Snippet #2475268

After their short embrace, Cain spoke to Ryan once more, "You don’t know how glad I am that you approve of me Ryan. It seems you understand the connection I share with Vincent and thus with everyone else, yet many of the others don’t seem to see it. Thanks for giving me a chance little brother." As softly as Cain had spoken, Ryan replied, "It's a little easier for me I guess. You two smell practically identical, nearly indistinguishable from the other. You're the same, but different. It doesn't take anything away from either of you. It's nice." When he was finished, Ryan smiled, the gesture was returned by Cain, and the two parted to greet other members of the X-Mansion.

Having finished speaking with Cain, Ryan washed his dishes, then returned to Memory, and put his hand on her waist. Memory smiled at Ryan's reassuring, and protective, embrace and let herself lean into him slightly. A sly smile curled her lips, and she looked away slightly. Ryan felt his heart thump, and his temperature shoot up a few degrees. He blushed slightly, the tops of his cheeks becoming warm and rosy. Quickly, but gently, Ryan wrapped his other arm around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder. After a brief moment, he gave her a quick squeeze, a gentle embrace from behind. Just as quickly, as if he weren't trying to draw attention to himself, Ryan removed one arm from her waist, leaving the other in its previous position, and went back to his leaning position against the countertop.

After Vincent and Philip's prank had passed, an iota of normalcy swept into the kitchen. Conversation resumed. The dark atmosphere from before, which had filled the room with a sense of brooding and anger, had passed. The tension and panic seemed to melt away into nothingness; as if it had never been there to begin with. It was almost as if all the incidents of the previous day had gone, and it was just another day in the life of the X-Men. Ryan sighed quietly. He wished days like these would continue on forever. Days without war, days without strife, days where they could just exist. Those were the days worth living, "the days worth fighting for," Ryan thought to himself. He sighed again. Days like those were few and far between. As much as he hoped, wished, and prayed for days like these, he knew they couldn't last.

For a brief moment, Memory stepped away from Ryan, bringing him back from his daydreams. She was heading over towards towards the coffee. Altough Ryan had been enjoying the pseudo-snuggling, he could understand the need for specific morning rituals to be observed. Though Ryan wasn't a coffee drinker, he used to have to wake up an extra hour and a half early to grind the scale off of his body just to feel confident in leaving his room for the day. Regardless, he had really enjoyed her contact, her warmth, and her love. Her entrance into his life was like the birth of a brilliant, shining sun, filling him with energy, happiness, and, most importantly, confidence. Even though he knew she would be back in a moment, he felt somewhat disappointed. He would have to get her back for it later. Ryan blushed to himself at the thought. He was such a pervert. With a quiet, "I'll be right back," Memory strode off into the kitchen to give herself a little boost of caffeine. Though Ryan wasn't a coffee drinker, far too bitter for his overdeveloped sense of taste, he loved the smell. After pouring and walking back to Ryan, a slightly forced, but decently hidden, smile on her face, she took a sip and moved closer to him again. He stepped a touch closer to her as well, leaning his head on her shoulder. Once more he had to resist the urge to growl affectionately.

Apparently, someone else had noticed Ryan's closeness to Memory. Miss Cara, who had been rather attached to Cain this morning, stepped over to the two of them, having been drawn away from the flow of conversation within the Kitchen's small break from its heated debate. Her voice almost made Ryan jump, and though he left his hand on Memory's waist, he took his head from her shoulder, and faced away from her, so as to properly address Miss Cara. “So… Good night?” She asked politely. However, in Ryan's mind, the question was... rather stimulating. He felt his face begin to burn, and he was sure he was beet red. Apparently, it had caught Memory by surprise as well, and she jumped, nearly dropping her cup of coffee. For a moment, Ryan didn't know how to react. Dreamlike, sultry scenarios played in his head, only causing him to blush deeper. It was all too much for Ryan. He removed his hand from Memory's waist, nearly shouting in reply to Miss Cara, though he managed to keep his voice down so as to keep the conversation mostly private. His hands flew up, waving wildly in non-committal gestures and attempting to dismiss the idea without distancing himself from Memory. "N-n-n-n-no! N-n-noth-thing l-l-like th-that! W-w-we j-just.... I-I-I-I.... U-umm.... Uhh..." Ryan trailed off, and his eyes burned holes in the floor. He didn't really know what to say without sounding like a totally weirdo. Luckily, Miss Cara realized how uncomfortable she had made him, most likely by accident, and spoke up, cutting Ryan off from further humiliating himself. “Sorry, I didn't mean that. Did you sleep well?” Ryan looked up from the floor, and sighed with relief. He heard Memory snort, and took it rather poorly. He mock pouted, "That's not funny, M!" However, the situation was actually rather humorous, and he couldn't help but burst into laughter. All awkwardness forgotten, Ryan let himself openly laugh, small tears even forming in the corners of his eyes. After a moment, he had settled down, and he wiped a drop of sweat from his forehead, and a tear from his eye. Chuckling lightheartedly at his own expense, he spoke, "Wow. Um, S-sorry about that. I didn't mean to yell. Yeah... I, umm... I slept very well, thank you for asking." Ryan smiled politely, before returning the question upon Miss Cara. "And you? Did you have a good night's sleep as well?" In the confusion and more than mild embarrassment, Ryan had forgotten his hand had left Memory's waist, and he didn't return it to it's previous position.