There was a boy that sat on the stone bridge ledge with a book in his lap. He spent a lot of his time sitting in that spot, lost in whatever story he decided to bring to the park that day.
Brendon knew this because he just so happened to also spend most of his time in the park also. He watched the mysterious boy coming oblivious to the outside world. The boy pulled his legs into a crossed position and brushed a strand of hair away from his eyes.
Brendon's eyes turned away from the boy when a football hit the side of his head. He stumbled back and rubbed his now red cheek. He turned to the sound of his friend, Spencer, laughing. Brendon grabbed the football and threw it at him with all his strength, which wasn't much.
When Spencer caught the ball effortlessly, Brendon huffed and rolled his eyes. He chuckled and made his way to Brendon. He took a glance over the boy on the bridge before looking down at Brendon.
"Why don't you just talk to him already?" Brendon's eyes widened and shook his head quickly.
"I can't do that."
"Why not?" Spencer shrugged as if it were no big deal. "You've brought me to the park to stare at you mystery boy for weeks. Why not talk to him?" Brendon looked over at the clueless boy. He was hiding a small smile behind his sleeve covered hand. Brendon wondered what he was reading. Spencer shoved him to regain his attention.
"If you don't talk to him, I will." He smiled when Brendon's jaw dropped.
"Please don't," Brendon let out softly. Spencer moved toward the bridge, walking slowly and mockingly. "Spence," Brendon said with a warning tone. Spencer only smirked and began sprinting to the bridge. He slowed when he got near the ledge where the boy was.
Before Spencer could even talk to the boy, Brendon chucked the football at him out of desperation. As Brendon's luck would have it, Spencer peaked over his shoulder just in time to see the ball and move out of the way.
Brendon's jaw dropped as he watched the ball collide with his dream boy. The boy jumped in surprise causing the ball and his book to fall into the river over the edge.
"No," the boy let out desperately. He climbed off the ledge, still looking over for his book.
"Ah man. My ball." Brendon sent a glare at Spencer who was also looking over the ledge to see the football floating with the gentle current.
"I am so sorry. I didn't mean to hit you," Brendon began spilling out apologize. "I was just trying to stop my friend from," he blushed and shook his head. "It doesn't matter. I'm just really sorry." With a sigh, the boy turned away from the water.
"It's fi-." He stopped when his eyes caught Brendon's. The boy's cheeks turned a light pink before he dropped his gaze down to the floor. "It's o-okay. Don't worry a-about it." Brendon looked to the water then back at his mystery boy.
"I can replace it." The boy shook his head and looked back up.
"It's not a big deal," he mumbled. Brendon let himself slowly get lost in the hazel colored eyes. He could never see the color because he only ever admired the boy from a distance. He was even more gorgeous up close.
"Please," Brendon pressed. "I insist." The boy chewed his lip in thought, debating until Brendon spoke again. "Please." With a sigh, the boy nodded.
"Okay." Brendon smiled and moved to embrace him. Seeing Brendon's intentions, the boy's face turned bright red. Brendon stopped and scratched the back of his head nervously.
"So, um.." He wasn't sure what he was trying to say. "I-I'm Brendon." The boy brought his sleeve covered hand up to hide his face, but Brendon could still see the shy smile.
"Ryan," he replied quietly. Brendon smiled and looked over to Spencer. He frowned when he didn't see his friend standing there. He scanned the park, not seeing the taller boy. "Everything alright?" Ryan was looking at Brendon concerned.
"Yeah," he nodded, still confused about where his friend was. He turned back to Ryan and smiled. He was talking to his mystery boy. "Yeah, everything's great. Shall we go find you a new book?" Ryan nodded.
As they began walking together, Brendon's phone went off with text message. He pulled it out and saw a text from Spencer. He chuckled softly as he read it.
Spence:
Have fun!
And You Owe Me A New Football!!
"Who's that?" Brendon turned to Ryan who was walking close to him, almost brushing against him.
"Oh, it's Spencer, my buddy. He just told me to have fun and that I need to replace his football."
"Have fun?" Ryan had on an amused smirk. Brendon immediately blushed. He could lie, but based off Ryan's smirk, he didn't think Ryan would buy whatever excuse he'd come up with.
"Yeah, well I uh... I may have been coming to the park to see you for the past couple weeks." He looked over at some random trees, avoiding Ryan's eyes. He turned back when he felt Ryan intertwine their fingers together. He gave Brendon a shy smile.
"I think we should go get your friend a new football." Brendon nodded and they walked together, hand in hand.
"Did they fall in love, papa B?" Brendon smiled at the two pairs of wide eyes peeking up at him from the beds. He chuckled softly and nodded.
"Yes, Ty. They did. They are still together and are very very happy." Both kids giggled in their beds.
"You forgot to tell them that you never replaced my book." The three turned to see Ryan leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed. Brendon held out his arms, inviting Ryan into them. With a smile, Ryan walked over and was pulled onto his husband's lap.
"I already said I was sorry." Brendon laid his head on Ryan's shoulder with a pout. "You wouldn't even tell me the name to get you a new one."
"I'll consider your apology," Ryan teased. Brendon kiss his cheek, earning another smile from his husband. He turned his head and kissed Brendon softly. They pulled apart to the sound of their grandchildren giggling. Ryan got off Brendon's lap and went to the kids' bedsides.
"Alright you two, story time's over. Both of you need to go to sleep now. Your mommy will be mad if she finds you up this late." Ryan tucked them in and gave them both a goodnight kiss. "Goodnight my babies."
"Night, papa Ry." Brendon kissed the kids before following Ryan out the room. They went to the living room couch where Brendon pulled Ryan back onto his lap when he took a seat.
"They seemed to enjoy your story," Ryan commented as he wrapped an arm around Brendon's neck and leaned his head on the other's shoulder.
"They always love the stories I tell about us." Brendon smiled and pecked Ryan's cheek.
"I love them too."
"It's nice reliving them," Brendon smiled and nuzzled Ryan's cheek.
"Was that the first time you told them about the day we met?" Brendon nodded.
"And it was the best day of my life." Ryan smiled and shoved Brendon playfully. "Only thing that could make it better is being able to replace your book." Ryan shook his head, his smile getting bigger.
"Why won't you tell me? It's been ages," Brendon whined. Ryan giggled and shook his head. Brendon pouted and buried his face in Ryan's neck. "Not funny." Ryan ran his hand through Brendon's hair and sighed.
"Okay, you wanna know why I won't tell you?" Brendon pulled back to lock eyes with Ryan and nodded eagerly. "Okay." Ryan chewed on his lip before continuing. "I don't know the name." Brendon tilted his head confused.
"You mean you don't remember." Ryan shook his head.
"I used to grab a random book from my dad's shelf and pretend to read it at the park," he finished and blushed slightly.
"Why would you pretend to read at the park? Who does that?" Brendon teased.
"It was the only way I could see this really cute boy play football with his friend without him noticing. He was actually a terrible player. I didn't know why he kept trying because he kept getting hit in the face with the ball," he finished with a chuckle. Brendon gave a wide smile and his eyes shined as he stared at his love.
"You used to go to the park just to watch me play?" Ryan nodded shyly. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I didn't want to look like some creep who would watch his crush from a distance because they were too shy to say anything," Ryan answered sarcastically, nudging Brendon's side. Brendon smiled and shook his head in disbelief.
"Almost forty years," Brendon whispered softly, staring at Ryan. "I love you." Ryan pulled Brendon in for a long, gentle kiss. When he pulled away, they pressed their foreheads together, staring into each other's eyes.
"I love you too," Ryan whispered softly.