12. Misinformation (noun) - false or inaccurate information, especially that which is deliberately intended to deceive.

Ryan stared in awe at the size of the convention center and all of the artist's booths set up around them. There had to have been hundreds of booths, some with artists he recognized, some he didn't, but he couldn't stop smiling either way. Brendon had a soft grip on his hand, smiling at his boyfriend's excitement as they filtered through the convention center. "You look," he started, trying very hard to stifle a laugh, "extremely starstruck."

Ryan turned to him, beaming brightly. "I am," he cooed. "This is. This is like only something I've ever dreamed about my whole life. But, I can see that's it's all in front of my face, so I know this isn't a dream anymore."

Brendon laughed softly as they continued walking the aisles of the center. "Glad to know I've made at least one of your dreams come true, Ryan Ross," he said with a sideways smile at the younger man.

Ryan smiled up at the man walking beside him, thinking to himself how Brendon's made more than one of his dreams come true, but he decided to keep that thought to himself for now.

As they turned down a different aisle towards the panelists section, a man a little taller than Brendon with a turned down mustache and middle length hair was turning toward them and smiling brightly at the older man.

"Brendon," the man called happily as he walked toward them, "it's so good to see you again!" As he got closer, Ryan noticed who he was and unconsciously made a small gasp as he tightened his grip on Brendon's hand.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world, Oliver," Brendon said as the two shared a small welcome hug. "Nice to see you're still in the game."

"I couldn't ever leave it," he said with a soft shake of his head and a sly smile. "This is my life."

"Amen, brother," Brendon said as he laughed gently.

The man - Oliver - turned to look at Ryan with a little smile. "And who's this you've brought with you?"

Brendon smiled and pulled Ryan a bit closer. "This is my boyfriend and fellow associate, Mr. Ryan Ross."

Ryan smiled, a look of shock still present on his face as he outstretched his hand to shake Oliver's. "I've nearly seen every second of Ink Masters there is in the world to stream, and it's an honor to meet you, Oliver. Your show helped inspire me to become an artist."

"Is it now?"

"Oh, yes sir," Brendon answered softly for Ryan. "He did this rose on my arm the very first day I met him, and I must admit that it's one of - if not - my favorite piece I've ever received."

Oliver looked over the picture on Brendon's arm and smiled appreciatively as he nodded. "That's pretty clean line work, Ryan," he said approvingly. "Where did the idea come from?"

"Oh," Ryan started, "I just did it on the spot."

Oliver raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Really?"

Brendon nodded, smiling brightly. "I told him to do a rose, but make it creative, y'know? Make it his own," he said as he shrugged. "And he did, completely from thought. No sketch, no imagery assistance, nothing."

Oliver looked a bit stunned as he smiled. "That's incredibly impressive, Ryan," he said happily. "You ever thought about auditioning for Ink Masters?"

Just as Ryan's heart was about to stop beating, Brendon tugged him a little closer. "Not this time, Peck," Brendon said with a soft smile. "No more taking my artists."

Oliver laughed and held up his hands in mock defense. "Alright, alright," he said as he reached forward to shake both of their hands. "I gotta head out now. The curator for this whole shindig just got here not too long ago, and I need to go say my hellos and whatnot. It was nice meeting you, Ryan, and Brendon, always a pleasure seeing you."

"You too, Oliver," Brendon said with a firm hand shake. "Take care of yourself."

Oliver nodded before leaving the two men to continue heading down the row of booths. "Brendon," Ryan started, slight awe still present in his tone, "why the fuck didn't you tell me that you were friends with Oliver Peck?"

Brendon shrugged as he laughed. "I didn't think it would interest you that much, Ryan Ross."

Ryan looked dumbfounded. "He's only one of my biggest artist inspirations ever," Ryan countered. "Of course that would've interested me!"

Brendon laughed again, a hearty laugh, as he squeezed Ryan's hand gently. "My sincerest apologies, my love," he said softly. "Next time, I'll tell you that I'm friends with a renown tattoo artist before you meet them."

Ryan nodded gently, a small smirk playing on his lips. "Good." The two men walked a little further in silence as they viewed the booths before Ryan turned to face Brendon. "So, where's your booth at?"

Brendon smiled a bit of a conflicted looking smile before sighing gently. "It's time that I tell you the truth, Ryan Ross," he started, confusing Ryan as he kept speaking. "It is true that every year - at least for the last four years - I've had a booth at this convention. This year, however, that is not what brought us here."

Ryan furrowed his brows. "If you don't have a booth here, then why are we here?"

Brendon smiled down at him. "I knew you would appreciate this convention," he said simply. "I wouldn't want you to miss this while we were right here in the area."

Ryan smiled gratefully, pressing a soft kiss to Brendon's cheek. "If you have somewhere else to be, we can head that way," he said softly. "I don't want you to have to miss whatever it is just to keep me entertained."

Brendon nodded, pulling out his phone and calling the taxi service. About twenty minutes later, they were heading out of the convention center and climbing into the back of a faded yellow cab. As the vehicle pulled away, Brendon turned toward Ryan. "There is another thing I need to be honest about."

Ryan nodded, allowing Brendon to take his hand as he looked at him curiously.

"As much as I did want to bring you with me to see the convention center and check out the artist booths," he started softly, "I also wanted you to be here instead of everyone else because... Well, you're very new with us. You don't even have a permanent residency in Los Angeles yet, correct?"

Ryan nodded. "Right, the apartment that I'm in now isn't where I want to be in a few years time."

Brendon nodded. "Right," he said softly. "So, what we're about to do, what you're about to find out, please take it in stride, okay?"

Ryan stiffened a little. "It's.. It's nothing illegal, is it?"

Brendon laughed a little. "No, Ryan Ross, nothing illegal at all," he answered. "Though it will leave some people with some very negative feelings for me."

Just as Ryan was about to ask why, they pulled up to their destination. Brendon paid the driver and they climbed out of the cab before linking hands and walking up to a vacant building where a man with a messenger bag thrown over his shoulder was standing and smiling. "Brendon!" The man walked forward and shared a brief hug with Brendon before they were shaking hands excitedly. "I'm really glad you made it. We get this done today, and it's all settled."

Brendon nodded, squeezing Ryan's hand as they followed the man inside the vacant building. Ryan looked around briefly before he focused his attention on the other pair's conversation. "This building is perfect, Patrick," Brendon said as he looked around. "And the location? Incredible. How did you even find this place?"

Patrick laughed gently and mimed like he was zipping his lips. "You know realtors can't reveal their tricks, Brendon."

Brendon laughed. "That's magicians, Trick."

"What's the difference?"

The pair laughed and Ryan joined in softly. Brendon seemed like he was still sort of nervous, but he was hiding it pretty well. Just as he was about to ask him if he was okay, Patrick reached forward and shook Ryan's hand. "Pardon my manners," he said happily, "sometimes I get so animated that I forget about everything around me. You must be Ryan, yes? I'm Patrick Stump."

Ryan smiled gently, his cheeks tinting pink at the fact that Patrick already knew who he was, meaning Brendon had been talking about him to people he knew.

"Patrick and I go back a bit," Brendon explained. "We were friends all throughout high school and then he went off to be one of New York's most high-profile realtors..."

"While Brendon went on the be on of LA's most high-profile tattoo artists," Patrick finished with a small, proud smile.

Brendon rolled his eyes. "You're exaggerating again," he said softly. "Anyway, show me those papers, Stump. I've already seen all I need to see, and I'm ready. Let's do this."

Ryan took in the sight of the building around him as Patrick pulled some papers from his shoulder bag and placed them in front of Brendon. The lighting in the room was near perfection; there were no lights on and it was still completely illuminated. It wasn't too warm, it wasn't too drafty, it was comfortable enough to be standing in the pair of jeans and long sleeve that he adorned. When Ryan turned back to Brendon, he and Patrick were shaking hands and Patrick was checking his watch. "Pleasure doing business with you, Bren, but I really must be going," he said cheerily as he slipped the papers back into his bag. "Ryan, I look forward to seeing you again sometime soon."

Ryan nodded and shook Patrick's hand just before he exited the building, then he turned his gaze to Brendon. "What just happened?"

Brendon sighed softly and reached for Ryan's hand. "I've just purchased this building," he said softly. "In a few month's time, it is going to be the east coast location of Empty Gold."

Ryan beamed. "Brendon," he started, "that's incredible! Who are you going to have run this shop?"

Brendon looked into Ryan's eyes briefly. "I am."

Ryan furrowed his brows. "You?"

"I've already leased an apartment about six blocks from here," he said softly. "Once I recruit artists and the shop is up and running, I will be moving here to take over. The reason I wanted you to be with me here is because I wanted to ask if you'd accompany me and co-own the shop with me."

Ryan just blinked. "What about—" He cut himself off, shaking his head a bit. "What about Patty, and Dallon? Ashley? Everyone back in Los Angeles?"

Brendon gave a sad smile. "They will be upset," he said quietly, "but this is an opportunity that I couldn't pass up. Tattoo traffic is increasing here in the city, and I'm planning on taking full advantage of that. And," he continued, squeezing Ryan's hand, "I'd like you to be a part of it with me. What do you say, Ryan Ross?"

Ryan breathed out disbelievingly. On the one hand, he wanted to stay with Brendon, and he wanted to keep working at Empty Gold. On the other, he'd be leaving his new group of friends, and they weren't going to be happy that Brendon chose him to co-own the shop when someone else deserves it. Brendon was asking him to accompany him on this new journey. Who would he be if he said no?

Ryan smiled slightly. "Will you help me pack up my apartment?"

Brendon smiles.