A natural overthinker anyway, Ryan had, of course, considered where this relationship might be leading. What was more bizarre was the fact that he'd thought about it much, much more in the beginning, when he really shouldn't have been entertaining such fantasies so early on... and then over time he convinced himself to calm down about it all, that he'd just freak out Brendon if he ever figured out how much Ryan dreamt about them in some 'domestic bliss' situation. It didn't bother him to keep it to himself, anyway - 'cause everyone else waited way longer, right? So if everyone else was spending, like, five years or more to get married, then he could wait that long. Maybe. Some days he got a little antsy about the matter, tired of saying 'boyfriend' when he could be saying 'fiance' or 'husband.' Or he saw a ring in a window and had to resist the urge to buy it, or a picture of the perfect wedding venue... yeah, best to keep that all to himself.

The picture in his head was more than just all of that, though. The legalities of it all, without being [i]objectively[/i] romantic, sure, but they were unifying anyway, renting an apartment [i]together[/i] and sharing a post code and joining bank accounts, all that boring adult shit he'd never seen himself doing. The difference was that now he trusted someone - now he wanted to be with someone forever, and Brendon was somehow that person despite being the craziest motherfucker he'd ever met. Endearingly so, at least. Those things aside, he just knew he'd be more secure in having that written bond with Brendon beyond their current promise to each other. Which was, admittedly, basically law to him, but still - they'd started with an impulse kiss and Ryan awkwardly asking if he could call Brendon his boyfriend now. Yeah, one of them asking the other to marry them in some extravagant display (or not-so-extravagant - Ryan wasn't picky) was probably better than that.

Thankfully, Brendon never made fun of how dumb Ryan tended to be, including whenever he repeated the same obvious observation five hundred times (but he was still in shock over the anniversary of his most successful relationship). [i]Yeah. Crazy, right?[/i] His gaze shifted briefly over, studying the way Brendon looked propped up on his elbows, somehow modelesque without trying. Didn't even matter that he provided an equally uninteresting response. [i]I know how you feel.[/i] Ryan smiled to himself while Brendon turned towards him, attention moving back to the sky, his expression far calmer. [i]Imagine if I’d been a terrible singer- Then you wouldn’t have wanted to see me that night. This would never have happened.[/i] [b]"Hey, that's -"[/b] Ryan paused. All right, so Brendon was cute and he'd totally check him out if he'd only just seen him at the meet and greet or whatever, but the only reason he'd violated his own 'no dating fans' rule was 'cause Brendon got into the band first anyway.

Ryan arched an eyebrow, caving. [b]"'kay, you're right. Damn, the universe was really looking out for us."[/b] And had been all along. Althought that sort of implied Gabe was a force of the universe... well, that wasn't wrong, either. [i]Yeah, happy anniversary. Here’s to another- I don’t know, forever?[/i] Ryan laughed softly, pure enthusiasm, and raised the neck of his guitar slightly as if it was a drink he was preparing to clink against Brendon's. Moments later, Brendon was leaning over him, and Ryan had to suppress a grin while Brendon's fingers drew through his hair just in case it could interrupt a long-awaited kiss. Miraculously he didn't, naturally pressing his hand gently against Brendon's chest when their lips met and he remained hovering above Ryan. 

[i]Baby, can I play your guitar?[/i] At the initial sing-song, Ryan's eyes rolled a little at his expert level schmoozing but he still loosened his grip on his guitar anyway. Ryan may be possessive over this one in particular, but Brendon could take his life savings for all he cared. Still, though, part of him was still reluctant from how beyond attached he was to it, and he couldn't quite pry his fingertips off the strings - or hide the twinge  of worry he accidentally conveyed. Brendon kissed him again and he melted into it, barely noticing when the instrument was pulled from his hands. [b]"Sneaky,"[/b] he accused softly, muffled against his lips, but didn't protest. [i]Don’t worry, I’ll be careful.[/i] Ryan reached up to brush the pad of his thumb over Brendon's chin just as he bit his lip, evidently caught in thought, and conveniently forgot all about his concerns.

Ryan was watching him instead of the stars now, a small smile stuck to his face while he tuned away. [i]You remind me of a former love that I once knew...[/i] [b]"And you carry a little piece with you,"[/b] he sang quietly, less tunefully and more like he was half-speaking. Anyway, seemed like Brendon wasn't all that committed to the song, judging by the gradually slower instrumental. Truthfully he was pretty distracted, only joining in out of reflex; his hand was drifting through Brendon's hair at this point, really just brushing flyaways down and smoothing down the little hairs framing Brendon's face endearingly. [b]"Never heard this song before."[/b] Ryan laughed a bit, his hand dropping and gaze shifting back to the sky above.