Finding Yourself Again

Chapter 16

Brendon slowly drifted into consciousness, aware vaguely of how warm, comfortable and relaxed he felt. He blinked his eyes open slowly to feel someone behind him and an arm draped around him protectively. He would have recognized that long limb anywhere: Ryan's. And then the night before came flooding back to him.

The smile spread across his face instantly. Holy shit, they were married! He still couldn't believe it; it just seemed so surreal. They had their first contact with each other in over a year, just under three months ago. Their love didn't develop during that time, as much as it re-emerged, stronger than ever before. He knew a lot of people were going to say they rushed into their marriage, but it was what was right for them. Very little about their relationship was conventional, anyway.

He could feel Ryan's soft breathing against the back of his neck, so he could tell he was still sleeping. He had no intention of disturbing his husband. They were up so late the night before (though it was totally worth it). They were on their honeymoon. They didn't have to hurry or stress in any way, shape or form, which was a nice change for both of them. Brendon was content to just lay there in Ryan's arms, resting and enjoying his happy thoughts.

After a while, he held out his left hand to admire his wedding ring. He knew he'd be admiring Ryan's a lot in the near future. He loved how the shiny, platinum band looked on his finger, and what it stood for: that they'd be together for the rest of their lives. He sighed, deeply content.

A short time later, he heard a soft hum, and felt gentle stirring behind him. He slowly rolled over in Ryan's arms, only to be met with his husband's beautiful whiskey eyes. "Good morning, love," Brendon smiled. "Sleep well?"

Ryan smiled sleepily at him. "Mmm-hmm. Better than ever, with you here." He moved forward slightly and pecked Brendon's lips.

"I know exactly what you mean. I've only been awake for a few minutes. I was happy to just lay here snuggled up to you." Brendon reached over and carded through Ryan's adorable bed hair. "But I wanted you to sleep as long as you were able."

"Thank you, baby. I feel so nicely rested, " Ryan said. He ran his hand up and down Brendon's exposed arm.

"I'm glad, babe. What do you want to do right now? Want to order food? I could go for something to eat."

"Yeah," Ryan agreed. "Let's do that. If they're gonna be long enough, we can grab a shower together."

"Sounds like a great idea," Brendon nodded. He looked at the menu and told Ryan what he wanted so he could call down and order it. Then he went to the bathroom while Ryan made the call.

When he came back from washing his hands, he asked Ryan, "How long?"

"They said 45 minutes to an hour," Ryan said.

"Well, that's plenty of time for a shower...what?" Brendon smiled at Ryan's mischievous expression, and then noticed how Ryan's eyes were running all over his body.

"Maybe...I don't want to strictly get clean," Ryan grinned.

Brendon grinned back and crawled over to him. "Oh yeah?" he asked, kissing Ryan's lips softly. "What did you have in mind?"

"Well," he began, kissing down Brendon's jaw, "I did tell you last night there was something I wanted you to do for me..."

"Mmmm," Brendon hummed in pleasure, Ryan now kissing his neck. "You think we have time?"

Ryan nodded, "Remember, we're still out of shape, so to speak. We're definitely going to need lots of practice." He grinned at Brendon again as he kissed the hollow of his throat.