900 Thousand Times I Would...

Ryan woke up that morning with heavy eyelids. He blinked and looked over at Brendon, whose face was right next to his. His hot breath was hitting his cheek, and Ryan rolled his eyes to himself. He shimmied out of the bed so Bren wouldn’t wake up, and tiptoed on the creaky floor of the cabin to the kitchen.

The light streamed through the west window and made him cover his eyes. He walked over and shut the blinds; it was too early for that much light. Really, how could old people get up so early? It just seemed really wrong.

His socks shuffled over the floor in a fluid fashion to their destination. He opened up the cabinet to get his box of Rice Crispies and poured himself a bowl with very little milk. He didn't want his cereal getting soggy.

He sat there, stewing over what had occured the night before. He couldn't believe he had just very plainly admitted what had happened to Brendon. Well, he took that back. Brendon could get anything out of Ryan, just because Brendon is Brendon. That's just the way it works.

He felt terrible for waking Bren up with his sobbing. Really, who does that besides five-year-olds? He couldn't hold back his tears after that dream, though. He never could. It was just too painful and too real. Now Brendon knew for sure that he went both ways, even though he probably knew before. Gender just wasn't a factor as far as Ryan was concerned.

Brendon emerged from the room they both shared a very short time later, shirtless as always in his boxer shorts and scratching at his hairless stomach. His hair was getting long; it was beneath his ears now and stuck out. He yawned and stretched (always the drama queen) and padded over to sit on the stool next to his RyRo. He stuck his nose in Ryan's cereal and sniffed, which is something Ryan was used to.

"Do you want some?" he asked, even though he knew the answer that would follow shortly after.

"Ew, no," Brendon stated, standing up and walking over to one of the cabinets.

Ryan rolled his eyes. That was Brendon for you. He had to make a scene, even this early in the morning.

Brendon sat back down with his box of Foot Loops and jug of milk. He poured the cereal in almost all the way to the top, followed by milk of about the same amount. Ryan knew Brendon probably wouldn't finished them all because they got soggy or Batman came on or something, and he'd accidentally leave it lying there, leaving Ryan to clean up after. Ryan didn't mind really... he was used to cleaning after Brendon by now.

"One of these days, you're going to go into a sugar coma," Ryan told him. It was true. He drank so much Red Bull and ate so much random candy it was crazy. He's probably eat a Reese's if he saw it on the street.

"Ya? Well I'd rather go into a sugar coma than go into a non-sugar coma like you!" Brendon retorted.

"It's not good to go into a coma at all really..." Ryan trailed off. "What's a non-sugar coma?"

"A coma from not eating sugar." Brendon was now already shoving the multi-colored, sugar-coated, sorry excuse for a breakfast cereal into his mouth. "Shup," he mumbled, his voice muffled by the cereal in his throat.

Ryan tilted his head to his Rice Crispies to hear the "Snap Crackle Popping". He always had to do that. He didn't know why. It was a ritual. "What?" he questioned.

Brendon finally swallowed. "I was saying 'shut up' but now I'd like to add that Rice Crispies taste like paper. And not good paper either. They mislead kids into thinking there's going to be Rice Crispie Treat cereal in that box, but no just those nasty ass Crispies without marshmallows of any kind," Brendon ranted.

"I'm... sorry you feel that way," Ryan answered. What else was he supposed to say, really?

"You should be!" Brendon screeched, shoveling more cereal into his mouth.

"Right..."

"Will you seriously stop arguing about cereal?" Spencer demanded, emerging from his cave. "I was trying to sleep."

"Spencer, you're like a bear. You hibernate, not sleep," Ryan pointed out.

"Pft. Whatever. Gimme some Froot Loops," Spencer said to Brendon.

"Ah ha! See? Spencer likes my cereal more than yours, so there," Brendon taunted, sticking out his tongue.

Ryan rolled his eyes. "This may come to a shock to you... but I don't really care."

"Yes. Yes you do. You just don't know it," Brendon replied.

* * * *

"HOLY SHIT! It's 'Wow Wow Wubzy'!" Ryan exclaimed, throwning himself on the couch before the TV.

"Dude, that show sucks," Jon said. He finally woke up, and was eating a different cereal entirely: Reese's puffs. "Even Brendon won't watch that crap."

"It's true. I don't like how Wubzy doesn't wear clothes. It just seems so wrong. It's a children show, for crying out loud," Brendon stated.

Ryan turned to him. That was such a Brendon thing to say. "Dude, like kids even know what happens when they take their pants off. Me and Spencer used to run naked in our neighborhood all the time," he said.

"Ya, until my mom told us the cops were going to arrest us," Spencer said.

"We realized later that Spencer had been gay all this time and we just didn't know it," Ryan explained.

"Ya and- wait... What?!"

"Dude, I know you were checking me out in the kiddie pool," Ryan concurred.

Spencer shook his head. "Dude, no. I don't know what drugs you're taking, but I do not want any of that," he denied.

Ryan winked and chuckled, "You know you want this. Don't deny." This was the first time since what happened with Pete that he had been able to laugh and joke with the guys like this. He felt it was probably because Brendon knew now, and it just felt good to get it off of his chest.

Jon was laughing, and Bren was standing there, mouth agape. "This is why children should wear clothes: so accidents like Spencer's gayness don't happen," he stressed.

"No! I'm not-"

"Come on, Spence. Let's go to the store and I'll buy you a cookie," Jon promised.

"Get me a huge chocolate chip one the size of my head!" Brendon called.

"Get me a Snickerdoodle!" Ryan added.

"Got it, got it. Anything else besides the usual?" Jon questioned. The usuals were chocolate-chip waffles (had to be Eggo) , s'mores Pop Tarts (absolutely no generic brands), candy (of any kind), and Red Bull (none of that no sugar crap; that made Brendon crazier). All for Brendon. Ryan just required coffee and wasn't too picky about anything else, as long as they bought popcorn.

"Umm... Make sure you get a huge bag of Skittles, that way I can force Ry to pick out all of the yellow ones," Brendon said.

Ryan shook his head. "You wouldn't make me do that."

Brendon pouted his extremely full lips. "Okay, maybe I wouldn't, but I've thought about it."

"Okay then... we'll be gone... probably for a while... so don't do anything stupid," Jon warned.

The way that Jon had stated "they'd be gone for a while" was a little suspicious, but Brendon brushed it off. "Fine, fine."

"See ya," Ryan waved.

And then there were two.

"Are you really going to make me watch this?" Brendon asked.

Ryan watched as Wubzy kicked his kickity kickball on the screen. "I've never seen this one," Ryan whined.

Brendon let out a long exagerated sigh. "Fine."

Ryan smiled to himself as Brendon settled on the couch next to him.