Finding Yourself Again

Chapter 18

  It was 2 am New York time by the time Ryan and Brendon practically fell into Ryan's Manhattan apartment. They were so tired after their long day of travel. They had flown from Honolulu to Denver, where they had a few hours of layover time before boarding their flight to JFK. Then they had to flag down a cab, load it and ride the 20 minutes home. They were beat.

  "Oh thank God," Ryan grumbled as they got in the door and let their bags drop. "Bren, can you lock the door?"

  "Uh-huh," Brendon grunted. That was about as intelligent as his speech got at the moment, but he did manage to deadbolt and chain the door.

  "Babe, I'm gonna brush my teeth and use the bathroom really quick, then I'll clear out for you, ok?" Ryan was moving as quick as his brain and body would allow so he could get into bed as quickly as possible. Another "uh-huh" was the only response his husband could muster.

  Ryan did just as he said and was out in under 5 minutes. Brendon was sitting on his side of the bed, already stripped down to his underwear. As soon as Ryan came out, Brendon stood, gave him a quick hug, and maneuvered past him to the bathroom. He too was in and out quickly.

  Ryan had followed Brendon's lead and just stripped down to his boxers. It was summer, and they had covers and each other's body heat so they wouldn't be cold. Plus, they had grown accustomed to sleeping naked together many nights, so it wasn't a problem anyway.

  "Baby, listen before you pass out, ok?" Ryan said to Brendon as he got into the bed.

  "Mmm-hmm," Brendon replied as he was moving to lay on his side so Ryan could spoon with him.

  "I'm not turning on an alarm. We'll wake up whenever we wake up and then go get food. Then we can start packing and you can call your parents, ok?"

  Brendon let out a huge yawn, then said, " 'Kay."

  Ryan chuckled. "Good night, baby. I love you."

  Brendon burrowed in further to Ryan's body. "Mmmm...love you too." He kissed Ryan's arm, then closed his eyes. He was asleep in under a minute, Ryan could tell. Ryan smiled to himself at how much he loved their domesticity already as he felt himself drifting off pleasantly.

——

  It was well after noon before they both woke up. Ryan woke first, so he sauntered into the kitchen and made some coffee. At least he still had that around.

  He pulled up his laptop and started to reconnect with the outside world. He wanted to go check out the press that Decaydance had done about Mike and Dallon's departures, just to be educated about how it was presented.

  It turned out to be completely straightforward. There was nothing to spin to make it look better, so they didn't. Both men's stories were presented as they were, pure and simple. The fans seemed to be taking it well.

  What he found next though, in results for Panic, caught him off-guard. Apparently, some paparazzi had caught sight of him and Brendon while they were still in Las Vegas. It was nothing scandalous or controversial; just he and Brendon walking somewhere in the Bellagio, holding hands and smiling adoringly at each other. They were pretty crappy photos, to be honest, but they still made him chuckle. Sometimes, he forgot his husband was famous and that very soon, he would be too. The gossip sites were having a field day trying to figure out who Ryan was and what the exact nature of their relationship was. Boy, Ryan thought, they're gonna be good and shocked when they find out the real story! Ryan smiled and shook his head.

  "What ya doin', babe?" An adorable, sleepy Brendon came out of the bedroom area and plopped next to Ryan on the couch. Ryan pulled him in with one hand and pressed a kiss to his head as Brendon rubbed his still-sleepy eyes.