Empty Gold - {ryden}

11. Adventure

11. adventure (noun) - daring and exciting activity calling for enterprise and enthusiasm

"Ryan Ross," Brendon groaned playfully as he helped his boyfriend pack the rest of his things, "you look good in everything! If you spend the rest of your time trying to decide what outfit goes best with your leather boots, we're gonna miss our flight in the morning."

Ryan rolled his eyes as he sifted through his closet for his black vest. "Brendon, the outfit makes the artist for people like me," he said as he finally located the best and pulled it out happily. "You're lucky, because your beautiful face makes anything look good."

Brendon laughed gently as he walked over to Ryan, who was putting the best in his suitcase. He took his face in his hands. "Life imitates art, my dear," he said with a sincere smile, "and you're the most lovely piece I've ever seen."

Ryan blushed and closed the flap of his suitcase. "Cheesy bastard."

Brendon laughed loudly as he zipped the suitcase closed. "Are you all packed and ready, now?"

Ryan took a deep breath and nodded, smiling gently. "I think so, yes," he said as he beamed up at Brendon. "What time is our flight in the morning?"

"3:30 sharp, so," Brendon pauses looking at his watch, "if we want to get a decent amount of sleep before driving to the airport at 1:30, we need to get to bed."

Ryan nodded and kicked off his shoes by his couch and grabbed Brendon's hand, leading him to the bedroom. "I'm gonna jump in the shower real fast," he said, peeling off his socks. "You can take one after me if you want, and I've also got extra toothbrushes in the top drawer if you need one."

Brendon gave him a slight side smirk. "Such a thoughtful host," he said softly, pecking Ryan's lips. "Go take a shower, stinky."

Ryan gasped playfully. "How rude."

The two laughed as Ryan slinked into the bathroom and closed the door behind him. He turned on the shower and waited for it to warm up as he stripped out of his clothes. He smiled to himself in the mirror at how happy and sappy he had been lately because of Brendon. He can't remember a time when he was ever this content with the way his life was going, and a lot of that he owed to the man on the other side of his door. He sighed gently as he felt he water and decided it was warm enough before climbing behind the shower curtain.

He hadn't even been contemplating the meaning of life for five minutes before he felt a pair of hands hold onto his hips and lips pressing against the side of his neck. "You've got a cute ass, Ryan Ross."

Ryan laughed gently as he let out a soft sigh. "Couldn't wait until I got out, huh?"

Brendon smiled against Ryan's skin as he shook his head. "Trying to help you save on your water bill," he said in a faux serious voice. "Look at how good of a boyfriend I'm being."

Ryan rolled his eyes as he turned around to face Brendon. "And what made you think that I wanted the first time you saw me naked to be in the shower?"

Brendon shrugged. "You left the door unlocked."

Ryan merely blinked at him. "You're an idiot, you know that?"

Brendon beamed and nodded gently. "It's one of my most endearing qualities."

Ryan rolled his eyes again - he was beginning to wonder if they were eventually going to roll out of his skull - before handing Brendon his bottles of body wash. "The we can both get clean," he said softly. "No funny business, Mister."

Brendon smiled. "All I want is to make out with you a little and touch your butt," he said. "Is that okay?"

Ryan giggled softly. "Only if I can touch yours."

Brendon nodded quickly. "Deal."

After they helped each other wash their hair and washed their own bodies, it almost turned into a contest of how much butt touching could go on in one shower. They wound up staying under the spray longer after it had went from hot to tepid, their mouths red and swollen against each other's before they got out of the shower and into their respective boxer briefs.

As they crawled into bed, Ryan lied on top of Brendon, looking down at him with a far away look in his eyes. "You make me stupid happy," he said softly with a light giggle.

Brendon smiled as he ran a hand through Ryan's hair. "That's nice to know, because with you I'm pretty much just stupid but I'm happy about it."

Ryan smiled before leaning down and pecking Brendon's lips gently. "Goodnight," he whispered as he curled into his boyfriend's side.

"Goodnight, Ryan Ross," Brendon said softly as he held onto the boy of his dreams.

* * *

The flight to New York wasn't as bad as Ryan thought it would be. It was long, yes, but Brendon shifted in his seat at just the right angle so Ryan could lie his head on his shoulder as they watched Zombieland on their monitor, and he kept making sure Ryan had enough snacks for the flight.

Find him a better boyfriend. Don't worry, we'll wait.

As they rode in the taxi to their hotel, Ryan couldn't help but be astounded by how everything looked compared to Los Angeles. The streets looked busier, bustling with people going home, going to lunch, going to work, going anywhere but where they started out that morning. Ryan felt Brendon's hand on his knee and he looked over to see the older man smiling softly before turning back to look out of his own window. Ryan smiles to himself, putting his hand on top of Brendon's.

Their hotel was nicer than anywhere Ryan's ever stayed in his entire life. It was laid out like an apartment, with  a separate kitchen, bedroom, living area and en suite connecting to the bedroom. Walking into the room, Ryan noticed the single king sized bed and raised an amused eyebrow at Brendon, who flushed softly.

"I changed the details to the room after we got together," he said shyly. "Don't worry, Ryan Ross, my intentions for the trip were not to persuade you one way or the other."

Ryan laughed gently. "I trust you," he said softly as he set his suitcase on the bed. "What time do we have to be at the convention centre?"

Brendon pulled his wrist up to look at his watch and furrowed his brows. "It's only about noon," he said as he smiled, "so we've got about 3 or 4 hours before we need to be there. Do you wanna take a nap or something? I can order room service or we can watch a mo— oomf."

Brendon was cut off by Ryan pressing their lips together, smiling softly against him before pulling away an inch or so. "A nap sounds nice."

Brendon smiled as he started kicking off his shoes. "Whatever you want, my love."