A/N: Fluff. This chapter is purely fluff. Oh, I don't own Build-A-Bear. I also have never really been in there, but I realize the outfits I have them use are a little too specific for the store, but hey, it's called fiction for a reason. All the steps of the Build-A-Bear process, however, are correct.
"What if this is just the beginning?
We're already wet and we're gonna go swimming"
They boarded the Ferris wheel, clambering aboard the metal gondola. The Ferris wheel at Navy Pier was immense; it was almost 150 feet tall.
Ryan and Greg sat in comfortable silence as the Ferris wheel slowly moved them toward the top. Ryan sighed morosely as he looked at Greg. A sudden thought flew into his head. Why shouldn't they be together? Sure, Greg had a girlfriend, but he was planning on breaking up with her anyway. They were in Chicago, and no one they knew was there. Why not make the most of it?
Ryan looked at Greg with new determination. When they reached the top, he was going to kiss Greg. He was going to just let go and go for it. Mentally, he steeled himself, knowing that this was completely out of character. He never did anything unexpected, never, but if he didn't try this, he was going to regret it for the rest of his life.
They sat and watched the moon's reflection on Lake Michigan ripple with the gentle waves. Ryan took a deep breath. This was it. They were almost at the top. It was now or never. He looked at Greg and swallowed hard. "Greg…" he started.
Greg looked up. "Yeah, Ryan, what is it?"
"Look, I've never done anything impulsive in my life, so forgive me if I'm a little nervous, and…"
Greg cut off his ramble. "Ryan, what's going on?"
Ryan leaned in and kissed him. Their lips met as the gondola rounded the top of the Ferris wheel. Much to Ryan's shock, Greg didn't pull away, instead cupping Ryan's cheek with his hand and deepening the kiss.
They finally broke apart to breathe, neither moving more than an inch from the other. "Wow," breathed Ryan, smiling slightly.
"Yeah," agreed Greg before leaning back in and kissing Ryan. They were still kissing when they got back down to the bottom, only breaking apart when the Ferris wheel operator cleared his throat loudly.
They left the Ferris wheel then. Greg made as if to head back to town, but Ryan stopped him. "Wait, there's one thing I want to do." Taking Greg's hand, he walked with him to the very end of the pier. Standing in silence, Ryan tilted his head up to look at the stars. Suddenly, he shouted, "This was the best night of my life!"
Greg gave him a bemused look. "What was that for?" he asked, wrapping one arm around Ryan's waist.
"I'm just happy, that's all," said Ryan, grinning like an idiot.
"Well, I'm happy that you're happy," whispered Greg in Ryan's ear, kissing him softly on the cheek. "You make me happy."
Ryan turned to him, eyes shining and a grin spreading over his face. "I have an idea," he said excitedly. Quickly, he took off in the direction of the main building. "Come on!" he called over his shoulder.
Greg ran to catch up, reaching out to grab Ryan's hand. "Where're we going?" he asked, panting slightly as he hurried to keep up.
Ryan stopped in front of the Build-A-Bear store. "Here we are," he said happily.
"Build-A-Bear?" asked Greg incredulously. "And you think I'm crazy? Why the hell are we at Build-A-Bear?"
"Um, because we're going to build each other bears…" said Ryan, raising his eyebrows with an unspoken, "Duh." He tugged at Greg's hand like a little kid. "C'mon."
He led Greg into the store and over to the bins overflowing with furry animal skins that had yet to receive their stuffing. He turned back to Greg. "Alright, so here's what we're going to do. I'm going to make a bear that represents you, and you're going to make one of me. Savvy?"
"Oh, I savvy," said Greg, beginning to grin. "I must be rubbing off on you more than I thought, because I'm surprised I didn't think of this."
Ryan grinned even wider. "Well, you know what they say…Great minds think alike…now go," he said, pushing Greg gently.
They each grabbed an animal while both trying to surreptitiously sneak glances at the other's animal and block their own from view. Ryan grabbed a light brown/golden colored bear whose fur stuck out like Greg's hair, and who had big brown eyes, just like Greg.
Greg, on the other hand, chose a slightly darker colored bear, with lighter eyes like Ryan's. The bear was also slightly shorter than the one Ryan had picked out.
They carried their bears over to the stuffing machine, each still trying to hide their choice from the other. Soon, though, they had no choice but to see the other's bear as it was stuffed.
Greg chuckled softly. "Hey, he looks like me." He cocked an eyebrow. "Well, obviously not as dashing or handsome, but hey, we can't all be the original Greg Sanders."
Ryan smirked. "Yeah, and no one ever accused you of modesty." He looked at Greg's bear with a critical eye. "I guess it looks like me…" he allowed, small smile forming on his face.
When both bears were thoroughly stuffed, the next stop was the heart. The cheerful store clerk told them to kiss the heart and make a wish. Ryan looked Greg in the eyes and kissed the heart before placing it inside. Greg did the same, smirking slightly and winking at Ryan as he did so.
Then both bears got stitched, and while they were waiting for that to finish, the two men browsed through the miniature outfits, each looking for the one that best represented the other man.
Ryan picked out jeans, a neon-colored, tie-dyed t-shirt and honest to goodness mini-Converse sneakers.
Greg chose a solid-colored green t-shirt, jeans, a suit jacket to go over the shirt, and brown shoes that looked like Ryan's.
When the bears were finished being sewn, the two men dressed them, giggling like school girls dressing their Barbie dolls. The final step before check out was birth certificates.
Ryan gave the store clerk a small smile and said, when asked what he wanted to name his bear, "Greg. Greg Sanders."
Greg told the clerk to name his bear "Ryan Wolfe," and he even made sure that Wolfe was spelt correctly.
Then the two men smiled at each other. Greg held out the Ryan-bear. "Here," he said, "this is what I see you as, in bear form at least."
Ryan grinned and gave him the bear he had made. "And this is what you are to me…but not just in bear form. I think this bear resembles you enough to be your clone."
Greg glowered at him, then brightened. "Hey, he can be my mini-me!" he exclaimed. He put his pinky up to his mouth and said, in what had to be the worst Dr. Evil impression Ryan had ever heard, "We'll call him Mini-Me."
"Greg, if you never did that again, I would be a happy man," said Ryan, raising one eyebrow at him and smirking.
Greg scowled. "You know, I don't make fun of you this way. You're so mean to me," he complained, whine creeping into his voice. "I don't know why I put up with you."
Ryan blinked innocently up at him. "I thought you put up with me because you like me."
Greg's expression softened a little as he looked down at Ryan. "I do like you," he said, taking Ryan's hand and squeezing it gently.
"Well good," said Ryan, just as gently, "because if you didn't, I know over a hundred different ways to kill you and dump your body so that no one would ever find you." He smiled widely at Greg, who couldn't help but smile back, even after the threat on his life. "C'mon," said Ryan, tugging at Greg's hand. "Let's go back to the room."
Greg raised his eyebrows suggestively at Ryan. "What are you suggesting we do?" he asked lightly, smile tugging the corners of his mouth.
Ryan smacked him on the arm. "Get your mind out of the gutter, Sanders!" he commanded. "I'm tired, that's all. So, you know, I want to sleep. And that's all I want to do," he added, glaring at Greg as if daring him to try something.
Greg just chuckled and wove his fingers together with Ryan's. "Your wish is my command," he said softly.
The pair walked back to the hotel, holding hands, with their new stuffed counterparts cradled in their arms.
A/N(the second): I know, I know, no smut. Sorry! But there's a place in the song that correlates with their first time, so I'm waiting for that. Besides, I happen to think it's a wee bit too soon for them to have sex. So y'all will just have to bear with me, alright?