AN: I hate those mornings when you wake up and feel like crap, but the sun keeps shining anyway, like it's laughing at you. Hahaha, you little human sucker. Burn in my bright yellow rays of death. Haha.

One of those mornings inspired this fic.

Disclaimer: Not mine, never has been mine, never will be mine...oh, the world is a sad place.

Warning: involves slash. Meaning boy/boy. Consider yourself warned.

On with the fic!

It was a bright and cheerful Sunday morning, with birds chirping and flowers blooming and shining rays of sun lighting up the dewy grass. The sky was blue, and the day, already laden with beauty and goodness, promised to be full of joy.

Or, you know, whatever.

Riley, still in bed and half-asleep, was a little less than cheerful. He liked his curtains shut, thank you very much, no bright and happy sunlight for him at bloody seven in the morning. It was a Sunday; hadn't the world ever heard of sleeping in?

No. Of course not.

Riley groaned and rolled over, burying his head a little deeper into the pillow. Then he realised that this position made breathing slightly difficult, and, with a frustrated sigh, he climbed out of bed and stomped into the kitchen for a coffee.

Seven-thirty, and the sun was still far too bright and cheerful. Riley glared out the window at the yellowness of it all, thinking that most sane people were usually asleep right now. Of course, he was sane; he couldn't, however, say the same for the damn sun.

It was this line of thought that had him distracted when the phone suddenly rang, and he jumped in surprise, swivelling to stare at the machine in annoyance.

What in the world had happened to sanity?

Never mind; the phone was ringing, so he answered it. Then he almost dropped it when the voice of none other than Patrick Gates came through the earpiece, saying, "Hello."

"Er...Hi, Mr. Gates. What's up?" Riley said awkwardly, wondering what on earth he had done to warrant a call from his best friend's dad.

"Well, my son was kicked out of his own house last night," Patrick replied, sounding slightly distressed. "And now he's moved back in with me."

"Abigail kicked Ben out?" Riley repeated, surprised.

"Yes, exactly. He keeps moping around and staring out the window, and it's getting on my nerves. Do you think you could come over and try to cheer him up?"

"Uh...I guess so."

"Thanks, Riley. See you soon."

'Soon' came around an hour later, when Riley rang the doorbell and Patrick was the one to answer.

"Thanks for coming," he said gratefully. "I just don't know what to do."

"Happy to help," Riley replied as he followed Patrick into the house. They walked into the lounge room and there was Ben, sitting in an armchair and staring pensively out the window. He didn't look up when they entered.

"I'll leave you to it," Patrick muttered, and did exactly that.

"Hey," Riley said, attempting to sound casual as he took a seat in the chair opposite Ben.

Ben jerked his head up, looking surprised. "Oh. Hey, Riley." He turned back to the window, not sounding very pleased to see him. Not that Riley was a good judge of that sort of thing, but still.

"So...Abigail kicked you out," Riley began, not knowing what on earth to say.

"Yeah."

Well. A great start.

"That must suck."

Ben shrugged.

"If you want to talk about it – "

"I don't," Ben said shortly.

"Okay." Riley watched Ben, slightly hurt by his friend's behaviour. Ben had never been rude before, never shut him out...What was going on? Had Abigail really meant that much to him?

Ben sighed. "Sorry, Riley," he muttered. "It's just, you know...It wasn't Abigail."

"Oh. Okay. Um...That doesn't explain anything, Ben, you've lost me."

Ben turned to look at him, his eyes shadowed. "Abigail didn't kick me out."

"She didn't?" Riley asked, shocked.

"I left her."

Well, okay then. Maybe Abigail hadn't meant that much. "Why?"

Ben stared at him for a moment, then sighed again and looked down. "I'm in love with someone else."

Riley's heart gave a funny little jump for absolutely no logical reason, and he gaped at his friend. "You're...in love with...Who?"

Ben was silent.

"Who is it, Ben?" Riley asked in a quiet voice, his pulse racing.

"Nobody," Ben muttered, getting to his feet. "Forget I said anything."

"Ben – " Riley began, but Ben had already left the room.

He went home only a brief time later, after Ben spent the next little while ignoring him or responding to his questions with short, meaningless answers. He went through the rest of his day in a haze, heart heavy and mind reeling with questions. Well, one question, really.

Who was Ben in love with?

He thought about it, and thought about it, and then he thought a little more, but still he came up blank. He didn't know anyone important in Ben's life, other than Abigail and himself (at least, he hoped he was important...but if he was, wouldn't Ben have told him?) Maybe Ben had met someone while hunting some old object of historical importance...But then, why hadn't he told Riley? Why was he keeping it secret?

Unless...Unless he didn't want to tell Riley simply because Riley didn't matter. After all, they'd been talking less, lately; less phone calls and less visits and less hanging out in general.

The very thought made Riley's stomach twist and writhe most miserably, and at the same time he felt like crying.

God,he hoped that wasn't it.

The doorbell rang just as Riley was starting to think about dinner. Outside the light was dimming and the sun was painting pretty colours all over the horizon (which was almost enough to make Riley forgive it for the early wake-up call), and his stomach was announcing its emptiness in a loud, complaining voice to anyone who would listen. 'Anyone' meaning Riley. Who was listening very seriously.

But there was no time to even think about what he wanted for dinner, because the doorbell rang.

Surprised, curious, and hoping it wasn't one of those annoying door-to-door salesmen, Riley got to his feet, traversed down the hall and opened his door.

"Ben?" was the first word he said, surprised at the appearance of his friend after their less-than-friendly discussion earlier.

"Riley," Ben said, looking...nervous? "I've got something to tell you, and I don't want you to say a word until I'm finished otherwise I'll never get it out. Okay?"

"Okay," Riley repeated, confused.

"I like Abigail. I was happy with Abigail. I think, for a while, I even loved her. But lately I've been thinking about somebody else, and I can't get them out of my head." Ben took a deep breath, and continued. "This person is...well, they're my best friend and they've stuck by me through everything, even when other people called me insane or obsessed. They're amazing, and smart, and they always know how to make me feel better even when they've had a rough day themselves. And the more I thought about this person, the more I realized...I'm in love."

Riley was deeply, painfully confused. And wounded, because wasn't he Ben's best friend? Who else had stuck with Ben through thick and thin?

But he didn't matter right now, because Ben was talking about something important and it was Riley's duty - his duty as a friend, a best friend - to listen and understand and offer support. "So...who is she?" he asked, swallowing back his emotions as they tried to climb up his throat.

"He," Ben said quietly, watching Riley with a strange intensity. "It's a he."

Riley gaped at his friend, a glimmer of understanding lurking at the back of his mind. He ignored it, because he wasn't ready to face it; he didn't want to face it.

"You know, for someone so smart, you can be so awfully slow," Ben murmured with a half-hearted smile. "It's you, Riley. I'm in love with you."

There was a strange rushing sound in Riley's ears; his heart was trying to tear itself out of his chest, and his blood was burning through his veins, and his stomach was performing wild and crazy acrobatics as though it was going for gold at the Olympic Games.

Out of all the people he'd thought Ben might love, Riley had put himself on the bottom of the list. No, scratch that; he hadn't even been on the list.

'It's you, Riley.'

Ben was watching him with an expression that was one part nervousness, one part hope, and a hundred parts complete and utter fear.

"Ben, I..." Riley began weakly, with no idea what he was going to say.

"I'm sorry, Riley. I just thought it would be better if I told you." The light in Ben's eyes seemed to flicker and die. "I tried distancing myself from you. I thought doing that would make this better, but it only made things worse. Still, if that's what you want, I understand." He turned to go.

"Wait!" Everything was happening too fast, and Riley was super-ultra-mega confused. "You don't have to go anywhere. I just...I don't know what to say."

"Say we're still friends," Ben murmured. "Say this doesn't mean anything."

"We're still friends," Riley said uncomfortably. "It's just that I've never really thought about you, you know...that way."

"I know."

Riley looked at Ben, and wondered how this had happened, and what it meant, and what he should do about it. He didn't know how he felt about the whole situation; it wasn't something he could just figure out on the spot. Ben was his friend, but it was almost impossible to think of him romantically – not to mention Riley had never considered himself gay. (Actually, he'd never considered Ben gay, either – look how that had turned out.) Now, however, he was considering it, and it was a whole lot more complicated than it seemed.

For instance, that warm little feeling that sat comfortably in his stomach whenever he was around Ben – that was friendship, right? It'd always been there, just like the inexplicable happy feeling he got whenever he was with Ben. Because Ben made him happy, he always had; and he was the only person who really mattered in Riley's life.

Well, then.

"Can I try something?" Riley asked hesitantly.

"Sure," Ben said, sounding puzzled.

Riley smiled a little nervously, and stepped a little closer, and Ben's expression changed and he opened his mouth to say something but Riley cut him off, leaning forwards to kiss him gently on the lips. Ben responded instantly, and what was supposed to be only a brief touch turned into something much deeper, and much more intense. He put his hands on Riley's waist and pushed him back against the wall, and Riley moved without thinking, pulling Ben closer until their bodies were touching in far too many places to count.

Riley was now almost one hundred percent sure he was in love with Ben, if the fierce pounding of his heart was any indicator. And if it wasn't, well, there was always the fact that kissing Ben was perhaps the most amazing thing he had ever experienced, and he never, ever wanted it to end, because it made him feel everything he hadn't realized he'd longed for.

Eventually they broke apart, both panting a little, faces flushed and eyes bright.

"So," Ben began hesitantly, "does this mean..."

"Yeah," Riley smiled. "It does."

"Oh, good." And Ben leaned down to kiss him again.

If you've made it this far, surely it won't hurt to go a little further and leave a review. Liked it? Hated it? Let me know!

I'd give you a virtual cookie for reviewing, but as the general population should really be watching their weight, I'll give you a virtual banana instead. Yum.