Personal Assistant (Ryden)

Chapter twenty-five

Brendon's eyes flutter open, feeling oh-so warm. Ryan's snuggled into him, peacefully asleep. Brendon looks at him tiredly, but smiles a bit when he notices just how cute his assistant is. 

He stares softly, moving down so he can look right at him. He watches Ryan. His clear, pale skin, his long eyelashes, his calm expression, soft pink lips, rosy cheeks and a slightly pink nose because of the cold, Ryan's truly a work of art. 

Brendon raises his right hand, frowning slightly, then slowly brings it to Ryan's hand. Their fingers touch and something shoots through Brendon. He flinches with the spark, then bites his lip, returning his hand. Their fingers slowly intertwine, sparks and flutters and chills shooting through Brendon repeatedly. Ryan unconsciously tightens his grip on Brendon's hand, their fingers gently resting on each other's skin.

Brendon looks at their hands, then at Ryan, and then it all hits. His heart sinks, eyes widen with tears, lips part but no words come out, and he tenses up. He pulls away, getting out of bed, standing and running his fingers through his hair.

He fell for Ryan.

He actually likes him, though it doesn't feel like liking Ryan. He can't be in love with him. He will barely admit having feelings for Ryan, but love is a definite no. He won't admit to that one.

He turns and looks at the sleeping boy, heart sinking yet fluttering again. He likes Ryan, he likes his assistant. Brendon swallows hard and pulls the blankets to Ryan's shoulders neatly, then quickly gets dressed and leaves.

When Ryan wakes up, he quickly realizes that he's alone. He smells like Brendon. He loves that smell, it's so distinctively him. It's not a cologne you buy in some fancy place, it's purely just him. 

He sits up and can't help but to notice how comfortable he feels. He hasn't slept this well in a while, and it's all because of Brendon.

Thank god.

He contemplates laying back down, but there's a knock at the door and Ryan looks up. Sarah peeks her head in, then smiles.

"Hey," she says, pushing her way through. She has some French toast on a plate and for once in a really long time, Ryan is actually feeling hungry. He smiles at her, patting the small space next to him. She hands him the food, then crawls underneath the blanket.

"Okay, now, I know you-" Ryan cuts her off by dipping the food into some syrup and taking a bite. She stares in shock, then smiles more. 

"What were you saying?" He asks, not actually getting what she was saying. She thinks for a moment.

"Let's watch something," she says, and so he grabs his laptop and she opens it, immediately pulling up Netflix. He grabs a set of earbuds, plugging them in as she clicks on Friends, and they both put one earbud in their ear as Ryan continues to eat.