"Ryan, Brendon's here," Ryan's mother shouted. The little five-year-old came racing out of his room. When he got to the living room, he saw his mother helping his best friend take off his shoes.
"Thank you, Mrs. Ross," Brendon beamed as he hugged her leg. The mother laughed at the affection.
"How many times have I told you to just call me Danielle."
"Oops. Sorry. Thank you Danielle."
"Brendon," Ryan shouted. The boy turned and his smile grew impossibly large. They ran to each other and Brendon ended up tackling the other with a hug.
"I'll go make you some snacks. Ryan go ahead and take Brendon to your room." Ryan nodded, grabbed Brendon by the hand and pulled him to his room.
The pair spent the afternoon playing with Ryan's toy cars. Danielle brought them a couple small bags of chips and juice boxes at some point. They were having the time of their lives racing around and laughing.
"Brendon, your mom's here." The boys stopped what they were doing and pouted.
"You can ask you mom if you can sleep over," Ryan suggested. Brendon shook his head.
"I tried cutting our dog's hair so she said I'm not allowed to sleep over for a month." Ryan crossed his arms, disappointed.
"Brendon, we gotta go," Brendon's mother called. The boys reluctantly left the room and headed for the front door. When they got back into the living room, their mothers were finishing up a conversation.
"I'll come over tomorrow," Ryan said while Brendon put his shoes back on.
"Really?" Brendon eyes grew wide with excitement. Ryan nodded returning the energy. Brendon pulled him into a tight hug. When he moved away, he planted a big kiss on Ryan's cheek.
"Come on sweetie." Brendon's mom took his hand and led him out the house to the car. He waved at Ryan before Danielle shut the door. Ryan was frozen in his spot, staring where Brendon was.
"You okay Ry?" Ryan looked up at his mother.
"Brendon kissed me. Do we have to get married now?" Danielle laughed softly and kneeled in front of her son.
"No, you don't have to get married and you're too young for that anyway."
"Why'd he kiss me?"
"Because he loves you and that's what people do to show how much they love someone."
"Like you and daddy?"
"It's different with your daddy and me. Brendon loves you as a friend." Ryan nodded in understanding.
"Do I have to kiss him back?"
"You don't have to. Brendon does it because he likes showing his affection like how he hugs you a lot and holds your hand when he comes to the store with us. He only does it because you're his best friend."
Only his best friend.
That stuck with Ryan as him and Brendon grew up. Brendon only got more clingy as they got older. He demanded cuddles at sleepovers and insisted on sharing milkshakes with two straws. He continued kissing Ryan on the cheek and progressed to doing it in public. Ryan was always seen with Brendon attached to his hip and holding his hand.
For everyone who didn't know the two, they automatically assumed they were dating. Hell, even people who knew about their level of affection were convinced they were in a not so secret relationship.
Ryan had tried to get Brendon to stop or at least calm down with the habits. He grew tired of hearing the rumors about them, about the relationship he wanted so desperately to be real. Brendon was so upset, he cried thinking Ryan didn't want to be his friend anymore.
