Work Text:
They saw the world differently. Oposite almost.
Most of the time it was an advantage. Ryland made Tom keep his feet on the ground, while Tom made Ryland loosen up a little. They didn't agree on everything, that was impossible, but they compromised with important decisions and had good communication.
That is why he knew something was wrong. Because, for a month already, Ryland had been giving in too much, and if that wasn't suspicious enough, his –science rambler, chatterbox, conversation enthusiast– boyfriend lost interest in communication altogether.
"Maybe he's just stressed out" Jody suggested. It was Tom's week out for work, so he was in Hollywood recording a new movie about a heist.
"It doesn't feel like it" He sighed, watching as she changed the lens of her camera. Perhaps that was what he needed, to see through Ryland's lenses in order to understand this situation.
"Maybe you did something to upset him" Dan chimed in from the radio, an explosion sounding behind him.
"I think I'd know" He denied, grabbing his phone to send some crochet flowers to his lover –Cause he was allergic, and Tom didn't want to repeat the park accident–.
"Men always think they'd know" Jody huffed. "What's your opinion, Colt?" She asked the radio. There was silence on the other side. "Colt?" She reiterated, merely getting a groan back.
"Maybe after a year, he finally realized that he doesn't like you that much" Colt stated, with a hint of annoyance.
A year... Oh, right! That had to be it.
"Our anniversary..." He mumbled. "That's it!" He reasoned.
"You forgot about it?" Jody gasped. At the distance Dan and Colt walked towards them, the older twin looked visibly angry.
"No! But maybe he's nervous about it" He told her. Jody hummed thoughtfully.
"That!... would make sense" Colt agreed reluctantly. "Ry's never had an anniversary before" He sighed.
Tom already knew that. He had once asked his boyfriend about past relationships, and much to his surprise, there was just one. Linda. A sweet, kinda messy woman that moved with Ryland when he finished college and promptly broke up with him, to date a guy named Mark.
Rumor has it that their relationship had been disastrous and their separation even worse. But the reasons were not clear enough, even for Ryland. He had a lot of theories whatsoever.
The truth was, that he was not clueless. He noticed that his lover had a certain lack of interest for partners or intimacy in general. That was a reason why Tom thanked his lucky stars that he won him over, because there were very few probabilities.
But in the end, his sunshine didn't have a reason to believe Tom would be any different from Linda. And that could be it. Insecurity. The impending distress that Tom could expect something more from him after a year of dating, just like his ex had when they moved together.
"How do I fix that?" He whined, not having a single idea on how to help his boyfriend. It wasn't like Tom could preach his love anymore than he already did.
Colt scrunched up his nose before sitting beside him. "You push discreetly" He looked him dead in the eye. "Ryland is elusive. If he feels you're acting weird, he'll panic, and when Ry panics, he runs. Don't make him run" He explained, lowering his voice at the last part to indicate it was a warning.
He could do that. Show his lover that he was not expecting anything. That the thing Tom loved the most about him was that he could be himself around Ryland. He could do that.
So after work, he wasted no time to be back to San Francisco with his lover. The flowers he ordered were already at the door of Ryland's apartment when he got there. He also found a strange envelope in the mailbox.
It had 'Urgent' written in red letters and underneath that, it had the name 'Eva Stratt'. Uh, how curious. Tom made a mental note to give it to Ryland later, but now he had more important things to do.
He knocked on the door, waiting for Ryland to open it. Not a minute later, his beautiful boyfriend appeared in front of him with a bewilderment look that quickly transformed into excitement.
"Tom! You're back, really early" Ryland said. "You didn't ditched on Jody, did you?" He crossed his arms in disapproval.
"Don't worry, sweetheart. She let me go" He winked, getting inside the house with the flowers behind his back.
"And you're done for the week?" Ryland asked, closing the door. Tom simply nodded, presenting the flowers with a little bow.
"A flower, for a flower" He complimented the beauty of his lover, watching a blush go from Ryland's cheeks to his ears.
"And they say chivalry is dead" He laughed. "But seriously, why are you here? You left yesterday" He stated.
"I'm here to plan our anniversary together" He declared as he started to pack some important things for his boyfriend to take home.
"That's in a week" Ryland scoffed teasingly, but he helped to pack anyway.
"Yes, but it's gonna be better if we start now. That way, both of us will enjoy it" He told him.
He had to understand what exactly made Ryland worried about their relationship so he could show him that everything would be fine. That Tom would take anything he could offer and never ask for more. That they had the rest of their lifes to figure out the rest.
That he could see through Ryland's lenses.
—
The lenses of the telescope were precise.
It had been a gift. A gift from Tom when the actor had catched him staring at their star covered ceiling a few months ago. So his sweet, handsome, thoughtful boyfriend had bought the most expensive telescope he could find on Amazon.
The gesture was charming before knowing the sun was dying. Because now he couldn't take his eyes from the stars and think about the people he loved. About his children, about his twin, about his lover, about his friends.
During a class, his kids asked if the world was ending. A class on sound waves had to be turned into an explanation of the Petrova Line. He did his best to assure them that everything was under control and that the best scientists in the world were fixing it.
Reality was, he had no idea if someone would be able to fix it. Or how many time they had left of decent life before the planet froze with everyone on it.
All those thoughts were scary, and Ryland was prone to get scared. He was a coward, after all. And like the coward he was, he dreaded telling Tom or Colt about their imminent deaths.
He couldn't, so he didn't. Instead, he decided to try to enjoy the rest of his life. That he could do.
"What are you doing here?" Tom asked, leaning on the frame of the door groggily from sleep. His hair was a mess, expression vulnerable in a way no one would think Tom Ryder could look.
"I'm looking at the stars" He answered softly, extending his hand for his boyfriend to join him.
Tom sat with him at the balcony, putting his head on Ryland's shoulder and kissing his neck tenderly. His lover didn't even seem to mind that he had scurry out of the bed to play astronomer without him.
"You gotta come back to bed, baby" Tom insisted. "We have a long day tomorrow" He purred, smoothly wrapping his arms around him.
Their anniversary was tomorrow. Ryland had noticed how much effort Tom put on making it something memorable. Normally, he would have argued that they didn't need to do something extravagant since they would have lots of time together in the future, but perhaps that was no longer the truth.
In some way, he envied Tom. His ignorance, at least.
Neither his boyfriend nor his brother worried about the sun situation, well, they didn't have much information, no one really did. However, what they knew was not as important for them as it was to Ryland. Why would it be? They didn't understand what would happen.
The media was also keeping quiet about the problem. They talked about the Petrova Line, but that was everything. No explanations, no warnings, no solutions. Maybe everything was fine, and he was exaggerating.
"... Hey, Tom?" He whispered. The other hummed in acknowledgment. "What would you do if the world was ending?" He questioned, grabbing his boyfriend's hand.
The question must have taken Tom by surprise, because for a moment he stilled. "I'd... marry you" He hesitated. "But! I'm not saying we have to marry now, you know!" He spluttered. "I mean, if you'd like to, we could totally do it! Just... I don't want you to think that only because our anniversary is coming, that means I expected things to change" He explained.
He would like to marry Tom. In other circumstances, he would have accepted a proposal after a few years of dating, just in case. But it was not the time for waiting, they didn't have time to waste. Time was to be enjoyed.
Ryland chuckled. "I love you so much" He declared, kissing his lips. "Let's go back to bed".
Tom smiled mischievously. He kneeled in front of him, carrying Ryland effortlessly in his arms and into the bed. It looked easy, Tom had a way to make things look easier than they were. He showed himself confident and unconcerned even when things were hard.
He wished he was more like him.
—
Whilst Ryland saw the world through microscope lenses, Tom preferred to see it through the camera's. Sometimes, it meant they didn't understand each other, but it didn't mean their love was less intense.
Like now.
They had spent the whole day doing things that both enjoyed. Every single activity had been a compromise, something they wanted to do together. That was the message he wished to communicate.
Fortunately, it seemed like it was working, since Ryland's smile was back to that gorgeous ray of sun that it always was. They were having a blast, no doubt about it.
Early in the morning they went to the aquarium, where his boyfriend had explained how every animal had evolved –the science rambling was back, hurray!– before Tom offered to buy him the stuffed animal version of a nurse shark.
"I would prefer a fox one, but thank you very much" Ryland refused. That was a good sign too, his boyfriend was not a pushover.
Then, they ate lunch at a lovely Broadway themed coffee shop, with Tom repeating the lines he knew from 'Waitress' 'Falsettos' or any corny musical he remembered.
When they stopped feeling full, they went to the park to go cycling before the best part of the show. Ryland would not admit it, but despite cycling to school every morning, he was still clumsy at it –the trees agreed with Tom, though–.
At last –and that had been a huge compromise– they ended on Tom's yacht. Practically on the shore, but far enough to be able to watch the clear sky and have dinner under the moonlight.
"You really outdid yourself, Tom" Ryland praised, finishing his dish.
"That's what happens when you're dating Tom Ryder, baby" He bragged.
"Uh, that's a shame. I think I like Thomas better. He's so good looking" Ryland told him confidently.
They were different, but it wasn't bad.
With Ryland Grace, Tom felt he was more than just Tom Ryder. More than the masc he had created to protect himself. Because there was no reason for building walls with the love of his life.
And as much as he wanted, Ryland couldn't hide who he was from Tom. He loved every single detail of him. The rambling, the kindness, the intelligence, the clumsiness. Every part of Ryland was perfect for Tom.
As the night fell upon them and the ocean waves relaxed them, the excruciating feeling of pure happiness changed into a more intimate atmosphere.
The two of them were lying in a blanket at the yacht's deck, limbs entangled and kissing passionately. Ryland's hand played with his waistband, something that hadn't happened before. Tom stopped it abruptly, watching his eyes widen.
"Tom..." Ryland breathed.
"Yes, Sunshine?" He questioned. His lover's flinch was barely visible before he recovered.
"Let's have sex" He blurted, rubbing his body against Tom's in a flirty way.
"Y-yeah. You wanna make out?" He hesitated, not wanting Ryland to think that he expected more from him.
"No. I want to go all the way in" His boyfriend affirmed.
"Why?" He found himself asking.
"Because... if the world was ending, that's what I'd like to do with you before it did" Ryland whispered, eyes shining with love and hope.
That disarmed him, of course it did. He could never resist the sweet treat that was presented to him, so he gave in. And it was everything he had ever imagined and more.
Heaty touches that complemented with weat kisses. Loud moans in a tandem of hip movements. Hearts racing at the physical activity. Their synchronized climax elevating both to the moon.
If Tom had been a better partner, he would have noticed there was something wrong in that petition. If Tom had been a selfless person, he would have insisted on talking instead of following his desires. If Tom had been different, he would have deserved Ryland Grace.
If he had seen things from his lenses, he wouldn't have found his bicycle abandoned in the school's parking lot a few days after that.