Ryan was apparently able to take Brendon down a notch, as evidenced in the most minor shift in expression, but only for a second before he turned back to vindictiveness. [i]That’s, like, the first time you’ve touched me all day.[/i] Ryan pursed his lips and then self-consciously looked at the placement of his hand, not sure whether this was a good or bad observation. He settled on 'neutral' and kept his hand there, 'cause at least this way he'd know in some advance if Brendon was just going to push past him and ignore his efforts. But, in all fairness, Brendon was right. He really hadn't paid him much mind all day except for maybe the morning when they'd woken up by each other - though the routine of a few minutes or more of exchanged greetings and affection, their usual choice of an hour or so wasted laying around in bed lazily kissing or just tangled together otherwise made brief by the time limitation of a tour, was not sufficient for Brendon's needs at all. Hell, it wasn't even enough for Ryan. He was just better at not thinking about it when he was focused on a multitude of other things anyway, which had been the case all day.

[i]I wish I could say the same.[/i] Fair, given his last point, and Ryan guiltily followed his gaze downward before he took his hand away, partially scared off by Brendon's glance. Anyway, no matter the situation, Ryan tended to make it very difficult to forgive him after making it very easy to get upset with him. It was uniquely frustrating even for Ryan himself; it definitely didn't feel like he'd done anything wrong until moments ago, and now suddenly he had a lot of mistakes to undo in a very small amount of time unless he was willing to let Brendon walk out. [i]It’s not [/i]seems [i]like, Ryan.[/i] That part he still disagreed with. Ryan set his jaw, carefully trying to keep from speaking. [i]You were.[/i] It was hard to ignore someone when you weren't intentionally doing so or actively thinking about them in the first place, but saying he 'hadn't even thought about Brendon enough to have ignored him' sounded potentially even worse. So Ryan just nodded in complacency, unsure how to meet him in the middle here.

The more his apology went on the less confident he felt about it, like maybe Brendon would just cut him off in the middle. He honestly couldn't read the air for once. When he'd finished, though, Brendon moved a little closer, raising his chin to look at Ryan somewhat defiantly. [i]Are you sure? If I stay, I probably won’t be able to keep my mouth shut long enough to prevent myself from continuing to talk about the grudge I’ll still be holding.[/i] Ryan's gaze flickered over him, hesitant, and wondered exactly what he wanted Ryan to even say to [i]that[/i] - 'sure, I'll suck it up and listen'? Tell him to just go if he was going to act that way? Ryan wore a hint of apprehension in his expression when he simply nodded again, movements short and stunted with uncertainty. [b]"Very sure. I'll hear you out,"[/b] he said, one corner of his mouth lifting up not with amusement this time but with reverence.

After a pause, he was slightly more confident in the possibility that Brendon wasn't just going to bolt. Maybe the silence was because he was overstaying his welcome in here - well, he wasn't even welcome in the first place, but he definitely stayed too long after it became apparent that Brendon was both not pleased to see him/not angry enough with him to kick him out altogether. [i]You know, I’ll hold you to that. I’m gonna shower.[/i] Ryan stared at him, watching him move back, and it took a second to click in that the look thrown to the door was a direction. Ryan once again lived in his thoughts for a few moments, recalling all the times Brendon had tried to convince him to join him in the shower, and he'd vehemently denied it on the basis of him being entirely too insecure in both his physical person and his ability to stay standing in a tiny slippery room with another person in it. [i]Especially[/i] Brendon. It wasn't a very... attractive situation in his eyes, but evidently Brendon thought otherwise.

[b]"Okay,"[/b] he said suddenly, his voice a little more chipper. [b]"I'll join you, then."[/b] Ryan was lucky that he was perpetually wearing three million layers, because he promptly shrugged off the jacket he'd been working on earlier and didn't have to deal with the consequence of being without anything to cover his upper half so soon after. Brendon was really the only one out of the two of them who could work that kind of image. [b]"If that's alright with you, I mean. I won't if you're mad."[/b] Ryan set his jacket on the counter to the side but didn't move his hand from atop the fabric, like he was waiting for a rejection before he let it go entirely.