haha hey

disclaimer: i own nothing.

Ellington woke up in the afternoon, stretching out his muscles as he sat up. The curtains were open and the sunlight was brightening up the room. Ellington took his phone — which he'd slept on — out of the pocket of his jeans to check the time. It was just before two.

Rocky was still fast asleep beside him. His face was pale again. Ellington didn't like seeing him sick when there wasn't anything he could do but be with him, which was what he figured Rocky felt about Ellington's situation in its entirety. Except it was a lot more difficult for him, of course. Cancer was a lot more permanent than some stomach bug. Ellington lay back again, sliding his arm around Rocky's waist. He breathed in against Rocky's neck, just taking him in. Rocky stirred in his embrace.

"Hmph," he grumbled, turning over to face Ellington. His eyes remained closed, and he tried to go back to sleep.

"You should get up," Ellington suggested quietly. "It's past one."

Rocky groaned in protest. Ellington laughed and sat up again. Rocky whined at the loss, holding out his hand for him to come back, but Ellington stood up. He waited, watching, and eventually Rocky gave up and dragged himself to his feet. He reached down to pick up the still unused bowl on the floor.

"That was a nice nap," Ellington commented. He led Rocky out of the room and down the hall. "That should be a regular thing."

"I feel like my stomach is being devoured by a parasite," Rocky said suddenly, completing ignoring Ellington's statement.

Ellington raised an eyebrow. "I take it you still don't feel well."

Rocky went into the kitchen to put the bowl away. As he did, Ellington made his way to the living room. The family had returned from breakfast and Ross had woken himself up, so Rydel, Ryland, and Ross were all already sitting there. Ellington joined them.

"Hey, guys," he said cheerfully, sitting down beside Ryland.

They were all staring at him, and Rydel's mouth was wide open, and none of them answered him. Ellington looked back at them. He was confused because he didn't understand what he'd done wrong. He had just woken up. All he'd done was nap. But then it occurred to him, and he remembered everything before the nap. He nodded slightly to himself. It made a lot of sense for them to be confused now. He couldn't believe he had let that slip his mind.

"Oh. Yeah." He shrugged. "I guess the drugs started really working. It started coming out in clumps. So we just shaved it off."

Ryland reached over and touched the top of Ellington's head. Ellington raised an eyebrow, but Ryland didn't seem fazed by it. He continuously ran his hand over Ellington's head, mesmerized by the fact that there wasn't any hair there. Ellington sighed. He already missed his hair and it had barely been gone a few hours. He had, of course, known that this was going to happen, though.

Rocky joined them then, sitting on the other side of Ryland, who still had his hand on the top of Ellington's head. Rocky looked at him curiously.

"They're all mesmerized," Ellington explained for them all.

"I can tell." Rocky shook his head. "You're all insane."

"I think you'd be the same way if I just walked into the room with no hair," Ross pointed out, finally tearing his attention away from Ellington's head to focus back on whatever they were watching.

"I probably wouldn't. I usually don't notice when you enter a room."

Ross glared at Rocky, who smirked. Ryland snickered.

"I think you look fine," Rydel told Ellington.

"Thanks, giiiirl."

Rydel gave him a thumbs-up as she got up and left the room. By then, Ryland had finished touching Ellington's head. Ell was thankful for that. He sighed and leaned against the arm of the couch. The four of them settled in and watched a show about ghost stories come on. It instantly intrigued the Lynch boys, but Ellington had always found stuff like this nothing but funny. He laughed every time someone claimed to hear something in their house, earning a stern glare from the others every time.

Ell was pretty sure he was the only one who heard Rydel's exasperated "Ugh!" from the other room. The other three were too entranced by the show. He looked up when Rydel came fuming into the living room. It wasn't until she stood directly in front of the TV that the rest of them paid any attention to her.

"I need one of you to do me a favor."

They all looked up at her, but none of them answered.

Rydel placed her hands on her hips. "I need one of you to go buy tampons."

"Bye." Ryland stood and instantly headed for his room. The ghost story show was apparently not interesting enough to make him stay there.

"Oops. Sorry. Can't. I'm sick," Rocky muttered, taking up the space Ryland had just left and lounging on the couch. Technically, he wasn't lying. He was really sick, but he was just using it as an excuse.

"And I just don't want to." Ross shrugged.

"Oh, grow up, you guys." Rydel rolled her eyes and looked pointedly at Ross. "What are you going to do in the future when your girlfriend needs you to go out and get some for her someday?"

Ellington spoke up, holding up a finger to turn Rydel's attention to him. "I mean, I'm just speaking from experience here, but I never had to go out for Kelly," he pointed out. "So it wasn't a problem for me. It may not be for the young boy here, either." He shrugged and glimpsed at Rocky. "I don't think I'm ever going to have that issue now, though…"

Rocky held up his hand without looking away from the screen, and Ellington high-fived it.

"Well, I think it's time you both grow up because I need a simple favor. Mom is with Cheryl and I have stuff to do and God knows you boys should get out of the house after sitting on your butts all day."

"I feel victimized." Ross slid off the couch and got to his feet. "Ratliff, let's go."

Ellington's head snapped up. "What? Why me?"

"Would you rather stay with your contagious, pukey boyfriend?"

Rocky punched Ross in the back of the knee from where he was lying down. Ross stumbled a bit and pouted at him, then turned back to Ellington.

"You're the worst," Ell muttered to Ross, standing to go find a beanie in Rocky's room. Ross went to his own to get his shoes, and Rydel followed them down the hall to her room. She closed the door behind her.

Ellington took Rocky's green beanie, and before he left the room, he grabbed one of Rocky's Hollister hoodies for good measure. He emerged just as Ross came out of his room, and Ross grabbed his keys from the kitchen. He called out "Be back soon" to no one in particular. Rocky didn't even answer. Ellington followed Ross out to the car and climbed into the passenger seat.

"The things she talks me into," Ross grumbled absentmindedly. He shook his head. "She gets scary sometimes."

Ellington shrugged. "That's sisters for you, I guess. Coming from someone who doesn't have a sister, but I've known you guys long enough."

"Which is why you can attest to the fact that she gets scary."

Ross drove them to the pharmacy a few blocks away. Ellington checked himself in the mirror and adjusted the beanie on his head a few times before getting out to follow Ross inside. He stayed behind a bit, letting Ross lead him through the store. Ross awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck as he turned down the aisle with the big "feminine products" sign hanging above it.

Both boys stopped and looked. There was a huge selection, and they were instantly overwhelmed. How were they supposed to know what to get? They didn't know what was normal and what wasn't. Why were all the boxes different colors? Why were some so much bigger? Why were there so many different brands? Wasn't it all the same thing?

"What the hell do we get?" Ross asked quietly.

Ellington made a face. "Do I look like I know what kind of tampons your sister uses?"

Ross elbowed him. He looked up higher and then crouched to look lower, but he still didn't even know what to begin looking for. He bit his lip.

"I mean…regular looks okay to me," he muttered, pointing to the closest box that said 'regular' on it.

Ellington shook his head. "That looks like a cheap brand. They're probably not as good."

"So, what, are we looking for the stuff in commercials? Like…Tampax or whatever?" Ross asked. He was visibly uncomfortable.

"Ross, I literally have no idea."

"I've never even bought condoms before, so how am I supposed to—?"

"You've never bought condoms?" Ellington asked. Ross looked at him and shook his head. "Someday you're going to fall in love with a girl and then things are gonna be gettin' steamy and then you'll realize you don't have protection and she'll dip."

"I've never been in that situation, so…" Ross frowned. "When I do fall in love, I will be prepared."

"Good boy."

Both stared at their selection for a short few seconds before Ross mumbled, "Be right back," and went on his way, leaving Ellington alone to complete the task at hand. He stared for a few more moments before going for the first brand name he recognized from TV, like Ross had said. It was all he could think to do. In hindsight, it would have been a good idea for them to actually ask Rydel before they went, but it hadn't even been their choice to begin with.

He held the box awkwardly in his hand as he went to find Ross. It wasn't like anyone in there even cared about this. They were all obviously going to assume that Ellington was out for his girlfriend or his sister or whatever, even though he wasn't, and didn't even have a girlfriend or a sister. Nobody knew that, though.

When Ellington found Ross looking at contraception, he seemed just as perplexed in that aisle as he was in the other one. He had a different box in each hand, reading them both alternatively. He looked up when he saw Ellington coming toward him and immediately went red. He held out his arms as if to say that he had given up and didn't know what he was doing.

"Man, I'm not used to this," he muttered.

Ell rolled his eyes. "Why are you over here?"

"Because you were making fun of me for never buying condoms so I'm buying condoms."

"I wasn't making fun of you. Jeez, you drama queen," Ellington said, shaking his head.

"Now you're making fun of me."

"Yes, because you're a drama queen. Now if you're going to—"

"Ross?"

Both of them looked toward the source of the voice saying Ross' name. Two girls stood at the end of the aisle. Both looked young, but they couldn't have been more than a year or two younger than Ryland. Obviously, they were fans, and they had run into the two of them at the most inconvenient time in the entire world.

Ross looked down at the boxes in his hands and then the one in Ellington's. He reached behind him and put his down quickly before going to meet the two girls at the end of the aisle, hoping they didn't realize. Obviously, they did, and he could already picture going on twitter later and seeing all of the teenage girls just dying over the fact that Ross Lynch was buying condoms.

Ellington looked around a few times and ended up just putting the box down by his feet. He instantly felt self-conscious about his hair — or, really, his lack thereof. But it was going to get out there sooner or later. He went to join Ross and the girls. They looked at his beanie, but didn't say anything, and the whole subject of Ellington's baldness was avoided. They took pictures and signed phone cases and said "It was great meeting you!" to send the two of them on their way. The boys looked at each other as the girls retreated, standing still.

"Of all places, of all times…"

"Of all people." Ellington sighed. "You sound just like your brother."

They left the store unscathed with Rydel's tampons and now Ross' condoms, which Ellington told him he had no real use for. Ross said he had no idea what to even do with them to begin with. When Ellington surged into a smart-ass explanation about how to use them, Ross cut him off.

"I know how condoms work," he exclaimed. "I meant I don't know where to put these. I don't end up in those situations often."

"So why did you buy them?"

"I don't want babies, so."

Ellington turned to him. "Believe me when I say that no one wants a baby Ross Lynch running around here anytime soon."

Ross hit him with one hand on the wheel and Ell laughed.

By the time they got home, they were on the topic of virginity and the fact that Ross' was still intact and Ellington's was not. Ross liked to pretend otherwise sometimes, but even if he didn't end up confessing eventually, it was the most obvious thing in the world. Ellington carried the plastic bag as they went into the house, and Ross held the door open for him.

"It was a few years ago. Remember that I dated her for years," Ellington explained while they went inside. Rocky raised his head to listen as the two of them went into the living room. "We were ready and it was right, so it's not like I regret it or anything."

"How old were you?" Ross asked.

"Eighteen."

Rocky seemed uninterested again, until Ellington fished through the bag and tossed the box of condoms to Ross across the room. Rocky watched the exchange occur, and Ross turned red again. Ellington laughed.

"For someone who tries to pretend he's not a virgin," Ell teased, "you are such a freaking virgin."

Ross rolled his eyes and sat back on the recliner where he'd been before, putting the box down on the floor near him. Ellington took the bag and carried it down the hall to Rydel's room. Rocky looked at Ross.

"Left for tampons and came back with condoms?" he observed.

"Ellington was making fun of me because I've never bought them before, and what if I end up in a situation where I'll need one," Ross explained.

Rocky nodded. "Ah. So that's why I just overheard the deets on his first time."

"Yeah."

"Well," Rocky sighed, "you don't want an STD, do ya? Ell knows what he's talking about."

"Damn right he does," Ell chimed in, coming back into the living room. He sat at the end of the couch by Rocky's feet. Rocky laid his legs across Ellington's lap.

"Did Mom and Dad ever give you the talk?" Rocky asked Ross out of sheer curiosity.

"No," Ross replied. "Dad never wanted to, even when I asked about it. So eventually he said that he was goning to make Riker talk to me way back when, but he never did."

Rocky scoffed. "Riker was definitely a virgin till, like, a month before his wedding, I'll tell you that right now."

Ross raised an eyebrow. "Don't act like you're so experienced in the world of sex."

"More than you," Rocky shot back. He didn't even look at Ross while he talked. "I'm just saying, Riker wouldn't have done a very good job. Not that I would have when I was younger, but still." He looked up. "Do we need to give you the talk right now?"

"Uh, no. I'm good."

"When two people love each other very much—"

"I said I'm good."

"—and they decide they want to show their love—"

"Rocky, I swear."

"—they do the nasty and for some reason, that's a testament of love."

Ross pinched the bridge of his nose. "I am so done being reminded of you guys' sex life."

Rocky sat up, making a face at him. "Uh, I didn't say a thing about us, but I could."

Ross stood up. "Yeah, I'll definitely pass on that one, but thanks." He went to his room, leaving Rocky laughing quietly to himself at a job well done. He turned around to put his head in Ellington's lap instead of his feet, and Ellington instinctively started stroking his hair.

"You traumatize that boy more than anyone I know," Ell pointed out.

"It's my job. S'what being a big brother entails. Scar 'em for life and you're golden."

"Great to know."

lmao totally a filler but i felt that this was adorable and necessary

my favorite part is the rockliff high five idek

good things are coming don't let this worry you