Ryden Oneshots 【2】

Common Sense

.:. Rating : NC-17 .:.

Summary: AU. S/A. Ryan and Brendon grow up together.

They met when they were young. Brendon was five and Ryan was six and the only reason Ryan even met Brendon was because of Spencer - they were the same age and in the same class - and he was a peculiar child. Ryan didn't really mind him, he was just odd company. They often all hung out at the park, Ginger Smith in charge of Spencer and Ryan, and Mrs. Urie and Brendon's older siblings in charge of Brendon. Brendon was seldom allowed to meet them at Spencer's. His parents always had to be present.

Brendon was tragically smaller than most kids his age and he was frail and clumsy and hyper and it was hard to follow his thought process or play his games, but he had a lot of them. Boy, did he have a lot of them.

In fact, while playing one where you had to rapidly make your way across the jungle gym, Brendon bumped his head against one of the bars that held the odd contraption together and fell off from the third peg that he'd been standing on. He'd been in between the two other boys: Spencer was ways above the other two with Ryan just below Brendon, but out of the fall range, trying to take it easy on the small boy. Ryan's limbs were considerably longer and he was a year older, after all.

"Ow, ow, ah-ow," Brendon chanted before a sob escaped his lips. He shook and trembled and wailed and big fat tears were rolling down his cheeks. There was an angry red mark on his forehead. Ryan didn't know what to do. The Uries were all the way on the other side of the park, Mrs. Urie finally conversing with Ginger Smith. "Spencer, get his mom- or your mom-"

"But-"

"Just get help!" He jumped down from his peg on the jungle gym and stumbled over to Brendon's shaking form that lay helplessly on the wood chips and dirt. Ryan knelt down and helped Brendon sit up straight before brushing his dark brown locks of hair that had fell from their proper place off his forehead to observe the wound closely. He had to establish if this would kill his friend or not because that could happen. He'd heard about it.

Spencer was still slowly coming down from the jungle gym, making sure he didn't fall and hurt himself on the death-trap. Brendon's fall had scared the crap out of him to say the least.

Ryan's left arm was braced around Brendon's back while his hand on the opposite arm encased Brendon's shoulder that was farthest from him while the tiny boy's other shoulder poked into his chest. He gently rocked him back and forth while Brendon sniffled and wailed. "Ry-hi-an," he whined.

"It'll be okay, Brendon," Ryan attempted to soothe. It only made Brendon sob louder, wracking his whole body. Ryan could tell it was the kind of sobbing that left your throat scratchy and raw.

"It hurts," he informs Ryan, hiccuping as he tries to catch his breath.

Ryan gingerly sets his hand on the angry red mark on the smaller boy's forehead, Brendon winces. Ryan searches his brain for something that would make this better; that would make Brendon stop crying because he's in pain and he shouldn't be because he doesn't deserve it and Ryan knows it.

But Brendon is in pain.

"What can I do?"

"I want my mom!" And his sob stretches out the word in this heartbreaking way and Ryan almost wants to cry because how could this have happened to Brendon- little, tiny Brendon?

"Spencer went to go get her," he promises the tiny toddler. Brendon's right hand grips the arm that is braced over his chest tightly. Really, Brendon is so unbelievably tiny for his age. He's smaller than Spencer and way smaller than Ryan.