26 26- Three Words

They rolled out of bed, both very pointedly not saying anything about tents no matter how noticeable they were. The two of them were definitely just a little pink in the face over the whole thing. Luckily, the issues subsided soon enough. Scott made each of them a bowl of oatmeal and a cup of coffee, and they sat down for a lazy breakfast. He actually had a ton of different stuff to put in the oatmeal, so Ryan doctored his with chocolate chips and a banana. Scott had apple chunks, walnuts, and honey in his. He had the EXPENSIVE coffee too. The chocolate chips were even a name brand! Ryan was thinking this had to be heaven.

"Do you have to work today?" Scott asked as they had breakfast across from each other.

"Yeah, around one at the restaurant. Sundays are kinda crazy. I shouldn't call out if I can help it."

"Do you feel up to it?"

"I'll be fine!" Ryan nudged Scott's foot under the table. "The best doctor in the world took care of me, after all!"

"That reminds me, I promised you some excuse notes, didn't I?"

He wrote them up after breakfast, attaching his business card to them for added validity. Then, they spent some time gathering Ryan's things so he could go home. Scott packed the medicine he'd bought along with Ryan's clothes. He already had all of this stuff in his medicine cabinet, but his boyfriend clearly didn't. It made no sense for him to hold on to it. Ryan requested to take the broth as well, since Scott was just going to throw it away. He argued that with the addition of some frozen veggies and lunch meat, it was a perfectly acceptable meal. Between the two of them, the task was done in no time.

Ryan looked at the two plastic bags and half case of Gatorade on the counter. He didn't want to go, but he had to. He was wasn't sick anymore. He had to work. He needed time to get ready, the only clothing he had here were his raggedy PJ bottoms and some sleep shirts. Besides, Scott needed to be at his family dinner later. Both were important.

He tried to keep in mind bills that were due, and the fact that he'd had nearly three days off plus the unpaid time he took for his heat. He had to work.

Scott insisted on carrying the bags and drinks down, leaving Ryan to carry only his neatly folded blanket. They encountered no one in the elevator, and the parking garage was quiet.

The ride back to Ryan's place was uneventful. Traffic was a little heavy, and melancholy seemed to permeate the air. Their hands were locked over the center console nearly the whole time. They didn't speak of much, occasionally commenting on something odd outside the vehicle.

There were no parking spaces free near the entrance of Ryan's apartment building, only a few at the back of the parking lot. They unloaded the car, Scott again insisting on taking the lion's share of the stuff. The air was somewhat cool. Summer was coming to an end.

Scott noted that the security checks upon entering the building weren't as stringent as the first time, but that must have been because Ryan was with him. Ryan mentioned that while he couldn't technically get free access, Scott could fill out a form and have a background check done to ease some of the security measures.

Up to the second floor they went, down to the end of the hall riddled with security cameras, to the door that had "Ryan Neel" on the nameplate in blue sharpie. It was silly, but Ryan didn't want to open that door. The sooner he opened it, the sooner Scott would leave. The longer he hesitated, the longer Scott would have to hold the heavy stuff. The squeaking of plastic bottles against each other snapped him out of it.

Ryan unlocked the door, letting Scott inside. Scott set the things on the counter. He was struck again by the smallness of the place, everything in a tiny room, nothing on the walls, one window...

"I'll put that stuff away. Let me get changed first, then I'll walk you back to your car." Ryan said as he started digging in his closet for his work uniform.

"It's okay, I can at least put the food in the fridge."

Before Ryan had a chance to stop him, he had the appliance open. The bare shelves were a slap to the face. The only things inside were a bottle of ketchup, and a few slices of cheap lunch meat. Scott's fridge had exponentially more in it, even for a single person that never cooked. Could Ryan not afford food? Was that why he got sick?

"Okay, like, I know that looks kinda bad, but I haven't been able to buy groceries since my heat ended. I was planning to, but I left early that day not feeling well. I promise it's not normally that empty."

"Do you... need some money for groceries?" Scott wanted to help. You couldn't see that and not want to help.

"It's fine! I promise!" Ryan assured. "I'm going to get changed, be out in a sec!"

Ryan took his clothes in to the bathroom and shut the door. Scott wondered if Ryan was body shy. I mean, he's spent the last two days in underwear and a t-shirt, what more would Scott see if Ryan had changed out here?

Scott took the opportunity to quietly snoop in the cabinets. Ryan's tableware was mismatched and chipped. What little he had for cooking utensils were beat up and heavily abused. The cabinet that would have stored dry goods only contained cooking spray, salt and pepper shakers, and a small stack of instant noodle packages. He wanted to check the freezer, but that would have made too much noise.

Scott hastily and quietly closed the cabinet doors when he heard the handle for the bathroom jiggle. Ryan came out dressed in his busboy uniform, his hair slicked back in a tight ponytail.

"You ready?" Ryan asked, giving himself one final adjustment.

"Yeah."

Scott took a good look at Ryan. There were grease stains on his sleeves and pants. One of the shirt buttons was different, suggesting it had been replaced. Now that he thought about it, he'd never seen Ryan in anything that looked truly new except for that novelty shirt he'd bought him.

They made their way out of the building, back to the parking lot, and out to the car. They were delaying the separation. They may have only spent half a weekend together, and maybe the circumstances weren't the best, but neither of them wanted it to end. Scott held his arms out for a goodbye hug.

"Thank you for taking care of me," Ryan murmured softly. He molded his body to Scott's.

"If you start feeling bad again, don't hesitate to call me, okay?"

"I will."

"And let me know if you need anything."

"Okay."

"Promise not to overdo it at work?"

"I promise."

They stood there in each other's arms, neither wanting to break contact. Scott broke out a phrase that nearly brought his boyfriend's fever back.

"Ryan?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

Ryan froze, then hugged Scott tighter, mumbling something into Scott's hair.

"Hm?"

"I said 'no fair!'"

Scott let out a good-natured laugh. "You got the first kiss! I can get a first something too!"

Ryan laughed along. "I love you too."

They kissed, just a little peck. Then, a slightly longer, lingering kiss. Out in the open, out in broad daylight, with not a care for who saw, they kissed with wet lips and hearts beating loud enough to hear. Both craved more, to explore each other's mouths and test the strength of tongues after the ever important first "I Love You." But, life has a habit of not waiting for moments like this.

"If we don't stop, you'll be late for work..." Scott made no effort to hide his disappointment.

"And your family's going to wonder where you are..."

They broke the hug with a heavy sigh, but didn't let go of each other's hands.

"Let me at least give you a ride?"

With that, Scott drove Ryan to his part time job, extending their time even that little bit more. It wasn't a long drive. The restaurant was within walking distance from Ryan's apartment, which was convenient in general, though not desirable today. He parked in front of the restaurant to let him out.

"We're still on for date night Tuesday, right?" Scott asked.

"Of course! I'm looking forward to it!"

They shared a goodbye kiss and Ryan got out of the car. Before shutting the door, he ducked his head back into the car declaring loudly, reveling in the feeling of getting to say it, "I love you, Cuddle Bug!"

Scott was grinning from ear to ear. "Love you too, Hot Stuff!"