𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐮𝐤𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐊𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 || A Paw Patrol Fanfiction

T E N

A month has gone by, and Ryder's whole arm has healed nicely, making him go on missions again. Mayor Goodway, held responsible for being the brunette's guardian; made him stay put and rest till his arm his completly healed. No exceptions. It bore him to death not to do anything or even help the pups on missions.

The duke took control of leading the pups with his guidance, of course.

He stayed in the lookout most of the time and looking for something to do, only to find nothing makes his hands and legs shake. He gets a little bit crazy when he doesn't get to do anything. Like, his whole day would just end up getting ruined if he doesn't do something to keep himself busy.

Darius was back from another mission with the pups, the dally puppies barking happily behind him as they stepped inside the building to see Ryder sitting down on the green beanbag that the boy usually use.

The duke kept thinking about the day that the younger boy pecked his cheek. He doesn't know if it meant something or just a way of comfort. But, boys don't just kiss their friend as a sign of comfort.

Do they?

That thought spun Darius' head non stop. It made him have an existential and identity crisis on the spot. He doesn't know how to feel about it but, he does know that he likes it and it felt good. But, he doesn't know how Ryder would feel about it. He doesn even know if the boy is even queer. Why does falling in love had to be this hard?!

"Darius? You okay?" Ryder asks as he waved his hand in front of the royal. He was standing there in front of him for a solid four minutes, not moving an inch, which made Ryder worry about it. The royal snapped from his train of thought and he looked at the younger boy, his hazel eyes glistening in the light. Darius cleared his throat.

"Yes, I'm fine... It's nothing."

This made Ryder look at him with confusion because he was pretty sure he was thinking of something but, not bothered to tell the younger boy. Darius knows that if he tells Ryder what was going on, he's sure he'll find a way to fix it with him; being a Libra and all. "Are you sure? You really zone out for quite some time there..." Ryder spoke as he carefully takes off one of each pup's gear so they can run off and play in the garden.

As the pups ran off, Ryder looked at the older boy, concern filling his eyes. "You really seem tensed... Do you want to talk about it?" The brunette asked with an intention to try and help the duke with his nerves. Darius shook his head. "I'm alright. It's nothing really..."

The duke gasped as Ryder firmly holds his hand, slowly intertwining them. He was nervous. And panicking inside. He doesn't know how to handle this! This is too much for him to even handle! Does Ryder know he likes him already? Was he being too obvious? He can't do this! Not here! Not now!

Darius quickly pulled his hand away from the boy's grasp and he chews his lip. He had to ask. He can't take it anymore.

"Ryder? Why are you doing this to me?"

"Do what?"

"Do this... It feels like you're making me feel something... And I don't like it..." Darius trailed off sadly .

Ryder now felt bad. Awfully bad. He didn't mean to hurt Darius' feelings. He thought that the duke has feelings for him too, that's why he's doing these kinds of actions. He's being affectionate without using words. He's not used to telling how he feels all the time so the only thing he can do is to make the duke feel like the brunette likes him but, he doesn't know that that's how Darius feels about it.

"Oh... I'm sorry... I didn't mean to..." Ryder sadly spoke and he chews his lip, now hesitant about what to say next. "Do you not like it?"

"I feel like you're making me feel like we have something..."