It was bizarre to see Brendon so strangely quiet and slow, because usually Ryan woud have no way of justifying calling him 'gentle.' He had sweet words and actions plenty of the time but this was different, keeping in pace with the environment around them, as easy as the lake water ripples. It was a change from the norm but Ryan would have appreciated any affection either way - whatever Brendon had to show was, of course, always welcome. Personally Ryan himself was always either painfully obvious or irritatingly subtle. He could show a pitiful weakness for Brendon's general allure one moment, then in the next it was hard for him to find the proper words to express his love for him, and predictably without the right words, Ryan wouldn't want to say anything at all. Thankfully, he'd picked Brendon of all people, and Brendon was about the only person in the entire world who could deal with Ryan's perfectionism and strictness with emotional expression. 

Lucky for both of them, Ryan didn't feel any such reservation tonight or even lately - he blamed it on the whole anniversary thing. As it were, anything involving Brendon or him and Brendon together tended to make him a whole lot easier to handle as a person. [i]You’re gorgeous.[/i] Ryan raised an eyebrow right back at Brendon, mirroring his daring face, and one corner of his mouth twitched up in amusement. So he heard that kind of thing a lot - along with too many kind words about his eyes, or his height, or his hands, or his voice, or... - but it never ceased to flatter him. That was unbelievably fortunate, really, because he figured if it'd been anyone else, Ryan would get used to being called some variation of 'handsome.' Brendon, though, was breathtaking beyond words, so it was like visiting the Louvre and all of the art just told you how beautiful you were. With a thought like that, Ryan thought maybe he could win this little competition Brendon apparently wanted to have, but he just pursed his lips for a second before letting his smirk break into a grin. [b]"No, you,"[/b] he murmured, because he thought he was [i]so[/i] funny. It was, needless to say, a little out of place amongst all of Brendon's generosity.

Moments later, Brendon's head was against his chest, and Ryan felt this odd sense of attachment from nowhere. He'd never experienced it so strongly before, this need to be as close to him as possible, and he wasn't sure what set the precedent for it - after all they were about as physically close as could be. Ryan wrapped his arms around Brendon in an effort to sate the need, a little taken aback that he was allowed to still when usually Brendon would've protested the cuddling by now, but it wasn't quite enough. Nevertheless Ryan let his eyes fall shut, at peace for once. [i]I know.[/i] Thank god. Sometimes Ryan thought maybe he really was too vague for Brendon to realize his worth, but. An 'I know' as assured as that one was what he'd wanted to hear for a long time. He smiled encouragingly before tucking in to the crook of Brendon's shoulder, feeling less and less like two separate entities as time went on, more like one joined soul.

Ryan figured coming back here was what had driven Brendon's new mood, but maybe it was getting to him, too. He hadn't expected his own anxiety about anything and everything to dissipate entirely like it had, nor had he anticipated being patient and not-annoying the whole time they'd been here thus far - usually Ryan fit in at least one pessimistic control-freak episode a day on average (and only a majority of the time was he by himself when it came around). But out here, away from everything bad and with all the good the world had to offer him, things were alright. [i]Maybe.[/i] Sounded a little reserved. Ryan shot Brendon a curious look, the joke over, wondering if maybe there really was something up. Brendon was a good actor, though, so if there was something really bad that he was trying to keep to himself, he would be able to. Ryan was likely just imagining things; probably his dumb brain trying to make him worry, as usual, over nothing.

[i]I- I guess it recently hit me. Forever. It doesn’t scare me anymore.[/i] Ryan gave him a reassuring look, glad that he was even able to say that - he'd come a long way, and it was still impressive even if a sizable amount of time had passed. [b]"Me, neither,"[/b] he replied breezily, remembering his own uncertainty, albeit having been in a less significant amount. He watched as Brendon's hand drifted up to run through his hair, and knew this was less of a compulsion than it was a way to keep himself occupied. Maybe admitting that he wasn't afraid was just as scary. Ryan skewed up his face, sympathetic, and then reached out to take his hand instead, entwining their fingers and smoothing his thumb over Brendon's comfortingly. [i]It's almost everything I could ever want.[/i]

Originally Ryan assumed that he'd gotten on the subject of 'forever' simply because he'd also happened to bring up their, in Brendon's words, 'mishap,' but now it was going on for a little too long, suspiciously so. Ryan felt a sudden flutter in his stomach despite not quite having put two and two together yet, only stuck on watching the meaningful way Brendon looked at him. This had to be... but probably not. The timing was perfect, the location was perfect, the mood was perfect... but there's no way Brendon was beating him to the chase, was he? Ryan tried to contain the shock/excitement/bewilderment/pure happiness cocktail that was bubbling up in his mind to keep it off of his expression, but maybe a little was showing through. To hide the lovestruck glimmer in his eyes he blinked a few times profusely, attention dropping to Brendon's lips if only to keep from meeting his serious gaze. [b]"I'm glad you say that, baby. I - I dream about it, honestly. 'Forever.'"[/b] His nervous-happy smile matched about how silly those words sounded, admitting how often he saw them being all domestic in his sleep, but. As long as they were both being vulnerable, here.