The spell is broken

[Ryland Ren]

"No!" he hissed back and tried to grapple Aldon's flapping hands. Of course Aldon was overreacting. It might have looked intimate but it didn't actually mean that it was. For all they knew, that guy was family. Not any family that Ryland knew, admittedly. Or he could be a close friend. Also, not somebody that Ryland knew. How much did he really know about his cousin? He considered him his best friend for so long but now... Now... he didn't know what to think.

He has to have a good reason, he told himself. He trusted Alva way too much to think that this was weird. Well, it was weird but he knew there was a logical explanation behind it all. Aldon... Not so much. He was really freaking out. Wasn't he? The way he frowned at the place where the car had been... It was gone now, though. Ryland spun around to stare at Aldon again.

"What? Leave him here?" He grasped onto Aldon to try and keep him from running off on him. "We can't just leave him here!"

[Aldon Huang]

"We can't let him see us together either!"

Aldon grappled with Ryland too, but he was trying to grab him and drag him off. No way was Aldon staying to confront Alva; he wasn't good with that sort of thing. He would have preferred to go elsewhere and indulge in his crazy far-fetched explanations until things started making sense on their own. Because Alva having somebody on the side was nonsense.

"Who even was that guy? I don't like the looks of him!" He narrowed his eyes. Obviously, Aldon was loyal to Rae. And obviously anybody who got between Rae and happiness was The Enemy, even if he didn't fully know what was going on between that guy and Alva.

[Ryland Ren]

"Yeah, but!"

Alva arrived in the company of a stranger. That meant he didn't have a ride back! How was he supposed to get back home? Not that Ryland was much help because he'd come to the animal shelter in fox form. Sometimes it was just faster to be an animal than it was to use a vehicle. Plus, as a fox, he was a little easier to catch. Despite what he said to Aldon, he had wanted him to find him. (And had to slap him in the face with his location because god, he could be so dense sometimes!)

It wasn't like Alva didn't have a phone but...

"Oh shit."

Ryland went for his phone, usually tucked in his back pocket. It wasn't there. It was on the ground, crushed and pretty much useless. Even if Alva was trying to call him or text him, it likely wasn't coming through. Ryland quickly bent down and grabbed it. Then he heard it--the sound of the back doorknob. Heart in his throat, Ryland let himself be dragged away, if only because he really, really didn't want to be caught red-handed by Alva.

[Aldon Huang]

"Oh shit!" Aldon hissed at about the same time as Ryland, frantically dragging him down the alley and out of sight. He spared a glance at the thing in Ryland's hand--it looked like a phone--but was more concerned about Alva catching them. It wasn't even the threat of physical violence that had Aldon panicking. It was...

The Disappointment.

The Look.

God, he hated Alva's Disappointed Look. He hated Ryland's Disappointed Look too but at least he could weasel his way out of that one, being Ryland's lover. Not so much with Alva. It felt like he'd let the whole world down when he was subjected to it and he was pretty sure Alva knew exactly what he was doing, every time he brought it out. Not often... but when he did, Aldon felt like a skunk. There was also that nagging feeling of guilt in the back of his mind, too, because he was technically still with Gregg so everything about this encounter was practically designed to guilt-trip.

Out of sight and around the corner, Aldon tried to dial a cab to get them the hell away from the shelter. He kept a strong hold on Ryland with one arm curled around his waist, however, as though Ryland might bolt back to Alva to confess everything. "Let's go back to my place." Even despite their current situation, Aldon couldn't resist the sly grin. "I got some post-its you need to see."

[Ryland Ren]

Part of him did want to go back and he kept looking, as if they would find Alva following them. He had to have scented them, right? They were so close, and then they disappeared. It made Ryland feel like a rat fink, knowing that Alva was looking for him, knowing why he was looking for him, and knowing that he was outrunning him even though he was the one that told Alva to go there. For him.

"Maybe not," Ryland said, feeling weird that he was slamming the brakes on them before they'd even properly moved forward. He looked again toward the shelter, feeling crummy and definitely guilty. He wrapped his arms around himself, even though Aldon already had a pretty firm grasp on his waist. After a moment, he looked down at the cracked phone in his hand. It wouldn't turn on. Great.

"We have to call somebody to come get him, too," he said, as though Alva wasn't capable of calling somebody on his own. "Rae... or somebody." Maybe we should go back. Then he elbowed Aldon, not about to let him off the hook for his post-it comment and yet still pleased that he brought it up. "You jerk. You didn't bring any with you?"

[Aldon Huang]

"He can call Rae! He's dating Rae!" Hell, Alva probably wouldn't have to call. Rae's Alva-sense (inferior, however, to Aldon's Rydar) would tingle or something and he'd show up before it got too dark. Alva was fine--he wasn't totally helpless. Sometimes it was easy for Aldon to forget that, when he only remembered the wheelchair and how much Alva struggled with basic things, but Alva got by just fine until now. Aldon was pretty sure he didn't need help calling a cab, either.

"Ah-owoo!" Aldon half-grunted and half-screamed as Ryland's elbow dug into the soft spot at his side, prompting him to let go of Ryland's waist to rub the sore area. Sharp-ass elbows weren't meant to go there! "Why am I a jerk?!" He was purely offended--and looked it. "You just got done getting mad at me for not getting here sooner! You wanted me to stop for an hour to write 200 post-its to bring along with me?"

Aldon side-shuffled away, in case Ryland felt like another dig with that elbow. "You weren't even gonna put them all in your wallet! You're the jerk!"

[Ryland Ren]

"Fine..." But he still didn't feel right about it. He'll be safe inside the shelter. It wasn't likely that the people inside would treat him badly. Most of them were nice older ladies and then there were the volunteers. They wouldn't treat Alva worse than the animals they loved so much... Alva was safe. And he would probably call Rae when he couldn't find Ryland. Still...

"He's going to think I'm ignoring him," he said as he looked down at his phone with slight petulance. There was no way it was getting fixed in its condition, either. While Aldon rubbed his sore ribs, Ryland dug around for the sim card so he could at least try and save it. Once he found it, he stuck it in his pocket and tossed the phone into the nearest wastebasket that they passed.

"You could have brought at least one," he said, if only for argument's sake. But when he drew closer, Aldon shuffled away like he was ready for another assault. Ryland's hand, when it brushed Aldon's hip to try and find his belt loop to try and draw him back, was much more gentle than it had been a moment ago. "Or..." He took a step closer. "You could just say it. In person. Whisper it if you have to."

[Aldon Huang]

"He'll live!" Well, technically ignoring Alva wasn't a bad thing--it wouldn't give Alva the chance to talk Ryland out of going home with Aldon! That was no bad thing, not in Aldon's books, and he was glad--yes, glad!--that he'd stepped all over Ryland's phone. Not that he'd say it, though. He didn't want to be branded a jerk again, after failing to show up with an armful of post-its.

Post-its that Ryland didn't initially want!

"I'd have to stop by my house to get one!" Aldon cried out, even as he allowed himself to be hauled in by the belt loop. "You're not even making sense anymore!" But his eyes were soft and his hand automatically reached out to touch Ryland's back, then curled around to his other side to hold on to him. Whisper it, huh? If he had to? If he absolutely had to?

Aldon looked around. Nobody around. Alva didn't even round the corner, he probably was still trying to text Ryland or something. Aldon cleared his throat. Puffed out his chest. Tried to look important, like he had some great big revelation to disclose. He took a deep breath.

"I." He stopped, making a show of pointing to his own chest. "Me, Aldon Huang." Just in case Ryland was in any doubt about it.

"You know, Aldon Huang? The good-looking one? That's me." He should probably stop stalling--or stop making a big production out of it--but damnit, this was a special moment! Plus, Aldon was pure ham. "I really, seriously mean this."

"I. Love." A pause, while he looked meaningfully at Ryland. And held that look, milking the moment for all it was worth (and then some).

[Ryland Ren]

"Mm...yeah?" He knew who Aldon Huang was, thanks. His gaze dropped to the lips that formed the words for a moment. Then his gaze was back up to Aldon's big, dark eyes. At the moment, he looked so earnest but at the same time, it was like he didn't know what to say or how to say it. But it was so easy. Ryland didn't really understand where the reluctance came from. He'd met Aldon's twin--Monroe seemed all about the free love thing and in a lot of ways, Aldon seemed the same. Never had he ever seen Aldon have qualms about throwing his arm around a set of shoulders or throwing himself at somebody in a hug--particularly him--Ryland. But when it came to the words...

It could just be not his way. Ryland had thought about it before when he tried to reason it all out. Not everybody showed their love in the same way and even though Aldon messed around and didn't say it, Ryland felt like he still loved him. If he didn't, why did they keep gravitating back toward one another? Still... It would have been nice to be showered with the words, too, and not just all those actions.

"I know who you are, Aldon Huang." He drew closer, his fingers tightening around the belt loops and his hips lining up against Aldon's. His face, too. Their noses brushed and he could feel Aldon's breath against his lips. His eyes were on Aldon's, though, even if when they were this close, his eyes wanted to cross. He closed his eyes and nuzzled Aldon, whispering into his ear, "You better not say you love steak or teddy bears or something."

[Aldon Huang]

"I know..." Aldon's voice dropped as Ryland came closer, and he adopted a slightly sulky expression if only because Ryland was totally on to him. Well, he was never good at hiding things from Ryland. Plus, being a fox, Ryland was very perceptive. Or Aldon was dumb. He was a dumb wolf. That was entirely possible.

As his eyes flickered half-closed with their proximity, Aldon's heart rate shot up again, along with his blood pressure. He couldn't help it; he was a skittish lover. Unfaithful, if his actions now were any indication, and yet... Loyal. He was entirely loyal to Ryland and to their twisted, strange relationship. It wasn't a relationship that would have worked for just anyone, but somehow they made it work.

Eventually.

"I do love steak though," he whispered beside Ryland's ear, since Ryland was whispering beside his ear. Aldon's arms encircled Ryland's waist and he stepped in closer, half-nuzzling him, letting his lips drift against the shell of Ryland's ear. It was so pointless refusing to say the words when he'd already... texted them. In a way, that was freeing. Once he broke the first hurdle, subsequent attempts became easier. Now he just had to say the words and he'd be home free.

"Know what else I love?" Aldon drifted a kiss against Ryland's jaw. "Tummy rubs. Warm weather." His lips grazed the corner of Ryland's mouth, heart almost in his throat and pulse racing. "You."

[Ryland Ren]

"I know."

He knew Aldon loved steak. Not so much the teddy bears--that was a stupid joke. His eyes closed again as Aldon nuzzled him in return, his arms sliding around Aldon's waist, his hands up his back. Over the clothes but still, he could feel the muscles. He could feel a little tension there, too. Not necessarily bad tension. Ryland felt tense, too, heart racing, pulse in his throat.

"Hm?"

Ryland didn't expect a real answer but he was still waiting for it, hopeful despite the number of times those hopes had been crushed. Tummy rubs. He smiled, even if a touch ruefully. He knew that, too. And that, about the warm weather. He'd been with Aldon out on the coast, lying on the beach in the warm sun like the wolf that he was, soaking it all in before Ryland threatened to bury him in the sand up to his chin. And he knew the last part, too, even though he had longed to hear it for so long.

Now that he heard it, he thought it would be the moment when the whole world would simply stop. It sort of did. It felt like his heart stopped beating but really, it just skipped, hopped a little beat. He couldn't even remember to breathe for a moment and then when he did, he was sighing against Aldon's throat, his fingers curling inward, into fists against Aldon's back, dragging the cloth of his shirt and balling it up as he did. He wanted to be a big old smart ass and say it again--I know. He wanted to say Now was that so hard? But there was a little lump in his throat that prevented words from passing. So instead, he turned his head, letting go of Aldon's shirt so that he could cup his face and kiss him. It felt sweeter, deeper, newer than any other kiss between them. Like a first kiss, the way kids always imagined it would be before realizing a first kiss was sloppy and inexperienced.

But these pair of lips, they knew one another well.

[Aldon Huang]

The world didn't just stop because Aldon admitted to loving Ryland. Time didn't stop because two people were in love; it didn't work that way. Despite the fact that this moment was years--literally years--in the making, or that it was the single most poignant moment in Aldon's young life, outwardly, everything remained the same. Time ticked on; the world continued to spin on its axis. None of the people walking by knew what had just happened and if they found it odd that two men were embracing out by the curb, no one felt the need to say anything.

But inwardly? Inside, where a heart beat in response to another heart, where his gaze was caught on the curl of a strand of red hair, on the tip of an ear, the outer edge of an eye? Inside, all was chaos. Good chaos, though. Glorious, freeing, relieving chaos. It was in the butterflies in his stomach, staging their final revolt, and it was in the thump-thump-thump of his heart, drumming out a wild beat in his chest.

It was, though, hard. Hard to say the words, to give expression to all of those feelings that Aldon had been keeping to himself. He was a physical person; he loved to grab people, to lift them up in his enthusiastic hugs, but that didn't take much. Everyone who knew Aldon--and Roe--knew that the Huang twins were an affectionate couple of guys. Yet, those real, deeper emotions behind the affection weren't so easy to convey. Aldon didn't know why it took this long, but desperation definitely made him reveal his hand.

The threat of really losing Ryland put everything into perspective for him.

"I--" He didn't get a chance to repeat the words properly--without other words getting in the way. Ryland was kissing him, holding onto him like he might vanish as soon as he opened his eyes, but Aldon kissed him back. He grasped Ryland back, hard--harder--so hard that the press of their bodies almost hurt. "I--" The word came on the strength of a gasp, a quick and desperate indrawn breath as the kiss broke. "You." Aldon's forehead tipped forward and rested against Ryland's. At this distance all he saw was a blur, but maybe that was also the silly, salty heat forming behind his eyes. Just a little bit of both.

[Ryland Ren]

Strings of words that connected in a jagged way, not set together in a pretty line. I love you. Yet the words were still there, the order a little stilted. More importantly, the emotion was there. It didn't even matter to Ryland whether or not Aldon had done the right thing or not--he was little afraid to ask. They were both terrible cheaters, yet in reality, it felt more right to be here now, with Aldon than it had ever been with anybody else. It could never feel like what it was--cheating--when his heart never truly left Aldon's hands in the first place.

With his breath caught in the back of his throat, he had to turn his head and take in a swift gulp. His face felt warmer, the breeze brushing it cooling it as his gaze fell across the street. No matter where his gaze trained, he was all too aware of where Aldon's hands were, where his lips were, where his eyes bore into him. When he turned his head back toward Aldon, their noses brushed. Fingertips rose to caress the fine hairs at the back of Aldon's neck. His smile was fond, lighting up his eyes and causing a happy bubble to form in his chest that came out on a light laugh.

"I love you too," he said, his voice deceptively low after the sound of his laughter. "But we better get out of here or Alva's really going to find us."

[Aldon Huang]

"Alva ruins everything." Aldon couldn't not be sulky, it was practically in his genetic makeup. But most of it was to cover for the tingle in the back of his nose, and the way he blinked quickly several times, or the slightly nasal tone of his voice. His fingers twisted in Ryland's shirt, tightening briefly, then relaxed as he let his chin drop onto Ryland's shoulder. He, too, looked the other way, though he tilted his head toward Ryland and nuzzled him... or tried to, with the side of his head.

This was love, and it was by no means perfect. It wasn't even good sometimes, with how they fought and broke up and hurt one another. But this was love, take it or leave it, and Aldon would rather take it than be with anybody else. His heart still ached, the scars of past arguments throbbing. Their history was a turbulent and troubled one, and nothing guaranteed that the future would be rosy, but... It was still worth it, just to be here, now, with Ryland.

He almost made Ryland cry. (He heard it in the tone of Ryland's voice, even if it was low.) That was a pretty big accomplishment, wasn't it? Although, Ryland almost made him shed a tear too so they were sorta even on that front.

Aldon felt more vulnerable and laid bare than he had ever been with Ryland, which prompted him to add, semi-casually, "So... since I said the thing, do I still have to give you 200 post-its? What if I let you take me to the watermelon social instead?"

[Ryland Ren]

"No, he doesn't."

Aldon knew better, too. Still, Ryland smiled to himself as he lowered his gaze briefly and turned his head in an attempt to disguise the smile. Stupid Aldon. Even his sulkiest tone was attractive. How he could still twist a knife in his gut like that was a question for the ages. There were days when that tone made him want to whack Aldon on the side of the head. Then there were other days when he just wanted to snuggle him and whisper into his ear that it was going to be fine. It was like soothing an unruly puppy sometimes. Or a toddler. Or an exasperating adult who needed to stop nuzzling him and being sulky over the fact that Alva was around. Alva came as a favor to Ryland so really, this was Ryland's fault. Alva was only trying to help.

He knew where this would go. Or could go. Ryland remained ever optimistic that this time was the right time. That the other times just weren't right yet, that they were in their growing period and that they would eventually slot perfectly together, just the way their bodies seemed to.

"Aldon...!" His tone was exasperated as he dropped his head back, rolled his eyes up to the sky and let out an exhalation of a laugh. His fingers were still petting the back of Aldon's neck, though and he used that hand to draw Aldon's head downward so he could kiss the top of his head and then patted his back a couple of times with his other hand.

"You're still giving me those post-its. Not 200 of them, but I'm getting my post-it, whether you go to the watermelon social with me or not." He cupped Aldon's face in his hands as he pulled back and looked him Seriously in the eye. "Got it?"