Title: Thunderstorms Author: Ivory Bride Pairing: Ryan/Colin Rating: Ummmm.... R? I guess... Disclaimer: Errr... I totally made this up, ect. ect. I don't know the characters, I have nothing to do with them, (but god, I wish I did...) I am just a lowly fan... ~*~ The sky was clear – except for a few clouds – and the temperature was cool – though actually a bit chilly if you were outside. It was the perfect day – though that is *was* as in past tense, since the weatherman had predicted thunderstorms for the late afternoon, leading into the early evening and probably throughout the rest of the night. It was a pretty good day to go to the movies, but it was also one of those days when everyone goes because the day is bound to be rainy, cold, and crappy. Colin leaned on his elbow on the passenger seat of the car and stared out the window. “Well, I’m really not surprised the movie was sold out – it’s a good movie day.” Ryan shrugged and bit a knuckle as he waited for the stop light to turn green. He turned to his lifelong friend and lover. “Yeah. But it kind of ruins our plans. Now what do you want to do?” Colin shrugged. “Nothing really comes to mind. Have any ideas?” Ryan shook his head. “Nah.” “Well we could always just drive around aimlessly.” Ryan shook his head and smiled, accelerating with the change of the streetlight. “No, not aimlessly,” he said. “I know where we can go.” “Where?” asked Colin, noting Ryan’s coy smile. “I’m not telling. Just – somewhere where I want to take you.” Colin watched Ryan’s smile, watched the man’s deep green eyes dart from side to side before he turned onto the highway. He could tell that Colin was watching him. “What?” he asked, grinning. Colin shrugged and looked away. “Nothing. Just wondering if I should be worried.” Ryan chuckled. “No. You’ll like it.” Colin loved the way Ryan spoke the words with a soft, lower voice. He looked out the window, reading the signs by the side of the road to see if he could catch an idea of where they were going. He didn’t see anything outside of the ordinary. “So... can you give me a hint as to where we’re going?” Ryan answered with one word. “Nope.” Colin slumped his shoulders and bit his thumbnail. “Well then...” Ryan glanced at him and smiled. “You’ll see, soon enough. Actually, it might take a while to get there. We can stop for dinner along the way.” His ears perked up as the DJ on the radio announced the next song. “Oh! I like this song.” Colin smiled as Ryan tapped his fingers on the steering wheel and hummed along with the beginning of the song, singing softly to himself when it got to the chorus. He put his left hand on Ryan’s right, which was resting to his side as the other hand controlled the minimal steering wheel movements of the highway. Ryan looked over to him, humming the end of the song. Colin smiled. “You’re just...” he laughed softly to himself and shook his head, turning away. “Adorable, sometimes.” Ryan took his lover’s hand and kissed it. “Adorable?” he asked. “Why I’m damn sexy.” Colin grinned. “Yeah, you’re that too.” He kissed Ryan’s hand and squeezed it before letting it go back to the steering wheel. “Damn sexy.” Ryan smiled. “Col, are you trying to turn me on while I’m driving? ‘Cause I’ll tell you two things: one: it’s not a good idea, and two: it’s working.” Colin pulled at his seatbelt, giving himself enough room to lean over to Ryan. He pressed his lips to his lover’s neck and kissed him, enjoying the way Ryan’s breath hitched in surprise. He smiled and gave Ryan another, much wetter kiss on the neck with a little more tongue and a tiny nibble. Then he sat back in his seat and adjusted his seatbelt. “Actually,” he said, clearing his throat, “I hadn’t planned to until you gave me the idea.” He grinned, feeling accomplished. Ryan laughed. “Colin, I love you.” “Love you too, Ry.” There was less than ten seconds of silence before Colin asked again. “So where are we going?” Ryan shook his head. “Not telling.” Colin opened his mouth to speak but Ryan answered the question before he asked it. “No – no hints.” Colin shut his mouth and stared back out the window. “So...” he said, taking a breath and trying to make conversation that didn’t have to do with their destination. “How are you?” Ryan smiled. “Good. And you?” “Actually, I’m feeling kinda...curious.” “Good answer. Extra points for originality. No one ever answers with the truth anymore. People always say ‘good’ or ‘fine’ when they’re asked that question. Ever think about that?” “Yeah,” Colin was only half listening, paying more attention to the signs on the road as Ryan took an exit off the highway. “Hey Ry, it’s starting to get dark.” Ryan didn’t seem to be worried about the time of day. “Yeah, that’s good. It’ll probably be dark when we get there.” Colin looked at him, now more confused than before. “You want it to be dark?” he asked, perplexed. “Well that ruins my guesses.” “Why?” asked Ryan. “What were your guesses?” “I dunno. I was thinking maybe a mini golf course or the beach or something.” “We could go to the beach when it’s dark,” Ryan pointed out. “Well yeah, but…well… I guess we could. Why? Is that where we’re going?” Ryan shook his head. “Nope.” He smiled as Colin slumped his shoulders in exaggerated failure. “So what do you want to eat? We can go for pretty much anything. We’re in a fair-sized city.” “Italian?” asked Colin. “I’m kind of craving lasagna.” Ryan nodded. “Italian it is, then. I know just the place.” ~*~ They ended up going to a small Italian restaurant by a lake just outside the city. The dinner was good, but quick. Ryan wanted to get back on the road by 8:00. Colin had by then stopped asking questions, but he was still curious about where he was being led. He reminded Ryan of this every now and then by asking the classic “are we there yet?” They drove for another hour on the highway before Ryan took another exit, this time the last one. Colin had fallen asleep to the music on the radio and the humming of the car on the highway. He was sleeping soundly with his head tilted on his shoulder until Ryan started taking the back roads behind what appeared to be a mountainside. Colin woke up and groggily looked around, though unable to see anything in the dark. “We’re still driving?” he asked, rubbing his eyes and yawning. “Not for long,” answered Ryan. “We’re almost there.” “Ry, it’s 9:00 at night. Where could we possibly be going at 9:00 at night?” he wasn’t looking for an answer, mostly because he knew he wouldn’t get one. He just wanted to remind Ryan of the time. The car slowed as it came to an opening by the side of the road. Colin looked out the window, noticing for the first time that they were driving through the woods on a narrow, paved street. He pulled himself up in his seat as once again, his curiosity piqued. He had no idea where they were. They pulled into a sandy spot where the trees stopped growing and the street grew wider. The sound of thunder rumbled in the distance, as promised by the weather forecast. “Perfect timing,” said Ryan. “The storm’s just about to start.” He wasn’t being sarcastic – he was actually pleased. He turned off the car and looked at Colin, smiling. “You have to see this.” He got out of the car, and Colin followed suit. It wasn’t raining, the storm was still far away, but it would hit them soon. Colin followed Ryan to the opposite side of the car, eyes widening. They were parked on a mountainside, overlooking a valley and a whole mountain range. Behind them was a sliver of the moon, lighting up only half of the sky. In front of them were hundreds of clouds, billowing up into the far reaches of the sky. Colin jumped as a flash of lightening shot down from the sky, lighting up the world for a mere second before being sucked back up again. Thunder rumbled in the distance, almost soothing in contrast to the lightening. Colin stood rigid for a moment, not believing what he had seen. Ryan put a gentle arm around his shoulder. “Cool, huh?” Another flash of lightening cracked through the sky and Colin nodded, slowly relaxing in Ryan’s arm. “Yeah…. Wow.” “I used to come here a lot when Pat left… To de-stress, you know? Then I just started coming for the hell of it, alone. It became my own little spot. You’re the only one I’ve shared it with.” Colin looked up at Ryan, who was staring off in the distance when another lightening bolt flashed through the sky. He rested his head on Ryan’s shoulder and Ryan kissed the top of his head. They stood in the darkness of the night, silently admiring Mother Nature’s handiwork. The air was muggy and electric with the power of the storm. They could feel it in the air. As the clouds came closer, though, Colin began to get worried. He flinched with the loud cracks of thunder but Ryan just smiled and pulled him closer. It wasn’t long before it started to drizzle. The rain came down lightly at first, but picked up speed and strength as time passed by. Colin looked up at the sky and smiled into the rain. “Ryan, it’s raining.” Ryan laughed. “Yeah, yeah it is.” “The storm’s going to be right over us in a minute. We’re going to get soaked.” Ryan looked at Colin and shrugged. “Are you cold?” he asked. Colin shook his head. “Then we can stay out here a little while longer.” He shook the water out of his hair and pulled at his soaked t-shirt. “Look-” he laughed. “It’s like a wet t-shirt contest without the girls.” Colin smiled and turned to Ryan. “We don’t need the girls,” he said, wrapping one arm around Ryan’s neck. He kissed Ryan deeply, the rain still falling around them. Their lips were wet with rainwater, moving against each other quickly but gently. A loud crack of thunder scared Colin away from the kiss. He jerked backward and looked worriedly at the sky. Ryan smiled, sympathizing. “You want to finish this in the backseat of the car?” he asked. “Car’s the safest place to be during a thunderstorm.” Colin smiled. “Sure. Let’s do that.” They climbed quickly to the backseat, finishing where they left off. “You know...” said Colin, between kisses. “We really shouldn’t stay in these wet clothes.” Ryan grinned. “Oh – I think someone has ulterior motives,” he said, teasingly. Colin faked a look of innocence. “Who, me? I’m just looking out for your well-being.” Ryan snorted. “Yeah, right.” He kissed Colin once more before thinking again about Colin’s words. “You know, maybe you’re right about that…we don’t want to get sick.” He unbuttoned Colin’s shirt, pushing it off behind him and began working his mouth toward Colin’s throat and chest. Colin glanced at a flash of lightening outside the window, not flinching when a rumble of thunder followed it. “You know, the storm’s not so bad from in here,” he said, running a hand through Ryan’s hair as his lover’s mouth continued southward. Ryan smiled at the waistline of Colin’s pants. “Mmm...I kind of like it,” he murmured. He began to unbutton Colin’s jeans, but Colin stopped him. “Hey, wait a minute. How come I’m the only one shirtless here? Do I not get any eye candy too?” Ryan smiled and took off his wet t-shirt. “Better?” he asked. Colin smiled and leaned over to kiss him. “Yes,” he said. “Now we can continue.” Ryan pulled off Colin’s rain-dampened pants, completely revealing him before crawling up to kiss his lips. “It’s not-” Kiss. “Very roomy in here.” Kiss. “So I don’t think we can…you know.” Colin smiled at his lover’s attempt at being discreet. “What can we do then?” he asked, knowing very well what the answer would be. Ryan didn’t answer in words. Instead, his mouth delved low to Colin’s midsection, where it stayed as Colin’s head tossed back and his breaths came shorter. His hands searched wildly for something to grab on to, one clutching the armrest and the other grasping Ryan’s hand. Their hands clasped together as if they were each other’s last connection to earth. Ryan closed his eyes and descended lower as Colin neared ecstasy. The rain fell outside, tapping relentlessly on the roof of the car. A flash of lightening shot through the sky, followed by the thunder that drowned out the moan of Colin’s release. Ryan smiled and pulled himself up next to Colin’s body, shuddering as his hands descended to his own waiting arousal. It took only a few swift hand movements for his own release to come. He moaned into Colin’s shoulder and wrapped an arm around his waist, pulling him close. There they lay for quite some time, until they fell asleep to the sound of dying thunder and the pitter-patter of rain on the car windows. ~*~ Ryan woke up slowly to find Colin lying on top of him, head comfortable resting on his chest. Ryan smiled and glanced up at the window across from him. It was still dark and there were a few clouds blocking the otherwise clear, starry sky. Apart from that, it looked much like it had when they had fallen asleep. Colin had taken the liberty of pulling an old picnic blanket over them. He had found it under the seats. Ryan smiled and brushed his fingertips lightly across his lover’s cheek. Colin’s eyelids fluttered at the touch and he stirred, waking at the slightest stroke. He turned his head and kissed Ryan’s fingers before looking up to his eyes. Ryan smiled. “I didn’t mean to wake you.” Colin laughed. “Don’t worry about it. I’m glad you did.” He turned his head to kiss Ryan’s chest. “What time is it?” he asked, slowly realizing where they were and what they were doing there. Ryan lifted his arm to read his watch. He grinned. “2:00 in the morning.” Colin laughed. “Wow... it doesn’t feel that late…or should I say ‘that early?’” He gently lifted himself off of Ryan and looked around in the darkness. “You think we should be going home?” Ryan sat up and sifted through the pile of clothes by his feet, grabbing their shirts. “Yeah, we should probably go. We’ve been sleeping here naked for hours.” He pulled his t-shirt over his head then helped Colin into his own shirt. Colin smiled as Ryan kissed his neck with each button he fastened. “Ry,” he laughed, “you keep at it and we’ll have to go over the whole night from the beginning…” He ran his hand down the edge of Ryan’s thigh. “You know what I mean?” Ryan kissed him, quickly and gave a devilish grin. “Put your pants back on, you nympho,” he teased. ~*~ After some playful teasing, tonguing, biting, and touching, Ryan and Colin managed to get their clothes on and get into the front seats. They were surprisingly wide awake on the ride home, talking and laughing and singing to old 80’s love ballads. As they turned onto their streets and neared home, Colin turned to Ryan and fiddled with the bottle of water in his hands. “Ry, thanks for bringing me there.” Ryan smiled. “No problem, Col. I wanted to share it with you.” He turned into the driveway and parked the car then leaned over to kiss Colin. “I love you,” he whispered. Colin smiled and took Ryan’s hand. “I love you, too.” They kissed once more before Ryan broke away with a grin. “Let’s go to bed, shall we?” Colin raised an eyebrow. “And do what we couldn’t do in the backseat?” he suggested. Ryan nodded. “Exactly.” “Sounds good to me. Let’s go.” They made it to the front door in record time, closing it behind them and rushing upstairs. The rain still fell softly on the roof, but they couldn’t hear it. It wouldn’t matter anyway. Not, at least, until the next thunderstorm… ~*~