Ryden Oneshots

Wooden Skin

Summary: Brendon looked at Ryan in his sleeping state, knowing that he'd probably have to hurry to the closet before he turns to wood right there and then. He leans in and presses a soft kiss to the boy's forehead, watching as the moonlight poured onto his pale skin. Then, he made his way back to the closet, closing the wooden door himself.

Where he belongs.

"What does pain feel like?"

Ryan shifted his position as he heard the question, tilting his head to think about it. He didn't really know how to reply to that.

"Well, it depends," he starts, after a quick moment of silence. "Pain is objective. There's emotional pain, and there's physical pain. They both can hurt a lot, but depending on the person, one can hurt more than the other."

Brendon lightly swung his legs back and forth as he looked up at the boy next to him, nodding as he listens. "Which one do you think hurts more?" Brendon asks, his wide and curious eyes making direct contact with Ryan's.

Ryan made eye contact for a moment before looking down again. "That's a good question," he nods, biting his lip as he thought. He kept his hands planted on either side of the mattress below him, gripping it lightly. "I guess emotional. I'm a sensitive guy," he giggled.

The other boy smiled at his comment, his plump lips curling upwards on both sides as he kept his eyes on Ryan. His dark mocha bangs were scattered neatly across his forehead, and his cheeks were a bright red. Well, not from blushing. From the face paint.

"But, what does it feel like?" Brendon asked again, his curiosity not allowing Ryan to escape from the original question. Ryan tugged on his lower lip with his teeth again, thinking of how exactly to explain it. He knows Brendon hasn't experienced much, so Ryan is always his main source of information. Or, his only source.

Ryan took a deep breath before answering, his eyes still glued to the floor. "It feels like- like an ache. An ache in your chest," he starts, bring his hand up to his chest as a gesture and then bringing it back down. "It's a stinging ache in your chest, and a clouded feeling in your head. It feels like your stomach twists and then drops."

Brendon didn't really know how to reply to that, mainly because he didn't know what that meant. But he liked Ryan's poetic-ness, so he kept a soft smile on his face as he listened. "What about the physical pain?" he questioned again, his curiosity getting the best of him.

"Hm. Well, it just stings on the outside. It's hard to explain that one," he admits. "But both pains can really hurt someone, you know? Both can last your entire life. Whether it's a heartbreak, or a physical impairment," he says, looking back up meeting the other boy's eyes again.

Brendon didn't know what these big words meant, but he nodded. Ryan's voice was soothing enough for him to listen. It was like a soft buzz in his ears, that he just loved the sound of.

Ryan caught the gist that Brendon didn't really understand what he was saying, so he shrugged and looked down. "It's okay if you don't get it. Other people usually don't understand me either," he says, laughing dryly after.

"Just because I'm not real doesn't mean I don't get it," Brendon disputes. Ryan immediately shook his head, bringing his swinging feet up into a criss-cross stance as he positioned himself to be looking at Brendon. "Don't say that Bren; you're real," he assures.

Brendon shrugged and looked down, a bit sadly. Ryan didn't like when he was sad. Brendon often doesn't feel extreme emotions, but when he does feel something other than happy, Ryan feels upset. Emotional pain.

"If you weren't real, then would I be able to do this?" Ryan says after a moment, defeating the silence by leaning in and beginning to tickle Brendon. The boy's frown curled upwards into a soft giggle, his eyes squinting in pleasure as the adorable sounds came out of him. "I get it! I get it!" Brendon giggles, clutching his gut, which was where Ryan was tickling him from.