Fic: PDA (Seth/Ryan 1/1)

Title: PDA
Author: dancinbutterfly
Part: 1/1
Rating: R
Spoilers: All of Season 1
Pairings: Seth/Ryan
Disclaimer: Josh owns The OC.
Warnings: AU starting with the very begining of S2. You'll like it, I think. I hope.
A/N: Its not really beta'd and I'm sorry for that. I tried to keep the tenses right but there might be some slip ups. Forgive. I wrote them late at night because my sister's roommate is watching my copies of the OC and I cant work on Chosen because of it. *glowers*
Thanks: To guest_age, ashley for their help. Thanks also to everyone who gave me a review. I continue to write this fandom because you guys tell me you want to see it.
Summary: In an alternate season 2, Ryan's an advocate of public displays of affection even if they get him and Seth into trouble.





Ryan kissed Seth for the first time in Luke's dad's kitchen in Portland in front of Luke, Luke's Big Gay Dad, and God. He liked kissing. Loved it in fact, had loved it from his first kiss with Theresa in kindergarten. And Seth's lips were soft and strong and the second he'd walked in the door and seen him again he'd realized he wasn't going to be able to stop himself.

Seth kissed back but made muffled, shocked noises and waved his hands out to the side, up over his head, out towards where Luke and his dad stood, gawking. Ryan laughed a little into his mouth at the Sethness of the whole response and pulled him closer by the hips.

"Put arms around him, Cohen, you fag." Luke called, laughing himself sick and Ryan heard a muffled thudding sound as Carson smacked his son for using that “f” word.

Ryan enjoyed the coffee-taste of Seth’s mouth, the feel of his tongue against his teeth. He moved a hand from Seth’s slender hip and ran it through those curls for the first time. They weren’t as slick as Theresa’s straight hair and lacked the stickiness gallons of product left on Marissa’s. It was just soft and sorta springy and how the hell could he have missed something he had never felt?

He pulled back from Seth after a few moments and looked him square in those dazed, confused eyes he had missed more than the blue ones framed by long blond hair over the past three months.

“You’re coming home with me, Seth.”

“Well when you put it that way…”

Ryan heard Carson sigh as he pulled Luke out of the kitchen, telling him that it was not okay to make that joke about the difference between a homosexual and a Nazi being a forty-five degree angle. And then he was kissing Seth again and damn, he liked to kiss. And he liked kissing Seth more than he’s every liked kissing anyone. Ever. And he intended to continue to kiss him for a very long time.

~*~*~

He kissed Seth in front of Sandy in the living room. It wasn’t on purpose. But Seth was doing his victory dance over a won Playstation game in the remodeled living room and he just couldn’t help it. He loved it when Seth smiled. It was so easy for him to smile and Ryan loved that and envied it at the same time. So he had to kiss him. It was required.

And of course, this was the Cohen house, where no one announced their presence until it was much, much too late. Sandy notified them by the strangled noise that came gurgling out of his throat.

They broke apart but by then it was too late. Sandy was sitting down heavily on one of the plastic covered chairs, blinking at them.

“Seth?”

“Yeah?” Ryan watched Seth’s eyes bug out and prayed that thing would not explode as violently as the could. He wanted things to work, want *them* to work but if Sandy and Kirsten opposed it, well; he wasn’t going to break up the Cohen family just because he couldn’t keep his hands to himself.

“You’re…” Sandy trailed off and shook his head. “You and Ryan? Ryan and you?”

“Um, yeah. You don’t mind, right? I mean, all that liberal tolerance and acceptance stuff wasn’t just lip service right? You still love your sort of minty son, right?”

Ryan hated the panicked look on Seth’s face when there was a legitimate reason for it to be there.

“Son, of course I still love you.” Sandy said sharply, looking horrified that Seth would even dare to dream that his love wasn't unconditional. “I will always love you. You could become a transsexual republican Muslim woman and I’d still love you. I’d be confused by the republican thing but that’s your choice. Just like this is your choice.” Sandy sighed and Ryan held his breath. “Do you boys know what you’re doing?”

He let his hand wander to the small of Seth’s back. With careful fingers he pulled up the hem of Seth’s polo shirt and slid his hand against his warm skin, hoping to soothe him. And it worked because Seth rolled his eyes so hard it had to hurt.

“I’m seventeen, Dad. I never know exactly what I’m doing.”

That wasn’t the answer Ryan would have liked to have heard but Seth wasn’t done talking. Seth was never done talking.

“But I’m happy so that’s something, right?”

Sandy smiled and Ryan knew that smile. That was the ‘see, they listen to me’ smile that Sandy flashed Kirsten whenever he or Seth did or said something that lived up to his idealistic expectations. “It’s more than something son. It’s a lot.”

“So uh…what are you going to tell mom?”

“Oh, you get to out yourself, Seth.” Sandy declared with upraised hands in a defensive gesture. “That’s a conversation you don’t get to avoid. Because I for one am not having that conversation with her for you.”

“Gee, thanks.” Seth muttered, leaning against Ryan. He liked that, that Seth leaned on him physically for support now, not just metaphorically. He let his arm slide forward around his waist and holding him close. In front of Seth’s dad. Which was great.

“Don’t mention it.” Sandy said, standing up. He stopped and looked down at them and smiled again. “I love you too, Ryan. No matter what. But know, you break his heart, I’ll break your wrists.”

“Just my wrists?” Ryan asked, unable to resist smiling now.

“You do less time for assault than attempted murder.” Sandy replied with a wink as he turned and walked from the room.

~*~*~

Ryan liked holding Seth’s hand. It was a rich boy’s hand, smooth and soft and sort of fragile and yet still strong from hours on sailboats and punching video game buttons. The index and middle fingers of his right hand was slightly calloused from drawing and writing and Ryan liked to rub his fingers against it. And he held his hand now as they sit across from Kirsten at the kitchen table.

“So, I’m not exactly gay. But, I’m dating a guy. Ryan. I’m dating Ryan. Sorta. We haven’t been on a date. Yet. Right? It’s a yet. But we do the kissing and that sort of thing and you’re not going to freak on me are you?”

Kirsten said nothing, got up, went to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of white wine. Ryan squeezed Seth’s hands as she pulled out the cork and poured herself a large glass. In a water glass.

“Seth… Ryan…” She stopped and took a drink. “Ryan… Seth…” She took another drink. “I have no idea what to say.”

“If it helps,” Ryan said softly, “I love him.”

Seth’s head jerked sharply to the side to give Ryan a hard stare. “Dude, really?”

Ryan brought up their joined hands and pressed his lips against Seth’s before speaking. “You think I’d come out to your mom if I didn’t love you?”

“Well, yeah. You know solidtarity. I mean…wait did you just kiss my hand?” Seth smiled and it was goofy and Ryan damn near melted. “You’re really a touchy-feely sort of guy aren’t you?”

“I can be.”

“That’s awesome.”

“There’s not enough wine in this house.” Kirsten muttered, looking her sons, biological and adopted, through the empty glass in front of her.

~*~*~

He joined Seth’s comic book club because he liked watching Seth get excited over comics. Plus, it made him remember that blow job he gave him in the bathroom of the local comic book shop which Seth returned with less skill but twice as much enthusiasm. He also joined because he really does like comics. Legion is cool and Seth’s art is amazing and he couldn’t let Seth start another club alone.

And when this new guy Zach walked in he might as well not have been there. They used words he doesn’t understand, and Seth gushed like a puppy over a new toy or a juicy bone. He wanted to hit that guy in his smug water polo face so hard his head snapped back and his nose broke.

Seth then proceeded to kvell, one of the Cohens’ words not Ryan’s. And Ryan did his best not to get too jealous. He had jealousy issues, he knew this. Oliver and Eddie had taught him that. So he did not say anything.

“Dude I love that guy!” Seth declared as Zach, walked away. And, thank god, over to Summer. Talk about two birds with one stone.

“You’re not the only one,” He said, pointing in the happy couple’s general direction.

“No…she cannot be dating him. That’s not even possible? How is that possible?”

Ryan shriveled inside. How the fuck was he supposed to keep Seth against that: the water polo god who knew comics as well as Seth and the girl who started it all? He swallowed hard. “A second ago, *you* wanted to date him.”

Seth turned and looked at him and gave a feeble attempt at a smile.

“But you can’t. I’m not going to lose you.” He said softly, moving closer and sliding the back of his hand against Seth’s. Not holding just rubbing gently enough to send goose bumps all the way up his arm. He leaned over slightly and whispered in Seth’s ear, “Not to him or to her.”

They ended up a janitor’s closet during free period instead of the lounge, kissing and exchanging hand jobs among huge rolls of coarse brown paper towels and cheap antiseptic soap. When they stumbled out twenty minutes later, panting with slightly sticky hands, Summer was waiting for them with her hands planted on her hips.

“So you’re gay now? And you didn’t even tell me?”

“Hey…Summer we were just-“

“Zip it, Cohen. Not a word. And you, Marissa is going to have a seizure and spin down the lawn boy slut spiral when she finds out about this.’

“I-“ Ryan started.

She held up a hand, a diamond tennis bracelet on her slim wrist glittering. “I wasn’t finished speaking. Now, I can forgive you, Cohen, for running off like a little bitch now that I understand why but you should have told me! Like I wanted to lose my virginity to the only fashion challenged gay on the planet.”

“I am not-“

“You are – fashion challenged *and* gay. I have eyes and,” She sniffed and wrinkled her face in distaste and Ryan realized to his horror that they might have missed a spot or two during clean up, “A nose. Ew!”

Ryan reached out and touched Seth’s shoulder, offering comfort the best way he knew how and when Seth leaned into the touch just slightly for a moment before he pulled his hand away. But not fast enough.

“You *really* need to tone down the PDA, Chino. You keep up with all the contact at school and people are going to suspect. Hell, people already suspected and have for like ever. But it’s not like Cohen doesn’t get enough shit without the whole boylove entering into the picture. So be careful. Okay? Cause I may be this close to rage blacking out on you,” Summer said holding her manicured nails inches apart in front of Seth’s face, “But I don’t want anyone but me kicking your ass, we clear?”

“Crystal,” Seth and Ryan chimed in unison.

“Ugh, you’re going to be one of those couples aren’t you?”

They shared a glance, and as one shrugged and said “Probably.”

~*~*~

There was a concert at the Bait Shop and he was dancing with Seth. Actually, they were just sort of swaying to the music but he was pressed up against Seth, his back flush against Seth’s front with his arms wrapped back around him and Seth’s long lanky limbs draped around his neck. It’s better this way, Seth reasoned, because Seth had a good three inches on him and can see easier over his head to the stage than Ryan could ever see over his.

Ryan didn’t care at all about the emo band on stage. He was more of Journey man but Seth liked it, in fact, Seth loved it. And when Seth did things he loved, he got excited and when Seth was excited, Ryan reaped rewards in the form of really amazing orgasms and cuddling that was possibly better than the sex. Because as great as it was to be inside Seth or to have Seth be inside of him, and holy shit was it great, it’s even better to be held. He’d been held by people he loved a precious little amount in his life and he couldn’t seem to say no when a chance is offered. Which is why he leans back against Seth despite the public setting. He figured that the dark would hide them.

Alex thought it was adorable. Then again Alex, he had learned after she caught them making out at the back door during one of Seth’s breaks, was open to alternative lifestyles herself and didn’t judge. In fact, she had a bad habit of popping up with a digital camera and capturing moments for posterity that she kept threatening to send to Ryan’s ex if he didn’t come clean.

She, of course, had a bit of a crush on Marissa but she did at least *try* to get their attention when said ex made her way through the crowd toward them. Seth was too wrapped up in the show to notice and Ryan was too wrapped up in Seth for her wild hand gestures to even register. Until he was slapped in the face and staring down a sobbing Marissa.

“How could you?” She screamed at him over the din of the amplifiers, her face crumpling into tears despite the fact that she was sleeping with her lawn boy and had been since he left to help Theresa with the baby who never was.

She tore off out of the Bait Shop and Ryan felt Seth disentangled himself. He was suddenly cold despite the summer heat.

“You’re gonna want to go after her.” Seth shouted, leaning down to speak into his ear.

Ryan caught Seth’s head, holding him down at his level. He turned his head, bit down gently but firmly on Seth’s earlobe then called back, “No, I don’t.”

He glanced over at Alex, gave her a jerk of his chin that he hoped she took to mean ‘go get her, she’s all yours’ before turning back to Seth. He liked this band, he decided as he kissed Seth over his shoulder and felt those arms wrap back around him. He liked them a lot.

~*~*~

He pulled Seth into his lap at the beginning of lunch as he passed by on his way to his seat. Not the wisest move, he realized later, but he was with Summer and Zach, who knew accepted and made a hobby of coming up with new and creative double entendres, and that had lulled him into a false sense of security.

He did it at home, so often that Kirsten had joked about only needing three chairs at the breakfast table. It was a move that was nearly instinctual and when he did it he usually finished it with a kiss to the base of Seth’s neck and a hug around the waist before carrying on with the meal.

Usually when he did that, Seth would relax against him, grab his Arts & Leisure section, and ask Ryan to pass him the coffee. So Ryan’s big clue that he had fucked up was not the dead silence that had descended upon the quad but the stiffness of Seth’s body in his arms.

Awareness of the hundreds of pairs of eyes locked on them came later, after he realized that his lover was not pliant and comfortable in his arms. Then entirety of campus was looking at them and it was no surprise.

The kid from Chino and the grandson of Caleb Nichol? Every parent in Newport would know about them by nightfall. Shit would hit the fan in a truly spectacular way that would no doubt involve bigotry, bias, and Julie Cooper-Nichol’s big mouth and there was nothing they could do about it.

“Sorry.” Ryan said softly as the conversation suddenly restarted in a buzz all around campus, about them he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt. He ducked his head against Seth’s shoulder, knowing that at this point it was way too late to do anything about it now.

“It was bound to happen some time,” Seth said with a shrug, moving his hand to the back of Ryan’s neck. “You’re way too touchy-feely for your own good. This was inevitable. I’m irresistible. Not your fault.”

“Of course it’s his fault.” Summer declared, pulling Zach’s arm farther around her shoulders like it was a scarf rather than a limb attached to a person with live nerve endings. “Cohen, I warned you. I warned you both."

“Let it go, Summer. What’s done is done. Just say ‘We’ll be here for you guys.’” Zach prompted with an indulgent smile.

She made an annoyed noise but sighed and said what he asked her to. She said it through gritted teeth with folded arms but she did say it.

“Thank you for your support Summer. That sounded so sincere, really.” Seth deadpanned

“You guys have to kiss now.” Summer said coolly, pulling out her video camera phone.

“Says who?” Seth demanded.

“Says me and everyone who is still staring at you.” She waved a hand and held up her phone. “Go on.”

Ryan didn’t wait for Seth to argue. He just pulled him down and kissed him, not too luridly but enough to stake a very public sort of claim. And it was good. It was great in fact.

He loved being able to kiss Seth out in the open, not having to sneak any more. Part of it was the freedom of the act. Part of it was because he was so in love with Seth it made his head spin. But part of it wass because when in a relationship, Ryan has always been a fan of public displays of affection.

(end)