Oh David and Keith. I love you. (I can say this because it's not a story!) So right about the I love you exchange, though. I think it was rm who taught me that saying "I love you, too" is dangerous because that runs the risk of turning it into a reflex, like saying "Bless you" when someone sneezes. V. true of fictional admissions of love, too.

Ryan is so Ryan; he's a particularly hard person to nail and I've really never seen him written as well as you write him, so he's just a delight.