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"You are incredible, so therefore it is," he said with a grin, loving her smile and leaning into her hand. He turned his head into her hand, kissing her palm. "And I love you, so why not enjoy spending time with you?" He visibly brightened at his own words, still overjoyed at the sharing of those three words between them.
“Mm, I guess those are alright reasons. Even if I don’t quite agree with me being amazing.” She said, biting her lip for a moment as though attempting to hide her smile. Releasing her lip, she pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Shall we then? Your nap awaits, my dear.”
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Rhydar hummed in acknowledgment, the corner of his lips twitching up as she kissed his cheek. "Indeed it does." He lightly nudged her hips, signaling that she had to let him get up if they were to go to the barn. "Though, the only reason why I need a nap is because of someone messing with me."
“It’s very rude to blame people for things they aren’t at fault for, love.” Lily admonished playfully, reluctantly releasing him. Carefully, she removed herself from his lap, standing from the swing and offering her hand to help him up.
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"You are very much at fault, Lily darling," he said, curling his nose slightly. He shifted and stretched a bit, then released a breath, eyes fluttering slightly. Curse her and her playing with his hair. He still loved the woman, though—and having his hair played with. He reached out and took her hand, letting her help him up as he got off the swing.
She shook her head with a laugh, standing on her toes to kiss his cheek as she gave his hand a squeeze. “I have absolutely no clue what you’re talking about. How could this possibly be my fault?”
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"Mmhmm. You're lucky you're cute," he said, leaning down to press a teasing kiss to her neck, right underneath her ear. "Come on, Miss Innocent." He kept a hold of her hand and lightly tugged, guiding her to his side as he started to get off the porch and head towards the barn. The rain was letting up, but a quick glance at the sky told him it wasn't yet finished with its weeping. It only needed to take a breath, and the fall would begin again.
She flushed at the kiss to her neck, eyes widening slightly as he spoke. Well, that had backfired very quickly. Except, when something she did backfired with Rhydar, all he did was tease her. He never raised his hands or demanded she 'learn a lesson'. Shaking off the thoughts that had flickered into her mind, she let him tug her along, following him as she held her hand over her eyes to see in the rain better.
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Rhydar chuckled and leaned his head against Lily's tipping his chin down slightly so the rain didn't get into his eyes. Instead, he glanced up every now and again, mostly traversing using instinct and his surroundings like the good little thief he was. He was careful to not close his eyes too much for fear of falling asleep. Gods, he didn't realize how tired he was until now. Royal life sure took a lot out of you.
“Rain really does make seeing even harder. Someone should make something to keep the water out of our eyes.” Lily mused, blinking a few times to get the water out of her eyes. She tucked herself into Rhydar’s side, making a face, but happy to be by his side, even if it was while trying to make their way through the rain.
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Rhydar chuckled and pulled her into the barn once they made it, leading her to the ladder that would bring them up to the loft. Their mare was too busy munching on some hay and grain to bother with them, so Rhydar just guided Lily to the ladder and let her go. "Ladies first," he said with a dramatic bow.
“How chivalrous of you.” Lily cooed, pressing a kiss to his cheek before turning to climb up the ladder. She climbed quickly, with a sort of ease originating from practice climbing things, and peaked over the edge of the loft once she was up. “Hurry up, slow poke! It’s a little chilly in here.”
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Rhydar laughed and stuck his tongue out at Lily right before he scrambled up the ladder, barely losing his breath. He was constantly climbing things when he was off on his thieving way, or sometimes he just felt like climbing trees. When he got to the top of the ladder, he grinned and snuck a kiss on Lily's lips right before he pulled himself into the loft. "There, I'm here."
"It's about time." Lily joked, nose scrunched happily at the stolen kiss. "For someone who wanted so badly to cuddle, you sure took your time." She shifted, sitting cross legged and looking around the loft curiously. "It reminds me of my family's loft, almost. Our barn was much smaller, though."
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Rhydar wandered around the loft, grabbing a few blankets he found and lying them down on a bed of hay. He then came up behind Lily and sat down, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and gently pulling her back so he could look down at her face with a warm smile. "Well," he mused softly, "once we get our barn, it can be however you want it to be, big or small."
Lily watched him gather things, lips quirking up in a small smile that brightened when he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back. "I'd say I want the biggest barn we can get, but then we'd have to fill it with so many animals we might not be able to take care of them. How about a medium sized barn? Gearing towards smaller?" She asked, arching a brow at him.
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He chuckled and nuzzled his face into the crook of her neck, lip ring brushing against her skin. "Works for me, as long as Kaspa has enough room to not get cranky," he murmured. This was a perfect moment, one of the many perfect moments between them. He thought he'd never fall in love, and yet here he was, with someone he adored and cherished more than anything and anyone in the world. This was a one in a million—no, an even unlikelier chance.
She closed her eyes, giggling softly at the feel of his lips ring on her neck. Her cheeks seemed permanently slightly pink right now, but she was more comfortable than flustered. "Of course. We can turn two stalls into one for him. Maybe even add a door leading out into a paddock, though we'll be able to lock it at night. And Danzing can have the stall next to him." It was still sort of unbelievable, just how comfortable she was with him, despite everything. Rhydar eased her fears, chasing away the darkness of her past without even trying.
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"Perfect," he mumbled, closing his eyes briefly as he breathed in Lily's scent. "And that plan sounds great," he added, lips quirking up into a smirk at the flirty implication of his words. He allowed himself a moment of just holding Lily before he lifted his head and pressed a kiss to the side of her head. "C'mon. I'm tired and you promised me a nap with cuddles." He was looking forward to it, he wasn't going to lie. She was perhaps the number one person he'd want to wake up to.
"Ah, yes. I did in fact." She said with a small laugh, carefully pulling herself from his arms as she sat up. She stood, taking the few steps to the makeshift bed before plopping down gracefully, shooting him a small smile. "You need sleep, so scootch over here." Lifting her arms, she made grabby motions with her hands, biting her lip to try and hide her amusement at herself. "And now I want cuddles too."
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Rhydar tipped his head back as he grinned over at her, not moving just yet. She looked so adorable, beckoning for him like that. He was once again struck by how lucky he was to be able to be with a girl like Lily—to be with Lily. There was no one else like her. "I knew it—I'm irresistible," he said, dramatically fist-pumping before laughing at himself. He lazily crawled over to Lily, not feeling like getting up, and pulled off his wet shirt before lying down on his stomach, one arm draped across Lily's lap as he laid his head on her stomach, pressing a light and thankful kiss to her belly.
Lily flushed at the kiss pressed to her belly, turning a bright red and losing her ability to hide her smile, though now it was less amused and more un-hideably happy. "Very irresistible, dear. Your cuddles are what keep me going." Even if they had only just reached that stage, it wasn't quite a lie. Being able to make that progress with Rhydar's help was something she loved. "Hey, Rhydar?"
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"Hmmm?" he hummed, not moving from where he was half-way sprawled over her lap and using her as a pillow. He did look up at her the best he could, the emerald of his eyes shining from the light filtering in through the slight cracks between the boards of the barn and the high window. He noticed how red she was and that to-die-for smile, and he couldn't help the matching smile that bloomed over his lips. Gods, I love this woman.
"I just-wanted to thank you, again." She said, smiling down at him. Her hand found it's way to the top of his head, not quite petting him yet. "For everything. Being so amazing, and patient with me. I don't know what I'd do without you, and you've helped me so much. So, yeah….thank you." She traced the lines of his face gently, smile softening some as she looked down at him.
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Rhydar smiled and absolutely melted at that. He curled the hand draped over her lap around her lower back, holding her as he kissed her belly once more before he pushed himself up on his other arm and leaned forward. His lips met her cheek, and he smiled as he said quietly, "I'd do everything in the world for you, Lily. You have no idea how special you are to me, and I'd do anything to keep the privilege of having you by my side."
Lily's blush returned just as strong, her nose crinkling as she pressed her forehead to his. "You don't really have to do much, dear. I'm fully attached to you now." She was special to him. That's what he had said. And as far fetched as that seemed, him saying it was incredible. "Everything in the world? That's a lot of things, Rhydar. Some things I'd really rather you didn't do for me. Just staying around is enough for me."
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Rhydar smiled and winked. "Alright, anything. And if it's staying around, then I can do that." He kissed her blushing cheek again, then gently, oh so gently, guided her down so they were both lying down. He went back to using her stomach as a pillow, though he wouldn't be opposed to them switching it up, with Rhydar acting as the pillow for Lily. "I love you, Lily darling," he murmured, "but I'm kinda craving some sleep and cuddles right about now."
Lily huffed a soft laugh, working her fingers into his hair now that both of them were laying down. "Right, of course. Have a good rest, my love." She murmured, closing her eyes as she lay there. There was something so comfortably warm about cuddling with him, something safe. She was happy, which was such a strange thing for her.
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Rhydar hummed, eyes already slipping closed. He could honestly cuddle with Lily all the time, fall asleep next to her anytime. Her mere presence was comforting and warm, adding onto the warmth he sapped off of from her as he slowly drifted away. Those fingers in his hair were working wonders on his comfort and drowsiness, making him practically melt under her touch. Soon enough, any unnoticed tension unwound and relaxed, his shoulders dropping as if a heavy weight was lifted from them.
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