Work Text:
Everybody depends on the sun to live.
He didn't feel that special, not often. He knew that most people around him would be fine if he was gone. His children could learn from another teacher. Colt could manage without having a twin. Tom could get another partner.
Apparently, Tom didn't think like him. Because his boyfriend would swear on his life that being apart from Ryland was a painful torture. He kinda liked it, though, that someone saw him as important as the sun.
"And did you enjoy playing a hopeless romantic?" The hostess asked on the tv. Ryland was watching an interview while doing his schedule for the week.
"It was refreshing, yeah. I'm usually in action movies" Tom answered with a practiced smile. It lacked the spark that he saw every day when his boyfriend made breakfast for the two of them.
"Well, maybe you'll get more into romance now that you're a taken man" The woman laughed politely. He wondered if those talk shows had scripts too or if they really asked out of curiosity.
"Oh no, I think I'm ok with keeping the romance at home" His boyfriend laughed too. He looked directly at the camera and winked teasingly, like he knew Ryland was behind the tv.
He blushed, and his hands stopped writing for a second to touch his face. He was in his apartment, not on the one he shared with Tom. That one was too big to be there alone, and he preferred to be closer to school when his lover was not there to drive him.
Despite the intermittent distance, Tom kept finding ways to make Ryland's heart go crazy. It seemed like he never ran out of ideas, because even if he didn't contribute much to the romance, his boyfriend never stopped acting like the male lead of a corny movie at home.
"Why don't you tell your partner a little message from this side of the screen?" The hostess prompted, giving Tom a microphone. The audience cheered enthusiastically at the idea.
"I love you, sunshine. I have a surprise for you" He blew a kiss and stood up from his seat, shaking the hand of the hostess and leaving the scenery.
Sunshine
His boyfriend had a lot of nicknames for him. He called him sweetheart, baby, pretty boy, his grace, but the one Ryland liked the most was sunshine. It made him feel special. It made him feel loved. It made him feel as necessary as the sun itself.
It was a bad thought, that Tom wouldn't be able to live without him. And of course, he wanted the other to be happy even if they were to break up. But feeling like the center of someone's life was an intoxicating feeling that he couldn't help but long.
He grabbed his phone and sent a message to his boyfriend. Tom was constantly glued to his phone, so he knew he would get an answer right away.
Ryland:
I watched your interview.
What's the surprise?
Tom:
You see when im back
<3
You going with the kids?
Ryland:
Yes, I'm taking them to the museum.
What's the surprise?
Tom:
I can't say!
Which museum?
Ryland:
I'll send you the location
What's the surprise?
Tom:
I plead the fifth
What hour?
Ryland:
10:00 o'clock
What's the surprise?
Tom:
No im not spilling bye!
Sleep well
Dream of me
He chuckled. Ryland didn't like surprises, he preferred knowing what was coming. But Tom constantly went out of his way to do sweet things for him. And most times, his surprises were very thoughtful.
It was amazing that in a world where he was not the best option, Ryland had been picked by a person who loved him so dearly. There was no explanation for how lucky he was to have a partner that put some much effort, attention and affection on him, even when Ryland generally failed to do so with Tom.
The phone dinged one last time after he finished preparing his schedule, just when he was about to go to sleep.
Tom:
Oh also
Before i left
I spilled coffee
On a science magazine
Think it was about space
I'll buy you another
Sorry sunshine <3
It couldn't be that important. Whatever was in that magazine wasn't as wonderful as having a person who considered him as important as the sunlight.
—
His lover was like the sun.
Bright, warm and outstanding. Those were words that described Ryland Grace perfectly. And he knew that he was not the only one who thought this way.
For instance, Tom was sure that Colt Seavers would do anything for his brother. He heard how many sacrifices the other twin has made to keep Ryland safe and sound. And moreover, they were inseparable, called each other practically every day.
On the other side, Jody and Dan were very fond of his boyfriend. Sometimes, they even consulted him in some science facts for movies or special effects. Besides, they constantly invited them to hang out on long weekends.
Nevertheless, he met a group of little people whose lives Ryland brightened with the same intensity of the sun. His students. Or how his lover liked to call them, his kids. Well, said kids were about to get a big surprise.
"Mr. Grace, what really happened to dinosaurs?"
"Mr. Grace, how do snakes breathe?"
"Mr. Grace, could someone live in the water?"
Tom watched as the students bombarded their teacher with questions, each one more exited than the last one. Children really had a lot of energy, no wonder why Ryland was always inventing games and experiments for them.
They were like planets orbiting the sun, cause his lover appeared to be brighter when he was teaching them. There was no doubt that he was born for this, and Tom loved how happy it made his partner.
He cleared his throat. "Mr. Grace, where do babies come from?" He asked from behind them with a flirty tone. Ryland –who had been distracted showing them an exhibit– turned around sharply at the sound of a familiar voice.
Tom wasn't supposed to be here. The promotion tour was scheduled to be over in another two days. But a tv show canceled last minute, so he decided to be back early to give his sunshine a little surprise.
"Mr. Grace, who is that?"
"Mr. Grace, do you know him?"
"Mr. Grace, is he your boyfriend?"
His lover's face was all red as he stuttered 'no'. The kids didn't look so convinced with that answer, it showed in the way they glanced at each other with complicity. Wow, those children got the spirit.
"That, kids, is a homeless man that is probably going to sleep in the park tonight" Ryland stated with a glare. He was most likely doing empty threats, but Tom was not going to risk it.
"No, I'm your tour guide" He lied, walking towards his boyfriend while putting on a serious face. He had a cap and sunglasses on, which he hoped was enough to fool the kids.
"On the middle of the tour?" A girl he recognized as Abby asked. She was smart but snobby and had a horse on her backpack, something his boyfriend had mentioned before.
"So will you explain the exhibits?" Parker –could he be?– questioned. He looked enthusiastic and curious, like Ryland had described.
The other kids were hard to identify, but he managed to spot some of the ones his lover talked about the most. Jeff, Larry, Regina and Trang. Though he wasn't actually convinced they believed his lie, none of them said a word about it for the sake of mocking him during the rest of the tour.
"Mr. Tour guide, why does the moon shine?" Regina raised her hand when they got to a space exhibit.
Tom froze, not knowing how to answer that question. The rest of the children joined her, bullying him into saying something, until Ryland intervened.
"You guys know that one" His lover affirmed, pointing his finger to the sky.
"Because of the sun!" Trang hurried to say, preening at the prideful look his teacher gave him, then catching a beanbag.
Ryland's kids were unlike the child actors and actresses that he encountered in Hollywood. They were sharp minded but sweet with childlike innocence. And they looked at 'Mr. Grace' with adoration that could only be given to the sun. There was happiness in their eyes with every new fact explained to them.
After they passed all the exhibits, the kids were supposed to return to school again, but he had a different plan for them.
"Your teacher here, has a little gift for you lot" He announced. The kids squealed like rubber ducklings, radiating excitement.
He took them to a little patio at the back of the museum where he had arranged a whole picnic for them. Not even a minute after seeing the food, all of the students ran to take a spot.
It was simple. Tom didn't love kids, but Ryland loved his kids, so happy kids, happy boyfriend. And his lover looked better when he was happy.
"I'm not going to get in trouble for this, am I? Mr. Grace" He purred to Ryland's ear, leaning subtly on his shoulder. The other gave him a side glance with a little smile.
"No, you're not" Ryland confirmed. "But only because I knew about your surprise" He chuckled.
"What? How?" He whined disappointed.
"Colt tattled on you" He giggled before going with his students to eat too.
The kids surrounded him, asking even more questions and saying lots of thank you's. His boyfriend sat beside a fountain with the sun illuminating his eyes and hair, making him look like a real ray of sunshine.
He didn't need anything else if he could spend the rest of his life basking in Ryland's light.
—
The warmth of their home couldn't be attributed to the sun.
"Yes, the kids loved it" He told his brother, watching him roll his eyes on the other side of the call.
"That doesn't mean you have to keep spying me!" Tom screamed from the kitchen where he was cooking dinner.
"It's just so I know you're not cheating on my twin!" Colt refuted. "Besides, I'm not the spy, that's Alma" He said softly to Ryland, putting a finger in his lips to indicate it was a secret.
"Well, I have to go, Colt. I'll try to help Tom with dinner" He stated, and his twin answered with a goodbye.
"Oh, no. You're not helping me with dinner. Don't even think about it" Tom refused, shivering dramatically. He added something to a pot and turned off the stove.
"Why not?" He questioned obliviously while he tried to grab a knife to chop the vegetables that were in the kitchenette.
"Sweetheart, you barely know how to cook instant noodles, and the last time you helped, the pressure cooker exploded" Tom explained with a smug smile, simultaneously taking the knife out of his hands and chopping a carrot.
"You're one to talk. Remember when when you thought that my volumetric flask was a smoking pipe?" He mocked lightheartedly.
"That was ages ago. And you can't forget I was semifinalist on 'Master Chef Celebrities', so the kitchen is mine, baby" Tom bragged, getting bread out of the oven.
"Oh, yeah? Who won? Maybe I should have dated them instead" He joked, chuckling at the pout his lover made.
"I don't know. I had already lost, I wasn't gonna stay for the finals" Tom complained, but he got close to Ryland and pressed a kiss to his forehead. "If you wanna help, go unpack my suitcase" He proposed. "Oh, I have your magazine in there. You can read it if you want" He added.
"If I start to read now, we'll never have dinner" He giggled, going to their room.
Unpacking Tom's suitcase was a difficult task most of the time, since he packed for every possible situation. Before moving together, Ryland didn't care much about order, not to mention he didn't have time to tidy up. But when his boyfriend suggested getting a maid, Ryland decided to keep the house clean himself.
Lately, in fact, both of them had adapted to a domestic routine. Tom stayed in San Francisco for a week and went to work for another week on Hollywood so he didn't have to drive all the way through there. Each one had shores that they chose based on disponibility or effort. And they compromised on dates and activities.
It was nice, but there was something nicer. The spark in Tom's eyes whenever he looked at Ryland.
"Did you enjoy dinner, love?" Tom asked. He had his head resting on his hand, love written all over his face.
"It was delicious, honey. Maybe you deserved to win 'Master Chef'" He whispered.
"Oh. I did, sunshine" Tom said sleepy, probably tired from getting up early to surprise him.
Sometimes, the things he did for Ryland felt undeserved. Tom was always spoiling him without asking anything in return. Almost like being together was a payment on its own. So if his lover thought of him as the sun, he would make sure their home felt eternally warm.
He helped Tom change his clothes and dragged him to bed. His boyfriend was out as soon as he touched the bed, leaving him awake. It was not that late, so before he went to sleep, he picked the magazine to read a few articles under the nightlight.
In the cover, there were big letters for the title 'Smithsonian Magazine. Space & Science'. The first article was about the sun, which made him chuckle. His hand instinctively reached for his lover's hair to play with his curls.
That was a cute coincidence. Tom liked to call him sunshine. He told Ryland several times that life would be horrible without him, that the house would feel cold, that nobody could live without the sun.
He read the article.
Nobody could live without the sun.
The sun was diming.