[i]No, you’re right. I look at old photos of me and wonder how an album ever sold.[/i] Brendon vehemently disagreed with whatever Ryan was trying to imply- that before Brendon has reinvented his look he was ugly, or embarassing, or something. [b]”You [i]would[/i] say that.”[/b] Considering that when he and Ryan had first met, Brendon thought he was annoyingly handsome, handsome enough that Brendon actually didn’t want to leave the bar and politely excuse himself from such situations like he usually did, no, there was no wonder Ryan’s albums sold, if they were basing everything solely on appearance. Sure, he had outgrown his hair and clothes and looked younger than he was, but Brendon admittedly somewhat fell for that boyish gaze and smile- and he all he did after that was drop himself in further shit by winding up getting employed by the guy he thought would be lying in bed next to him by the next morning, and then making said employer into his practical perfect man. Now they were stuck in a midpoint between professionalism and attraction and neither of them had the guts to make the first move. So, they did this, instead, address serious subtext in light and humorous ways so things didn’t get too deep. That wasn’t them yet. [i]God bless.[/i] Brendon laughed, raised his eyebrows. [b]”So I’m [i]God[/i] now?& like this, keep it coming.”[/b]

Wow. Brendon grinned, but honestly, when he thought about it, he knew he’d be equally exposed by whatever evidence people claimed to have of Ryan and Brendon’s ‘secret relationship’. It was so secret that even they didn’t know that they were in it, that was their running joke- but, ridiculously, he often considered whether that had a ring of truth. They shared the same hotel room, for god’s sake. Ryan had never done that out of choice with anyone, not even Spencer, his closest and oldest friend. [i]Yeah, they're running out of content and relying completely on Instagram fan account photos.[/i]  Brendon became all faux somber, shaking his head with a soft, disappointed sigh. [b]”They’re starving, Ryan, starving. You might say [i]thirsty.[/i] Give them some goddamn content so they can call me a rich man’s whore using sources [i]straight[/i] from the horse’s mouth.”[/b] More a self burn than anything, but Brendon was still cautious of his gifts being taken away as punishment for being annoying, so he sucked up real fast. Luckily, Ryan tended to be forgiving. Otherwise he’d be dead already. [i]Sad, But you better watch it. I have purchase receipts for all of that.[/i] [b]”I’d rather you sell Spencer than return these,”[/b] Brendon declared, fully not kidding. 

To be honest, the varied responses from fans of Ryan on social media didn’t really bother Brendon unless the insults were directed to anyone other than himself. Dating rumours he could handle because he understood them, accusations of him of taking advantage of Ryan’s wealth and being some kind of thirsty chaser of his fifteen minutes of fame he could sort of understand if you had a very spiteful point of view. Most of it seemed positive, anyway. If Ryan approved, the real fans tended to approve too. Not that Brendon cared whether he earned their acceptance or not- Ryan’s attention was all he really cared about in that sense. [i]Those titles don't go hand in hand? Damn it. Why are you even here?[/i] He arched an eyebrow, daring him to go there and not waiting for further prompting. [b]”To be honest, I’m not quite sure myself. What I gather is that some fashion disaster rockstar thought I was cute but found out I was in just the line of work he needed and decided I’d be better off as his employee than as the subject of a sex scandal.”[/b]

Back to subtext, it seemed, that was getting a little tiring to navigate when at this point it was difficult to tell whether Ryan was joking or he was just being how he was. The trouble Brendon had was that Ryan made jokes so much and treated it so lightly that Brendon barely knew how to respond because he’d either make a fool of himself for being deeper than the situation called for or he’d seen rude for making a joke in return. It was difficult to navigate and though it was bound to be a conversation with more at stake, he’d prefer Ryan just tell him than to assume that Brendon knew exactly how he felt. Otherwise, he really didn’t know how to behave. He tried not to be too deep, though, again- and it wasn’t too hard because Ryan was being so stupendously obvious again it was almost laughable, but it clearly wasn’t because Brendon was flushed and even flustered, no matter how much he attempted to hide it. [i]Yeah! You’re something special, really. [/i][b]”I mean, yeah, obviously.”[/b] [i]Well, only to you. Why else do you think I always walk a little behind you? Honestly, Brendon, I'm obvious.[/i]

A pause. Brendon smirked and his eyebrows lifted and dropped with deft speed. [b]”I was giving you the benefit of the doubt. But- I don’t blame you.”[/b] Brendon turned his attention back to the jeans and looked inside them for a second at the label, checking the measurements- not quite his size. Maybe Ryan didn’t do his research, though he imagined it was a test he enjoyed studying for. [b]”Should I be offended by the smaller size or is it intentional?”[/b] [i]I guess we'll see. You know, in all my wildest fantasies, I never imagined I'd be putting you in[/i] more [i]clothes.[/i] Immediately, Brendon started giggling, but he shrugged and lay the jeans back down on the back of the couch. [b]”You’re forgetting something,”[/b] He pointed out. [b]I have to get undressed first, right? Anyway. You gonna give me some privacy, or?”[/b]