the dumping ground // one shots

comfort // drabble

warnings - slight boyxboy; ryan being sad; mentioned death

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"ryan, chloe - can we have a word?" mike said from the open doorway of the lounge. his serious demeanour worried the two siblings but after a shared look of confusion, they followed the care worker.

the trio entered the office where a sympathetic may li was sitting. ryan hated that look, it always felt like a cop out to him when people used it because it just meant they had no idea how to react.

then again, this was may li. he could make a few exceptions to his usual, unbending rules.

ryan frowned to himself. since when did he do things like that? maybe he was finally easing up a bit, or maybe the glassy look in may li's eyes created a pit of worry in his stomach.

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chloe was the first of the siblings to leave the office.

ryan didn't even blink from the news before she left. he bit his lip and refused to meet the care workers' gazes.

"i'm just gonna..." he gestured to the door and, without waiting for a reply, walked out of the office.

the first thing ryan did was get a glass of water from the kitchen. he needed to think for a little while. unfortunately for him, it wasn't long until someone intruded on him.

"hey, i saw chloe crying before she went into her room, what happened?" alex asked as he wandered into the kitchen, putting his hand on ryan's shoulder.

the boy flinched at both the touch and knowledge of his sister's distress but he replied nonetheless, "oh, our mother is dead."

his nonchalant tone caught alex off guard and he did a double take, "... and you're doing okay?" he queried wearily, unsure how to approach this development.

"i've been doing fine without her for years. only now, i know she won't be coming back." ryan stated with his back still turned from alex, "now, if you don't mind, i wanna be alone for a while."

there was something about the way ryan spoke that didn't sit right with alex. it sounded as if he was playing a part, hiding away his true feelings.

alex completely disregarded the other boy's implied request, "are you sure you're okay?"

"yes. just leave," he turned around and snapped at alex, hoping he didn't notice the broken edge to his voice.

when he still refused to go, ryan pushed alex's chest but the boy didn't seem to move much, if at all. this only angered ryan and before he knew it, he was weakly punching and hitting alex with trembling hands.

he slowed down gradually and lowered his head, a sob suddenly arising from his throat. alex held onto his wrists and stopped ryan from hitting him before pulling the boy into a hug.

ryan immediately wrapped his arms around alex's waist and dug his head into the crook of his neck. he couldn't care less about what he thought of him in that moment.

for a while, they merely stood there in the kitchen. alex whispering soothing nothings into ryan's ear whilst he relentlessly sobbed into his shoulder.

eventually, the sobbing ceased and they were just holding each other. it wasn't long before ryan felt the need to say something.

"i want to hate her," he whispered into alex's shoulder, "after everything she did but-" he sighed gently and closed his eyes, holding onto the other boy just a little bit tighter, "she's still my mum, y'know?"

oh, alex knew. for a long time he wanted desperately to ruin his own mother's life in the ways she ruined his, however he realised that she was only doing what she thought was best for him. in the end, it was merely unfortunate what happened afterwards.

but instead of uttering this out loud, alex grazed his lips over ryan's temple and placed a soft kiss onto it.

ryan held on a little bit tighter to avoid another round of tears. alex's steady heartbeat was the only thing keeping him from falling apart all over again.

however, he needed to step back at some point. alex couldn't see him any weaker than he already was, frankly he was ashamed of himself for not being able to push his emotions down.

ryan stayed in alex's arms for as long as possible. he wanted to gather his bearings just a few minutes longer before he caught sight of the disgusted and snide look he expected.

but when he finally pulled his head away from the boy's shoulder, he saw nothing but a comforting smile and warm eyes.

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i need a really ironic book about people developing super powers based on their fears. like, someone terrified of heights suddenly develops the ability to fly or someone with zoophobia being able to communicate with animals and absolutely hates it - is that just me?

or yano, someone who isn't me writing a dumping ground one shot all about that because i'm too lazy to go through with the idea (she says, in her 'dumping ground one shots' book. how *ironic*)