900 Thousand Times I Would...

At the mall, Brendon had dragged Ryan in the toy store, obsessing over every toy in sight. Eventually, he saw a bouncy ball; a clear one with glitter inside smaller than his fist. When it was in the light, the glitter sparkled brilliantly in blue and green, and when he turned it over in his hands, it looked like a blizzard inside. It was something Brendon was absolutely could not take his eyes off of, and the twinkle in his eye told Ryan that this was something he'd be whining about for weeks if he didn't get it.

So, Ryan bought it for him. Maybe that was spoiling him, but it was just in a bouncy ball. What trouble could he possibly get into with it?

After leaving, they realized Spencer and Jon were missing. Together. Brendon begged for Ryan to go with him to try to find them, but Ryan put his foot down. For some reason, Brendon couldn't put together that they were probably fucking somewhere, and that it would be bad for everyone involved if they went searching for them. Ryan assured Brendon they'd be fine, they just needed some time, and they'd be back soon enough. Brendon accepted this and soon forgot all about it. He laced their fingers together and pulled Ryan along with him.

Ryan looked down at their entwined fingers for a brief moment. They looked normal. Not misplaced, not perfect. Just normal.

"You want a pretzel?" Brendon asked, looking at him.

Ryan shrugged. "Sure," he answered.

Brendon ordered two hot pretzels, a cinnamon brown sugar (for him, of course) and a salt just like he knew Ryan wanted. They got the piping hot pretzels and sat down on a bench to eat them. Brendon took a bite of his, loving the taste of the sugar on his tongue. He rested his head comfortably on Ryan's shoulder, relaxing.

Taking a bite of his pretzel, Ryan wrapped his arm around Bren's shoulders. Brendon was one of the few people that he was actually really comfortable with. He could feel him up and he probably wouldn't even care.

Behind them, there were a few fake mini trees. They didn't know it, but there were two fangirl hidden in there, snapping away with their camera phones.

* * * *

Spencer and Jon eventually came sauntering by about half an hour later, earning them a glare from Ryan. "You worried him sick," he hissed, nodding toward Brendon, who was too focused on bouncing his new ball to worry about anything else.

"Sorry," Spencer said, "Jon saw these shoes he wanted, so he tried them on, and-"

Ryan cut them off. "Save it," he stated. "I think I have an idea about what's going on. Don't tell me until you've figured out what's going on."

Jon and Spencer both blushed, but said nothing to confirm or deny his theory.

"You ready to go?" Ryan asked.

Brendon lifted up his head and smiled. He simply nodded and stood, offering Ryan his hand. He let Brendon pull him to his feet and the quartet made their way outside to the car. Brendon immediately got in the driver's seat; he was the only person Ryan knew who liked driving. Jon and Spencer got in the back, Ryan taking shot-gun.

As he settled in his rightful place to the right of Brendon, he thought of how he could never be relaxed with Pete. There was always something going on, always some complicated shit ready to go down. With his band, he wasn't like that. He could laugh and cry and yell without being worried about what they'd think. He knew that they were all friends, and they'd stay that way for the rest of their lives. There was nothing that he could do or say to make them go away; they'd still love him anyway.

Brendon looked at Ryan, his eyes kind as always. "You okay?" he asked.

Ryan nodded. "Ya. I'm good, actually."

Brendon reached over and ruffled his counterpart's hair. He started up the car and began the drive home, daydreaming of what could be.

* * * *

Ryan walked into the music room, and sat down in one of the chairs. He had a perfect dreamless sleep that night; there could be nothing better. He reached over and picked up his guitar, beginning to tune it appropriately. He ran his fingers up and down the strings, feeling the smoothness of the high ones. He liked it when it was like this; just him and his guitar. He plucked the stings and just randomly started playing chords. He knew nothing would come from it, but it still relaxed him perfectly.

After a bit of that, he set the guitar back on its stand and went to see if anyone else was awake. He walked out into the living room to see Brendon watching E! News.

Ryan collapsed next to him onto the couch. "Hey," he said.

Brendon turned to him and smiled. "Yo, what up my RyHo?" he replied.

Ryan made a face. "I thought I was only your RyHo yesterday," he stated.

"Nah, you can be my RyHo whenever you feel like it," Brendon told him.

Ryan blushed slightly. It wasn't everyday your best friend told you you could be their ho. "Uh... Okay..." he trailed off.

"Have fun playing your guitar?" Brendon asked.

How did Brendon know these things? Stalker! "Ya. Pretty damn fun," Ryan answered.

"Sleep okay?"

"Uhuh."

"Good."

"Today on E! News! Is Pete Wentz dating-?" Click. Brendon turned off the TV as fast as he could. He didn't want Ryan to see that.

Ryan froze for a moment. Pete was dating someone? And so soon? He thought he was going to completely fall apart. His vision started to blur...

Brendon continued talking as if nothing had happened. "So you want to go out and get some breakfast?"

Ryan blinked, calming himself. "Ya, sure," he answered. "I'll go try to wake up Joncer and see if they wanna come with."

Brendon stood with Ryan. "Joncer?"

"Ya, you know, like Jon and Spencer's names together...?"

"Ohh. So what would that make us then?"

Ryan blushed for the second time that morning. "Um... Rydon, I guess."

"Hmm. Rydon. I like it. Let's go wake up Joncer!" Brendon exclaimed, running toward their room.

"Brendon, don't!"

Ryan's words fell short, because what he heard next was not good. "Wake up- OHMIGOD EWWWW!" Brendon squealed, running into Ryan's arms.

Jon appeared in the doorway. "Dude, knock next time!" he said.

"I gotta bleach my eyes, RyHo," Brendon mumbled, holding onto him tightly. "They were making out, ew, yuck, yuck, my innocence is gone. Gone forever."

"It's all right, Bren. Just relax and think happy thoughts," Ryan soothed, rubbing his back.

"Me and you, setting in a honeymoon," Brendon sang, quoting the Fall Out Boy song.

This made Ryan think of Pete, but he quickly pushed it away, because Brendon was making him blush again. "Right. Now let's go grab some food with Joncer."

"All right, Rydon," Brendon grinned cheekily, grabbing his hand.