They ended up being asked to stay in for the night, although with the promise that as long as they brought sufficient security and stayed on the nicer parts of town, sightseeing was in the program for the next day. With it being an unusually warm evening for the season, the four boys had decided that fresh air and fewer security cameras sounded like a treat and retreated to the garden where waiters set them up in a pavilion with refreshments and the bodyguards stayed far enough away to be unobtrusive. Out of hearing range, so long as they didn't raise their voices, but well within sight.

Jon had been rambling away about something inane, but had broken off a few seconds ago, leaving the four of them in comfortable silence to sip their lemonade and nip at their fruits and chocolates as darkness began to fall. "It really is nice out here," Ryan finally stated when the silence started to feel a little oppressive. It was odd. He had never been the type to need talk or noise around him to be comfortable, but here, in this role, he needed it. Not only did silence leave him too vulnerable to his own thoughts, but he also seemed to get nervous when it was silent for too long. Especially with the too-thoughtful looks Spencer had been giving an abundance of lately. With a conversation going, even if he was heading it, somehow it still felt like he was under less scrutiny. When there was no response beyond nods and relaxed hums, Ryan took a deep gulp of the lemonade, thinking hard for a moment to pick out a subject. "Okay," he said after a moment. "Something fun... state a random fact about yourself that none of the others know about, how about that?"

Jon, who had suddenly gotten rather pale, stuffed apiece of fruit into his mouth so that he wouldn't have to answer rightaway. Of course, since Spencer and Brendon were both nodding andchewing their lips in deep thought, it didn't matter how long he tookto chew and swallow; he was still the only one who looked like he hadan answer. Clearing his throat, Jon sat forward and leaned his elbowson the table. "Alright," he said, rather quietly, and kept his eyesfirmly locked with Spencer's. "I'm just saying this because you guysalways want to know more about my parents and shit, so listen up." Jonpaused, considering what he was about to say, and then pressed forward."Well, I haven't lived with-- or even heard of-- my parents for years.I don't even remember them very well. I've lived with my grandparentsfor most of my life." The silence that followed made him smile. "It'snot a very big deal," he shrugged.

Spencer, rather than make Jon feel worse-- if he did feel bad about not knowing his parents at all-- jumped in. "Well, umm... I've seen Jon naked!" he announced, grinning at Jon's gasp and Brendon and Ryan's laughter. He chuckled a bit himself, patting Jon's arm and glad to see that some of the tension had dissolved. "But seriously, uh... I don't really have many secrets except that... I never really wanted to follow in my father's footsteps. I mean, I would do anything for Brendon, and I will join his council if he ever asked me, but it was never my first career choice." He bit his lip, almost afraid to see Brendon's reaction to the news. When he heard his best friend's voice, though, he was relieved that he didn't sound angry.

"I think you should do whatever you choose, Spencer," Brendon said, smiling. "We're pathetic, you know," he said, smirking, now. "Not telling each other these things. Really, now. We've known each other for far too long to be keeping secrets." Of course, in saying this, Brendon was being more than a tad hypocritical. He looked at Ryan and raised an eyebrow. "What about you?" he asked, trying to get out of telling them anything-- or at least have time to think of something unimportant.

And suddenly Ryan had to mentally slap himself. How could he have thrown a challenge like that out without preparing for it to come back and bite him in the ass? He bit his lip, thinking hard. He didn't want it to be a lie for some reason. That would just feel pretty much completely wrong. But that left him with the challenge of finding something from his own life that sounded like it might be true for Ryan Hastings as well. Which meant something of no consequence. He searched his memory for a few moments before stumbling across something that made him wince and nearly laugh out loud at the same time. "Okay... less sentimentality, more fun," he stated with a lopsided grin. "Hmm, well, back home, when I was young, the summer before I turned eight, I think, I spent a lot of time at my neighbours'. They had two daughters, one was my age and my best friend and another thing that made it attractive was the fact that while my parents never seemed to really be around, their mum was always there and really doted on us.

"One day, she had guests over and wanted us out of her hair, so she asked Vanessa, who was the older sister, to take Virginia and me out for a bit. Vanessa was quite a bit older than us and had just got her driver's licence, so she was actually pretty eager to take us for a ride, world-class show off that she was. She took us down to this little kiosk by the beach which we really loved because they had great ice cream, and she bought us an ice each. A popsicle, really, except they were enormous. Eight inches long and pretty wide from what I remember. Anyway, she was in a stage where she was probably even more into boys than was wise, and it somehow didn't occur to her that one, Virginia and I were seven and two, that I was a boy. So, she told us that she'd teach us how to make blokes pine, and then she took her popsicle and managed to get two thirds of it in her mouth, down her throat, whatever. Virginia wanted to imitate the stunt, and gagged a few inches in. I started laughing pretty hysterically, so she got angry and told me to do it myself if I thought it was so easy. So I did. And got it stuck in my throat. And nearly choked on it before Vanessa managed to pull it out for me. She called me a tramp, I thought it was a compliment because it was my Disney phase and Lady and the Tramp was a favourite of mine. What this amounts to is the fact that I was apparently born without a gag reflex."

Ryan laughed slightly, shaking his head at what a stupid kid he had been. "The story isn't over yet, though," he continued. "After Virginia and I got over the scare, we decided that hey, this was actually pretty neat, so we decided to play circus for our parents. And you know indulgent parents... they showed up and set themselves up to be bored out of their minds, but this ended up anything but boring. After clowning around for a while, we got to the main act, which was sable swallowing. We didn't have a sable, so I'd nicked one of the large meat knives from the kitchen, and I managed to get it down before our parents had time to stop us. Didn't get the angle right, though, and I cut up my throat and nearly lost my tongue, was expressed to the emergency room and stayed in the hospital for days. It took ages before I could swallow or even speak or eat solids again, so I was quite compliant when my mum forbade me to put anything in my throat that wasn't edible." He rolled his eyes slightly, shrugging. "Best I could find in the memory archives."

By the time Ryan finished his story, the three other boys were laughing so hard their faces were completely red. Jon got over it first, though. "Well, at least we know that you'll be able to plsh bendog--" the end of his sentence was muffled, however, by Spencer slapping a hand over his mouth and scowling, though he was still shaking with laughter. Brendon had enough decency to glare at Jon, though he was blushing now and it wasn't completely because he'd been laughing too much and needed oxygen. Clearing his throat, he sat up straight in his chair and, after giving Jon another glare, spoke.

"Well, that has to be the funniest story I've heard in a long time," he announced, finally giving in and grinning. He shot a glance towards the bodyguards outside before continuing. "I really don't think I have any childhood memories that are funny enough to be recounted-- or even funny at all, really. As for secrets..." he trailed off, taking a deep breath. He was quiet for a few moments before brightening. "Oh, I bet you didn't know that my parents had arranged a marriage contract with a wealthy family when I was born. My mother was against the idea, but my father thought it would be a splendid. The girl in question I don't really remember, but I do remember the reason it was aborted," he smirked at the memory. "Alright, well, the contract had been drawn up and all that rot, but it hadn't been signed yet. The girl's parents wanted us to meet, and so my father acquiesced. We were about five at the time, if any of you were wondering. We had their family over for dinner, the adults chatted about inane things while the girl and I snuck glances at each other, not fully comprehending what was going on. Anyhow, after dinner we were allowed to go to my room, where she proceeded to touch all of my toys and books without my consent. Of course, this made my little self extremely angry and something had to be done. When she picked up one of my favourite books, it was the last straw. I remember yanking the book from between her hands and then slapping her fingers while saying, "do not touch the prince's things." Of course this made her upset and she cried and ran from my room. Her parents were not happy with my behaviour, though they were, of course, still willing to marry her off because I was a prince. I might be getting ready to marry today if the girl's father hadn't laughingly told me that I would soon have to share all of my worldly belongings with them." He paused, eyebrows furrowing slightly. "You can imagine what my father thought about that; Royalty does not share. He's always been rather arrogant-- or proud, as he would call it-- and he cancelled the contract right away, much to the family's dismay..." trailing off, Brendon took the time to breathe a bit. "Well, it all comes down to the fact that I could be married this very moment, if I hadn't been a brat and my father too incorrigible to change his ways."

Ryan felt a laugh bubbling in his throat and shook his head slightly as he calmed down. "Don't ever change," he finally found himself saying, only realizing after the fact that those words were exiting his mouth. He felt a weak blush start up on his face and quickly forced it down. Perhaps telling an honest story hadn't been his best idea. Ryan Ross and Ryan Hastings were two different people, and when he was playing at being Hastings, he should keep Ross out of it or the charade would become that much more difficult to go through with. "I do bet, though, that she's to this day regretting her grabby hands. And with good reason."

Brendon chuckled, along with Spencer and Jon. "That poor girl," Spencer said, shaking his head despite of the grin on his face. "Imagine knowing you were supposed to marry a prince, Brendon of all people, only to have it snatched away? She must feel horrible," he concluded, receiving a glare from Brendon.

"Do shut your mouth, Mr Smith," Brendon replied imperiously. He snatched up a piece of watermelon and stuffed it into his mouth, chewing thoughtfully. "It'd be horrible if I were in an arranged marriage, though," he said quietly, glancing at Ryan for a split second. "Anyway, what else are we going to do? It's getting rather dark out, so maybe we could go inside. I'm sure my mother would like to meet all of you, if you'd like." He looked at Spencer, who nodded and smiled widely, then Jon who was looking suspiciously thoughtful. Brendon turned back to Ryan, awaiting his answer.

Ryan nodded slowly, biting the inside of his lip. Really, though, he wasn't sure how good the idea was. There was absolutely nothing to gain from the meeting, and a lot to lose if she was a bit smarter than the school boys. And there weren't a lot of people more tenacious than a mother who decided something was bad for her child. He couldn't help but shudder at the memory of his mother, before the divorce, going down to chew his father's head off every time Ryan seemed the least bit subdued. Somehow she had managed to pick up on George Ross the second's habits of putting his son down at every opportunity long before Ryan himself had realized that fathers weren't supposed to act like that. "It is getting a bit chilly, yes," he finally said in a manner of agreement.

Brendon's smile was bright and completely unrestrained. As soon as he stood, the guards came closer. He rolled his eyes, but instead of commenting, he lead the way into the house. Followed closely by Spencer, Jon, Ryan and a few big men, Brendon made his way to the library his mother had been occupying earlier today, hoping to find her once again. Indeed, she was sitting in the same armchair, this time with a shawl covering her shoulders, and though most of the lights in the room had been dimmed, one lamp was lit right by her chair, setting her in a warm, yellow glow. She looked up when the four boys entered, the guards staying by the door.

"Brendon, darling, have you finally come to introduce your friends?" she smiled, winking at Spencer, who smiled back rather shyly. "Hello, Spencer. I've known you for quite some time, of course," she said, inclining her head. She set down the book she'd been reading after saving her page with a silk bookmark and sat up in her armchair. "Well, sit down, sit down," she said, gesturing to the chairs nearest hers. Brendon quickly found his own seat, watching as his friends did the same. "Spencer, how is your father? Boyd has no doubt seen him at the most recent of his meetings, but I've not had the chance to speak with him in months."

Spencer smiled at the woman, getting used to her gentle manners once again. "He's perfectly fine, Madame. Still in good health, though my mother is trying to get him eating healthy foods instead of the apparent garbage they serve in restaurants." He smiled at the woman's tinkling laughter.

"And who have we here?" Grace Beauregard asked, her eyes landing on Ryan. She'd never seen him before, but she had a fair idea of who he might be.

"Ryan Hastings," Ryan answered, feeling a strange urge to bow and kiss the queen's hand or something like that. At least stand. But from the way he understood the setting, it was more of meeting a friend's mother than the queen on the country. "I'm very pleased to finally meet you, madame," he added. "Brendon always speaks so well of you." And immediately he felt a bit like a dweeb, but he pushed away the fact that he was more than a little uncomfortable with the whole situation and managed to break a small, hopefully polite, smile. "It's beautiful around here," he stated before clamping his mouth shut, determined not to spew anymore inane compliments. It wouldn't really help his situation to make everyone else uncomfortable as well. "Thank you very much for having me," he finally said before taking a deep breath and leaning back in the chair, signalling that he was now definitely going to stop talking.

Brendon, who'd beensuppressing a chuckle, gave Ryan a sympathetic glance before lookingback to his mother. "Oh, he does, does he?" she asked, smiling softly."He's not embarrassed by his old mother yet?" she teased, winking ather son. Brendon flushed, mumbling a soft 'of course not' only to havehis mother laugh softly again. "Well, thank you, Ryan Hastings, I'mglad you like the castle. And we are of course very happy to have youhere." She turned to Jon, a smile playing on her thin lips. "And thisis the infamous Jon Walker, is it not? Now, Brendon doesn't tell memuch about his friends, but I've heard that you quite like teasingBrendon." Jon had the decency to blush at this. "Oh, don't worry. I'msure he deserves it sometimes," Grace said quickly, smiling lovingly ather son despite her words. Jon hesitated, then grinned.

"Yes. It's very good to meet you, Mrs Beauregard," he said, though his voice wavered a touch. Finally, Brendon cut in to make sure his friends didn't feel too much pressure to fill in the silence that would be sure to follow.

"Do you have any idea why we weren't permitted to go out tonight?" he asked his mother. Restrictions were usually a touchy subject with Brendon, and his mother usually told him things that his father never would. He liked the straight answers she gave him, as opposed to beating around the bush.

"I only know that he's been in a very important conference most of the day," she sighed, waving him off with her hand. "Something about DURA and where everyone stands, but Brendon, you know that when he says these things, it is only for your protection. Bad things have happened in the past, to far less important people, and we cannot run that risk. He would also like you to attend the next conference, so that you may become aware of what is going on around you," the last sentence was said rather like an order. His mother wanted him implicated in his country's runnings as much as his father did, after all. Brendon simply sighed and nodded.

"Of course, mother." He looked uneasily at Spencer, then smiled softly at Ryan, hoping to put the boy at ease if he was feeling any discomfort. But now he didn't know what to say next. He loved spending time with his mother, but there wasn't much he could talk about with his friends around. And he didn't want to make them feel put out.

Ryan had felt his ears perk up at the mention of his own country, not to mention conferences and standings, and did his very best not to let his sudden interest and curiosity show. After all, Ryan Hastings didn't much care for politics. He was idealistic and knew how he thought a good society was, but couldn't be bothered with the games and power struggles and endless discussions it would take to realize his ideas. "Hopefully the situation won't change too much," he finally said with a wry smile. "Or my mum will cross the pond to drag me home by my ear." He rolled his eyes. "It's true too," he added, feeling the need to lighten the statement with a bit of a joke. "Back in elementary school she heard that two boys in my form fought a lot and tended to gather the other boys around them, leading to quite massive fights. She took me out of the school immediately, didn't seem to realise I have the brains to keep my nose clean." Then he shook his head slowly. "Sorry, I'm rambling," he apologized. "I tend to either clam up or speak too much around people I haven't met before and I know it can become a bother, but I hope you'll excuse it."

Grace chuckled softly, peering at Ryan with interest. "We mothers don't like our children getting into mischief. If we see something that might become a problem, it's directly into protection mode we go," she paused, looking at the grandfather clock in the corner of the room. "Now, I'm sure you all do not want to spend the rest of your evening talking to an old woman such as myself. Off you go, and be sure to have some fun."

Brendon immediately protested. "You are most certainly not an old lady," he said, frowning at his mother and shaking his head. Sighing, he pushed himself off the armchair before swooping down and kissing her cheek. His mother simply chuckled and squeezed his shoulder for a second. Spencer and Jon both took turns to kiss Grace's left hand, right on her knuckles. Jon blushed slightly, but otherwise they both looked completely normal in doing so. Smiling softly, Brendon grew a tad nervous. He didn't want Ryan to feel obligated to do the same, it wasn't a rule of some sort, but most people had a small gesture like this when they left the Queen's presence; simply to show their respect.

Ryan may have had the Hastings persona, but unlike Hastings, he wasn't raised in upper-class England, he didn't have a lot of manners except knowing how and why one should address the bureau director differently from a direct superior. Sure, his mother had told him not to speak with food in his mouth, but his fathers drunken words, food in mouth, had usually drowned out his mother's reprimands. Nonetheless, he did have somewhat of an innate sense of propriety, and mimicking was almost always the best way to go, so, hoping he wasn't making some extreme faux pas, he imitated Jon and Spencer, bowing his head slightly in order to kiss the queen's hands, sending a small smile and following the others out. At least they weren't looking at him weirdly, so he hoped he hadn't done anything wrong. He refrained from heaving a breath of relief and instead gave the others a smile. "Now what?"

***

"As horrible as it sounds, it's good to be back at school," Brendon declared. He and Ryan were in his room, Zach having just left them alone once he'd made certain that everything in the room was fine. Brendon was sitting at his desk chair, swivelling around a little, his feet planted on the desk itself. "Did you have a fun time?" he asked, feeling just a tad self-conscious, though the thought was ridiculous. The time at the castle had gone rather smoothly, after all. The only down-side being that Brendon hadn't gotten to see his father, but this didn't surprise him very much. They had visited downtown Jackson as promised, surrounded by guards. The only annoying part of the week had been the staring he'd had to endure. Of course, people knew enough not to scream or do anything else embarrassing, but that didn't stop them from looking and whispering.

They had only arrived at the school an hour and a half ago, going their separate ways to unpack and such before Brendon had gone knocking on Ryan's door and inviting him back to his room. He was getting attached to the boy, whether he wanted it or not, and he knew he was setting himself up for a lot of hurt, but he couldn't find the energy to care right now, no matter how much he tried to talk himself out of feeling too much for Ryan. Sighing, he pushed the thoughts away and looked back at Ryan, waiting for a response.

"I did," Ryan answered with a small smile. "But as you said, it's nice to be back." He leaned back in the couch stretching slightly even as he tried to keep a posture that would prevent his shirt from riding up too much. He gave a groan of contentment as his back popped and closed his eyes for a moment, more comfortable than he'd been all week. "Nice not to be on candid camera and you know, as crazy and cheesy as it sounds, I missed you. Well, not you, you were around most the time after all, but... I don't know. Us. Being able to speak freely, being close." He felt a blush permeate his face, pulling his arms back down. "You know," he finally concluded, chuckling slightly. "Or you don't know and I'm being stupid, whichever."

Brendon chuckled, letting his feet fall to the floor and manoeuvred his way closer to Ryan, while still sitting in the rolling chair. He leaned forward and kissed Ryan softly. "Yeah, I understand," he said once he had pulled away. "I'm glad you had fun, though. And maybe someday I can meet your family, eh? Isn't it some big step in relationships? Or so I've heard..." he trailed off, smirking slightly and stealing a few kisses. "I think my mom liked you," he murmured between the light kisses. "And I think it was really funny the way you rambled and complimented," he chuckled. He knew for a fact that his mother had liked Ryan, and had been delightfully amused by his ramblings.

"I'm glad she did," Ryan stated, chuckling dryly. "And glad I could be of some amusement. And remember that I already invited you guys to come visit in the summer. All you have to do is set a date and I'll get my Dad to book the plane tickets." A slight pang went through him at promising vacations that would never happen, but really, that was one of the smallest parts of all this and it was stupid of him to let it hit him so close to home. Work. That was all it was. He just had to remind himself often enough and he'd start remembering it again. He reached out and grabbed Brendon's shoulders, pulling him closer until their knees bumped before moving a hand to the back of the younger male's neck, pulling his face down while he himself leaned forward until their lips connected again. He kept the kiss simplistic and soft, lips on lips without any real opening of their mouths, and letting it last for only a few minutes before pulling back, pressing his forehead against Brendon's as he gave a small smile. "That, I have definitely missed," he stated with a small sigh. Hopefully that was what he was supposed to say when they'd both been too paranoid to act as more than friends since the snogging session that first afternoon. A few stolen kisses here and there, barely more than pecks and few enough to count on one hand... He figured that definitely warranted a comment like that. Because, really, what was there to miss? Shoving away his thoughts before they could start contradicting each other as they seemed to do so often lately, he leaned in and connected their mouths again.

Groaning, Brendon pressed against Ryan before pulling away to seat himself on the couch and pull the boy into his lap. The position was much more comfortable than nearly falling off a chair in his need to kiss the other boy. Placing both of his hands at the small of Ryan's back, he leaned forward once again, his lips moving against Ryan's as he made almost-inaudible sounds that would have embarrassed him had he been in a clear state of mind. As it was, he simply was happy that they were able to kiss again, whenever they wanted. Or, almost whenever. He obviously wouldn't be necking with the boy in the halls or anything, but this was probably better. Pulling away for air, Brendon took a chance and attached his mouth to Ryan's neck, alternating between running his tongue along the smooth skin and sucking briefly. He hoped that it felt as good as he thought it would, as he had never done it before, but somehow it felt completely natural. His hands traveled lightly up Ryan's back to clutch the boy's hair briefly, and then traveled back down. Pulling back, his lips swollen and wet, Brendon looked up at Ryan, aware that his eyes were darkened with pleasure. "God," he panted, tried to catch his breath. Before long, though, he was kissing Ryan again. It was definitely something he was getting far too comfortable with, though he didn't think he had any complaints about that fact.

Ryan was definitely panting harder than he usually did from kissing. His neck was tingling and the blood seemed to be rushing through his veins in a much elevated pace. And he felt almost in a state of frenzy, his hands clutching Brendon's shoulders as he kissed back almost desperately, both their mouths slipping open almost simultaneously and their tongue tangling together. A small moaned vibrated in his throat, and when Brendon started to suck on his tongue, he got the strange sensation that the slick muscle must have a direct nerve-connection to his cock, since said appendage gave a jerk and all his blood suddenly seemed to be rushing downwards. For a moment he was horribly embarrassed and seriously considered pulling away since their position didn't exactly leave much discretion about reactions like those, but when the realization that he wasn't alone in bodily responses he decided to leave well enough alone and ignore it for now. Breath, though was becoming an issue, and he pulled back from the kiss, heaving in thick mouthfuls of air before he lowered his face into Brendon's neck, breathing in his scent before starting kissing and nuzzling. His first impulse had been to suck or even bite, but both instances would leave unfortunate marks and the latter would probably scare the prince off. It was getting harder by the second, the sensation of soft skin beneath his lips and nose and tongue not helping matters, but he couldn't afford to lose his head.

Brendon was definitely hard, which was something he realized only suddenly when his hips jerked and came in contact with Ryan's. Pulling away from the kiss almost violently, he panted. "Fuck," he bit out, exhaling in a shaky laugh. "Sorry," he muttered, blushing, though it didn't make a difference since he was already quite flushed. Did he want to go further? Looking up at Ryan, part of him knew damn well that he did want to go farther, but then a voice-- which sounded a lot like his father-- would chide him for acting so wanton and vulnerable. He adjusted his position a bit, groaning when a wave of arousal hit him again, and kissed Ryan's neck once before burying his face in his hair and closing his eyes tightly. "Do you.. um. D'you want to-- to continue?" he asked, feeling inexplicably nervous and shy. He hoped Ryan didn't notice.

Winding his arms around Brendon's neck, Ryan took another deep breath and tried to think. His mind was a mess of contradictions. The purely physical part of him was screaming hell yes, but his mind was waging a small battle with itself. If they continued, it would be the first time anything like that ever happened to him with another person, and it would be nothing like he'd imagined it. But he had a job, had a duty, and a step further physically could mean a step closer to success. And then there was the small voice in the back of his head that was asking whether this was what he wanted for Brendon, whether Brendon deserved for something like this to happen with someone who would ultimately betray him. Ryan fought hard to keep that voice away. He wasn't supposed to care about Brendon, to be concerned about his feelings, nor was he really supposed to be concerned with his own. This job was bigger than him, bigger than either of them, and now was not the time to develop a conscience. But his mind wouldn't be silenced. "I said we'd go at your pace," he finally got out, his voice a lot throatier than he would've thought. "We won't go further than you're comfortable with, so that's the real question- do you want to continue?" That seemed to ease his conscience just a little. He was tired of decisions and didn't want to be the one making this one. If Brendon decided to stop, then it was for the best because not doing so would've created a barrier between them later anyway. If Brendon wanted to continue... Ryan couldn't be held accountable for other people's gullibility. At least he should hope his treacherous mind would agree to that.

"God, you know I do," he murmured, kissing Ryan's neck again before sighing into it. "I just..." he blushed, unable to continue. His body, of course, was perfectly willing to go on without his consent and he flexed his hips, shuddering when he came into direct contact with Ryan's. "God, I can practically hear my father telling me to stop this right away," he said, his voice carrying a slight whine. He tilted his head up to stare at the ceiling, sighing. Beyond the lust and arousal, he knew that, if anything, he was glad that he was able to explore this with Ryan. He didn't feel quite ready, but how long did he really have with Ryan? If he was lucky, a few more years, at least. But if his father decided he wanted Brendon married as soon as possible, then he only had a matter of months. Biting his lip, Brendon suddenly cupped Ryan's face with both hands and kissed him roughly, grinding his hips into the boy on top of him. They'd been together long enough, now, that he should feel comfortable with this. After all, it wasn't like they were actually having sex just yet. He could deal with this, he told himself, the voice in his head quite firm to override lingering doubt. They were just getting off, after all.

Ryan was unable to hold back a groan at the feeling when their groins rubbed together, even as he gave a short chuckle at Brendon's words. He didn't even want to think about what his father would say, wasn't sure if it would be something completely degrading and contemptuous or maybe even something about taking one for the team. In any case, he was certain he wouldn't like it. It definitely felt like Brendon had made his choice, though, and as the younger boy's hips rolled off again, Ryan leaned in once more, latching his lips back onto Brendon's as he quit holding back and ground down, feeling a slight shudder go through his body at the sensation as his eyes slipped closed. As he ground down again and Brendon's throaty groan vibrated in his mouth, though, he got a sudden impulse. He couldn't even tell if it was because he wanted Brendon to be as comfortable with this as possible out of concern or tactical reasons, but surrendering control would probably be the best answer in both instances, and so he tugged on Brendon and readjusted his own position enough that they reached a horizontal position, and a bit more jostling later the younger boy was nestled between his thighs and Ryan found himself gasping at the intense sensations, slight embarrassment at the vulnerability he was pushing on himself mingling with the arousal colouring his cheeks as he raised his legs and locked them around Brendon's waist, another series of small sounds leaving his mouth as the shifting of their groans sent another array of sparks through his body.

Brendon quite liked the new position. He could feel the outline of Ryan's cock against his, and it gave him a little thrill when he moaned breathlessly. He was rutting against Ryan almost desperately now, and though he would probably feel embarrassed afterwards, he knew he was getting close, and fast. He was a teenage boy, after all. Pulling away from the kiss, Brendon closed his eyes tightly and bit his lip, making breathless little noises in the back of his throat. He placed his elbows on the couch on either side of Ryan's face, so that their noses almost bumped, so close were they to one another. "I--" he started, only to immediately cut himself off and press his lips together. Distantly, he wondered how good it would feel without all these clothes separating them, if it felt this fantastic with the clothes on. Brendon threw his head back and arched his body as much as Ryan's legs around his waist would allow him, and shuddered with a groan. His body jerked a few times before he collapsed boneless against the boy beneath him. Panting, Brendon lifted his head to kiss Ryan again, since he'd obviously been neglecting the other boy. Once he was breathing normally- and thinking- again, he blushed. "Um..." he said, chuckling nervously. He really hoped he'd done this right. It would be highly discomforting if he had not. But he'd feel like a fool for asking, so instead he settled on kissing Ryan again.

Oh yes, that was definitely another disadvantage of being a teenager that Ryan had definitely forgotten about. His mind only lingered on that thought for a split second, though, and then it was back to being some rumpled mess. It was all he could do to keep from whining in frustration, but he managed and settled on responding to the kiss instead. Where the movements of Brendon's lips had become lax and slow, Ryan responded with an almost mindless desperation, and he found himself even forgetting the slightly mortifying fact that his hips were still jerking reflexively even though his partner had already finished. He groaned into the kiss, feeling a little dizzy from how amazing the friction still felt even though his too-tight jeans were stifling. His right hand was itching to reach down and finish it, but he restrained himself, burying the offending appendage in Brendon's hair instead. The movements of his hips were becoming quicker, harder, a bit more desperate now that the younger male wasn't really pushing back against him anymore, but it still felt good, and he felt himself coming closer to the precipice, and instead of holding back and making it last like he would've alone, he welcomed the elevation, urging it on until, finally, he fell over the edge, letting out a deep, throaty groan, his legs tightening around Brendon's middle as his release shook him and he felt himself release in spurts in his underwear before finally breaking the kiss, sighing in satisfaction as his legs fell down and his head tipped back against the cushions. His briefs would be uncomfortable in a minute, and he would feel awkward about having done anything sexual with someone who wasn't even actually of age for nearly another month, not to mention all the other moral dilemmas this whole thing brought with him. And there was of course the fact that he was privately a bit embarrassed about the fact that he'd come sooner than he'd done in years, but right now those things were pretty far from his mind, which seemed to have shut down, leaving him with a dumb smile and a satisfied, tuneless humming crossing his lips.

Brendon had much the same smile as Ryan, though he could feel his eyelids drooping, as if keeping them open was an extremely difficult task. "That was... brilliant," he said quietly, blushing slightly. "But I am very tired all of a sudden," he mumbled as he lay his head on Ryan's chest. He kept it there for a few seconds, enjoying the silence and fighting a battle with sleep. With a heavy sigh, Brendon pushed himself up, careful not to crush any part of Ryan's body. Once he was off the couch, standing beside his... boyfriend?-- Brendon blinked and frowned slightly at the thought-- he held out his hand to help the other boy get up. Once they were both standing, Brendon started feeling a tad uncomfortable. Especially his pants. He bit his lip, fighting another blush, and tried to stand in a way that didn't make his pants stick to his thighs. But it was no use. "So, um, see you tomorrow?" he asked, then chuckled, partially hating that he didn't know what to say. He leaned in to give Ryan a kiss, hoping that it would cover his blunder.

Ryan gave a slight chuckle after he pulled away from the kiss. "Yeah," he agreed, squeezing Brendon's shoulder and trying not to bite his lip as things suddenly started to feel a bit awkward. "If I hurry, I can maybe get out of my pants before my trousers are ruined," he stated with a slight wink as he pulled himself up from the couch and started towards the door, turning around with his hand on the knob to give a slight wave before he unlocked and opened the door and slid out of the room. He sucked in a deep lungful of air and let it out slowly even as he gave Zach a skittish smile. He was pretty sure the bodyguard had more than just an inkling of what went on when the doors were shut and locked, but so far that didn't seem to pose a problem. Finally Ryan squared his shoulders and crossed the hall to his own room, unlocking the door and going inside. On his desk his laptop seemed to be glaring at him and he let out a deep sigh. He wasn't going to enjoy writing the report tonight.

As soon as Ryan was gone, Brendon didn't waste any time thinking about what they'd just done. Instead, he completely ignored Zach when he came in and shot him a look, and headed straight to the washroom. Turning on the shower as hot as it would go without scalding him, Brendon stripped out of his clothes, wrinkling his nose slightly at the feel of his boxer-briefs sliding down his thighs, and then gingerly stepped into the shower. He tried not to think about what had just happened, but it kept playing in his head like a broken record, causing him to break out his big, goofy, smile. Sleeping tonight would come easily, that was for sure.

***

Brendon was at breakfast the next morning quite early, having slept like a baby all night. He was grinning, which tended to scare people away, as he selected fruit and bread and cheese to eat. Making his way to the usual table, he was in time to see Spencer and Jon walk into the cafeteria. He grinned and waved at both of them, causing Jon to stop in his tracks and Spencer to look suspicious.

"Alright, out with it," Jon demanded as soon as he sat down with his breakfast. Both he and Spencer were staring at Brendon in a menacing way, but Brendon simply popped at grape into his mouth and peered at them innocently through big, brown eyes. "Stop making the doe eyes, and tell us why you're so happy," Jon said, letting his frustration show, though Spencer was fighting with a grin. Brendon, though, simply shrugged and went back to eating his breakfast, that stupid grin still present. He'd tried fighting it this morning, but he'd just felt so good. And so he had given up and simply let himself enjoy it. At least it was making Jon frustrated, which was always funny.

***

Ryan knew he was running late, but really, the report last night had taken longer than any he'd written yet. Writing it at all, mentioning things like he'd had to to people who rightfully shouldn't have anything to do with those aspects of his life, had been damn near impossible, and it had been past three in the morning when he'd finally sent off the half-assed thing and gone to bed. Then, because of the lack of sleep, he'd slept through his alarm clock and as a result overslept over half an hour. He'd rushed his shower and set the computer to printing the school assignments he'd been sent from the bureau while dripping all over the floor. Then he'd hastened to dry off and throw on some clothes before returning to the bathroom where he'd straightened out the mess the pillow had turned his hair into before using makeup to try to make it look like he'd gotten sufficient sleep the previous night.

Now, he was running down the hallways, calculating that he'd have around ten minutes to eat breakfast (what shoddy leftovers there were anyway) if he wanted to get to class on time. Finally entering the cafeteria, he skidded to a halt, taking a deep breath as he found a tray and a plate, piling fruit and a piece of toast onto it and grabbing a glass of juice before walking with hurried steps to the usual table where the others already looked about done. "Hey," he said with a small smile, putting down his tray and plopping into his seat. "Slept so deeply I didn't hear my alarm. Did I miss anything?" He quickly bit into his toast and started to chew the minimal amount as he looked up through his bangs at the three younger boys, one eyebrow cocked.

"You obviously didn't miss much, judging by Brendon's face," Jon said, smirking when he saw the smile drop off the prince's lips. He smiled sweetly before pushing his chair back and standing up. He cleared his throat, looking pointedly at Spencer, who'd been busy stuffing his face with cheese and looked up almost guiltily when Jon stared at him in silence. Sighing and rolling his eyes, Spencer picked his bag up off the floor and pushed his chair back, joining Jon. "Ta ta," Jon said, wiggling his fingers at Brendon and Ryan, before taking Spencer's arm and leading him out of the caf.

Brendon,who was now blushing, focused on the plate in front of him, stuffingbread in his mouth to keep him from talking. Stupid Jon, always had tohave the last word. He rolled his eyes, and then kept them firmly onhis plate once again. It wasn't that he was embarrassed or anything, hejust didn't want to seem too... eager. Or vulnerable. Or too much ofany emotion, really.

"Prat," Ryan muttered, shaking his head once he'd swallowed the toast. "He's starting to grow on me, but he can still be a real git." He reached out his foot under the table and nudged Brendon's leg briefly before pulling back, nothing anyone could see through, and smiled slightly in what he thought was a comforting way. Taking another bite of the toast, he searched Brendon's face. He knew him well enough to be able to read him at least a little by now. And Brendon was holding back, hiding something behind his usual mask, but he didn't seem to be hiding from the world as a whole so much as from Ryan. He swallowed again, biting his lip slightly for a moment as he let his own face fall a bit. "Regrets?"

Brendon forced himself not to look up completely when Ryan nudged his leg, because he was busy composing his features into a neutral mask. He did, however, look up when Ryan asked him if he had regrets. Still with the mask in place, he locked eyes with Ryan, hoping they would convey how much he didn't regret it. What he said, though, was, "of course not," his voice not betraying any emotion. Clearing his throat, Brendon pushed his plate away. "You might want to hurry up, or we'll be late," he stated, pursing his lips. He was already anxious for the day to end, and it had barely started.

The new behaviour and demeanour on the other boy was more than just a little confusing to Ryan, but he decided to take the words at face value. After all, it wasn't as if this was a situation Brendon had been in before, and chances were that he didn't actually really know how to act about it. Ryan pushed away the fact that this held through for him as well. And in the end, he couldn't really know if things had gone weird between them before they were away from the watchful eye of the other students. He grabbed his glass and downed the juice in one go before picking up his toast and his bag, standing up from the chair. "Okay," he answered simply, taking another bite. "Lead the way," he added, grimacing as he belatedly realized that he was talking with his mouth full. He finished chewing and swallowed, grimacing again. "Sorry."

Brendon stared at Ryan for a few moments, his featuresfighting between twisting in disgust or in amusement. Finally, hesimply burst out laughing and shook his head. Standing, he went over toRyan and had to restrain himself from kissing the boy right there. "Youuncouth boy, you," he decided to say, finally. He ruffled the boy'shair, his thumb sweeping over his temple affectionately, just to showthat he was perfectly fine and did still feel the same for the boy.Pulling away, he picked up his own book bag and lead the way out of thecafeteria and to their first class.