Business and Pleasure: Chapter 20

[saiya-tina.livejournal.com]

Title: Business and Pleasure
Rating: PG-13 for a couple of swear words.
Pairing: Brad/Ryan
Summary for the chapter: A reunion. 

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: Please leave a comment! It's a short chapter because I realized that the new chapter it was becoming too big so I chopped it in half. Enjoy until next Friday!







“Brad!”

 

Brad could hear a couple of panicky voices calling his name as he drifted out of his previous oblivious state. He could feel cold and damp ground below him and a light was shining before his close eye-lids, making him feel very uncomfortable.

 

“Brad!”

 

That voice was very familiar....he felt that he should know the owner, but he was still too groggy to think straight. He let out a groan and his eyes flickered open, squinting against the streetlamp shining into his eyes. He raised a hand to block the light, only to be met with resistance. He moved his gaze down to where he suspected his hand was and saw that it was being held in a death grip by another, but this one was much longer than his own.

 

“Brad?” that voice he recognized as Wayne’s and he felt his friend help him into a sitting position, leaning him against the hard brick wall. He took a few deep breaths to steady himself and then looked over at Wayne.

 

“Are you okay?” Wayne asked gently.

 

“I think so....” Brad responded, feeling more alert the longer he kept his eyes open, “What happened?”

 

“You fainted,” he said, rubbing his hand soothingly.

 

“I fainted? Why?” Brad frowned, trying to remember what had happened previously, but it was all blurred. He felt a slight tug on his other hand and he turned in confusion to see who the other person was....only to nearly pass out again.

 

“Brad, not again!” Ryan yelped as Brad suddenly sagged again and shook his head with a sigh, “Darn it....”

 

“Well, I don’t blame him!” Wayne looked over at him as well, taking in his changed appearance, “He hasn’t seen you in nearly five years! And you two made a crazy-ass entrance!”

 

“It’s not like I planned it out like that!” Ryan protested, scowling at him, “Is it my fucking fault that you idiots can’t keep yourselves out of trouble?”

 

Wayne blinked, “Well, you’ve never called us that before....”

 

“Well- oh, forget it,” Ryan sighed, “I’m sorry, but past few years haven’t exactly been kind to me.”

 

“I noticed,” Wayne looked over at where the bodies had rested before Colin decided to hide them to avoid detection. He didn’t want to know what Colin had done with them, but he expected that no one would be finding those thugs for a long time.

 

“I’ll explain it all,” Ryan’s voice was gentle again, “just let him wake up.”

 

After a few minutes, Brad woke up again and this time, instead of fainting, he looked up at Ryan clearly, as if this was the first time they had ever seen each other. He just stared at him, almost reverently until Ryan started fidgeting under his gaze.

 

“Uh, Brad?” Ryan grinned nervously, “You’re kinda freaking me out-”

 

That was all he managed to say before Brad lunged forward, wrapping his arms around him and pulling Ryan forward fast enough that the taller man tumbled into his lap. He pressed his face into Ryan’s neck, just taking in the scent that he had been craving for so long and allowing the feel of him to soak back into his skin. God, it was like coming home!

 

He felt himself a shake a bit and it was only when he felt Ryan’s hands on his face that he realized he had been crying. He lifted his head to meet equally teary green eyes and had the sudden urge to kiss Ryan’s tears away, but didn’t know if he should. Ryan was in a similar state, not knowing if Brad wanted to be touched by him after seeing what he had become capable of and hearing what he had gone through. They stared at each other, both too afraid to make the first move yet both wanting to touch each other. Finally, the moment was broken when Colin came back, dusting his hands off.

 

“Those guys are going to be in the landfill by tomorrow morning,” he smirked, wiping his hands on a handkerchief that he took out of pocket and then noticed Brad and Ryan jerk away from each other, both coughing in an attempt to disguise what had been happening.

 

“So....” Ryan shifted on his feet nervously, fingers unconsciously tugging on a finger-cut leather glove covering his left hand, “Did you guys get hurt?”

 

“Just a scratch,” Wayne shrugged, “You got them before they could do anything worse.”

 

“That’s good,” Ryan looked relieved, “I admit, I freaked out when I saw those guys attacking you. I normally would never do something like that, but I just reacted....”

 

“I, for one, am pleased,” Colin said in his usual calm tone, “You’re getting better at stealth as well as with attacking locations with the intent of causing injury instead of death.”

 

Ryan didn’t respond to that and simply tugged on his glove even more, looking all the more uncomfortable. Brad took the opportunity to take in his appearance. He seemed to have changed so much and didn’t seem like the Ryan he knew. Whereas the old Ryan had a near emaciated frame with a small bundle of wiry muscles, Brad could tell that the new Ryan had gained a slim but strong build, even though it wasn’t very obvious under the black sweater. He had shortened his hair considerably and had spiked it along the front, a great change from his earlier tendency to just let the morning decide what it would look like for the rest of the day. As for his face, it wasn’t nearly as bad as Brad had been imagining. One scar marked a path down his right cheek and another near his left eye, looking completely out of place on him. However, it was the fidgeting that gave Brad the most comfort; it was his sign that no matter what had happened to him, he was, in a way, still the same Ryan he had known and loved.

 

“Brad?”

 

Ryan’s tentative voice jolted him out of his thoughts and he realized that he had been staring at him without realizing it and that was making Ryan very self-conscious. He had to imagine that this reunion was hard on Ryan as well, especially considering how he had made his new first impression.

 

“Sorry, it’s just.....it’s good to see you,” Brad smiled slightly.

 

“Good to see you too. Though I would have preferred it be under better circumstances,” Ryan smiled back and that was all Brad needed. He moved forward and took Ryan into a tight hug, smiling into his neck. Ryan returned it whole-heartedly, appreciating the first loving contact he’d had since Colin, who was always tense unless he initiated it.

 

“I missed you so much,” Brad whispered in his ear, closing his eyes.

 

“Missed you more,” Ryan murmured back.

 

“Not possible.”

 

Wayne smiled at them before clearing his throat. As much as he loathed breaking up the reunion, they really did need to talk and, from looking at Colin, they didn’t have much time.

 

“So, what was that earlier?” Brad asked, glancing over at Colin, but his attention remained on Ryan.

 

“That would be what has been keeping Ryan alive,” Colin remarked, moving over to him and pulling up Ryan’s right sleeve to reveal what looked like a spring-loaded mechanism with the same metal spike that had wounded the man holding Wayne strapped to his wrist. It was apparently designed to remain hidden under his sleeve unless he pushed a specific point that would bring the blade to the forefront.

 

“What the heck is that thing?” Wayne asked, moving to get a better look at it.

 

“A hidden blade,” Colin supplied, “my own design. Very useful when your target is trying to hide in a group and you don’t want to be noticed. Or when you want a quick, silent kill.”

 

“Your target?” Brad gulped.

 

“It’s my personal favorite,” Colin smiled at the device fondly until Ryan pulled down his sleeve again, “I’ve used it on several occasions and I’ve never been caught. It’s light, strong and portable. Not to mention it can be modified, the modification being a small gun, which was what took down your captor, Bradley.”

 

“Colin gave it to me when he started training me,” Ryan added, nervously tugging on the glove once more. Brad noticed and realized that it was Ryan’s way of saying that he was feeling uncomfortable, much like how he used to tug on his hair years before.

 

“Training you for what?” Wayne asked inquisitively.

 

“To kill Greg Proops of course,” Colin answered cheerily.

 

“WHAT?!”