"Okay, that's fair," he said with an air of disappointment. "Thanks again, for everything," he said softly, as they walked to his room.
Ryan found being tucked in strangely comforting, and the feeling of Kerr's kiss on his forehead was arousing. Once the boy was alone, he took care of one final need, another thing life on the streets had prevented him from doing with any real enjoyment. Now, as he touched himself, eyes closed, tongue sticking out the corner of his mouth, he thought of Kerr. He finished quickly due to his fatigue, and went to sleep dreaming of his friend and savior.
~~~
Ryan didn't know what to do with himself at first. That first day, he practically hid in his room, pacing back and forth and feeling anxious. He needed to be on the move. It wasn't safe. It was never safe. But slowly those feelings gave way to a recognition he was safe, and that his anxiety wasn't needed anymore. He resolved to start moving forward the next day.
True to his word, he went to the gym the next morning, grabbing coffee first. He felt a desire to smoke, but didn't like the idea of tar in his lungs. He bought an e-cig, a black electronic device that gave him puffs of nicotine as water vaper. The gym was empty, and that let him play around for two hours, just trying out everything. He was ridiculously sore the next night, whining to Kerr about it. The elder encouraged him to go back, and so he did.
Soon, he made a small routine: Wake up, shower, coffee, e-cig, gym. He ate a meal after that, and then began spending a few hours each day just walking around the city. He studied the buildings, camped out in libraries and book stores, and stared curiously at universities. He wanted to tell Kerr that he didn't want private tutors. Whatever his educational deficits, he felt much more knowledgeable on a host of subjects than the average freshman in university. He wanted to go to make friends his own age, and mingle with people. He knew how Kerr felt about him leaving, and so he decided not to bring it up yet.
He found he loved watching mixed martial arts on TV, and could even mimic many of the moves with ease. He began to wonder if he had some kind of training, and then was able to prove he did when he began doing move sets that nobody had ever taught him. He'd hoped a juicy memory would drop, but none did. None ever did.
His dreams continued though. They were always the same. He asked about the big woman and the redhead and Kerr told him that they were indeed important people to him. He was curious to meet them, but Kerr assured him that he wasn't ready for that yet. Ryan agreed, sure Kerr was just trying to keep him safe. He didn't know who Jake was yet, but Ryan was begining to be more than just a scared runway.
In the month that had gone by, he'd begun filling out in his body. The combination of eating and the gym showed up in a bigger arm, the line of his pec muscles beginning to show, and his skinny chicken legs filled into something more substantial. His confidence rose as these changes took place, and he started rough housing with Kerr to show him how strong he was getting. He also read whole books in just two or three days, and he practiced all the languages he knew. The most pressing thing he still didn't know, was what he wanted, other than Kerr.
On the night Kerr asked about his ring, Ryan was full of food, and feeling happy for quality time with his friend, and somewhat father. He felt immediately defensive about the ring, those pesky instincts telling him to not talk about it. However, Kerr had won him over, and so he didn't shut down the topic right away.
"Ask away," he said nervously, hands fidgeting with the ring in question. It felt safe. It felt so very safe.
