[i]Didn’t say a word, Ry.[/i] Well, he didn't have to go and do that. Ryan was blushing already. 'Ry,' the tone of his voice - it seemed everything Brendon did was a ploy to make him feel even more stupidly affectionate. That and the whole dramatic show of Brendon dropping to his knees before him. Ryan knew he was obvious, knew no matter what measures he took to hide himself in any way it was really just Brendon who he couldn't keep anything from, and that was, unfortunately, the worst case scenario. He'd have taken literally anyone else to see through all of his acts, it'd be less embarrassing; alas, he was stuck with Brendon being able to call him on every lie, able to catch him when he was hiding an emotion, able to keep him from hiding things in the first place, as was the case now. He couldn't even pretend there wasn't a magnetism that made Ryan practically vibrate with responsiveness. Even when Brendon shifted up into his lap, all he could do was naturally catch him, hold him in place, hands gentle on his back.

Except Ryan was a huge, massive, ginormous idiot, and he had to ruin everything with his equally gigantic sentimental mouth. Brendon just stared back, and Ryan couldn't read anything from his dark, dark eyes, couldn't discern something to ease his nerves. He honestly had no idea what kind of terms they were on. Probably good, but then, probably not 'emotionally connected' good in the way Ryan had made himself to be. Well. He [i]let [/i]himself get this way. There was nothing conscious about it. For a few moments they were both quiet. [i]I like you, too.[/i] Ryan's chest had been tight with anxiety already and he felt it worsen, charmed, excitability piqued, when the potential for Brendon to feel the same had maxed out - but he was probably just... maybe this was to avoid an uncomfortable conversation. He still couldn't read anything in Brendon's face, he had no idea. So. He panicked. Very typical for him.

Ryan backtracked, fearful even as Brendon saying he liked him back echoed in his ears - and how middle school was that, two idiots admitting they [i]liked each other[/i] when real adults in their right mind just found an appropriate word for their relationship until the actual 'L' word was safe to use. No, Brendon and Ryan liked each other. He shrunk under Brendon's gaze, but then he was pushing him back against the cushion, meeting him in a kiss beyond just 'too much' right now for Ryan. Open-mouthed, impassioned, Ryan responded only dizzily, a hand rising up tentatively as if he meant to curl it into Brendon's hair but every nerve was too shot to focus on doing much of any moving. As it were, his eyelids fell slowly, muscles slackening until he was relaxed against the seatback, and the hand unsure of where to go finally fell slowly against Brendon's shoulder, boneless. 'I like you, too.' Maybe he did. Maybe he did and there was nothing to be afraid of - or he did and there was everything to be afraid of. Either way, this was a scenario that he did, and Ryan was exhilerated by the thought.

Brendon pulled back and his mouth looked red, distracting; like clockwork, Ryan touched his lower lip with his thumb, index curled under his chin. He was so... yeah, yeah, you get the picture. [i]You don’t need to apologise.[/i] Ryan probably could've cried, if that were his thing. In this case he just felt choked up, like there was a bauble in his throat, eyes wide and unfocused. [i]Me not talking to you because I thought that was the best way to communicate with you what I wanted- Stupid. I know that now.[/i] Alright, well, this wasn't an elaborate way to punish him for that, and - Ryan wouldn't tell him in a million years, but it was starting to be kind of funny, what his logic had been. In response to the knowledge in Brendon's expression, Ryan just nodded slightly, forgiving. He said as much and detracted from his original confession again, in case... in case Brendon needed a way out of this conversation, or something. In case he felt obligated to say all of this. 

[i]Yeah, that isn’t gonna be possible.[i] Fuck. [i]But, I tell you what, babe. You take me through there- you do to me as you please, and then- we can talk about it.[/i] Oh, Christ. It's like he had a vendetta. [i]Properly. I promise.[/i] Well, now Brendon had his mind all over the place - some in the gutter, some hopelessly, helplessly getting carried away in sentiments and grandeur and 'holy shit he feels the same.' Also, 'holy shit he's being mature.' Somehow, even being the exact opposite of himself, Brendon was stupidly attractive. Ryan was still for a few beats before finally he looped his arms carefully around Brendon, turned them both until their sides were facing the seatback and Brendon was nestled, tiny, in the corner of the chair, Ryan's hand cushioning his head, the rest of him so close they were no longer Brendon and Ryan but BrendonandRyan, BrendonandRyan who like each other and were going to talk about it properly and didn't scare the other one off. Ryan kissed him the same way Brendon had moments ago, only slower, longingly, like this was the first time ever.

Following that, once he was out of breath, Ryan kept him in a warm embrace, mouth attached the to the junction of his neck and shoulder, barely able to move like he'd want to to follow Brendon's clear instructions of 'you do to me as you please.' Rather, he was still speechless. [b]"You're serious,"[/b] he murmured, evidently still finding the idea of reciprocation far out. Ryan paused, then pulled back, examining Brendon's face before deciding, yeah, he was going to test his own ability to be fully genuine and honest. He combed his fingers through Brendon's hair a few more times before cradling one side of his head, tilting his own. [b]"I like you so much. I do. You're serious?"[/b] His voice was a whisper, like the subject was sensitive. Suppose it was.