wl_fanfiction | Ryan's Books

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Title: Ryan's Books
Author: Cae
Chapter: 11/?
Summary: Of trees and kisses
Pairing(s): Ry/Col, Greg/Jeff, Drew/Chip
Rating:PG-13 for this chapter
Author's notes: Please read preface for outline etc. Completely AU, as in totally 100%
Disclaimer: I own naff all and make no presumptions. This is pure fiction.

Additional: Mhmm, kisses :) Merry Christmas xx

Ah Christmas. Ryan loved Christmas.

The atmosphere, the decorations, the lights, the carol singing, the chance to possibly get Colin into an elf costume, the chance to possibly get Colin out of said elf costume, the mistletoe, the eggnog, the sound of the shop bell tinkling happily alongside some extremely colourful swearing from Jeff....

Ryan's happy bubble burst abruptly and he turned towards the commotion at the door.

"For the love of....It's not rocket science!" Jeff bellowed, holding the pointy end of a large Christmas tree and glaring at an unseen person who was obviously in charge of the other end.

Greg was making himself busy by holding the door open and doing his best not to laugh.

"Okay," came a voice from the wilderness that was the other end of the tree, "so, when you say "to me", does that mean away from me?"

"Drew, where the hell did you get this idiot? Carey's camp for the colossally inept?"

"Hey! He's not that bad," Drew protested, poking his head in and glaring at Jeff. The intensity was somewhat subdued due to the woolly red hat and earmuffs he was wearing, but the intention was there nonetheless.

"I would have roped Chip in, except a certain person refuses point blank to even acknowledge him at the moment."

"Pity he's not here," Jeff retorted hotly, "We could stick this tree up his ass and tell him to act like a fairy!"

"That wouldn't be too much of a chore for him," Greg muttered, giving way to a grin.

"I'm gonna tell him you said that," Drew said primly, flicking an errant spider off of his hat bobble.

"Oh please don't," Jeff smiled sweetly, "let me."

Eric, the blond stripper that Drew had dragged along, dropped the other end of the tree and joined the others in the doorway.

"Can we get on with it please? I have to work tonight."

"Its only twelve-fifteen," Jeff muttered, "surely it doesn't take you that long to get ready."

"No, but I have to eat first."

"......." Jeff blinked.

Drew pursed his lips, as if about to reply, but frowned and gave up on the idea.

"Come on then Einstein," Jeff sighed, "let's try this again."

After a few more minutes of pushing, shoving, swearing and serious questioning of Eric's parentage, the seven-foot pine was finally through the door and being unceremoniously shoved into a bucket of earth by the counter.

"You know, I would have been happy with one of those small fake ones you can get from Bob's down the road," Ryan reasoned, taking stock of the impressive tree.

He started a little at the three pairs of eyes glaring daggers at him. The fourth pair belonging to Eric, who had no earthly idea what was going on as he was busy pulling pine needles out of his hair.

"I'll go put the kettle on," Ryan decided, making a hasty retreat.

"Do you have the bag of mistletoe?" Jeff questioned, checking inside Greg's bag.

"Yup," his lover grinned. "Where are we going to hang it?"

"Um...How about some over the door and some above the counter?"

"Okay, I’ll do door, you do counter," Greg smiled, grabbing a sprig and some drawing pins.

Jeff climbed onto the counter, Drew hovering worriedly by his legs, and pinned his mistletoe to a beam across the ceiling.

Colin came through the front door, lunch bags grasped in each hand, just as Greg was approaching it.

"Oh, hey Colin."

"Hey Greg," Colin smiled, "I got us all lunch."

"Which is why I love you. Give us a budge up will ya?"

"Oh, sure," Colin frowned, a little confused. He dropped the bags and cupped his hands for his friend to step into.

"There, all done," Greg stated proudly, pulling a little on the plant to make sure it wouldn't fall, then grabbing Colin's shoulder to steady himself on the descent.

"Mistletoe," Colin observed, looking up at the sprig.

"Mhmm," Greg smiled, planting a kiss on Colin's nose, causing the other man to go slightly cross-eyed.

"Thank you," Colin laughed.

"Hi, I remember you."

Colin glanced round Greg, then up at the tall, muscled blonde approaching.

"Oh...Hello."

"I was one of the dancers auditioning the other night, my name's Eric," he supplied, holding his hand out.

Colin took his hand, wincing a little at the firm shake.

"I'm..."

"Colin, I know," Eric interrupted, smiling. "I remember. I asked Drew how you were, you looked pretty shaken up."

"Ah, well, I’m fine, as you can see."

Colin was beginning to feel a little self-conscious under the intense scrutiny of the tall dancer.

"So..." he smiled nervously, scratching at the back of his neck.

"So," Eric echoed, smiling seductively and closing the gap between them. "Care to try out the mistletoe?"

Colin managed a blink and a "wh...?" before he was grabbed, dipped and thoroughly kissed.

"Okay, who wants what the fuck?!" Ryan snarled, seeing Colin, arms flailing so rapidly he was in danger of taking off, being smooched by Drew's dancer.

"Hey!" he shouted, making rapid steps toward the two, "No manhadling of my staff!"

*Snort!*

"Shut up Greg!"

Eric released Colin, who stood gasping in shocked breaths.

"I wasn't handling anything!" the young man stated indignantly. "I was just taking advantage of the mistletoe."

"What mistletoe?"

"This mistletoe!" Drew grinned, spinning Ryan around and pulling his startled friend down for a wet smooch.

"Ewww! Ewww! Ewww!" Ryan protested, scrubbing furiously at his lips and tongue with the sleeve of his shirt, much to the amusement of the others.

"Anyone else?" Drew questioned, closing his eyes and dramatically pursing his lips, causing everyone to back away a few feet.

"Meh! Ya wimps," he grouched, grabbing Eric's arm. "Come on Romeo, let's get you fed and watered. I'll see you guys later," Drew finished, winking laciviously at Ryan.

"Thanks for the help Drew," Greg grinned from his hiding place behind Jeff.

"Okay," Colin chuckled, handing a grateful Ryan some breath mints, "Lunch?"

"I may never eat again," Ryan grumbled through a mouthful of altoids.

------------------------------------------------

Colin and Ryan had decided to stay later than usual, in order to decorate the tree. Greg would be busy getting ready for his date with Jeff and Greg's pre-date panic ritual was always a traumatic experience, so keeping out of the way was beneficial, if not critical, to a person's mental well-being.

"Ready?" Colin called, his fingers hovering over the board of main light switches.

Ryan plugged the tree lights in and turned to give the thumbs-up.

The store was plunged into inky darkness for a second, before the soft, multi-colour twinkling of Christmas lights filled it with a diffused glow.

"Aww, now I feel all festive," Colin smiled, coming to stand by Ryan and admiring the lights.

"It's snowing," Ryan muttered softly, placing his arm around Colin's shoulder and nodding towards the window.

They stood for a moment, just watching the large white flakes flutter slowly down to the ground, as if they had all the time in the world.

"Let's walk home in the snow," Colin smiled.

Ryan nodded, grabbing his friend’s long, black woollen overcoat and his own dark green wax jacket.

He switched off the tree lights, bidding it a silent farewell, before double-checking the rest of the electrics and window locks, then setting the alarm.

Colin waited patiently outside, wrapping a dark grey scarf around his neck and putting on the matching gloves.

"Ready?" he inquired as Ryan finally exited.

"Mhmm, come on," the tall man nodded, grabbing Colin's arm and setting off.

The cold white flakes fluttered around them as they walked, contrasting with the blackness of the sky and the myriad colour of festive lights from the various shops and houses surrounding them.

Colin glanced across at Ryan, admiring the soft flush in the man's cheeks and his thoughtful expression.

"What are you thinking about?" he wondered quietly.

"The same thing I’ve been thinking about for the past couple of weeks," Ryan sighed, smiling a little.

"What's that?"

"Colin," Ryan sighed again, bringing them to a halt on the sidewalk and turning to face his friend. "You know. You have to know.

Colin looked up at the slightly taller man, smiling at the large white flakes that had settled in Ryan's hair.

He held onto his friend's hands, clasping them loosely.

"I know," he whispered, moving forward and touching his cheek to Ryan's, his cold skin warming at the sensation. "I just...I didn't want to hope," Colin murmured, pulling back to look into the handsome face before him.

"Col..." Ryan's breath was visible in the cold air, reaching from his mouth to fleetingly caress the face of the man who had unknowingly stolen his senses.

Those large, chestnut eyes gazed longingly at him, tiny droplets of snow clinging briefly to the ends of Colin's long lashes, before being blinked away.

Ryan's hand found its way to his friend's cheek, the large digits settling around the top of Colin's neck and lightly stroking the fringe of hair there.

He brought his head down slowly, finally crushing his cool lips to Colin's warm mouth, in a soft, tender kiss.

Colin tasted like the weather,Ryan mused absently, clean and fresh...Beautiful.

The streets around them were deserted, people having rushed home or deciding to stay in because of the snow.

At that moment, as Ryan and Colin kissed for the first time, under the blanketing snow, they were the only two people in the world.

Bonus beautiful picture by