getting to see how different ryan is with hunter vs naim was sooooo buzzy oh my god.. he and hunter throwing rocks and punches, yelling until eventually they're drawn together and get the sexual contact they actually want. ryan justifying to himself that he can have sex with boys as long as pain precedes it, him using masculine rough housing as a flirting method, and that shaping how he approaches naim initally. He insults him for being afraid of the snake, of heights. Insults him for being weak, wrestles him to the floor, gets physical, throws verbal punch after punch. And then, finally, violent foreplay out of the way, now he can kiss him. But naim isn't hunter. He's shy and tender and kisses back like he wants ryan not just the thrill of taking what he shouldn't want. And seeing ryan take that in, process it, and have his demeanor towards naim change completely throughout the rest of their intial romance is so endearing. The next time theyre in the abandoned mill, there's no wrestling or insults, no necessary precursor of violence. Just lying side by side, welcoming naim's vulnerability and returning it with his own. There's nothing you like about this place? Meaning: do you like me the way I like you? Then not a kiss he takes, one they both give each other, slowly meeting in the middle.
