A/N: So, here it is: my first O.C fanfic. Make that my first completed O.C fanfic. This is the second one I've written but I'm not sure if the first is ready to be posted or not and I think this one is. So there you have it.

DEDICATION: Carrie as always. You're the best person ever, always there to give me ideas or support or any of that jazz. You rock my world, Chiquita. We rock that Sexy Cahnoo of Loserly Uninspiration and Crazy Dance Numbers. Totally. It's amazing, really.

DISCLAIMER: I own no part of the O.C or any of the actors or any of that jazz. If I did, Marissa would have died in Mexico and Seth would have been there with Ryan to help him out with the comfort sex. Hmmm…. ::daydreams:: Ahem. I'm back. I also own no part of Kill Bill or Quentin Tarantino. If I did, I would put him in one of those commercials where it's like "This is your brain." shows normal person "This is your brain on acid." shows Tarantino …yeah.

CLAIMER: I own this particular closet and Seth's bruise. Oh, and the two workmen. That's it for this fic.

NOTES: This takes place after the Cohen's adopt Ryan. Basically, it's like the two boys went to another one of Kirsten's developments cause Seth wanted to skateboard in another empty pool but they were worried about getting caught, so when workmen showed up, they hid in the closet. And got locked in. And yeah, that's basically all you need to know for this to make sense. And if I thought that would make a fascinating beginning to this fic, I'd have written it in instead of just writing a note about it, but things being as they are, I decided that's not the way to do it. Got a problem with that? Well who's writing this fanfic, you or me? Uh huh? I thought so.

Also, there is some slight reference in here to....erm....how to put this nicely? Boys pleasuring themselves. Or rather, a single boy pleasuring himself. And honestly, if there was a way around this, I would have thought of it. Cause really, if two boys get as hot and heavy as these two do, I doubt they'd just calm right down. All the boys I know are horny fucks (no offense, boys). I just feel like this situation wouldn't exactly resolve itself. So yeah. I'm done defending myself now. Read away, my pretties, and decide for yourselves if I did it right or not.

FICLET!

"Still think this was a good idea?"

A long pause. "Umm…..it was a good idea when we came in."

"That's not quite the same thing, is it?"

"…I guess not." Another pause. "But seriously, if we hadn't of come in here, we woulda been caught and then what would have happened? You would have gotten in trouble for snooping around another one of my mom's houses, and I would end up grounded again. Both of us would have ended up grounded."

"So that makes it all okay for us to be locked in a closet?"

"…………." Seth Cohen didn't say a word, merely sat where he was and stared at where he knew the floor would be if he could see in the dark.

"…..an extremely small closet," Ryan Atwood amended.

"………."

"….with no light."

"Alright, ALRIGHT!" Seth finally cried. "Enough! I get it. I understand, okay? I'm a complete idiot and this is all my fault. But you know what? I didn't hear you offer any bright ideas at the time, so lay off."

The two lapsed into silence. Seth shifted uncomfortably and Ryan let out another long suffering sigh. Honestly, what was he supposed to do? The closet was, as Ryan had said, extremely small. The boys were tangled in a jumbled heap. Ryan had one knee pulled up to his chest, one of Seth's legs stretched out beneath it. Their other legs were atop one another, not very comfortable for either boy.

Half an hour passed. Ryan sighed, leaning his head back against the wall. Seth began tapping his fingertips idly against his shoe. Ryan glanced up at him. "Stop that."

"A bit hostile, are we?" Seth inquired sarcastically. "You may not have noticed, Mr. Atwood, but we are in a CLOSET. If you're so smart, you come up with something we can do to pass the time."

There was a long silence. "You want me to think of something?" Ryan asked at last.

"Sure," Seth responded. "I'm allll open to suggestions."

"….any suggestion?"

"Any suggestion." Seth answered, definitely not expecting Ryan so supply one. Ryan shrugged.

"…okay," he said, and, placing both hands palms flat to the floor, he leaned his weight forward and pressed his lips to Seth's.

Seth Cohen found himself pinned to the wall, eyes wide open in surprise and Ryan Atwood's mouth against his own. This was not at all what he had envisioned when he told Ryan to come up with a way to pass the time. Though now that the blonde had brought the idea up…Ryan's tongue teased across Seth's lower lip and suddenly the idea seemed like the best one he'd ever heard. Seth moaned, mouth opening and Ryan took advantage of that fact. It was a first kiss for neither boy, but it was the first same-sex kiss for both. Ryan's tongue stroked gently against Seth's, coaxing Seth to respond to him. Seth found himself trembling but respond he did, shaking fingers clenching in the front of Ryan's shirt and pulling the boy closer. Ryan hummed his approval, fingers carding through Seth's hair. Slowly he pulled away, nipping at Seth's lower lip and eliciting another moan from the brunette. "Yeah," Ryan whispered breathlessly, still only an inch or so away from Seth, his voice sounding vaguely encouraging and definitely turned on. "Yeah. That's it."

"Ryan," Seth managed. "What…."

"You told me to come up with a way to keep occupied, didn't you?" Ryan's fingers were already itching to move across Seth's bare skin. "I came up with one. Why…do you object?"

…..Seth's mind was racing with reasons for why he should answer 'yes' to Ryan's question, but looking at that flushed face, the hair a tousled mass of gold, and (most importantly), into those brilliant blue eyes, Seth realized that to answer 'yes' would be the stupidest thing he'd ever done. "……..no."

Ryan smiled. "Good," he breathed, leaning in for another kiss. This time there was no hesitation; Seth gave his lips willingly. Ryan's fingers slid underneath Seth's shirt, tracing across the brunette's stomach, causing a slight hitch in the Seth's breathing. "I want this off," Ryan whispered.

There was a pause, and then: "Okay," Seth said hesitantly. Ryan's hands slid down Seth's slim waist and legs, hooking under his knees and tugging the brunette forward into his lap so that Seth was essentially straddling Ryan. Seth looked incredibly surprised at his sudden relocation, and Ryan laughed, tousling Seth's hair affectionately.

"Sorry," he murmured, "but I wanted you closer." Then he caught the bottom of Seth's shirt and pulled it up and off, messing up the brown curls even more. The shirt was discarded promptly and Seth found himself flushing under the look in Ryan's bright blue eyes.

"What?" he asked, half-whining. "What're you staring at?"

"You," Ryan answered. "You're so skinny and pretty."

Seth blushed like mad, unable to look at Ryan. "I am not," he objected, not even noticing the 'skinny' part (which would usually have sounded like an insult) as he was too busy focusing on the word 'pretty.'

"Are too." Ryan leaned forwards and kissed Seth again, silencing any protests. His hands ran down Seth's back, greedily touching every inch of freshly bared skin. His lips never ceased moving, kissing and nipping their way down Seth's throat. Seth allowed his head to tip back, half out of a desire to give Ryan better access and half because he just didn't have the ability to hold it up anymore. Ryan was driving every coherent thought out of his head other than broken sentences and questions like "where the fuck did Ryan learn to do this?" and "why didn't we do this sooner?" True, he had only met Ryan a few days before, but if he had known the blonde could do this, he would have shoved the other boy into a closet the moment they'd met. With that thought, he moaned again, fingers digging harshly into Ryan's shoulders. Ryan chuckled, mouth still against Seth's throat. "God," Ryan murmured, lips brushing against Seth's skin and sending teasing sensations down his bare flesh. "The things I'd love to do to you."

Seth felt tingles down his spine that had nothing to do with the way Ryan was currently touching him. "Oh?" he managed, trying to sound casual and failing miserably. "What things?"

Ryan pulled back, staring Seth in the eye with a look that sent heat flooding up into his cheeks, a look that promised everything and nothing…a look that promised heat and pain and unbelievable feelings….and sex. Seth swallowed with some difficulty, dreading and yet yearning for Ryan to say aloud all those things his eyes promised. Ryan leaned forwards, a whisper on his lips that he never spoke. Someone began opening the closet door; Seth scrambled backwards off Ryan's lap, backing hurriedly up into the wall. The door opened and both boys found themselves blinded by the sudden light, blinking into the harshness of the midday sun. Two workmen stood in the doorway.

"Told ya I heard something up here," one said to the other. "You boys alright?"

Seth couldn't say a word. Ryan nodded. "Yeah, sure," he answered, crawling to his knees and climbing out of the closet. Seth blinked after him, confused by the sudden change in events.

"You need a hand, son?" the other workman asked. Seth stared up at him, not comprehending.

"Here," Ryan said, "I got him." Leaning over, Ryan grabbed Seth's hand and hauled the brunette to his somewhat shaky feet.

"How'd you lose your shirt, boy?" the first workman asked. Seth realized belatedly how bad this must look.

"Ummm…." He began, not at all sure what to say. The men waited patiently. "I was…………warm," Seth answered lamely.

"…uh huh," the man said, sounding skeptical. "Well, I don't know what you boys were doing up here, but you'd best be going."

"Yeah," Seth answered, bright red. "Yeah." Turning, he walked out of the room. Somehow he managed to make it down the stairs, not even aware if Ryan was following or not. Somehow his brain couldn't function on anything but those last fifteen minutes or so in the closet, the feeling of those hands roaming over his body, lips brushing against his ear, whispering promises in the dark. His thoughts were interrupted as Ryan wheeled his bike up beside the brooding brunette.

"Hey," Ryan said. "You ready to go?"

"What? Oh, yeah…..sure," he answered. Ryan climbed on his bike and waited patiently for Seth. The brunette pulled his shirt over his head and, dropping his skateboard to the ground, jumped on and was on his way, Ryan peddling beside him. Ryan's behavior was bothering him immensely. It was as if nothing had happened at all….as if the two boys hadn't just shared an intensely intimate moment in a darkened closet. Maybe it was nothing, he thought. Maybe it really was just because he was bored and it was something to do. Seth really hoped that wasn't so. It had meant a lot more than that to him.

"Heyyy," Sandy said as the boys entered the house. "Where were you boys?"

"Just out," Seth answered, kicking off his shoes. Ryan dropped his jacket onto the couch.

"Oh yeah? Doing what?"

Ryan glanced at Seth; their eyes met and both boys quickly looked away. "Nothing," he answered. That one word felt like a physical blow to Seth, who scowled.

"Seth, are you feeling alright?" Kirsten asked.

"Yes."

"You don't look it." She reached out. "Here, let me feel your forehead…."

Seth wrenched away. "I'm FINE, mom!"

"Well, you'd better go and get cleaned up," Kirsten said, throwing her hands up in that 'I give up' gesture that Seth knew so well. "We have a party to go to tonight, remember?

"What? Why?" Seth demanded.

"Another mindless party with our so-called friends," Sandy called from behind his paper. Kirsten shot him a glare which he couldn't see and therefore could not appreciate.

"Mom, I don't want to go."

"You're going," Kirsten said, giving Seth a look that clearly meant there would be no arguing with her. He growled.

"Great. Just great. Just what I need, honestly mom: another night with people who hate me. Thanks a lot." Turning, he stormed off to his room, slamming the door shut behind him and flopping onto his bed.

Burying his face in his pillow, Seth tried to think about anything but that afternoon. Unfortunately, that wasn't working very well. All he could think about was Ryan and everything that had happened between them. The event was still too fresh in his mind for him to force it out, and the ridiculous hard-on wasn't helping any, either. He groaned. Thank God no one had noticed. He wished he had Ryan there to help him deal with it, but once again, that would probably have been a no-go anyway. So here he was, left to tend to the problem himself. He sighed, one hand undoing his pants. He had a while before he had to get ready, anyway…

Seth stood in his closet, rifling through the clothes hanging there, all the nice things that his mother bought him which he never wore...except on occasions like this one. He had been ordered to make an appearance at the party and so he would. Too much of a fucking doormat to do anything else, he thought ruefully. God forbid I stand up for myself for once. He really didn't want to go to the party and for once it wasn't anything to do with the snobby kids from his school. No, this had more to do with a pair of big blue eyes and hands running feverishly across his body and a pair of the softest lips the world had ever known…he still couldn't believe he had gotten off on thoughts of what the two of them had done in that closet…

Seth banged his head against the closet well. Would not do to fantasize about his best friend, no, strike that, his brother. Since Sandy and Kirsten were now Ryan's legal guardians, that made the blonde teenager Seth's new brother. Make that his new, smoldering, sexy, kissable, luscious…A strangled sound came from Seth's throat and he began banging his head against the wall repeatedly. Then a hand clenched in his hair and pulled him backwards away from the wall. Seth was spun about and came face to face with Ryan Atwood…er….Cohen. He was determined not to let himself think of Ryan as anything but a brother, since that was all the boy would ever be.

"What the hell are you doing?" Ryan asked. Seth blinked.

"….spring training?" he answered hopefully. Ryan arched an eyebrow.

"Oh yeah? For what?"

"The Nerd Olympics, of course," Seth answered. "We do have other events besides video games, you know. Like, seeing who gets beaten up the fastest, and who's the first one to break under the pressure of Loserdom and bang his head against a hard object…"

Ryan smiled, turning slightly away, hands in his pockets as he examined the room. Something caught his eye and he picked up and held aloft a small model horse that he had somehow failed to notice before. "……what's this?"

Seth kicked himself inwardly. "…….and playing with dorky toys, of course, can't leave that event out." Ryan laughed; Seth turned and began quietly banging his head against the wall again.

"Hey, stop it!" Ryan grabbed his hair and spun Seth about again, this time shoving him harshly against the wall. "You're going to give yourself a headache."

"Already have one," Seth mumbled. Don't think it has anything to do with the wall, though…

"I'm not surprised," Ryan said. His fingers danced lightly across the sore spot on Seth's forehead and the brunette's breath caught in his throat. "Looks like you did a job on yourself. That's going to leave a mark."

Seth groaned. "Oh, great. Great. That's all I need, isn't it. To go to the party tonight with a big round bruise in the middle of my forehead. As if I wasn't dorky enough." He slumped against the wall.

Ryan chuckled. "Wish I could help somehow." His fingers still traced lightly over the sore spot.

"…oh, do you?" Seth asked, peering up at Ryan. "And just how would you do that? I'm all open to suggestions."

Ryan pondered it for a moment. "….well, I could kiss it better for you."

Seth's breath caught in his throat. Apparently the events of that morning hadn't all been a game, not if Ryan was promising more kisses. "……..that sounds….nice," he managed.

Ryan smiled that way he always did, the corners of his mouth just barely turning up in the smallest of smiles and he leaned forwards in what looked like slow motion to Seth's dazed eyes. His fingers left Seth's forehead only to quickly be replaced by the gentle softness of his lips as he tenderly pressed a kiss to the injured flesh. He pulled away slowly, blue eyes opening to meet Seth's.

Seth discovered that despite thinking he couldn't breathe, his breath was actually coming quite fast. "….Ryan."

"Mmm?"

There was a sudden noise in the hallway, the sound of feet coming nearer. "Seth?" It was Kirsten.

Quick as a flash, Ryan jumped to action, pushing Seth into the closet and following him, shutting the closet doors behind them. Seth opened his mouth to speak but was hushed by Ryan, who silenced the boy by placing a single finger to Seth's lips. The two were pressed close together in the closet, tangled up in clothing. Neither minded the new arrangement.

Kirsten knocked gently at the still open door. "Seth?" She entered the room. "Huh," she commented upon finding no one there. "Thought I heard him in here." She raised her voice to a loud shout. "Seth Cohen, wherever you are, come on out! The party starts in twenty minutes!" In the closet, Seth raised his gaze and met Ryan's eyes, the blue turning to almost sea-green in the darkness of the closet. He drew in a breath with some difficulty; Ryan traced one finger down Seth's cheek. There was a slight rustling sound as Kirsten left the room and the boys listened to the sound of her footsteps retreating down the hallway without being consciously aware of it. They stared at each other for a long time in silence, neither saying a word.

"……Ryan," Seth said at last, his voice no more than a whisper. "Why….I don't…………what is this?"

Ryan gave a small "hmph" of a chuckle, small smile on his face. "I've decided I like being stuck in closets with you."

"Oh yeah?" Seth said, unable to prevent a wide grin from jumping to his face. "No kidding."

Ryan smiled. "No kidding."

"So…..this morning wasn't just cause you were bored?"

Ryan looked surprised and a little bit stricken. "No….how could you even think that?"

"….it…actually did mean something?"

Ryan stared at Seth, soulful blue eyes very serious. "It meant a lot."

Seth couldn't help but smile then. Ryan leaned forwards and kissed him gently, but the kiss was interrupted by the piercing yell coming from the other room. "SETHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Kirsten hollered. Seth winced; Ryan chuckled.

"Dammit….she wants me to go to that damn party," Seth muttered. He glanced up at Ryan. "…..I'd much rather stay here."

"Me too." They paused a moment, regarding one another in silence, thinking about the closet earlier that day and the closet they were currently in.

"Let's skip the party," Ryan suggested, leaning in for another kiss.

"Mmm," Seth murmured. "I think I like that idea very much."

Kirsten and Sandy returned home from the party at about midnight. The boys didn't hear the car pull into the driveway, unluckily for them. Ryan was lying across the couch on his back, Seth sprawled half across him. The story was that they were watching a movie (Kill Bill, Volume 1), but not much watching was actually going on. Ryan's fingers were carding through Seth's already messy hair, other hand tracing patterns up and down Seth's back.

"Oh, I love the House of Blue Leaves scene," Ryan commented.

"Yeah, seriously, it's the best scene in the film. Besides, the camera work is awesome….Tarantino does such a good job paying homage to the old kung fu films."

Ryan laughed. "You're such a movie geek," he teased, tugging on a lock of brown hair.

"Oh, yeah, I totally know," Seth answered. He was just leaning in to kiss Ryan when the sound of the door unlocking startled him. He shot up, moving to roll off of Ryan. Unfortunately he moved too quickly and too far, rolling right off of Ryan and the couch, having barely enough time to make a startled sound before he hit the floor with a loud "OOF!" There was a moment's silence and then: "….owww…." came a weak voice from the floor.

"What're you boys doing?" Sandy asked, entering the room. Ryan gestured to the television.

"Watching Kill Bill."

"Oh yeah?" Sandy plopped into the armchair and began taking off his shoes, eyes fixed on the screen. Then, Seth caught his attention as the brunette sat up, coughing. "……….Seth, why're you on the floor?"

Seth gestured weakly. "Fell off the couch."

Kirsten dropped her purse to the kitchen counter. "Why didn't you boys come to the party?" she demanded, high heels clacking loudly on the tile floor. "Where were you?" Seth glanced at Ryan and the two exchanged a gaze that said everything and nothing. Kirsten folded her arms across her chest. "I'm waiting."

"We…." Seth began.

"…got stuck in the closet," Ryan chimed in, both boys speaking the words together. They glanced at each other again and neither could help it: Ryan snickered and a giggle escaped Seth's lips. Before anyone knew what was going on, the two were full out laughing. Seth was curled up on the floor, clutching his stomach; Ryan was flopped back in the chair. Tears streamed from Seth's eyes. Sandy and Kirsten exchanged bewildered looks.

"Well," Seth began, finally getting a hold on his laughter, "we're just going to…aha……go…outside………play a little…you know…Bloody Roar…." He rose to his feet. "Coming Ryan?"

Still not trusting himself to speak, Ryan merely nodded, rising. He nodded at Sandy and Kirsten. "Night," he managed, and then he was out the door after Seth. There was a moment's silence but for the sound of feet pounding down the walkway outside and the faint laughter of the two boys.

"….they didn't take the Playstation," Kirsten commented.

It took a matter of seconds for the boys to reach the pool house. Ryan shoved Seth up against the glass door and began kissing him fiercely. Seth moaned as Ryan's tongue traced across his lower lip. "Ryan," he murmured, cut off when Ryan kissed him. "Ryan….we should go inside…..cause yeah, this is so totally hot, but if my parents catch us then it will cease to be so cause I will never again be allowed out here at night for the fear of us fucking each other senseless."

Ryan paused with his hands up Seth's shirt. "Good point," he murmured, lips against Seth's throat. "Inside it is, then." One hand remaining firmly planted right where it was on Seth's bare chest, he reached over with his free hand and fumbled for the door handle. Finally he succeeded in getting it open and he and Seth tumbled inside. He backed Seth up, the slimmer boy stumbling over a pile of books and then bumping into the counter, both of them laughing as they went. Within seconds he had Seth right where he wanted him; a slight shove was all it took to send Seth tumbling onto the bed, landing with a slight bounce. Ryan crawled on hands and knees up to where Seth was and pressed a quick kiss to Seth's lips.

"So…" Seth began. "What'll we do if my parents ever do catch us?"

Ryan stared down at him, small smile on his face as he ran his fingertips lightly down Seth's cheek. "…..we'll cross that bridge when and if we come to it. Right now all I care about it you. Besides," he stretched out besides Seth, fingertips tracing idly across Seth's stomach, "I'm sure we can find other places to makeout other than the pool house."

And as Ryan leaned down to kiss Seth again, the brunette could barely contain the smile he felt flooding heat to every part of his body. He had a feeling that, if Ryan was true to his word, it wouldn't be long before the two boys found themselves stuck in a closet again.

fin