averagemedium | [Off-Comm Threads]

"Maybe it'll be close enough. You're still you, aren't you?"

He lets his chin rest on top of Henry's head, keeping him held close. It's still weird to think about, going to be weird to get used to--

Okay, and there are other concerns.

"...but if you're going to be treating him like your own kid, um. Is this going to get in the way of it? If he's already upset you're not with his mother then how's he going to take you... well, not being with a girl at all?"

"I like to think I'm still me! And pretty good at it by now."

But he accepts the chin-resting with a more content hum, pressing up into it for a moment, while scratching slowly at his back at the other question.

"Yeah, he's probably not gonna like you at all. I'll try to talk to him about it, but he's just gonna have to deal with it. I mean, Cherche's a great lady, but I'm not in love with her."

Well.

He's trying not to take that to heart, he really is (he's casual that way about everything, it doesn't necessarily mean anything like that, don't assume), but he can't help going still, fingers digging into the fabric of Henry's shirt-- no, his shirt, he'd almost forgotten.

He should probably just let it go, he really should, it isn't like Henry would want to talk about it even if that does mean what it sounds like it means- but he's got to ask. He's been open about things so far this morning, maybe chances are good.

"--not in love with her, or just... not?"

There is definitely an attempt at keeping it casual, but the nerves are obvious in the way he's still clinging a bit too much.

At the stillness, the harder clinging, Henry briefly wonders if he'd said something wrong, if he'd offended or worried him somehow. The question clears things up a bit, and he nearly laughs, shaking his head against him.

"Because I'm in love with you. Geez, I thought it was obvious."

As playful a tone as he could manage, because that was easier than being too sentimental, too emotional. Sincerity was better when it was as flippant as everything else.

Ryan feels like the pounding of his heart's got to be obvious to him, and all he manages at first is a reflexive "oh." It sparks a simultaneous wash of fondness and warmth, and a little panic; it's nice to hear that, really incredibly nice, but he's been trying to hold off on thinking about it too much himself, considering whether he might be. Ryan's sort of assumed that Henry wasn't much the type for it, that it might be best to just avoid worrying over exactly how he felt about him and just enjoy it-- and he has been.

It's just that without having already worried over it he's not sure whether he ought to say it back. His immediate impulse is to go for it, but he ends up hesitating too long, stumbling over words.

"--I didn't-- I mean, okay, maybe it should've been obvious but I wasn't really... I guess I wasn't expecting you to?"

And he does laugh at that, nudging back just enough to seek out Ryan's gaze, looking up at him. Henry hadn't particularly dwelled on the existence of his own feelings one way or another- but once he realized it was there, well. No reason not to mention it when the opportunity came up.

And no reason to think about it any more than that.

But he doesn't mind not hearing it in return. Henry hadn't expected it, and it didn't change anything to him. So he just smiles. "Now you know better. So don't worry about what Gerome thinks, I'll figure out something to tell him."

He nods, still bright pink, reaching up with one hand to affectionately comb his fingers through Henry's hair. There's time to think about things a bit (well, for certain values of 'thinking' that likely involve a lot of second-guessing himself.)

"--alright. Just so long as I don't need to start pretending to be a surrogate parent or anything, that... would get really awkward."

"That would be kinda weird, huh? You don't even need to talk to him if you don't want to. Or- wait, I did already invite him over for dinner. That's okay, right?"

Henry leans up to kiss him briefly, before detangling enough to snag one of the bits of leftover toast, munching on that instead.

"'Cause he already accepted. Easily too, dunno if he'll actually show up though."

There's a small noise of surprise muffled into the kiss-- he hadn't struck Ryan as the type to accept dinner invitations, but if he had... well, maybe he was interested in working on some sort of relationship with his sort-of-dad, and Ryan's not about to get in the way of that.

"I'll be here if he does show up- you don't think I'd leave you to deal with cooking by yourself, did you? And if you two are going to try to deal with all of this, then-- he and I are just going to have to get used to each other."

"Great! You know I'm way better at burning things than cooking them," even if it was mostly due to carelessness and wondering what would happen rather than complete ignorance of the technology by this point. "So if you wanna help that's good."

But he glances sideways at him, curious. "You already don't get along though, huh. How'd you manage that?"

"I have no idea. I tried to be friendly and everything, but it just-- it's never gone well. I'm not sure if I somehow offended him or something, and maybe he's just always that way, but I definitely get the impression he's not that keen on me."

...which he really isn't used to, here. Most people have been pretty easy to deal with, and the circumstances just make the whole thing that much more difficult.

"...d'you think I should, you know. Message him or something?"

He looks surprised at the offer, but nods after a moment.

"Sure, go ahead if you'd like- and hey, it's not like he's gonna like you any less, right?"

Snagging all of the leftover toast now, awesome. As he continues, his voice is a bit crumbly. "But I think he's just like that? Well, to anyone who's not Minerva."

"At least it's not just me." That's almost a relieved-sounding little laugh, and he's just popping another slice of bread into the toaster for himself.

"I'll try to talk to him, though. Make sure there aren't any problems or anything before he comes over-- and if I end up needing to, I can just help you cook and then get out of the apartment for a while."

"Definitely not just you! But thanks for being willing to try." Henry grins up at him, before watching the toaster. It always sort of fascinated him. Sometimes he toasted things just to watch them burn.

"But you shouldn't have to run off," he does add, finishing semi-stolen toast and leaning back against Ryan. "But you also don't have to stick around if you don't want. He's my kid after all- never thought I'd be able to say that."

His smile's a bit gentler, as he keeps gazing at the toaster.

Ryan shakes his head, scratching lightly at the back of Henry's neck. "I do want to be around. Like I said, we're going to have to deal with each other one way or another."

The softness in that smile doesn't go unnoticed, either, and Ryan finds himself matching it a bit- it looks good on him, he can't help but think. "...did you want one? I mean, I know that hadn't really been an option or anything so far, but." But that doesn't really stop hoping, he's aware of that much.

"...I'm not sure! Never really thought about it."

But his laughter's normal at least, expression quickly turning back to its usual sort of friendliness. But he leans into the scratching with a pleased hum.

"But you should definitely stick around, then! You can get used to anything if you're around it enough. Besides, I might need ya to use your control to keep him from running off."

He'd expected about as much, and he snags the toast as it pops out, taking a quick bite before he answers.

"I'm not going to force him into staying here if he decides he wants to leave, Henry," he answers, a hint of amusement in his voice. "He's your kid, you can use your shadows if you insist on it."

"Oh, I will, but body control's a bit more straightforward, so I thought I might as well ask."

But he would shadow Gerome to the floor if need be. He didn't even need to think about it.

"It is, but I still think that's a little more between you two," he says, muffled around a mouthful. "Definitely staying out of that." Because he has little doubt that Henry would, and he's not about to give Gerome any reason to dislike him.

"Don't worry, I think I can handle him." Maybe. Even with the axe.

He idly reaches up to brush at his hair while he eats. "Who knows, maybe you'll end up hitting it off after all. And Minerva can meet Frisbee and hopefully not try to eat him."

"...maybe, but I don't think Minerva gets to meet Frisbee without plenty of supervision. Our cat's not going to be wyvern food," he says almost defensively, quickly finishing off the rest of his toast.

"We'll see about hitting it off, though. I hope we do, but--" Ryan trails off there, biting at his lip. There are so many factors involved here, he can't really guess.

"And we won't know until he's here, so no reason to worry about it now." Which made sense to him. Everything was going pretty well, really- Gerome had agreed to visit, Ryan was okay with him visiting. Henry was satisfied with that.

Edging his arms back around him, he leans up to join him in biting his lip, before offering, "and Minerva's a good wyvern! I'm sure they'll be friends too." He hadn't missed the 'our' cat description either, inwardly a little pleased, even if he wasn't sure why.

"I'll try not to." He manages a small grin, giving Henry an affectionate little nosebump as he shifts to lean back against the counter, pulling him along. It can't go that badly, he's sure--

"--wait. When did you invite him over? Was that today?"

"Uh- yes?"

Which doesn't keep him from pressing Ryan back against that counter, going to nuzzle along his jawline between replies. "That's okay, right?"

Oh, god. He has to plan, he needs to start cooking now to finish everything by this evening and he doesn't even know what to make yet, he has no clue what Gerome might like, that's going to make it take longer--

The panic is evident in his wide-eyed expression as he stares down at Henry. "What time? How much time do we have-- hell, do we have enough groceries to cook for three right now, I don't know--"

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