Update: So I really have to apologise, I hadn't realized I'd forgot to thank all of you in the chapter. All your lovely comments really help me through this difficult time. I'm sorry for the late updates but as my condition is deteriorating I think it's only fairy that I explain why I hadn't updated in the last week. I collapsed in college and have been bleeding a lot out of my face and vomiting it up, so I've been out cold a lot in hospital over the last week. It has certainly been scary. Only in the last few days I've felt a bit of strength return, so I'm trying to make it up to all of you. Thank you all so much for your continued support. It means so much more to me than you all will ever know. *Big heart*
Ryan sighed sadly, his eyes weighed down painfully as he slipped through the small opening of the office doorway and pulled it shut gently behind him. His gaze a lingering over his shoulder as he turned away from the five gazes of the others. He had his arms pulled around himself, his own gaze slowly slipping to the floor, only very briefly moving over to Elektra before he lent back against the door.
"Well?" The woman asked as she was still glowering rather foully over at Christina.
Mike was off to the side still scolding Thomas about his behavior and the way that he had acted.
May-Li smiled a little sadly and walked over resting a hand on Ryan's shoulder, his dark eyes regarding his sad gaze with a pain knowing. "Is he okay?"
"Jack has agreed to come out." Ryan said with a frown, gazing up slowly and looking at Christina. "He said he would like to talk to you, if that is still okay?"
The nurse had stuck around, a smile betrayed her face which had been all so nostalgic but a few minutes ago. She made ever such a poor job of trying to hide just how exactly happy she was that Jack wanted to speak to her. "Of course." She said gently. "Anything."
"Shall we-"
"No." Ryan took a step back, gazing back at May-Li who had moved towards the door. "He wants to talk to you upstairs-"
"Well I ain't leaving him again!" Thomas snapped. "Not to you, not to these, not to anyone! Sod you!" The blond barked angrily, storming towards the stairs and taking them in bounds.
"Oh Thomas." Christina sighed, chasing after the angry boy. "I'll help him calm down."
Mike and May-Li glanced over to each other and sighed. "We better go and sit in on this too." Mike said softly, patting Ryan on the shoulder.
"Elektra, can I please talk to you... I'm just struggling with this situation and I need your help. I just... need someone to talk to."
"I think that is a very mature thing to ask." May-Li smiled encouragingly, hugging him quickly like Mike who embraced him, before both turned towards Elektra who wouldn't meet either of their gazes. "I know this is difficult for all of us. It wasn't an easy decision to make Elektra."
"But we have to try and make the best out of a bad situation." Mike continued, rubbing his forehead slightly, his own habit that he always did when he was stressed.
But the woman only looked at the two not with a cold anger. Her eyes pained and weighed down by the agony of what had happened to her. What was still happening to her. The fact that the boy in the next room, who she had opened her self to complete, who she loved with every ounce of herself. Still just looked through her.
"I'm sure that will help you just as much as it will help me." Ryan growled sadly, his gaze down cast still.
Mike patted him on the shoulder one last time with a small, sad smile.
"I'll let you have some quiet. Just send Jack up when he's ready." Mike whispered gently.
Though the moment that both adults reluctantly turned around.
A cold smile exploded across his face as they followed the other two upstairs.
The cold smirk grew and grew till it possessed Ryan's entire face and the cold sparkle in his eyes glistened like a raging inferno.
"Coast is clear." He whispered softly, knocking against the door as gently as possible.
Jack crept out and glanced between him and Elektra, his eyes a little cautious and tinted with shame.
"This is the worker who decided to watch us this afternoon." Ryan grinned. "Sparky, meet Jack. Jack, meet sparky."
Sparky?! Elektra glowered at him, but was still completely shocked with disbelief, not understanding exactly what was going on in front of her right now.
"Did you find it?" He asked, then took a large bag out of Jack's hands which was held up by a coat hanger.
The same bag that Jack had brought with them two years ago on their first date.
It's contents were about to come very much in handy.
Ryan was like a giddy little kid at Christmas just being given the gift that he had been wanting all along. He was all but bouncing on the heels of his feet with excitement. His brown eyes sparkling with far much more life than he had shown in two years. Today was the day that he took back some justice, not just for himself, but for Jack, for Elektra. He didn't do it out of malice to the others, oh no, that was just a great coincidental benefit.
He was doing this because it was him and Elektra sat by Jack's side for two years.
He was not going to be swept under the carpet with Elektra.
This was Ryan's game. It had been his game from the moment that Jack had first walked into their bedroom those years ago. From the moment he had seen that gorgeous silver haired boy walk into the room, the game had begun. This was only the part where both were detoured. But Ryan was able to win and finish the game. There was no other spaces for people like Thomas to play.
No.
This was now between him and Elektra, finding a way to catch Jack up on the playing board.
Besides, it was always best to have a puppet on side Ryan found. Best to know your enemy and Elektra was a prime example of a puppet at work, controlled by the world which Ryan was going to rip away from his Princess. No longer would those foul and stinking puppets ever try to fucking hurt his beautiful, beautiful Jack.
"So where are we going then?" Jack whispered, bringing Ryan's attention back to the gorgeous boy.
"Well, we enjoy dancing... but, I thought maybe this time we may just try something... a bit different." Ryan grinned from ear to ear.
An hour later he was stood staring into a mirror inspecting his own image as he looked at the suit that he wore.
"RYAN YOU'RE SO DEAD WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU!" He heard Jack shout from the room over, before he doubled over laughing.
He was wearing a black tight fitted suit and waist jacket which showed the strong yet slender tones of his sixteen year old body. He wore a formal white shirt with a black tie and adjusted it slightly. His face was lit up with a bright smile. He had been thinking about this since they had been stood on the hill and danced.
He had been thinking-
"RYE-RYE I'M GONNA KILL YOU!" Jack growled as he stormed into the room.
Ryan turned and bit his lip as his eyes sparkled.
"What? You're fine that I call you Princess-"
"Doesn't mean that I want to dress like one!"
Jack was stood there with eyes narrowed and glared at his boyfriend with complete disbelief. "Is this some weird kink or something that you haven't told me about, because if you wanted to see me in a dress, you could have just asked!" Jack muttered.
Long golden and silver highlighted curls fell from the wig he was wearing down either side of his face and down his back and shoulders. His hair was like both the moon and the sun come to life on a person. The boy's natural silver blond highlights were shed even colder with the warm tones of sun gold. It made Jack's porcelain skin and viciously cold blue eyes come to life so much more.
But with what he was wearing. Ryan was more shocked than anything else just to see how much it actually suited Jack.
The boy stood there in black heels, tapping his fingers against his thin bicep, his eyes narrowed. "I'm also quite curious as to where the hell, you of all people managed to get a dress like this?"
"You look... so beautiful." Ryan stuttered, only able to say just that as he looked at the boy who's face exploded out into a crimson blush.
Jack's torso was wrapped in a black and white corset. The white was softer than silk against his skin and thin lines of patterns were stitched across the dress. It was patterned like a flock of ravens moving from the breast line of the corset down in a spiral around the dress and edging along the outline of the long trail of the dress as it moved out on either side of the boy. Around the waistline a sash of black satin was wrapped tightly around Jack's figure revealing just how feminine like and truly slender it was. The boy was gorgeous and easily passed as a girl. His voice was soft, a bit deeper than any woman would have, but other than the sound of his gentle voice, there was nothing at all to give away the fact that Jack was actually a guy.
Ryan span a top hat out onto his fingers as Jack tapped his gloved satin black hands, the material of which stretched back up to his elbows, covering any scars of marks which may have been or not been hidden beneath bandages. "You will be the most beautiful out there, of any men or women."
"Y-You still didn't answer me." Jack blushed brightly, turning his gaze away slightly, until Ryan curled his finger under the boy's chin and turned his gaze back up to him so they were staring into one another.
"A couple of reasons really." Ryan grinned, his brown eyes glistening with love and amusement. "Because I was curious as to how you would look in it."
Elektra stood in the doorway, her eyes shinning with happiness and glee. She was still in her own formal attire having not joined either of the two boys in their dress up session, but she had been more than happy when Ryan had nodded towards a confused looking lady at the front who had taken them to help Jack put on the dress that Jack had brought with them all that time ago.
Because your sister got to have a bit of fun playing dress up with you. Ryan thought to himself, cracking a grin as he did. Jack must have brought that with us on our first date so that if anyone we knew came across us, he could dress up and pretend I was just out with a girl... even back then, you had a plan in place didn't you? Ryan thought.
"Because also, how are you going to feel when we go to comic con and you're wearing an outfit which is originally made for a woman?"
"Oh, don't use that on me. You knew I was going to gender bend the outfit. You just wanted to pretty me up!" Jack accused, blushing brighter and brighter under Ryan's gaze, till their lips met and Ryan gently purred into the kiss, shaping his lips around Jack's and making the pale boy blush from ear to ear brightly.
"You're already so beautiful, that it would be impossible to make you even more so. You make the dress look beautiful. Not the other way around." He whispered gently, watching Jack's eyes widen with disbelief and then glow with happiness as Ryan rested his hand against the boy's cheek and Jack sighed softly, his own gloved hand coming up to hold Ryan's in place.
Both startled slightly when Elektra cleared her throat and rose an eyebrow.
Ryan chuckled, watching an embarrassed red move through Jack's cheeks. "Shall we?" Ryan whispered softly and took Jack's gentle hand in his own, unable to stop himself from smiling as he did.
The hall that they walked into had been decorated and prepared for the event as it was New Year's Eve. It had been planned ahead of time so Ryan had struggled to get three tickets, but he had his ways. After all, there was more than one way to sheer a sheep. Plus Elektra had been able to help him, the place owed her a lot more any way, since she had helped run one of the previous events, she had been able to get in touch with the manager.
By the time they had arrived here, the drive to the outskirts of London had taken up the majority of the day and the light which was available through it. Already it was barely only a few hours into the afternoon and yet the sun was setting, but it didn't matter. That night was supposed to be cloud free which meant that the surprise Ryan had wanted to show Jack would be ready.
The hall was large with enough space to spare for the hundreds who would be there. The orchestra was already setting up and getting ready to prepare themselves. Ryan had wanted to get here early so they had been able to ensure to get the seats that they would want. But most of all, he had wanted to see the look on Jack's face as they stepped into the room.
The boy's eyes went wide with disbelief as he stared around the great amount of space. The crystal and cloud white ceiling above them glistened and shined while it's chandeliers glowed with a warm light. The great dance floor was laid with warm brown floorboards across it's giant space, a few white and gold trimmed pillars towered around them, leading to various spaces of mosaics and paintings on the white walls, or even the ceiling itself.
"Well Princess." Ryan whispered gently, watching those blue eyes fill with wonder and disbelief of all that was around them. "I know you like fairy tales, you're now the beautiful Prince in a Cinderella dress of your own story. At your very own ball." He whispered, leaning in close next to the boy's ears, his lips faintly brushing the soft skin. "Merry late Christmas, and welcome back."
"Oh Ryan." The boy whimpered.
Elektra and Ryan were at either of Jack's side immediately as the brunette reached up and gently brushed away a tear. "What is it? Is it not right? Is it wrong?"
"Oh it's perfect." Jack whispered, shaking his head, unable to actually take it all in. "Oh it's just all so perfect and wonder. I'm just-"
"Yes baby?" Ryan asked.
"I'm just so happy right now." Jack whispered gently, turning and burying his head against Ryan's chest as the brunette held him.
Elektra gave a small smile and stepped to the side.
"Good." Ryan whispered. Holding his boyfriend as close to his heart as he could. "Because this happiness? You deserve it. You deserve it and so much more." He smiled and kissed the boy's pale cheek. "Who knows?" He asked gently. "Maybe you can use your dress again, on the day that we get married?"
"Don't get ahead of yourself sailor." Jack chuckled quietly, smiling through his tears of joy as Ryan gently brushed them from the boy's pale cheek. "Plus,you do realize that this." He indicated to the dress. "Is so not what I'd wear at our wedding-" Jack's voice faltered and the boy coughed, blushing from ear to ear again, he coughed a few times to clear his throat and turned his embarrassed gaze away. "If we ever were to get married, that was- Or if I was to get married at all! I wouldn't wear a dress!" The boy tried to reign back his embarrassment but just got himself more flustered, while making Ryan and Elektra chuckle with amusement at how adorable he was.
"Sure Princess." Ryan smiled. "Anything you want."
It was a couple more hours until the event finally kicked off.
The band played their slow and gentle music and couples went to and fro from the dance floor.
You would have thought that by now I would have gotten the hang of this! Ryan thought to himself.
Ryan's cheeks glowed with a blush as Jack stared back at him from his bow that he had taken when the song had started and people began pairing up. People stared after him with a deep and shocked surprise but still as Ryan looked up, he just looked at Jack. The boy's ice cold and warm golden hair, curled in it's beautiful wig form. Ryan was still staring at the boy beneath. Sure Jack may have gotten himself dressed up like a woman, but who cared?
Clothes are clothes after all.
Ryan could see some of the people around the room, more of the snobbier women or some of the more 'experienced' men who had been to an event like this before, could see that as Jack giggled quietly with happiness, they saw past the wig and the dress. To them, Jack was just some low class boy in dress up like Ryan.
Some began to snicker under their breaths and Ryan's inner fire threatened to explode out in an enraged inferno. Many backed away when they saw the ferocious fire of his anger burn through his eyes and his fingers curl tightly into a fist. Some exclaiming slightly and with a horrified nature as Ryan's pearly teeth ground together ferociously. His anger being unchained like a rabid dog.
His fingers flexed out angrily in a quiet warning and many of the arrogant idiots backed away as quickly as they had come over to stare.
Even if there were only five or so of them.
How dare they.
How dare those bastards dare talk of his Jack or stare at him like that! How dare they all speak of Jack like he was lesser in worth than them. He was worth a thousand times more than each and every single one of them!
They were absolutely nothing compared to his beautiful Jack.
He paused and nearly flinched back when he felt a head against his chest and two hands clamped around his. He could feel the soft pattern being drawn into his blazing palm. A straight line from the edge and along to the tip of his index finger, then a slow half circle around the edge.
It was what he normally did when Jack felt panic ever coming on, but this time it was something completely different. It was a quiet warning for the brunette.
Ryan slowly turned his gaze back down to the boy, staring into those deep pools of ice cold blue, which were Jack's eyes. The puppy dog eyed brunette was already completely shocked that the boy was holding onto him like this, but also holding a steady gaze. He had never dreamed that after Jack had woken up with those words that he would ever hold the boy like this again.
But here they were.
Still inseparable. After two years of the world trying to rip them apart, here they were.
Ryan reached out his other hand slowly, gulping slightly with a faint tremble in his hands as Jack held onto Ryan's outstretched hand, and still held the soft gaze between them. It was like his hand was acting on it's own accord when his finger's just brushed in line with Jack's. His body responding while forgetting he had just been about to go and crush some annoying, pesky puppets.
But at the same time it was like that voice of anger had abandoned him for the first time in many years. Like his body had cast it out behind a barrier a million miles away. Like with the beginnings of a new song slowly rising up around him, enchanting him in his gaze between him and Jack. The rest of the people dotted away and slowly blacked out like falling shadows around him. The walls of the room falling away, when Jack took a nervous gulp and step forward when Ryan's arm wound around his waist.
A slow and soft tune began to fill the air as Ryan swept them both back. His body working automatically through the steps, which he had known since Jack had first taught them to him. His hand was timid in it's grip on Jack's waist, resting on the lower of the boy's back but somehow that timid state just made him feel a bit more confident.
He only nearly missed out on his step when he saw the glistening of tears form in Jack's eyes from the music. The small smile at either side of Jack's mouth again. Both still just staring into the other.
This wasn't like their date on masquerade hill. No alcohol to hide behind. No fast paced music to have to appear to look good to. This was intimate. Pure intimacy. Being close to each other. Being two halves of something that was whole.
And Jack's smile was all that Ryan needed to make him confident and comfortable.
He craned his head forward, leaning it just so Ryan could rest his chin lightly into the tamed hair, their hold becoming almost more like a hug as they moved across the floor. Ryan only gently once moving away the tears and closing his eyes as Jack sniffled softly under his breath, his voice so low it was barely audible to Ryan's ears. In his malnourished state it was easy for Ryan to hold him anyway, it wasn't as though it was a difficulty for him, and even though he wasn't supposed to admit it out loud .
He wouldn't have had it any other way than Jack being this close to him. Just as it always had, and would be.
At least... from here I can make sure that no one else tries to put their stupid mitts on him. He thought to himself, letting the sound of the music and Jack's light breathing be all that he needed as his finger's moved over the light velvet of the material. Jack's hair smelled so lightly of the perfume which danced over his skin, but not just that but of also the strange and usual sweet smells, that shouldn't have gone together but just did because it was the simple fact it was him. His skin was slightly warm under the touch as Ryan once again curled his finger under the boy's chin, moving Jack's gaze upwards.
The blond's eyes sparkled in the light as both half opened their gazes and stared into the other.
Ryan even had to smile ever so slightly as he released his hold on Jack's waist and twirled the boy out on his arm on impulse.
Jack moved with the step, spinning on the tip of his toe. His dress caught a small pocket of breeze and fluttered around him. His hair glistened in the light and as Ryan pulled him back in slowly, Jack's arms found a new position, curling gently and lacing together behind Ryan's neck as they were now chest to chest. The brunette lifted his boyfriend into the air, twirling them, keeping his balance but letting them both be lost in a show of trailing satin and the flow of their hold.
Tears were forgotten and only the embrace remained. The same embrace Ryan had kept the boy in when they had been in the bathroom, when he had remembered him. The same embrace which could say a thousand more words than any language possibly ever could. The sense of comfort that they seemed to radiate to each other was better than just about anything that the other could give.
Ryan glared over slightly as he watched Elektra turn away and slowly respond to what ever it was on her phone which had caught her attention. With the sound of the music he couldn't make out what she was saying, but to be honest, he had more interest in Jack now as he stared back down to look in the boy's eyes. The song was coming to an end and people were turning to clap and place a kiss on their partner.
Jack looked around, seemingly noticing this too and turned his gaze back up to Ryan slowly. They were still held together. Their faces but a hairs width apart. Jack's breath was sweet and cool against Ryan's. The smaller boy's cheeks faintly outlined with a rose tinge like Ryan.
For Jack it was as though the fractured sky was gone. The walls of thorns dripping blood had vanished which had haunted his mind. All that remained in this moment was the boy stood in front of him. The cold was gone from tearing into his bones, the pain for the moment had vanished with it. The taller boy, the one who held him like this. The who stared at him with such love in his eyes.
It had hurt Jack when he had seen the fire of anger trace through them.
It had hurt even more when he had seen the pain in the other's eyes.
Now holding onto that light. Staring up at the boy. Staring into those eyes. Unlacing his hand and pressing it as softly as he could against the side of Ryan's face. His eyes studied over the light, the way that the other boy seemed to glisten like the gold heart of a fire. Ryan was just that, a fire. If you got to close then you could get burnt. That's what many people thought. But to Jack, Ryan would always be the beautiful sun. The sharp angular thin face, the one which seemed so little of the time to hold a smile. With eyes so sad but they would always comfort him.
Jack's hand slowly moved down to the boy's cheek.
The whole time that they had just moved together, he had heard the boy's heart. It had been racing away like mad in his chest. It's thumping beat had been long a song to Jack itself. It had been beautiful. The warm touch of the other boy's hands, even with his gloves on, Jack had felt that warmth. The air around him had felt a little thin, his own heart going mad, but for the first time in the last few confusing days, it had been a madness he could live with. Just like when he was with this boy now, staring into those beautiful eyes with a hand on his cheek.
Ryan cleared his throat self consciously but held the gaze, his breath hitched in his chest as his cheeks were nearly glowing pink. His hand came up slowly to hold Jack's against where it now rested.
Just as the brief gap was to be closed, Jack turned his head away slowly. Resting his head on Ryan's chest while the taller boy let out a sigh and pushed for a smile, nodding his head to the nearby balcony under the blanket of the stars and guiding Jack that way, an arm gently wound around his waist.
Instead though to himself, his mind only brought up the scene as it had just happened, over and over again. Had he actually been about to just lean in and kiss Jack? Not like before. This kiss had been something new. Something completely new not just to him, but something new for Jack. As though the boy had been about to say something with it. What had been going through Jack's mind? Had his heart really just been going and beating mad the entire time that they had just danced together?
Had Jack heard his heart going that mad?
Had-
"Ryan?"
The boy came out of his thought just in time as Jack leaned in and placed a kiss on the boy's lips, so soft at first, but when his arms began to wind around the back of Ryan's neck, it became something else. Not lustful and crazed with a hunger to fill. But intimate, slow, tender, caring. Everything that both wanted to say to each other. Everything that Ryan remembered about their first date when they had kissed.
After a few minutes Jack pulled back slightly and took a shaky breath. "Best date ever." He whispered and laughed quietly, making Ryan smile with him as those blue eyes shined with pure and real happiness.
"The first of many." Ryan smiled, turning his gaze back up to the starry sky above them, staring at the diamonds of beauty but knowing for each and every single one of them.
They would never be as beautiful as his Jack.
