Painting had been going well. Ryan and Justin had spent the weekend getting started painting Kelly’s room, and it was almost done now. The walls were a dove gray, which they were certain she would love. They wanted it to feel like home to her, since she had not had any place that was really hers in many years. She deserved a nice room while they could provide it. Living with Justin was some kind of domestic dream. Justin kept the place cleaner than Ryan ever did, and didn’t seem to mind cleaning up after his messy lover. It always smelled like cookies, now, or other baked goods. There were scented candles on the counter that smelled like slices of heaven. Ryan had never know how good he could live before Justin showed him how to organize things and be more responsible. He never knew that he could like coming home to his apartment, not just because his bed was there, but because it felt like a home.
The apartment he shared with Darren had felt lived in, but never like his home. Ryan had never had a real “home” before now. Justin had done that more than anything, and living with him was absolutely perfect in every way. They almost never fought, they were constantly making love, they were truly in what Ryan considered the ‘honeymoon’ phase. He hoped it never ended. As far as Ryan was concerned, they were married now. This was his man for the rest of his life. He found his one true love, and as much a it scared him, it excited him too. Did he really deserve happiness? Maybe, maybe not. He had it, though, and so long as Justin was willing to be there, Ryan would keep a tight hold of him.
He missed Darren, though. He missed that kind of fast-paced, dirty life that the other brought him into. He felt a bit like he was being toned-down, domesticated. He loved Justin, but didn’t quite love how mushy he had gotten because of Justin. Darren had left, though, left him behind, and Ryan never did well without a leader to follow. He was hurt and confused that his brother, his partner-in-crime, would leave him without a second thought. He supposed that if Darren hadn’t left, he would never have met Justin, though, and he wouldn’t trade that for anything. He supposed there was a reason for everything. In his case, there was a reason his brother heartlessly abandoned him, even if he didn't know it at the time.
Ryan dwelled on Darren less and less as time moved on. He thought about him less. It wasn't likely that he'd just show up and waltz back into his life like nothing happened. It wasn't likely that he'd ever come looking for the things that he had left behind, and so Ryan was moving on. Until he heard the door open, hours before Justin should have been home. He turned and looked to see who it was and thought he saw a ghost. Was Darren really there? Back? In their apartment?
“Uh, what?” He said dumbly, taking a moment to figure out that Darren was really there. Did he still have a key or something? He never came in. “What the hell are you doing here, man?” He asked, a bit standoffish at first. When Darren got whims, they were never good. When Darren got ideas, they were even worse. He wasn't there on accident, so what did he need? Did he want to make some sickles? Yeah, Ryan was always up for that, but there was something more important going on than that, wasn't there?
“Where the fuck have you been?”
