When Zack has told him that he and the rest of the crew had decided to kick Ryan out long before the show even started, Brendon had whined his complaints, argued that Ryan didn’t distract him, they just hung out, he was never late to go on stage- but the show previous they’d been recklessly hooking up during the damn countdown and that was all the evidence the crew needed to confirm that Brendon and Ryan were incapable of keeping their hands off eachother while they were alone for longer than, like, two minutes. So Brendon had nothing to stand on. After a while of just grumbling, he sought out Ryan, told him the bad news, and they managed a brief, public defiant kiss before Zack was hauling his very reluctant boyfriend out into the street. Honestly, it was embarrassing- they could be decent, they weren’t [i]animals.[/i] It had just kind of become ritual at this point- even when Ryan was still in the band, they had a reputation for holding everyone up while they were busy making out in the dressing room, or something. Huh, so maybe Zack had a point.

Once Brendon had finished the show and bounded backstage, running entirely on adrenaline, he immediately dug his phone out from under piles of clothes and checked it- predictably, most of his notifications were texts from Ryan. He predicted from the poor spelling and persistence of his messages that Ryan was more than a little tipsy, and he was frankly excited to see that. It wasn’t often that Ryan became that undone- usually he was the one looking after a drunk Brendon who could barely stand up. Once he answered his phone and Zack located him, Brendon quickly got changed into something warmer (it had been really hot inside the stadium when he’d been sweating excessively but once he stepped out into the night it was freezing) and then climbed into the car, texting Ryan a simple ‘I love you too’ and then waiting for ten minutes until they pulled up outside the bar. Zack had quickly headed inside to receive their package and moments later his baby was curled up against the window in some kind of state, and Brendon was both endeared and amused, looking forward to making fun of him the following morning.

Though it was funny, he was still a mess, and Brendon reproachfully muttered that it would have been easier for everyone if they’d just let Ryan stay. So what if they spent some valuable time fooling around when Brendon should be getting ready? The shows were always incredible. Zack was just a control freak. Anyway. He wasn’t too bothered so he dropped it and then leaned over to make sure Ryan was fastened in when he clearly couldn’t, or wouldn’t, do it himself. [i]Loud.[/i] Brendon grinned as he slid his hand affectionately down Ryan’s chest. [b]”Sorry, baby,”[/b] He said soothingly, but it wasn’t as sympathetic as Ryan maybe would have liked. When he met Ryan’s eyes he could tell he wasn’t fully with it but he leaned in anyway to steal a kiss, a little deprived after hours of being apart from him. Yeah, Ryan was drunk, but what he didn’t expect was for his usually devoted boyfriend to both curl his hand restrictively around Brendon’s, and then pull back violently in response to Brendon leaning in. He was stunned.

Woah, [i]hey.[/i] Hey [i]what?[/i] Brendon paused, baffled, and then pulled back, extremely affronted. His lips were parted and his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. His mind began to race- had he done anything wrong? Had he not argued enough against Ryan being kicked out? He was lost. And kind of annoyed. But Ryan was drunk, he tried not to look too upset. [i]I have a [/i]boyfriend. [b]”Wh-”[/b] Brendon’s eyebrows raised and it took him another few moments before he realised what was happening here. Ryan didn’t even know who he was. He wasn’t sure whether to be flattered that Ryan was so violently rejecting someone he assumed to be a stranger, or offended that he didn’t even recognise his own lover. Honestly. What a state. Still, Brendon was less annoyed, now, having been provided an explanation, and he sat back, pursing his lips. [b]Oh [i]really,”[/i][/b] He said dryly, looking down at Ryan’s hand when he pressed it against his chest to push him away. What a dumbass.

Still, this could be a good opportunity. Brendon’s apprehensive grimace fell away into a mischievous smile. [b]”What a lucky boy.”[/b] Zack laughed. Brendon shot him a glare. This was not helping his ego. [i]He’s famous, so you better... be careful. I’m spoken for.[/i] Brendon stifled a laugh and leaned back against his side of the car, letting his head fall against the window. [b]”Famous? That’s dope, dude.”[/b] A pause, he tilted his head as if extremely interested. He wanted to see what he could get an intoxicated Ryan to say about him when he didn’t think that- Brendon was the [i]real[/i] him. This could be a fascinating insight. [b]”What’s he like, then? Is he pretty?”[/b]