Business and Pleasure: Chapter 27

[saiya-tina.livejournal.com]

Title: Business and Pleasure
Rating: PG
Pairing: Brad/Ryan
Summary for the chapter: A past revealed. 

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!

Brad had to admit that at the moment, he didn’t know who looked more shocked; Ryan, Wayne, Colin’s father or himself. Colin seemed to be taking the news better than anyone, but Brad had the sneaking suspicion that he had always known about the connection. Right now, however, he was less concerned about the assassin and more about Ryan, who had yet to say a word. He was staring at the woman in front of him as if he expected her to just suddenly laugh and say she was kidding, but he knew that no one could fake that level of affection in her eyes. She was telling the truth.

 

“M-My parents?” Ryan stuttered, looking hopelessly lost. Brad moved closer instinctively but still maintained enough of a distance so as to not crowd him.

 

Ryan’s voice seemed to break Colin’s father out of his trance and he gestured for all of them to enter the house. ‘We shouldn’t talk about this outside,” he offered as an explanation.

 

Ryan was immediately ushered in by Andrea and she sat him down on the couch, Ryan following like a lost child. Brad had never seen him look so confused, not even when he had first taken him out of Utopia and it hurt him to know that there was absolutely nothing he could do for him.

 

Andrea fetched them all glasses of water and placed a few plates of snacks on the table in front of them, but even after the long flight, none of them felt like eating anything. All attention was on Ryan.

 

Finally, Ryan took a deep breath and his eyes lost that glassy look to them, becoming sharp and clear once again as he looked up at Andrea who smiled sadly at him.

 

“You knew my p-parents?” he asked, voice rough and choking on the last word as if it was completely unfamiliar to him.

 

“Very well,” Colin’s father, Andrew, spoke up. “Your father and I worked together. He was my partner.”

 

“Your partner?”

 

“We worked together on the force,” Andrew let out a small smile, “Homicide detectives.”

 

“You were police?” Brad cut in, aware of Ryan turning his startled gaze towards him, but he also knew that Ryan was grateful for having a bit of the attention taken away from him.

 

“The best,” Andrew made no effort to hide the fondness in his voice, “Jaden was one of the best officers in the field. Left no stone unturned and solved nearly every case given to him.”

 

“Jaden?” Ryan was the one who spoke this time

 

“That was your father’s name, Jaden Lee. Your mother wanted you to have that as your middle name. It’s on your birth certificate,” Andrew answered.

 

“I have one?” Ryan frowned.

 

“Of course,” Andrea smiled, “You don’t think we would lose it, do you?”

 

“I don’t know what to think,” Ryan rubbed his eyes, “All of this....I just don’t understand.”

 

“Let us start from the beginning then,” Andrew smiled, patting Ryan on the back, “With your parents.”

 

“Jaden and Elizabeth Lee,” Andrea said with a nostalgic look about her, “I met Lizzy in high school because she was one of the first people to befriend me when I moved here. Very beautiful and very smart. She was always willing to help others, even at risk to herself. Colin says you’re just like her, you know. The same sweet temper, the same desire to help....and the same desire to do what’s right.”

 

“Jaden was her total opposite,” Andrew picked up, “Rowdy, rough and irresponsible. While she would study days in advance to top her exams, he would show up hung over and just about pass. She loathed him and he loved to tease her whatever chance he got. To this day, we don’t know how they went on that one date.”

 

“But whatever happened that day, it was amazing,” Andrea wiped away a lone tear, “They were so happy. Elizabeth started enjoying life more and Jaden started taking it more seriously. She gave him the idea of making his love for mystery a career. Jaden then decided to become a homicide detective.... and that’s where he met Andrew.”

 

“I was his senior, but he taught me more than I did him,” Andrew grinned, “That man knew everything and most importantly, he never bragged about it. He just cared about putting crooks behind bars, no more, no less.”

 

“Was he good at his job?” Ryan asked, curious.

 

“The best. No one could outsmart him and no one could escape him once he set his sights on something,” Andrew said fondly. “Once he had a good case in front of him, it seemed like the world around him would just disappear. I thought that there was nothing he’d love more than the chase....then you were born.”

 

Ryan heard Andrea sniffle slightly and turned to see her dabbing his eyes with her dress. He felt bad about dredging up what were obviously painful memories, but he needed to know this. He needed to know about the family he should have known, the one he had thought had abandoned him so long ago.

 

“You were such a lovely baby,” she tried to smile, “They loved you so much and I knew you’d have an amazing life ahead of you. They had picked out your name the moment they found out she was pregnant. Ryan Jaden Lee.”

 

“But I was told that my last name was Stiles,” Ryan frowned.

 

“Who said that?” Andrea frowned.

 

Ryan opened his mouth to answer but found that he had nothing to say. He couldn’t remember who had told him his last name was Stiles, all he knew was that he had been referred to by said name all his life. Now that he thought about it, how could have anyone known his last name when he had been told clearly that he had been found abandoned outside Utopia and there had never been a note left with him?

 

“I don’t know,” he spoke numbly.

 

Andrea sighed, one hand patting Ryan’s knee, “Your name isn’t Stiles, dear, it’s Lee.”

 

“I just don’t understand,” Ryan sighed, “How could have all this happened? You said my parents loved me, then how did I end up outside of Utopia when I was barely a few months old.”

 

There was silence for a couple of minutes and then Ryan saw both Andrea and Andrew look at each other and wondered just how much information was he going to have to deal with today. It was enough finding out that you weren’t who you thought you were by people who claimed to have been part of his family, but now....

 

“How did it happen?” he asked, steeling himself.

 

“It all happened in so little time,” Andrew sighed, “A man was found dead and was believed to be part of a drug ring that we had been trying to bust for years. It wasn’t really our job, but Jaden insisted that we were damn close to a break through and he was right. He managed to track the dealings to the boss....but they found out who he was as well. Jaden received several threats from unknown people, but he never took them seriously. Claimed that they knew we were about to shut them down and that we shouldn’t let them bother us. Finally, they decided to ensure that he realized what he was dealing with.”

 

Andrew let out a shuddering sigh and stopped speaking for a moment, trying to compose himself. He felt a gentle hand against his shoulder and looked up to see Ryan looking at him with a sympathetic look on his face. The guy was a physical carbon copy of Jaden with the same face, the same jaw and the same intensive look, but at the same time, there was an aura of an odd mix of gentleness and strength that Elizabeth radiated whenever she was around. What struck him the most was the look in his eyes; he wanted to hear the rest, but not if it caused them so much pain. It was such a Elizabeth thing to do that he felt tears well up in his eyes.

 

“They must have researched him,” Andrew continued before he even realized it, “Found out everything from his life to his likes and dislikes. Then one day, while he was out....they attacked your home.”

 

“Everything was destroyed when we got the news,” Andrea shuddered, “Elizabeth....there was nothing they could have done for her. And you....you were gone. They took you away as well.”

 

“Jaden couldn’t handle it,” Andrew sighed, “He felt that it was his arrogance due to which his wife was dead and his son was reportedly killed as well....he got reckless in one case and....”

 

Unable to continue, he simply bowed his head, trying to regain a little composure before he lost it completely. Ryan seemed to blank out for a moment, just staring into space and Brad recognized that as the same look he had seen Colin adopt when trying to regain his cool façade. Within seconds, Ryan seemed to be perfectly alright, but only Brad knew just how troubled he was.

 

“I was told that my parents abandoned me,” Ryan spoke, looking at Andrea.

 

“Colin told us,” Andrea sighed, “Utopia is so secret, it’s near impossible to find. We looked for you everywhere....the streets, orphanages, hospitals, but there was no sign of you anywhere. We wanted to continue the search but because of no trails or leads, they refused to waste any more resources and we were forced to assume that....”

 

“That they had killed me as well,” Ryan added absently, staring at his hands. There was distance in his eyes that showed that his thoughts were a mile away, but the tenseness of his shoulders showed exactly what he was thinking about.

 

“We didn’t want to,” she tried to explain, terrified he would get the wrong idea, “but after so long with no leads, we just-”

 

“I understand,” Ryan interrupted, trying a slight smile for her, “It’s just....this is a lot to take in at once.”

 

“I can’t imagine how hard this must be for you,” she said gently, “but you needed to know this.”

 

“I did,” Ryan agreed, resting his elbows on his knees and bringing his folded hands up to rest his chin on them, “It answered several questions that I’ve had my entire life....but I’m not sure if that’s good or bad.”

 

“They never would have willingly left you, Ryan,” Andrew interjected, resting a hand on his shoulder.

 

“I know that now,” his voice was still quiet, “But that hurts even more. To know that we were literally ripped from each other....I always held out this small hope that one day I would find my parents and they’d be happy to see me and take me back without question. It was a stupid, irrational thought but I just couldn’t let it go. It kept me going through a lot of tough times when I felt like just....giving in.”

 

Brad felt his heart stop at the quiet pain in Ryan’s voice and wanted nothing more than to just wrap him in his arms and hold him, but he wasn’t sure if Ryan wanted that right now. The thought of Ryan actually....he bowed his head and shuddered.

 

“But,” Ryan spoke up again, a little louder, “I guess that sometimes when you lose something, you gain something just as good sooner or later. I found something more than that a long time ago. Something else to give me strength to carry on each day, no matter how bad it was.” He stood up and walked over to Brad, ignoring the others as he placed his hands on his face and looked him in the eyes, needing the comfort. “I found your love.”

 

At Ryan’s touch, Brad couldn’t have stopped the goofy grin from crossing his face even if he tried his hardest. When Ryan looked at him with that amazing smile, it was all he could do to not kiss him right then and there, but he had the feeling that it would be like kissing your date in front of his/her parents, even if they hadn’t known the Mochries longer than an hour.

 

“And it’s yours as long as you’ll have it,” he said instead, caressing Ryan’s face lightly with his hand. They could have stayed in that position forever but a light, delicate cough made them remember their audience and they drew away quickly, a light blush on both their faces.

 

“At least you’ve found a great treasure,” Andrea chuckled, adoring how cute they were together, “God knows you deserve it!”

 

“Thank you,” Ryan smiled, still politely. He still wasn’t quite sure how to react to them. Another thought struck him, “Colin, is this why you trained me?”

 

All eyes went to Colin, who had been quietly sitting next to Wayne and had not said a word since they had arrived. His eyes ticked to something in the corner of his eyes before he looked back up at Ryan, “Yes and no.”

 

The assassin stood up and paced to the mantle in the living room, picking something off it and gazing at it fondly, “I didn’t know who you were when I first decided to train you. How could I? I last saw you when you were a baby and I was barely seven at the time. If it weren’t for my mother telling me about Elizabeth and Jaden, always reminding me of those two people I loved, I probably wouldn’t have remembered them either.”

 

It was the first time any of the three young men had ever heard so much pain in Colin’s voice. Brad had to admit that he wasn’t surprised that Ryan’s parents had had such an influence on their friend’s lives, especially since he had first-hand experienced what effect the combination of those genes could have on a person. His hand slipped down to Ryan’s and he felt the long fingers entwine with his own, giving his hand a light squeeze.

 

“But I did remember them. I remembered Aunt Jenny always listening to me whenever I had fights with my parents and making me understand their point of view at the same time. I remember Uncle Jaden always helping me when I had problems in sports and helping me make the team. I even remember you a bit. I remember how jealous I was when you were born because their attention began to get more focused on you....and I remember how excited I was when they told me that I would be your honorary big brother. I remember how upset I was when I finally understood that I’d never see any of you again....”

 

“Mom wasn’t kidding when she said you were a cute baby, ya know?” Colin smiled slightly, “Even when I hated you, I loved you in a way. I’d say your loss hit me harder than your parents’. They always told me I was your big brother. I was supposed to protect you, but I failed. I failed to fulfill my duties to you and I knew I would never get a second chance.”

 

The assassin took a deep breath to compose himself, “As I grew older, I realized that I may have failed to protect you, but there were plenty of people who I could save. I thought that maybe someday, that would lessen the guilt of knowing that I failed you. And that’s what drove me to join the police force as an Undercover Agent.”

 

“Undercover Agent?” Wayne blurted, “you’re police?”

 

“Colin’s been on the police force from the day he was legally allowed to,” Andrew explained, looking proud about that, “He’s the best. His current case is to nail Proops on a drug charge and the boss figured out the best way to do that-”

 

“Would be to get him to trust me,” Colin spoke up, “We staged an ambush on Proops, one from which he was allowed to escape, albeit barely, and then our mole suggested me to him. He called me to protect him and then getting information out of him was a breeze. Of course, I wasn’t expecting to see you there.”

 

“Then why did you risk your cover to help me when you didn’t even know who I was?” Ryan frowned, “Your mission was way more important than me.”

 

“I hadn’t planned on getting so involved. My plan was to teach you a bit of self defense and then wash my hands of the matter. Then I happened to be by your room while you were asleep,” Colin smiled fondly, “You still sleep the way you did as a baby, you know? All arms and legs everywhere, but I guess that’s what led me to believe that it was you. That stuffed dinosaur that you had with you was the kicker.”

 

“How did you know I have one?”

 

“You used to keep it with you when you slept, remember? I saw that and I remembered giving it to my little brother a long time ago. I wasn’t sure it was you until I saw the name my mother stitched on it.”

 

Ryan bit his lip as he agreed with what Colin was saying as everything was true. He’d always had that dinosaur because Drew told him that was the one thing he had that had been a part of his life before Utopia. The name ‘Ryan’ stitched on it was the only thing that reminded him that he had once had a chance of life outside those confining walls. Another thought struck him.

 

“Why didn’t you tell me about this earlier?” he asked, “When you knew who I was, why didn’t you tell me?”

 

“There was never a good time,” Colin sighed, “That’s why I arranged for us to leave so early, in case you needed time to adjust to all this.”

 

“All this....I just- this is all so confusing. You and they and.... I need some air,” Ryan turned without another word, grabbing his jacket from the coat-rack and jamming it on before beating a hasty exit. Brad was already behind him before he had even completed his sentence and shot them an apologetic look before leaving.

 

“Well, that went well,” Andrew sighed.