Snippet #2468421

As Ryan entered the kitchen, his eyes turned to Jonathan in the corner of the kitchen, next to Kyle. Ryan was a little nervous to see him. Ryan had smelled Jonathan from up the stairs, alerting him to his presence. His mouth dropped open as his sister walked in with Ryan, their fingers laced. He seemed somewhat shocked by the state of affairs. Ryan couldn't help but feel a flicker of fear and uneasiness. Was Jonathan upset? Did he approve of Ryan approaching Memory so soon after they had talked? However, much to Ryan's relief, Jonathan appeared to be ok with the whole situation. The corners of his eyes were turned up, and he appeared to be mostly happy with Ryan and Memory's arrival. Ryan mentally wiped a head of sweat from his forehead and sighed quietly. Though the majority of his worries were dispelled, he couldn't help but feel a strange sort of uneasiness around Jonathan. Ryan dismissed the thought, attributing the feeling to how stifling the room had felt when he entered, but a single thought remained. He would certainly hate to be on Jonathan's bad side. His eyes locked with Jonathan's for a brief moment, and Ryan smiled. He tried to, in that one moment, thank Jonathan for his brilliant advice, his kind, listening ears, and his big heart. Ryan wasn't sure if Nonathan caught the gesture, but Ryan felt obliged to make it none the less.

Approaching the stove, Ryan greeted his surrogate mother like he usually did, and Jean hugged Ryan back as he embraced her. Ryan felt his heart pound affectionately, and he resisted the urge to release a low growl of contentment. As the two broke apart, Ryan couldn't but notice his surrogate mother's smirk. She appeared to have noticed his closeness with Memory. Ryan blushed and smiled somewhat apologetically, as if he felt bad for not telling her about it sooner. After she had finished preparing the two plates, she handed them to Ryan, whispering just low enough for him to hear. “Way to go Mr. Stud.” She winked, and Ryan blushed deeper. Jeez Mom... Ryan thought, directing his grievances at Jean with a roll of his eyes. Whispering back, Ryan said. "Trust me, there was nothing suave about it at all." As he said it, Ryan couldn't help but smirk. Jean always knew just how to make him smile. For all Ryan's life she had taken care of him, and her approval and candor meant more to Ryan than the opinion of everyone else at the mansion, not including Jonathan, or Memory herself.

Having joked with his surrogate mother about the situation, Ryan stepped back towards the counter, plate in hand, and dug around in an open drawer until he found a fork. Attempting to use somewhat proper table manners, Ryan ate quickly, as he was quite hungry, but not so fast as to forget his manners. After all, he was attached to Memory now. People would associate his behavior with Memory's image. Ryan had to be a good example. The better he looked, the better Memory looked by association. As he ate, Ryan was approached by someone he hadn't properly been introduced to. Cain. Though Ryan had seen him come in with Vincent after the kidnapping incident, Ryan hadn't spent much time with him. However, Cain smelled exactly the same as Ryan's adopted brother Vincent; their scents were identical, indistinguishable. Further, he walked over towards Ryan with a wide smile, giving off waves of, what felt like, happiness and pride on Ryan's behalf. Had Ryan been transformed, his tail would have unconsciously started to wag. For some reason, Ryan was instinctively happy that Cain was pleased with him. The two were practically strangers, and yet Ryan felt as if he had known Cain all his life. Technically, though Ryan didn't consciously recognize it, he had.

Having reached where Ryan was, Cain spoke. “Ryan I didn’t realize you had such pretty girlfriend? I’d ask you to introduce me to her but I believe we already met.” Cain said cheerfully, a wide, bright smile on his face. Ryan blushed slightly, and returned the gesture with his own infectious, toothy grin, after, of course, making sure there was no food in his mouth. Setting down his plate, Ryan responded. "Cain, right? Though I don't think we've properly met, and I didn't know you'd already met Memory, I can most certainly agree with you. She is rather pretty." As he said it, Ryan threw a warm, heart-melting glance at Memory, and beamed at her, smiling wide. Once he'd finished his little compliment, Ryan stepped over to Cain and inspected him. His nose worked furiously, as if he were trying to smell his way into Cain's soul, to read his very essence via scent. Nodding, and having apparently deduced something pleasant about him, Ryan smiled and embraced Cain in a brotherly fashion. "Vincent said you were a part of him, and he of you. Two halves of the same whole. I'm not really sure how that works, but I suppose I can be ok with having another older brother as cool as you." As he said it, Ryan smiled wider, overflowing with a warm, wistful, happiness. Cain's scent, which was identical to Vincent's, contained only happy memories for Ryan. The same warm feelings he had for his brother Vincent, were present when he was with Cain.

After hugging Cain for a moment, Ryan let him go, quickly smiling up at him before fully stepping away. This way Cain could finish his breakfast, or be free to talk with others. Further, Ryan had the tiniest niggling suspicion he wasn't the hugging type. He wasn't the kind to break a hug for no reason, but he definitely wasn't the kind to run around hugging people either. His piece having been said, Ryan walked back over to where Memory was, and resumed the eating of his breakfast, cheeks still rosy, not from blushing, but from happiness. Ryan just felt so happy, he couldn't help himself. When he had finished his pancakes, which were absolutely delicious, Ryan thanked Jean and carried his dishes over to the sink, so that he could wash them. As he scrubbed, Ryan could smell Vincent and Philip outside the mansion, which explained their absence at breakfast, but what were they doing outside? Their footsteps were muffled, and oddly placed, as if crouching along the Mansion walls. Ryan tilted his head sideways, chuckling to himself. Just what were those two troublemakers up to? Ryan's question was quickly answered, as the sound of, what appeared to be gunfire, filled the air. Though he couldn't tell Philip was making miniature bombs, he at least knew that Philip was there, and was most likely responsible for the noise. When the rest of the room reacted to the little prank, jumping in surprise, or yelling obscenities, Ryan only smiled, laughing light-heartedly and shaking his head. He dried his hands off once he had finished washing his dishes, and returned to Memory's side, leaning his back against the counter, and casually sliding an arm across the counter to rest his hand on her waist. The contact demanded nothing, not even reciprocation, it was even placed so that she could continue eating, talking, or doing whatever she liked uninterrupted. Ryan's hand was just there as a reassurance, to let her know that he was there, and that he loved her.