skoosiepants | Not!Fic: Even More Ryan of Green Gables

So way back in May I promised Ryan-writing-his-masterpiece for

clumsygyrl and I've finally gotten around to finishing it. Also! Check out the SUPER COOL icon she made for me! Ryan is a wee little orphan boy!

Now, on to the story, which is actually way out of order, if you're checking it against the book, and also wildly off-plot, and also I'm aware I'm skipping a couple years in here, too, and sending them right off to college, but whatever. It's Ryan of Green Gables! Previous parts are here, here, and here. Enjoy!

Gerard brings home little notebooks for Ryan whenever he can. Ryan fills them up so fast, and he’s always ready for a new one, and something warm settles around Gerard’s heart when Ryan lights up at the gifts. Mikey rolls his eyes at this, but Gerard knows he’s been saving up to buy Ryan a new ink and pen set.

It’s not surprising when Ryan announces he’s finished a story – a masterpiece, perhaps, would not be too strong a description. He’s very pleased with it. A love story to surpass all love stories before it, filled with passion and death and a breathlessly happy ending.

He lets Spencer read it first, because Spencer, he thinks, will appreciate it the most.

Spencer thinks it’s really grand, except he’s not sure if Ryan’s serious about it being a love story, because it sort of reads like a parody. Either way, though, he thinks Ryan ought to show it off.

Ryan is sort of ridiculously protective of it, hugging the manuscript to his chest, but Spencer manages to sneak off with it in the pretense of reading it over again, and copies it all down on a nice, new, clean piece of paper.

A baking powder company is running a contest and Spencer is sure Ryan can win it easily with his story, so he changes a word here and there and then sends it off, smugly satisfied.

*

Patrick is the town Post Master, and he wears this little post master hat that Pete thinks is adorable, and Pete hangs around the Post Office counter everyday at noon, spreading out Patrick’s lunch for him.

Pete and Patrick’s love affair is legendary in the way that Pete retells the story of their courtship to anyone who’ll listen, and each story is different. He’s regaling the Simpson sisters about the time he saved Patrick from a giant poisonous lizard – “It was a newt, Pete,” Patrick interjects, sighing, although he doesn’t know why he bothers – and how Patrick fainted dead away into his arms – “It surprised me, and I slipped on a mossy rock!” – and the Simpson sisters are giggling behind their hands and staring up at Pete with huge, adoring eyes, and Patrick would probably be upset and jealous about that except Pete’s waxing poetic about him, so there’s not much he can complain about, unless you count Pete’s stunning ability to strip Patrick of all his manly trappings, and if anyone wears the skirt in their relationship, it’s Pete, but anyway. Pete’s telling tales to Ashlee and Jess when Ryan comes in with Spencer to pick up the mail for Gerard.

Patrick’s got a package for Ryan.

“I’m not expecting anything,” Ryan says, puzzled, and Spencer, after darting a glance at the label, looks suspiciously amused.

“Open it,” Spencer coaxes, and Pete leaves off right after he claims to the girls that he revived Patrick with, “sweet kisses,” to echo excitedly, “Yeah, Ross, open it and let’s see.”

Ryan shoots him a look, but it’s Pete, and Ryan sort of looks up to Pete, so he tears open the brown paper and stares at. He’s not sure what he’s staring at, actually. “It’s.” He frowns.

“It’s your story,” Spencer says, grinning. “It only had to be edited a tiny bit, and William helped and, well. You won!”

“You wrote a story?” Pete asks, and he sounds a little putout, like he couldn’t believe Ryan hadn’t already shown it to him.

“I wrote.” Ryan trails off, looking from his story – it is his story, he sees that now, only. Only it’s been changed a bit, like Spencer said, and it’s won—

“You won the contest,” Spencer repeats happily, “that’s wonderful, Ryan,” and Ryan gives him a pained smile, because he sees that Spencer’s heart was in the right place, but he just can’t believe. Well. He feels sullied, somehow. This wasn’t meant to be a silly piece for an advert.

This was his grand work of art, something he toiled so hard over, and now it’s linked to a crummy line of baking powder.

He tries his best to accept congratulations as gracefully as possible, and then he slinks home with the rest of the mail, tears forming at the corners of his eyes as he closes the front door behind him.

Gerard and Mikey find him sitting on the hall floor, face buried in his hands, and they pet him and coax him up into the kitchen and Gerard makes him tea and the whole story comes spilling out. Gerard pats his back and hugs him and makes understanding noises, but Mikey’s face gets tight.

Mikey can’t believe Ryan could be so stupid.

Ryan doesn’t realize until later that Mikey is mad at him. Mikey pokes him in the chest and snaps, “Where do you get off, saying that?” and Ryan is confused until Mikey goes on and says, low and controlled, “Where do you think our money comes from, huh? How do you think we put food on the table? Gerard’s an artist, Ryan, and he draws very nice pieces of work for advertising companies, and you just practically panned his entire existence.”

Ryan is horrified. He hadn’t meant it like that! He hadn’t seen it that way, and he loves Gerard and thinks he’s amazing, and he would never ever want to hurt him!

It’s really hard to offend Gerard. Once he decides he loves someone, he figures they wouldn’t ever say or do anything deliberately hurtful. He knows Ryan didn’t mean to be unkind.

He accepts Ryan’s heartfelt apology with a smile and folds him up in a big hug. “It’s all right,” he says softly, close to Ryan’s ear – he’s gotten so tall and grown! – “I want more for you, anyway.”

“But that’s not. You’re not,” Ryan fumbles with his words, and Gerard pulls back and cages Ryan’s head in his hands.

“I know,” Gerard says. He does.

Later, Mikey chastises Gerard for being so easy on Ryan, but Gerard just shakes his head.

“He’s got his dreams, Mikey. I’m not going to take them away.”

*

Ryan, Spencer, William and Brendon are some of Frank’s brightest students, and he gets a little sad when he thinks of them leaving at the end of the year. There isn’t much more he can teach them, but he gets them ready for their entrance exams at the teachers college – and he can’t imagine William teaching, really, but William seems so determined to do it! It’s not that he’s not smart enough; he’s just so mischievous and bad. Bad in that way that’s totally endearing. He’ll smile so wide and bat his eyelashes and meanwhile he’s stuffed five frogs into Frank’s bottom desk drawer over lunch.

The younger students adore him, though, so Frank’ll give him that. He’ll certainly have a faithful following wherever he ends up.

Frank sighs, pulling out a cigarette and sitting on the outside steps of his little schoolhouse. It’s nestled in the woods and it’s been there for longer than he can remember – he was schooled there himself – and it’s possibly his most favorite place in the world. He can hear the kids laughing through the trees as they make their way home.

Jon steps out from around the back of the building with his bike, leans it against the stoop and then sits down next to Frank.

Frank smiles at him. “What’s up, Jon?” he asks, because Jon looks like he has something on his mind.

Jon shrugs, ducks his head a little and scratches the back of his neck. Jon’s grown up handsome, and he’s smart with just about everything, but he won’t be going to college. He’s got his family farm to help work, and that was never in the cards. Finally, he says, “I’m thinking about asking Spencer to marry me.”

That doesn’t surprise Frank at all. The two of them have been courting since they were little kids. It’s sweet. “That’s fine,” Frank says, bumping Jon’s shoulder with his own, grinning widely. “More than fine, even.”

Jon’s cheeks go pink as he smiles back. “Think he’ll say yes?”

“Are you kidding me?” Frank laughs, shakes his head. “You get him a ring?”

“My great grandfather’s,” he says proudly, and Frank’s so happy for him he gives him a tight hug. Jon adds, “Don’t say anything to anyone yet, all right?” chin hooked over Frank’s shoulder.

Franks says, “That’s your news to tell, Jon,” and thinks about Gerard.

He thinks about his little schoolhouse and how he’d been content with his life, with his kids and his small, two-roomed home and his hound dog, Bear, until old Miss Helena had up and died and Gerard Way had moved into town, with his kind eyes and slow grin and his friendly hugs, completely oblivious to the way Frank stares wistfully at him.

Frank says, thoughtful slow, “Think I’m gonna ask Gerard to marry me, too.”

Jon laughs. “About time, teach. About time.”

*

Ryan and Spencer very nearly got into a fight over the story and the advert, but they do get into a fight over Jon.

They don’t talk for two whole days afterwards, after Ryan spots Jon’s ring on Spencer’s finger. He dismisses the quiet glow of happiness on Spencer’s face, and he says sharp, angry things about Jon.

Strangely, it’s Brendon who brings Ryan around.

“You,” Brendon says, swinging up onto the Way’s front porch where Ryan is brooding. He’s left his horse, Daisy May, to nuzzle noses with the Way cow – Frank actually ended up teaching Gerard how to milk her – and he’s got his Sunday best on, and if Ryan didn’t know better, he’d think Brendon was out courting.

”What?” Ryan snaps, because he’s not in the mood.

Brendon settles down into the wicker loveseat next to Ryan and stretches an arm along the back, leaning into Ryan’s side. “You’re afraid you’ll lose Spencer if he marries Jon,” Brendon says, and yes.

Yes, that’s exactly what Ryan is afraid of.

No matter what Spencer’s accused him of, Ryan doesn’t dislike Jon anymore. Jon’s hard to hate, and the petty remarks about his character are more habit than anything else. Jon seems to know this, even if Spencer doesn’t, and never gets upset with Ryan. But if Spencer marries Jon, he won’t be at college with Ryan, and that’s terrifying.

“You’re not going to be alone,” Brendon says, expression strangely serious. “You’ll have me and William.” He frowns. “Although it’s arguable that William’s good company.”

Ryan harrumphs, but his mouth twitches. Brendon has a point. College would be dead dull without William.

Brendon squeezes his wrist. “Spencer loves you,” he says simply, “but Jon’s his everything.”

Ryan likes to think he has a romantic soul. He can’t fight true love.

He visits Spencer the next day, early in the morning, just as the sun is peaking out overtop the trees. Mr. Smith lets him in with a raised eyebrow, and Ryan sneaks quietly down the hall and into Spencer’s bedroom. Spencer’s still asleep, covers pulled up over his head, and Ryan slips in next to him, curling against his back, wrapping an arm around Spencer’s middle. He feels the exact moment Spencer wakes up, the slight hitch in his breath, and Ryan murmurs, “I’m going to miss you,” into the nape of Spencer’s neck.

“I’ll be right here,” Spencer whispers, voice a sleepy rasp. “I’ll always be here.”

“It won’t be the same,” Ryan says, but he’s come to terms with it – sort of – so his tone doesn’t have any wheedling in it.

“Nothing ever stays the same, Ryan,” Spencer says. He links their fingers together over his stomach. “If it did, life would be awfully boring.”

*

Gerard sits down next to Mikey on the front porch, hands on his knees. “Frank asked me to marry him,” Gerard says, and Mikey freezes.

He coughs into his fist, tries to dislodge the knot caught up in his chest. “Okay,” he manages.

Gerard nods. “I’m thinking about saying yes.”

Mikey boggles at him. “You’re. Gerard, you didn’t say yes?” Mikey loves his brother and wants more than anything for things to stay the same, but he knows that’s impossible and he knows Frank makes Gerard happy. If Mikey can’t have time stand still – if he can’t have the world slow to a crawl, stop on a lazy summer moment, sun stripping hot orange across the horizon, Ryan slumped down smiling on that loveseat he so favors, Gerard leaning against the rail, grinning wide, well. If he can’t have that forever, he wants Gerard to have Frank, and he wants Ryan to have his dreams, and that’ll be good enough to live on.

“I told him I’d think about it,” Gerard says. He’s looking hard at Mikey.

Mikey purses his lips, gets up and pulls Gerard to his feet. “Say yes, you idiot,” Mikey snaps. “Say yes before he changes his mind. God almighty,” he murmurs almost to himself, shoving Gerard down the stoop, “sometimes I swear I’m the only one with any sense around here.”

Gerard grins over his shoulder at him, then twists around and tugs Mikey into a hug. “Thank you,” he says.

Mikey hugs him back. Tears are definitely not welling, no sir. “Go on,” he says, and then he watches Gerard turn the corner of the house, off back towards the barn to hitch up the horse and wagon. He’s got music in his step.

continues here

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

vampyreranger.livejournal.com

This is awesome! Just wonderful. I hope Mikey gets someone too. Ray maybe?

From:

Skoosie has fancy plans... and pants to match

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