Ryan sighed as he plucked his photo album off the shelf in
Colin's living room.
"What ya got there?" Colin entered the room with their
beers and set the bottles
on the table.
"Our photo album." Ryan smiled, running his hands over
the cover they'd made,
each half part of the shirts they were wearing the first time
they met.
"Geeze, I haven't looked at that thing in forever..."
Colin slid onto the couch and
let Ryan wrap an arm all the way around him to hold on to the
large book.
"Not since we added the handful of pictures from the
American premiere party...
what, two years ago?" Ryan let Colin snuggle up against him.
"Wait, what about when we added the pictures from when we
took our kids to
the Grand Canyon." Colin gently untied the blue ribbon that
held the book closed,
"That was just last summer."
"I almost forgot." Ryan laughed, "Remember the
sunburn I got? I couldn't move
for a week."
"But you looked really good at the taping when it had just
turned into a tan."
Colin looked up Ryan, then back down to the book.
"Oh wow...some of these are so old..." Ryan smiled as
he opened the book.
The first sets of pictures were of them as children. "I feel
old looking at them."
"We're not old." Colin smiled, "Just not
young." He turned the page to photos
from when they met. Ryan was doing stand-up and he'd been going
from short-
lived idea to short-lived idea trying to find improv work.
"I don't even remember my old routines." Ryan gently
touched a photo of himself
at the mic. "When was this taken?"
"It was on the flyer from the night we met," Colin
laughed.
"I remember that..." Ryan's smile widened, "That
was the best bad night I'd had."
* * *
* *
(Flashback Zone)
Ryan quickly made his way backstage, avoiding the mild, almost
mocking
applause of the audience.
"Hey Ryan." a friend of his walked up to the tall guy,
"Great show tonight."
"Don't patronize me." Ryan sighed, "At least the
crowd was fairly polite."
"I thought it was pretty good." An already balding,
chubby Colin smiled.
"Thanks." Ryan smiled slightly, shaking hands with the
man.
"My name is Colin." Colin smiled, clutching a flyer in
the hand that wasn't
shaking Ryan's. "He thought it'd be a good idea for me to
come down and see
you tonight, and I'm glad I did."
"Thanks, I do try..." Ryan smirked, pulling his hand
away, "Though you wouldn't
know it from some of the audiences."
"I'm a comedian too...well, I'm trying to be a comedian. I
do improv though,
and there isn't much call for it." Colin shrugged.
"Improvisation, huh?" Ryan shrugged, "I may get
into that some day. For now,
stand-up is where it's at. I know I'll never make it as big as
the greats, you know
Martin and Carlin and Cosby...but it's something."
"Want to go for a beer or something?" Colin asked as
their friend excused
himself for the night.
"Sure," Ryan nodded. "Let me get my coat."
* * *
* *
(Back to present day)
"I was so nervous that night." Colin smirked. "I
sat through your whole routine,
laughing like some kind of idiot at every single joke."
"That was you?" Ryan chuckled slightly, "I thought
it was some drunk guy."
"I may as well have been drunk." Colin smirked. "I
thought you were just the
funniest thing ever, you cracked me up then...you still do."
"Then we went out and got plastered and ended up getting so
lost we spent the
night in my car." Ryan grinned, laughing harder,
"I remember we started out in Seattle and when we woke up
were out in the
middle of nowhere in Canada." Colin grinned.
"With just enough gas to get us to that tiny town just
outside of Vancouver!"
Ryan finished. "I still wonder how the hell we got
there..."
"I think it had something to do with driving to Alaska or
something. You know,
all those things that sound really good when you're drunk."
Colin raised an
eyebrow as he looked to the next picture. "Speaking of us
being drunk..."
Ryan let his laugh subside and looked at the picture of he and
Colin at a club
with a bunch of their friends. They were sitting side by side
staring at each other
as they sipped beers. "If I remember right, that night was
our first time together..."
"Almost our first time." Colin replied, "I
remember that all too well. We'd been
dating for what, two or three days? The guys had taken us out for
your birthday
and we both, again, drank more than our fair share of
alcohol."
"Then we went back to my apartment..." Ryan closed his
eyes, trying to
remember the events.
"And started making out, then passed out on your
couch." Colin finished.
"I remember that!" Ryan's eyes shot open. "Because
when I woke up the next
morning I was shocked that I was on top of you."
"And you fell off and broke your arm on the coffee
table." Colin laughed, "You
had to wear that cast forever."
"Remember the time we had trying to explain that one?"
Ryan grinned, "But you
were so sweet to me..."
"I know, I babied you until that cast came off." Colin
rolled his eyes, "I was over
there whenever I could be, feeding you...bathing you. I was so
your bitch."
"Well you still are." Ryan laughed slightly.
Colin elbowed his lover playfully, "Better watch it..."
"I know." Ryan giggled. "When did we actually do
it?"
"Oh, that I remember very well." Colin shook his head,
"It was a week after
your cast came off."
* * *
* *
(Insert Flashback Music)
Ryan smiled and gave Colin a small peck on the lips as the
shorter man set out
dinner for them. It was simple, spaghetti and meatballs, but
Colin had gone the
extra mile and made everything from scratch, including homemade
garlic bread.
"It looks delicious, as always."
"Thanks." Colin sat down in front of the meal he'd made
and began adding grated
parmesan cheese. "It's my mom's recipe."
They ate, vaguely discussing their almost non-existent career
situations. Ryan
would be moving off to California in a month to peruse a
possibility in acting.
Colin was musing with the idea of following him. He'd been living
between
Canada and New York for almost a year and settling down, even in
California,
sounded good. Not that he'd let Ryan in on that. They never
really discussed his
leaving, it was just one of those things that Colin couldn't
change.
Then, as they'd gotten into the habit of doing, they'd progressed
to the kitchen to
do the dishes.
"I love you." Ryan came up behind Colin, kissing his
ears, then taking his hands.
"I love you too." Colin felt Ryan's warm body pressed
to his in the chilly apartment.
Ryan placed fluttery kisses along the man's collar, running his
nose over the
longish hair.
"Ryan..." Colin tried to protest, then felt Ryan
release his hands and trail his
fingers up Colin's arms. The Canadian was putty in the tall man's
arms.
Ryan slowly put his arms all the way around the man, holding him
as close as
possible.
Colin could feel the wind being pushed out of his lungs by the
crushing hug, but
let his head loll back as Ryan licked his way from the neck up to
each ear,
slowly nibbling and caressing each.
Ryan took advantage of the curve of one ear, pulling ever gently.
He could feel
the man beneath him relaxing and at the same time stiffening.
"Ryan...I've...never..." Colin's voice quivered as much
as his body.
Ryan turned the man and brought his face in close,
"Shh..." He sealed it with
a kiss.
Now out of the crushing hug, Colin sucked in a breath, creating a
seal between
their lips.
Ryan let his hands find Colin's belt and undo the leather. Then,
for breath, he
pulled away, creating a soft "pop" when the seal gave
way.
Colin could feel the bruising on his lips, but had no care in the
world. Ryan's lips
were on his neck...and his hands were going for the gold.
Paralyzed, his own
hands remained in the center of the tall man's back.
Ryan made quick work of the button and zipper, then smiled in
slight amusement
as the loose pants hit the floor. He saw Colin's eyes almost roll
back in his skull
as he slid his hands into the briefs and cupped the soft rear.
At once very aware of his arousal, Colin felt a blush rise in his
cheeks. "Ryan...I..."
Once again, he was silenced by a kiss.
* * *
* *
(Okay, back to the present...no smut here)
Colin let his head fall back against Ryan's neck as he had so
many times before.
Ryan shut the book and let his chin rest on Colin's head, then
kissed the shiny
dome.
"What a night..." Colin sighed, "We were like
bunny rabbits..."
"I remember." Ryan smiled, "Once in the kitchen,
once in the bedroom..."
"Then on the couch the next morning." Colin smiled as
he felt a laugh rumble
through Ryan's chest.
"Those were the days...now I'm lucky if I can handle twice a
week. Let alone
twice a night..." Ryan ran his hands through what was left
of Colin's silky soft hair.
"But it's worth it." Colin let one hand rest on Ryan's
leg. Then, he leaned forward
with Ryan as the tall man set the book on the coffee table.
"Know what?" Ryan wrapped his arms around his lover.
"I could really use some
spaghetti and homemade garlic bread."
Colin laughed and leaned his head way back, letting Ryan kiss his
forehead.
"Well go make it." Colin stood up, walking towards the
bedroom, "Personally,
I could use a little tail."
*****
END
*****