Close Your Eyes and I'll Kiss You; Tomorrow I'll Miss You.
Prologue.
“You shouldn’t have dropped out of college. You could still get out of this, you know. Tell them you’re gay! They don’t allow gays in the military.”
Brendon is sitting cross-legged on top of Ryan’s bed and he can’t control the tears flowing from his eyes as he watches Ryan pack his things, preparing to leave in less than twenty-four hours. Tomorrow at this time, Ryan will be gone.
“Bren, I…I have to go,” Ryan sighs, and he’s staring at the floor just like he’s been doing for the past hour because he knows that Brendon is crying, he can hear it in his voice, and he knows that if he sees Brendon cry, he won’t be able to stop himself from crying.
“I hate this stupid war. I hate it. First William and now you. And William is dead because of it, and I can’t lose you, Ryan. I can’t!”
“Brendon,” Ryan says, and he finally looks up as he sits down next to Brendon on the bed, folding out leg under his body and leaning forward a bit so that he’s closer to Brendon. “Hey, don’t worry, okay? I’ll be fine.”
“You don’t know that,” Brendon pouts, staring deep into Ryan’s eyes so that Ryan can feel just how worried and upset Brendon really is.
“Hey,” Ryan says, leaning in even closer and wrapping his arms around Brendon’s shoulders and pulling him towards him, closing the gap between their bodies. Ryan hugs him so that the sides of their faces are pressed together and his mouth is right next to Brendon’s ear.
“Close your eyes and I’ll kiss you,” Ryan sings in a whisper, dropping a kiss right below Brendon’s ear. “Tomorrow I’ll miss you. Remember I’ll always be true. And then while I’m away, I’ll write home every day--”
“You’d better.”
“And I’ll send all my loving to you.”
Brendon smiles slightly; he can’t help it. He loves The Beatles and Ryan loves The Beatles and Brendon especially loves it when Ryan sings Beatles songs to him.
“Promise me you’ll come home safe?” Brendon asks.
“I promise,” Ryan answers, pulling himself away from Brendon so that he can look at him. “I love you. I’ll be back before you know it.”
“Yeah right. I already miss you and you haven’t even gone yet.”
“Hopefully this war will be over soon. And then I’ll be able to come home and we won’t have to worry about you being drafted as soon as you turn eighteen.”
“I don’t care about worrying about the draft. I just want you to be able to come home,” Brendon says sadly.
~*
For Ryan’s father, this is the proudest moment of his life. Sure, it took the draft to make his son follow in his military footsteps, but being a World War II veteran, sending Ryan off to Vietnam and seeing him serve his country makes him practically shine with pride.
Ryan says his goodbyes to Brendon in the privacy of his bedroom because he’s positive that all pride that his father has for him would vanish completely if he saw him kissing the boy that is supposed to be only his ‘best friend’.
Brendon is crying, but trying to compose himself before they go outside. He figures that his nonstop tears might be a dead giveaway to what he and Ryan really have between them and it’s the sixties and homosexuality is a taboo subject in their town. The only people that really even know are their closest friends. Mainly Spencer, who had originally been Ryan’s one inseparable best friend. Then William came along and they became a trio of inseparable best friends. Brendon had somehow worked his way into the group and started dating Ryan shortly after. When William got drafted and killed in Vietnam, though, the group was reduced back down to three people, and now, both Brendon and Spencer are praying that it will stay that way; that it won’t shrink to two.
Brendon can practically feel his heart shatter as he watches Ryan ride away. He considers being totally cheesy and running after the car until he can’t run anymore, but he hardly has the strength. Instead, he walks back to his own house with Spencer in tow.
Brendon is sitting cross-legged on top of Ryan’s bed and he can’t control the tears flowing from his eyes as he watches Ryan pack his things, preparing to leave in less than twenty-four hours. Tomorrow at this time, Ryan will be gone.
“Bren, I…I have to go,” Ryan sighs, and he’s staring at the floor just like he’s been doing for the past hour because he knows that Brendon is crying, he can hear it in his voice, and he knows that if he sees Brendon cry, he won’t be able to stop himself from crying.
“I hate this stupid war. I hate it. First William and now you. And William is dead because of it, and I can’t lose you, Ryan. I can’t!”
“Brendon,” Ryan says, and he finally looks up as he sits down next to Brendon on the bed, folding out leg under his body and leaning forward a bit so that he’s closer to Brendon. “Hey, don’t worry, okay? I’ll be fine.”
“You don’t know that,” Brendon pouts, staring deep into Ryan’s eyes so that Ryan can feel just how worried and upset Brendon really is.
“Hey,” Ryan says, leaning in even closer and wrapping his arms around Brendon’s shoulders and pulling him towards him, closing the gap between their bodies. Ryan hugs him so that the sides of their faces are pressed together and his mouth is right next to Brendon’s ear.
“Close your eyes and I’ll kiss you,” Ryan sings in a whisper, dropping a kiss right below Brendon’s ear. “Tomorrow I’ll miss you. Remember I’ll always be true. And then while I’m away, I’ll write home every day--”
“You’d better.”
“And I’ll send all my loving to you.”
Brendon smiles slightly; he can’t help it. He loves The Beatles and Ryan loves The Beatles and Brendon especially loves it when Ryan sings Beatles songs to him.
“Promise me you’ll come home safe?” Brendon asks.
“I promise,” Ryan answers, pulling himself away from Brendon so that he can look at him. “I love you. I’ll be back before you know it.”
“Yeah right. I already miss you and you haven’t even gone yet.”
“Hopefully this war will be over soon. And then I’ll be able to come home and we won’t have to worry about you being drafted as soon as you turn eighteen.”
“I don’t care about worrying about the draft. I just want you to be able to come home,” Brendon says sadly.
~*
For Ryan’s father, this is the proudest moment of his life. Sure, it took the draft to make his son follow in his military footsteps, but being a World War II veteran, sending Ryan off to Vietnam and seeing him serve his country makes him practically shine with pride.
Ryan says his goodbyes to Brendon in the privacy of his bedroom because he’s positive that all pride that his father has for him would vanish completely if he saw him kissing the boy that is supposed to be only his ‘best friend’.
Brendon is crying, but trying to compose himself before they go outside. He figures that his nonstop tears might be a dead giveaway to what he and Ryan really have between them and it’s the sixties and homosexuality is a taboo subject in their town. The only people that really even know are their closest friends. Mainly Spencer, who had originally been Ryan’s one inseparable best friend. Then William came along and they became a trio of inseparable best friends. Brendon had somehow worked his way into the group and started dating Ryan shortly after. When William got drafted and killed in Vietnam, though, the group was reduced back down to three people, and now, both Brendon and Spencer are praying that it will stay that way; that it won’t shrink to two.
Brendon can practically feel his heart shatter as he watches Ryan ride away. He considers being totally cheesy and running after the car until he can’t run anymore, but he hardly has the strength. Instead, he walks back to his own house with Spencer in tow.
♠ ♠ ♠
Comments would be absolutely lovely. Since this is completely different than anything that I've ever done before, I would love some sort of concrit and if you like this or not.