Drawing the line

[Aldon Huang]

"Oh yeah, and I was hanging out with uh. Rae and Josh." Aldon coughed their names; they weren't known to be fox-sympathizers. In fact, Aldon had a bad feeling that Ryland or some of Ryland's friends might have been bullied by one or the other of them. Aldon didn't do the physical shake-downs, but he stood by and watched. And laughed. He didn't have the best reputation around the high school, this was true,

Roe, on the other hand, was like everybody's favorite. Which might have irked Aldon somewhat since they looked identical and why didn't people love him as much? (Maybe that whole hanging out with 'Raezyr' and 'Josh' thing...)

"Didn't I see some pictures of you from high school?" A broad grin broke out on Aldon's face; a goofy, stupid grin. Part of it was from the tummy rub. Good old tummy rubs, nothing like them in the whole world to make Aldon feel good. He practically melted into Ryland, nuzzling him like an overgrown puppy, wiggling into place against him, so close that not even a crane could have lifted him away.

But the other part of the stupid shit-eating grin was because he just remembered--"Weren't you like a nerd?"

[Ryland Ren]

"...yeah..."

Ryland definitely remembered those two growing up. That was probably how Aldon got shoved out of the spotlight (despite being a spotlight hound!) They were jerks and assholes and personally, Ryland didn't know how much they really changed. Something softened a little bit in Rae after he started falling for Alva but that was kind of a fluke. If they hadn't been together in a bad situation, there was no telling what lengths Rae would go to against them. Probably the only reason Josh wasn't causing havoc on his own was because of Aldon and Rae's current situations.

And he did remember Roe, somewhat. A lot of people knew who he was. Ryland even thought Aldon was him for maybe two minutes when they started working together. He quickly realized that wasn't the case and not just because of the different name on his name tag.

"I wasn't a nerd," he argued. "I think I was more on the border. Not a cool kid, not a jock, not a nerd." He gave Aldon a Look. "Just a guy." Then he lightly smacked Aldon on the shoulder. "Where'd you find a picture from me in high school? Yearbook?"

[Aldon Huang]

"That's what all the nerds say," he teased, because while Ryland hadn't been full-on nerd, he definitely wasn't as beautiful as he was now. Maybe he was more dorky than nerdy? Definitely not somebody who showed up on Aldon's radar though!

"Maybe." Aldon remained noncommittal, hoping that Ryland wouldn't ask him why he wanted to dig up old photos. (Totally to see what Ryland was like when he was a teenager. And it wasn't even just one yearbook; it was every yearbook from every year that Aldon could get his hands on.)

"Maybe I asked around. Maybe... I asked your mom..." He didn't, but that was actually not a bad idea. Unless Ryland had been telling her about him, in which case he might not be so willing to walk into that house.

[Ryland Ren]

"Bastard."

It was true, though. Most nerds didn't claim to be nerds unless they were the kind who weren't actually nerds. The hipsters, the ones who were cool because they were different. "Different" in quotes, though, because in reality... they were pretty much like the rest of their generation. Ryland was a bystander, though. He wasn't really a part of any group in high school. His best friends were his disabled cousin and somebody who struggled with her identity for a while before finally doing something about it. Before that, she was just a flamboyant guy who got a lot of shit in school. Now she was really coming into herself.

Ryland envied her sometimes. He wished he knew how to find himself. Sometimes he was so certain who he was and where he stood but then there were strange days, like today, where he discovered things about himself that he thought might have been better left unturned. Like the whole... wolfish thing. Ryland didn't want to be a possessive a-hole. He just wanted... Aldon. So why did it take a real threat to shine a light on that?

He tried not to dwell on it. Things were light hearted between them now and he didn't want to stir things up when he was finally in Aldon's arms. With paper that kept sticking to him. He was pretty sure some of the ink was going to stick to him, too.

"Ugh, I hope she didn't show you those baby pictures," he groaned. His mom was way too proud of him sometimes. "I was such a fat baby."

[Aldon Huang]

Aldon laughed. "Were you?!" Now he HAD to get his hands on baby pictures! He couldn't imagine a fat Ryland! Even a fat baby, although chubby babies were adorable. Chubby adults... not always. Sometimes, but not always, and especially not when the clothes came off. So sue him, he was shallow!

"You're a cute baby now, though," he purred, cozying up to Ryland in a very obvious way. One of his legs slipped over Ryland's and he plastered another post-it note onto Ryland's stomach, giving it a little tummy rub too. "You're my cute baby~" Aldon kissed his jaw and then nuzzled him, feeling good--amorous, but not in a sexual way.

He was just... happy.

Happy and maybe also sleepy, since he'd had an extraordinarily long day. Aldon sighed, letting his eyes drift slowly closed. "Can I nap here? For a couple of hours?" He nuzzled Ryland again. Later... he'd have to go home, but not yet. Not just yet.

[Ryland Ren]

"No!" he vehemently denied the fact that he was a fat little baby--but it was true and he knew Aldon knew it was true just by the sheer vehemence in Ryland's voice. It gave him away. Aldon was laughing, though, and he could only imagine what kind of face Aldon might make if he actually saw the baby pictures. Weren't all babies fat, though? Chubby babies were cute! At least... that's what his mother said but she was so proud of him that anything he did was probably "cute" to her. As a child, anyway.

"I was a cute baby then, too!" he protested as Aldon drew closer to him, bringing with him his warmth and weight. Ryland curled against him, comforted by his presence and the familiarity of lying beside him in bed. Even if the walls were new, the bed wasn't and the person with him wasn't. Gently and affectionately, he ruffled Aldon's hair before kissing the top of his nose just because it was within reach of his lips.

"Yes." Stay as long as you want. Ryland didn't want to get up, either. He felt comfortable right where he was. Comfortable and right. He smiled at Aldon and rubbed his nose against his--again, because he could. His voice was soft when he spoke again. "I'm glad you're here, Ald."

[Aldon Huang]

"Hm... I'm glad I'm here too." He didn't say it--that he almost didn't come. That when he brushed his hand against Gregg's back at the apartment, he wanted to do so much more. Like pull him down. Kiss him. Reassure himself that Gregg was real, solid, there with him--with him not only in the physical sense but also on his side.

But Aldon was glad he did come. He was happy that he had made up with Ryland, and that it was the two of them curled up together in the same bed, on a nest of post-its. Somehow it felt right. Their quirky love nest was right. It wasn't perfect by any means--no rose petals, no dim lights and soft music and champagne, but it was them. That was all Aldon needed--them.

Sighing, he nuzzled Ryland back, nose tip to nose tip. His eyes drifted closed slowly, flickering to get a few last glimpses of Ryland. He smiled. "Love you, Ry."