when Colin raised an eyebrow at him as if to ask ‘Are you serious?’ before gesturing for him to follow. Politely excusing himself from the Mochries, he followed Colin up a narrow stairway to a biggish room that was just right for two people. Colin directed them to the bathroom as well before allowing the two of them some privacy.

 

“So....” Ryan started and then paused, preferring to look around the room.

 

“Feeling better now?” Brad asked, noticing he seemed more relaxed than before.

 

“Actually, yes. She’s right, now isn’t really the best time to bring all this up,” Ryan sighed, “I can understand wanting to tell me about my parents before our suicide mission, but I’d rather wait before talking about integrating myself with a family. It wouldn’t be fair for them to get attached to me and if I don’t make it through-”

 

“First of all, they’re already attached to you. Second, if you ever even think about saying you won’t survive this, I will be forced to slap you,” Brad moved forward, cupping Ryan’s cheek in his palm, “I love you too much to lose you again.”

 

Ryan flashed him a brief smile before turning serious again, “Brad, you know that it’s a very real possibility that at least one of us won’t make it out of this alive. It’s best not to get your hopes up.”

 

“I’m not hoping that we’ll make it out, I know we will. You’ve trained hard and well for this, Ry, and you’re not alone. Wayne and I’ll be there the entire time and we’ve got Colin too. There’s no way that this’ll be easy, but we can do this.”

 

Brad kissed him lightly, feeling Ryan smile against him before withdrawing and feeling Ryan trace his face lightly with his fingertips. He grinned and placed a kiss on his palm before making his way out of the door, “It’ll be fine. Just you watch.”

 

Ryan watched him go with an fond look on his face and shook his head affectionately at Brad’s optimism.

 

“I hope so.”