skoosiepants | Not!Fic: Ryan of Green Gables

So I promised this a while ago, then my mind wandered, and now I've actually gotten around to writing it, and it's not a fic, not really. Enjoy.

download The Ballad of Spencer and Ryan, Kindred Spirits

When Gerard and Mikey Way first lay eyes on Ryan, Ryan knows he isn’t what they were expecting.

“You’ll have to go back,” Mikey says with a frown, but Gerard just smiles and says, “We’ll work something out, okay?” and pulls him into a hug.

Then he says, “Welcome,” and, “Don’t mind Mikey.”

Mikey slides his hands into his pockets and tips his head back, eyeing Ryan up and down. “Ever milk a cow?”

Ryan eyes Mikey up and down right back. “Have you?” he asks, because Mikey looks like he’s never worked a day in his life, immaculate coat tailored tight along his slim build.

Gerard laughs and claps Ryan’s shoulder. Gerard has a friendly face and big, pretty eyes and his hand, when he slips it into Ryan’s, is calloused and warm. “You’ll do fine,” he says, tugging him along as he starts down the train platform. “Come on. Wagon’s waiting.”

*

Ryan has never been off of the orphanage grounds where he grew up, and he’s never had a room of his own before.

There are tiny, faded flowers on the bedspread, pink and lavender sprigs tied with blue ribbon. There is blue molding along the garret ceiling, the walls a yellow cream, and there’s a tree just outside the window, huge and thick-limbed and perfect, just perfect for climbing.

Ryan sits on the narrow bed and clutches his bag on his lap and prays they let him stay forever.

*

Patrick and Pete live across the fields. The Way brothers’ cow always gets out and wanders into Patrick's vegetable patch, and then Ryan and Pete scratch their heads and talk about all the ways they could get her out without actually getting her out. Patrick yells a lot, but Pete tells Ryan not to worry about it, he’s all bark.

Pete laughs while Patrick turns nearly purple and then he gathers him up in a spine-cracking hug and Ryan averts his eyes with a smile. He hears Patrick sputter, then sigh, and then Ryan glances over, under his lashes, and Patrick is sort of slumped into Pete, almost resigned but mostly just bewilderingly pleased.

They leave the cow. Later, Gerard comes over and lures her out with a bucket of oats.

*

Ryan has been living with the Way brothers for about two weeks when he meets Spencer at a garden party. He’s better dressed than Ryan and sort of looks snobby until he smiles. He smiles and his whole face is beautiful and Ryan immediately knows they’re kindred spirits and meant to be best friends until the end of time.

Spencer just arches an eyebrow when Ryan informs him of this, but he doesn’t dispute it. He lets Ryan hook their arms together and drag him around the lawn and then Spencer says, “Wait, c’mere,” and pulls him down towards the little babbling brook at the edge of the grounds.

There are boys there. Not slim, neat boys like Ryan and Spencer, but dirty, mucky boys splashing in the shallows and Spencer waves and says, “Hi, Jon,” and a hint of red tops Spencer’s cheeks.

Ryan is horrified.

One of the boys – Jon, presumably – swipes his palms on his pants and grins and rocks back on his heels and says, “Hi, Spence,” with a very slight lisp. He’s so provincial, and Ryan can’t understand why Spencer is staring at him in that embarrassingly besotted way.

Another boy clambers up the slope and drapes himself across Jon’s back and shoulders. He’s dressed marginally better, but he’s just as dirty and he’s got ridiculous specs on the end of his nose and he grins at them. It’s a sly grin, and it rubs Ryan completely wrong. Ryan straightens up and looks as far down at him as he can. He’s taller, and on higher ground, so it works remarkably well.

Or it would have worked, if the boy hadn’t been so irksome. He smiles even wider and says, “Hello, you’re new,” and Jon jerks his gaze off Spencer – really now – and seems to see Ryan for the first time, and he’s so friendly looking that Ryan really can’t be rude, no matter how much he wants to be. He shakes the hand Jon offers, but tries his level best to ignore the other boy entirely.

The other boy says, “I’m Brendon,” though, and bounces into Ryan’s space without any hesitation.

Ryan stumbles backwards and almost falls, except Brendon catches his wrist just in time.

“You’ve got lovely eyes,” Brendon says, then laughs, ruffles Ryan’s hair – Ryan ducks away from the touch, but it doesn’t do much good – and then he takes off, calling over his shoulder, “Come on, Jon,” and, “Stop mooning over Spencer,” and, “See you later, Ryan Ross,” even though Ryan never remembers giving him his name.

Ryan decides, just as readily as he’s decided that Spencer is his bosom friend, that he hates Brendon very, very much.

*

Ryan is a lot of trouble, Mikey thinks. They have to have one of the Urie boys come over and milk the cow – which can’t last, since the Urie boys have their own chores, as Mrs. Urie always makes a point to stress - since Ryan has yet to even touch her, and Mikey suspects he’s even a little afraid of the beast.

Mikey is not much better, but that’s what they supposedly have Ryan for, since neither Gerard nor he has any experience with farms and farming. They inherited this one from their grandmother, and Gerard was ridiculously enthused about keeping it going and now they’re just two men and a boy living on a piece of land that’s hardly turning any profit at all.

Gerard says he’ll supplement their income with freelance advertising drawings or whatever, but still. It’s the principle of the thing.

Ryan doesn’t seem to get along with the Urie boys or Andy, either, their closest neighbors besides Patrick and Pete. Well, the Urie boys tease him, particularly Brendon, the scamp, and Mikey thinks Andy’s simply got it in his head somehow that Ryan’s up-to-no-good, which is silly. Ryan’s flaky and prissy and writes in his little journal for hours on end, but he’s not up-to-no-good. Mikey will say that for him.

“He’s good for us,” Gerard says and grins at him.

“He daydreams,” Mikey counters. They’re on the front porch, and Ryan is just down by the road, picking at the long-stemmed dandelions, body tall and slight against the dying light.

“And you don’t?” Gerard laughs.

“Yes, but.” Mikey throws up his hands. “It’s on you, then,” he says, and then his mouth twitches. “I suppose between the three of us we can figure out how to milk the damn cow.”

continues here

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

fluffontop.livejournal.com

Aw. Love it! Anne of green gables bandslash, yay, and with so much detail in such a short piece. Ryan! Spencer as his bosom friend! Jon and Brendon as annoying, mucky, enchanting boys! The Way Brothers! Pete and Patrick! The Way Brothers' cow! Loved it!

I am so fond of good, detailed au's, and your writing is fab as always!

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Skoosie has fancy plans... and pants to match

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