Work Text:
Ryland Grace is a broke middle school science teacher… dating a famous actor. How did he get into this situation you ask?
It all started the day that Ryland wanted to watch his twin brother do his stunts. Colt was supposed to be doing a decently chill stunt that day and Ryland happened to already be visiting. So… Colt invited Ryland to the set.
Ryland was watching from afar when THE Tom Ryder walked over to him. Ryland, ever the introvert, kept his mouth shut as Tom started to speak.
“So, you're Seaver's famous twin, huh? Tom Ryder. Nice to meet you.” Tom held out his hand.
“I-I know who you are.” Ryland stutters, shaking his hand. “R-Ryland Grace.”
“You two don't have the same last name?” Tom asks with a frown.
“...No. It's a long story.”
“What, are you married? I don't see a ring?”
“W-when we were born, I got our mom's last name, Colt got our dad's.”
“Why?”
Ryland looks away. He doesn't want to out himself as Trans to someone he just met, especially not someone who is a famous actor. “Cause, that's just how it went down.”
“Okay. Can I buy you a coffee?” Tom asks suddenly.
Ryland's jaw drops. “Wha- Me? Buy me a coffee?”
“You're the only one I'm talking to.” Tom chuckles.
“...I-I don't know.”
“Come on, it's just coffee. It's not like I'm asking you to marry me.”
Ryland feels his whole face turn red. “You're sure?”
“I wouldn't ask if I wasn't. Come on.”
“Um… I-I promised Colt that I'd watch his stunt.”
Tom's face flashes with annoyance, but quickly returns to a smile. “Fine. We can wait.”
Ryland nods, looking back to where Colt is getting hooked up to a machine that will dangle him over an air bag thing that Ryland doesn't know the proper name of.
“You good Colt?” Jody calls from the ground standing next to the directors chair.
“Yeah!” Colt calls back.
“Are you sure this is safe?” Ryland asks Tom, his hands shaking.
“Oh yeah, definitely. The guy's got years of experience.”
Ryland brings his hands together. He doesn't want to watch, but he promised.
“Action!” The director calls.
Colt drops and Ryland covers his eyes with his hands. He hears the woosh of air, the sound of the ropes moving, and the sound of something heavy hitting the air bag thing.
“Cut! Nice take Seaver's, take five. I'll review the footage and see if we need to go again.” The director calls.
Ryland peeks through his fingers to see Colt holding up a thumbs up. He lets out the breath he was holding and lets his hands fall.
“...You really care about him…” Tom says suddenly, his voice abnormally soft and quiet.
Ryland looks up at him and he nods. “Yeah.. He's all I got. Been with me since the beginning.”
Tom's face does something complicated, but he nods. “Lets go get-.”
Colt runs over. “Ryland did you see!” Colt asks, picking Ryland up by the waist and hugging him.
“...I covered my eyes. I didn't want to see you fall.” Ryland chuckles.
“Aw man. You dipshit.”
Ryland snorts and Tom clears his throat.
Colt looks over at him with a scowl. “What do you want?”
“I was about to take Ryland to get coffee.”
Colt makes a disgusted face. “Ew, you were about to get coffee with this asshole?” Colt asks Ryland.
Ryland frowns in confusion. “He's not a butthole, Colt. He's being nice and offered to buy me coffee.”
“Did you just say butthole?” Tom interrupts.
“Yeah, I don't cuss. I'm a middle school teacher. I don't want to accidentally slip up in front of my kids.”
Tom's face softens. “Oh. That's actually really cute.”
Colt sets Ryland down. “Okay no. Ew ew. Gross. Do not flirt around me. I'm leaving.” Colt walks away, over to Jody.
Ryland snorts. “He's so dramatic.”
“He is. Always whining about shit.” Tom agrees. “Come on.”
Ryland follows Tom to a café that's near the set. Very convenient actually.
“So, you teach?”
“Oh! Yeah! I'm a science teacher!”
“Oh really? Why?”
“I love science! Plus I have my PHD in biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics.”
“What are you doing teaching middle schoolers then!?” Tom practically shouts.
Ryland rubs the back of his neck. “It's a long story…”
“We have time.” Tom says and holds the door open for Ryland.
Ryland walks inside. “Well, I kinda called someone a “Staggering waste of carbon” because he wouldn't hear me out. I wrote a paper on how Oxygen and H2o aren't necessary for life and everyone called me crazy, so my science career kinda tanked a few years ago. But I'm happy as a teacher. It makes me happy to teach.”
“You-” Tom motions to Ryland as they walk up to the back of the line. “Called someone a “Staggoring waste of carbon”? What does that even mean?” Tom laughs, but it's disbelief.
“I basically told him that he never should have been born.”
“Damn Ryland. That's crazy work for a guy like you.”
“A guy like me?”
“Yeah, sweet, kind, cute as a button.”
Ryland's whole face turns red again. Thankfully he doesn't have a chance to respond because it's their turn to order.
“I'll have a mocha caramel lattechino, made with skim milk, no whipped cream, please put that in a Grande cup, but use the same amount of coffee that you'd put into a tall. That way there's about an extra inch on top to stir in my own nutmeg without spilling any coffee at all.” Tom says to the poor cashier.
Ryland's jaw drops as the cashier writes it all down.
“What do you want?” Tom asks him.
“...I'll have a tea.”
“What kind?” Tom chuckles.
“Just… tea?”
“He'll have a grande black tea.”
The cashier nods. “That will be twenty-three dollars and forty-five cents. And I need a name for the order.”
“Okay, and Tom.
“You have a really expensive coffee order.” Ryland mumbles.
“Eh, I have specific tastes.”
“Specific? More like categorical.” Ryland mumbles.
Tom snorts, pays, and walks Ryland over to a table to sit down at.
“Okay, so what led you to teaching?”
“Well, I've always enjoyed being around children. They have moldable minds that are like putty. If you mold it just right, a child turns into a functioning adult. So, I thought that I could help mold their minds, maybe be an inspiration in the process.”
Tom blinks. “Wow.”
Ryland looks away, his cheeks pink. “What- um… what got you into acting?” Ryland asks.
“I've always liked to be the center of attention, and it helps that I come from a rich family."
“Oh. Yeah, I guess that makes sense.”
“Oh?” Tom raises an eyebrow.
“Well- not in, like, a bad way… but you seem like the kind of guy that loves to give autographs and take selfies.” Ryland rubs the back of his neck again.
“I do. Definitely.”
Ryland nods.
“I have a mocha caramel lattechino and a black tea for Tom!” A guy from the counter calls.
Ryland and Tom stand up and walk over to the counter. The guy looks Ryland up and down with a frown.
“Yo, Tom. What are you doing with this guy?”
“None of your business Blake.”
“Geez. Touchy.”
“You know him?” Ryland asks when they walk out and Tom hands him his tea.
“Yeah, he's been hitting on me for months.”
“Ya know… I never took you for a bi guy, but I see it.” Ryland says and takes a sip of his tea.
“I'm pan actually.”
“Oh, that makes more sense.” Ryland chuckles. “I'm gay and asexual.”
“So, you don't do sex?”
“Yep.”
“Cool cool.”
“Mhm.”
Ryland has always liked to be upfront when talking to someone who is flirting with him. Tom continued to flirt with Ryland though and eventually got his number.
Which leads them to today, four months into dating Tom got season tickets to the MLB due to his contract with the MLB sponsorship of his most recent movie. Colt is also going, but only because Jody got tickets.
Believe it or not, Ryland loves baseball. He used to play softball as a teen and had a lot of fun, so he's excited to go.
He's just not sure what to wear. Should he wear a science pun shirt? Should he wear something that would look like he's going on a date? Should he wear makeup!?
Over the years Ryland has gotten comfortable with the occasional use of makeup, specifically highlighter and concealer. He loved the glitter-y kind of highlighter that makes his face sparkle and he occasionally wears it as eyeshadow.
Ryland grabs his phone. He needs an outside opinion, so he calls Colt on face time.
It takes ten seconds for him to answer.
“Ry? What's wrong?”
“Nothing, I just need Jody's opinion.”
“What!? You call me so that you can talk to Jody? That's a new low.” Colt pouts, but hands Jody the phone anyways.
“Hello Ryland! What do you need?” She asks, her accent coming through his phone speakers.
“Should I wear a science pun shirt, or a casual but not too casual shirt? And should I wear makeup?”
“Hmm. Show me the options.”
Ryland flips the phone camera to point at his favorite science pun shirt that says, “I had potential” with a ball rolling down a hill, and a plain navy blue shirt with a slight v-neck.
“Definitely the casual one. You're going to be sitting in a very crowded arena next to Tom Ryder. You will be put on the kiss cam.” She reminds him.
“Oh… right. I forget that he's famous sometimes.” Ryland sighs and flips the camera to face his face again.
“How? That's all he talks about!” Colt groans in the background.
Ryland snorts. “Not with me. Anyways, I'll definitely wear makeup then.”
“Okay. We'll see you there!”
“Okay! Bye guys!” Ryland says and hangs up the phone.
Jeans. Jeans. He needs jeans. “Ah ha! Found them.”
“Nice pair of jeans… no shirt yet. Don't want to get makeup on it.” Ryland mumbles, pulling his pants on and running over to his dresser where he keeps his makeup bag.
He pulls out his e.l.f concealer and primer and puts on the primer first. “Protect the skin.” He mumbles to himself. He tends to talk to himself a lot.
Once the primer has settled into his skin he places the concealer under his eyes, a little on the apples of his cheeks, and on his eyelids. Then he quickly sets the concealer under his eyes and on his cheeks with a translucent setting powder.
“Now glitter. My precious.” He whispers like Gollum from Lord Of The Rings.
He grabs his L.A. Girl sparkly stardust highlighter and rubs a bit on his finger. He places it on his eyelids and just under his waterline, then a little on the bridge and tip of his nose, then a lot on his cheekbones.
“Perfect!” Ryland dusts the powder off of himself and pulls on his casual shirt then his socks and shoes. He looks at his knee brace. His knee is hurting a bit, but foregoes it. He knows he'll regret it later, but he'd rather look nice than be comfortable when he's most likely going to be on camera.
There's a knock on his apartment door and Ryland sprints to the door, immediately regretting the action when his knee throbs. He sighs and rubs his knee a bit as he looks outside the peep hole.
It's Tom. Ryland flings the door open and Tom steps in, giving Ryland a quick kiss.
“You look lovely. Are you ready to go? Do you have your phone, wallet, or keys?” Tom asks.
Ryland pats his pockets. Phone? Check. Wallet? Check. Keys? Nope. Where are his keys? Ryland looks around and finds them on the coffee table. “Score!”
Tom snorts. “Look, you finally put them in a reasonable place this time.”
Ryland pouts. “Rude.”
“You love me.”
“Yeah yeah. Come on doofus.”
Ryland grabs Tom's hand and leads him downstairs. Tom's been here a few times already, at first Ryland was self conscious because he lives in a run down apartment building and Tom lives in a mansion, but Tom didn't make it weird.
Ryland had even introduced Tom to his favorite neighbors. The nice old lady next door, Doris, his downstairs neighbor Mr. Glenn who was a war veteran, and the guy that lives across the courtyard who has two daughters that Ryland babysits for occasionally.
Tom opens the passenger door for Ryland and Ryland gets in. Thankfully Tom usually drives his BMW instead of his Lamborghini. Ryland would cry if he ever got in that car.
“How was your day?” Tom asks as he starts the car.
“Ugh. You wouldn't believe this stuff that happened today. You remember Cathy that I told you about at work?”
“Yeah, the one that keeps sending your students to the office for being “disrespectful”.” Tom asks as he pulls out of the parking lot.
“Yeah! That witch sent Alex to the office because he couldn't sit still. She has a freaking 504 plan for him. He has diagnosed ADHD and literally can not sit still.” Ryland groans.
“What a bitch.”
“Exactly, and so I told her to check his 504 plan again and stop sending him to the office.”
“As you should.” Tom nods, stopping at a red light.
“And you know what she did?”
“Tattled?”
“She tattled!”
“Gross.”
“Right!” Ryland rambles on like that the whole drive, Tom occasionally responding. For someone who presents himself as super self-centered he sure is a great listener.
They pull up to the stadium. The whole thing is PACKED. Thankfully because Tom is famous, he gets to park in a private VIP gated area.
“You ready for this, babe?” Tom asks as he turns off the car.
“Nope…” Ryland is terrified. Jody put it in his head that the kiss cam is going to be on them and now he's scared.
“Why? What's wrong?”
“...Jody said that the kiss cam will probably be on us.”
Tom sighs. “Fucking Jody… It will be fine. We don't have to do anything you're uncomfortable with. We don't even have to go in.”
“No-no its fine.”
“Are you-” Tom's phone rings. He sighs loudly and pulls it out. Gail. His manager.
“I thought you were going to fire her?”
“...I'm working on it. I just have to get a few things in order first.” Tom answers the phone and gets out of the car.
Ryland sighs. He asked Tom to fire Gail weeks ago because he overheard her talking about ruining Tom's career over his and Rylands relationship.
Ryland watches as Tom's face does a lot of complicated emotions, then settles on anger. He shouts something into the phone and hangs up.
The door flies open and he grabs the keys.
“What's wrong?” Ryland asks softly. He struggles around anger due to his PTSD from his father.
Tom takes a deep breath. “Sorry. I'm not upset at you… I just fired Gail. She… went public with our relationship.”
Ryland stares at him. “Oh. Okay.”
“Okay? You're not upset? I know you hate attention…” Tom sits back in the seat.
“Well, it's not like we can back out now, plus they're going to find out eventually. Especially here at the baseball game, so I might as well get used to it.”
“...I love you.” Tom leans over and pulls Ryland in for a kiss.
Ryland giggles and kisses him back, then pulls away. “Come on big guy. We have to find our seats.”
“Yeah yeah. Let's go.”
Ryland gets out of the car and closes the door. Tom grabs Rylands hand and they walk over to the security guard by the door.
“Name and ID please.” The guard holds out his hand.
Ryland and estimate pull out their wallets.
“Tom Ryder and this is Ryland Grace.” Tom says as they hand over their ID's
Ryland rocks back and forth from his heels to his toes while the guard checks their IDs.
“...This ID doesn't match.” The guard hands Ryland his ID back. He frowns and looks down at it.
“Oh crap! Sorry! I gave you the one from before I transitioned. I keep it as a keepsake.” Ryland fumbles around with his wallet, pulling out the correct ID.
“Sorry.” He chuckles and hands him the right ID.
The guard looks over the ID. “Okay. Come on in.” He says and hands them back.
“What's your name?” Ryland asks as the guard opens the door.
“Carl.”
“Nice to meet you Carl.” Ryland smiles and Tom pulls them inside the building and another guard greets them.
Ryland hums softly while the new guard leads them through the building and to their seats.
“Your seats are in the diamond club. Right behind home plate. Seats A17 and A18.” The new guard says, leading them to their seats.
“Thank you!” Ryland smiles.
The guard leaves and Tom sits down.
“No, I want to sit there. It's eighteen. Even number.”
“Right.” Tom snorts and moves over to the other seat.
Ryland sits down, relaxing into his seat.
“What teams are playing again?” Tom leans over and whispers to Ryland.
Ryland snorts. “The Red Sox and the Giants.”
“And what team are we rooting for?”
“Red Sox. Obviously.”
“Right right… and what are the rules?”
“Have you never watched baseball?” Ryland asks, exasperated.
“No.”
Ryland snorts. “Okay so-” Ryland starts explaining the rules. It takes a little over ten minutes and Tom doesn't seem to understand, but he nods along anyways.
“Okay… That makes no sense, but I'll watch anyway. You just tell me who wins.”
Ryland snorts. Someone sits down next to him and he turns to see who it is… only to find Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. Ryland's jaw drops and he immediately turns back to face Tom.
He taps Tom's arm rapidly, his mouth wide open.
“What?” Tom looks at Ryland, confused.
Ryland aggressively points at Taylor Swift, attempting not to be too obvious.
“What? What about them?”
“Tom! How are you?” Taylor Swift asks.
“I'm good. It's nice to see you, Taylor. How is your mother doing?” Tom asks, leaning over Ryland a bit.
“She's wonderful, thank you for asking! Who's this?” Taylor Swift asks and motions to Ryland.
“This is my boyfriend, Ryland.” Tom smiles, grabbing Ryland's hand.
Ryland, whose mouth is still open, snaps his mouth shut and waves shyly. “H-hi. Big fan.”
“Aw, thank you. I love your makeup!”
“T-thank you.” Ryland stutters, his face turning red.
She smiles then turns back to her conversation with Travis Kelce.
“Tom! Tom! Taylor Swift likes my makeup!” Ryland whisper shouts and shakes Tom by the shoulders.
Tom snorts. “Yeah I heard. Calm down.”
Ryland, on the verge of what some people call a stim attack, shakes Tom harder. “I can't!"
Tom laughs again. “Well, then you're going to love this.” Tom points at Paul Rudd, who is walking over from Tom's side.
Ryland stares at Paul Rudd and shakes Tom harder, squealing, and practically hyperventilating.
“TOM! IT'S PAUL RUDD!” Ryland practically shouts.
Paul Rudd looks up at the yell and makes direct eye contact with Ryland. Ryland wants to cry. This is the best day of his life.
“Ryland. Breathe. You're hyperventilating.” Tom grabs Ryland's hand again.
Ryland takes a deep breath and buries his face in Tom's bicep. Paul Rudd sits on Tom's left side. Ryland is practically vibrating in his seat. He's going to pass out.
“Breathe. Your brother is going to be here soon.” Tom chuckles.
“Y-you're friends with celebrities- oh my god you are a celebrity. Why do I keep forgetting that!?” Ryland is crying now, but they're tears of joy.
Tom snorts. “Yeah, why do you keep forgetting that?”
“Because you don't ever talk about it!” Ryland keeps his face buried in Tom's bicep. He knows that if he looks up he'll hyperventilate again.
Tom chuckles and wraps his arms around him, causing Ryland to have his face buried in Tom's side instead.
“Your boyfriend sure is excitable.” Taylor Swift chuckles.
Ryland covers his face with his hands and keeps his head under Tom's arm.
“Yeah. He is. I find it adorable.” Tom chuckles.
“Aw. Ryland, what do you do for work?” Taylor Swift asks. She knows his name. Oh my god. She knows his name.
“I-I'm a middle school science teacher.”
“Oh wow! How did you get into teaching?”
“I-I- uh… I-it's a long story. B-but I enjoy it! My kids ar-are awesome.”
“That's sweet.” Ryland assumes she turned back to Travis, but refuses to look.
“Tom Ryder. Long time no see.” Paul Rudd finally says once Tom has been quiet for longer than a minute.
“Yeah, it's been a minute!” Tom says and his arm leaves Ryland's shoulders so that he can shake Paul Rudd's hand.
“Who's this?” Paul Rudd asks.
Ryland definitely doesn't completely ignore every attempt at communication that Paul Rudd is making.
“My boyfriend. Ryland.” Tom says, his voice filled with warmth.
“Oh? How long have you been dating?”
“Four months today.”
“Wow! That's a third of a year.” Paul says happily.
Ryland keeps his face firmly planted in Tom's ribs. He's overwhelmed already, which kind of sucks, but he knows that Tom won't make him talk if he doesn't want to.
“Yeah. Do you know when the game starts?” Tom asks.
“Yeah, here in roughly fifteen minutes.” Paul says.
“Ry!” Colt's voice calls and Ryland's head snaps up. Jody and Colt are a few seats behind them.
Ryland stands up. “I-I'll be right back.”
Ryland has to walk past Paul Rudd and his wife. Ryland smiles politely, practically sprinting past them to get to the stairs.
Ryland runs over to Colt and Jody and gives Colt a hug. He's overwhelmed, but his brother is here. He'll be okay.
“Holy shit, Ry! You're surrounded by celebrities. You must be dying.” Colt laughs.
Ryland nods silently. He's nonverbal, too overwhelmed to speak.
“Oh shit. You're actually not joking. Come here. Come sit with Jody for a while.”
Colt leads him back up the stairs to his and Jody's seats. Ryland grips Clots sleeve tightly.
“Hey Jo, Ry is overwhelmed and nonverbal. Can he sit up here for a while?” Colt asks Jody.
“Yeah, of course.” She smiles.
Ryland sits on the gross stadium floor, he likes to be closed in spaces when no people are around. There's people around, but Colt is kind of blocking him against the seats and Jody, so it's fine.
Ryland wishes he brought his noise canceling headphones. He didn't think about how overwhelming it would be in a loud stadium.
“Ry, Tom is coming over.”
Ryland nods, appreciative of the warning.
Ryland rocks back and forth a bit, hugging his knees to his chest. He still has a bit of time before the game starts. He'll be okay as long as he remembers to breathe.
“Ryland? Are you okay, babe?” Tom crouches in front of Ryland, his big frame practically smushed between the seats.
Ryland shrugs and covers his ears.
“Oh… you forgot your headphones. Hold on. I'll get you some.”
Ryland frowns in confusion as Tom pulls out his phone. He calls someone.
“Hey, yeah. I'm at the baseball stadium. My boyfriend needs noise canceling headphones. Our seats are A17 and A18 in the Diamond Club. I need them as soon as possible, please.”
Tom is silent for a long moment while he listens to the person on the other side of the line.
“Yeah, color doesn't matter. Yep. Thank you, bye.” Tom hangs up. “You have headphones on the way.” Tom smiles.
Ryland stares at him, grateful and simultaneously very confused.
“The fuck? You can just do that?” Colt asks. Ryland taps his nose and points at Colt basically saying “What he said”.
“Yeah?” Tom nods. “Are you ready to go back to our seats? The game will be starting soon.” He asks Ryland.
Ryland blinks slowly and looks up at Colt, who nods encouragingly. Ryland nods and forces himself to stand.
Tom takes his hand and carefully leads him back down to their seats.
Ryland buries his face in Tom's arm while they walk. He doesn't want to talk, he doesn't want to make eye contact, and he doesn't want to see more celebrities.
Tom carefully leads Ryland to their seats, past Paul Rudd and his wife Julie Yaeger.
Ryland sits down, keeping his face covered and completely ignoring the fact that he's sitting next to Taylor Swift again.
Cheering starts and Ryland covers his ears. The teams are going to the dugouts.
“Your headphones will be here soon.” Tom mutters and covers Ryland's hands which are covering his ears.
Ryland appreciates the way Tom's hands muffle the noise. He can feel Tom's voice vibrating as he speaks, but he can't make out the words.
Ryland and Tom watches as they start the first inning. By the time it's over a security guard walks over to Tom holding a bag.
Tom has kept his hands on Rylands ears the whole time. The Red Sox have one point.
Tom removes his hands and Ryland almost wants to cry at the sudden rush of noise. Ryland presses his hands harder on his ears.
Ryland looks at Tom with tears in his eyes. Tom's eyes widen and he quickly rips the box of headphones open and turns them on.
Ryland watches as Tom gently pulls his hands away from his ears. The noise is loud and tears actually do stream down his face now.
Tom slips the headphones over Ryland's ears and the noise disappears completely. Ryland wants to cry out of relief.
Ryland lays his head on Tom's shoulder, taking a breath. Tom rubs Ryland's arm up and down.
“Ryland, are you okay?” Tom asks. Ryland is surprised that he can hear his voice, but happy.
“Yeah.” He mumbles.
By the time halftime hits Ryland is cheering along with everyone else. He found out that Taylor and Travis are rooting for the Red Sox too and Paul Rudd isn't rooting for any team at all.
Ryland still has his headphones on, but he's no longer overwhelmed. He's excited and has been explaining the rules of baseball to Tom.
“Are you excited to do this again?”
“Again!?” Ryland asks, his voice is hoarse from all the cheering.
“Yeah, season tickets, remember?”
“Oh right. We get to go to every home game. YES I'M EXCITED!”
“Calm down buttercup, we're only halfway through this game.”
Ryland bounces in his seat, excited. “I can't help it!”
Tom laughs, pulling Ryland into his lap. Suddenly there's a lot of cheering and screaming. Ryland looks around and sees his face on the big screen.
The kiss cam.
“Babe, you don't have to do anything if you don't want to.” Tom whispers in his ear.
Ryland sees his own face still on the big screen. His eyes are wide, his face flushed, his makeup slightly smudged. “I-I want to.” Ryland whispers.
Tom smiles and turns Ryland's face, kissing him gently. Ryland slowly relaxes into the kiss, kissing him back. There's lots more cheering and screaming. Ryland turns the noise canceling back on, he had turned it off after the fourth inning.
Tom pulls away after a minute, leaving Ryland panting softly, his face hot.
Tom snorts and hugs Ryland against his chest. Ryland closes his eyes. It's been a lovely day. He hopes that the next game is just as great.