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For the first time in over a month, Lydia was slowly able to relax. She had been so tense up until now, and she hadn't even noticed. But Aro's reassuring words combined with his firm embrace and warm body wrapped around hers could not be ignored, and they did, eventually, help to ease her mind, and her pain, until it began to ebb away. Her body relaxed against his, and though her eyes were closed, she could feel the press of his face against her hair, and she smiled slightly, before readjusting her position and ducking her head down beneath his chin, resting her face against his chest. She probably looked very childlike at the moment, but she really didn't care. One arm still around him, the other came up to loop around the back of his neck as she burrowed herself closer (if that were even possible at this point).

She listened to his heartbeat for a time, counting each thump in her head before she spoke. "Yes, Chris is safe now." For now, something in the back of her head whispered quietly, but she chose to ignore it. "And you're here, and you still smell really good even though you don't think so." She grinned, giving him another squeeze. "But, I suppose, if you want to go and get washed up, I could let go for a little while, and give you your present when you get back!" She sounded much more cheerful then she had moments before, and she felt it as well.

Cuddle therapy was the best therapy.

She smelled nice? She had to fight back a giggle, which just made her snort instead, before she said. "You are very important to me too, Arorangi. I wouldn't be here to see you if you weren't." She smiled, and with a small sigh, slid off of his lap and back to the bed, where she moved to swing her legs over the edge. She watched him as he moved to the closet and gathered his things, still kicking her legs up until the moment when he came near to her again, leaning down to kiss her on her cheek.

And then she went still. Very, very, incredibly still. His lips, like before, were soft and warm against her skin, skin that was now heating up as she began to blush for perhaps the 1932393446846983242th time. Her breath caught in her chest, and she could feel the imprint of his lips long after he stopped, her face tilting upwards when he lifted her chin up, eyes staring at his for what felt like a very long time before he was saying something that she couldn't quite hear, and slipping away.

Her fingers were digging tight into the bedspread and she hadn't even noticed. She blinked several times and lowered her head back down, watching him as he slipped away. That had been....something. Yes. Definitely something. When the door closed behind him, she flopped backwards on the bed, letting out a long sigh while staring up at the ceiling, a slow smile spreading across her face.

She was very, very happy she had decided to camp out outside of Aro's door the day before.

twenty minutes was a long time to stare dreamily up at the ceiling, but somehow Lydia managed. Lost in her own strange thoughts, it was like no time at all had passed when the door swung open again. Her head rolled to the side, but she made no attempt to sit up, instead stretching her arms above her head and settling again with her hands behind, a large grin quick to stretch across her lips, though she did blush faintly, wondering if she was being (gasp!) too bold.

"Well, yes, it is a very comfortable bed~" She tittered, finally moving her hands and scooting back into an upright position after he nudged her and made his own way back onto the bed.

"Oh! Yes!" She had almost forgotten. She leaned forward to pluck her tote bag off of the floor, opening it up to reveal a small box wrapped in red and a card in a pink envelope.

"Happy very belated Valentines Day!" She smiled, holding each out towards him.

She waited with an expectant look, watching him closely for his reaction to both the card and the gift, hoping that he liked both as she had picked them out for him very carefully while she had been away on her mission. She had been fortunate enough to be able to get out of the sweltering forests for a few hours of shopping and rec time, and this had pretty much been the only result of that, besides getting a few new shirts, shorts, and trinkets for herself as well.

The light laugh was taken as a positive, and her smile widened, though what she was really eager for him to open was the gift itself. She held her breath while he tore through the wrapping and slowly opened the box, unconsciously leaning towards him a bit as she continued to study his face.

And then her own face split into a wide grin. "You like it?" She let out a slightly breathless, short laugh herself, a hand pressing to her chest as she realized her rib cage seemed to have captured a flurry of butterflies at some point.

She sat back on her heels, feeling quite pleased yet a little flustered as well, unsure of her own feelings and at the butterflies, until Aro's words cut through her thoughts.

"Oh, of course!" She smiled, scooting by sliding on her knees around him, a hand going to his shoulder to steady herself as she got herself situated. "Here, just uh, slump down a bit." She grinned, "So I can reach!" Well, she could have anyways, but this would be a little less straining on her arms and her eyes, so she could see how to latch it better. Than, reaching for the chain, she proceeded to slide it in place around his neck, fumbling a little with clumsy fingers to brush damp hair to the side and to get the latch on. When she was finished, she rested a hand on either side of his neck, between that and his shoulders.

And then, throwing all caution to the wind (like she even had any to begin with), she slid those hands down (oh hello, pecs!) to clasp in front of him while pressing her body against him from behind for a hug, letting out a small sigh.

"I did really miss you, Arorangi." She admitted again, as if saying so several times already now hadn't been enough.

She was incredibly glad that he liked the gift, but she was enjoying this part immensely more. The nearness, the warmth, the feel of his lovely, chiseled body as she pressed herself against it and basked in how very happy he made her feel, like he was the sunshine to chase away all of her darkest shadows of fear and doubt and sadness. She could have stayed that way for a lot longer, if he would have let her, but he was soon moving, not away from her it seemed but just to a new position, so there was little room for complaint as she loosened her arms to give him that chance to readjust, before leaning against him once more.

She didn't actually realize anything was amiss, didn't quite notice Aro's smile changing right at first, but when she did, she sat up, pulling her cheek away from his arm, though she kept smiling, even if she felt quite uncertain suddenly herself, she had to smile, not wanting to believe that anything could be wrong.

When he lifted his hand to brush knuckles against her cheek, she wasn't sure what to think. Certainly he had done this in times previous, but something seemed just...a little bit different now. She swallowed, hard, and at that moment her smile did falter, just slightly, and her eyes darted to the side, her cheeks warming a little.

"Ah, well, you're probably um....tired from your trip?" She asked, pulling away from him a bit more, gaze flickering back up to his. "I should probably go, and let you get some rest." She didn't want to leave. She really didn't, but she didn't want to overstay her welcome either, which she felt like, for some reason, she might have now done.

There was nothing for her to compare any of these small moments to. She had never really gotten all that close to anybody before, always more one to observe than to actually interact. Years of feeling like an outcast among her peers and classmates, perhaps, though she had only gone to a small, private school where the cliques had been close knit and demanding of a certain type of behavior that Lydia just did not possess. As she had grown older, it was her studies that consumed her first, and then her work. She found company with herself and with those few others that she worked with her were much like she was, more interested in seeking evidence of creatures that many refused to believe could even exist than making true friends, travelling the world, learning of different cultures and languages, there really just hadn't been enough time.

Or she just hadn't cared to make the time before. She couldn't really explain why now was so different, or just when people, real people had become important. Maybe it was just that WonderPark had jarred something inside of her. Bearing witness to so much wanton death and destruction, banding together with a few others in order to survive. She had created bonds through those trials, experienced feelings she'd never had to experience before, and maybe, just maybe, she wanted to recapture what she had begun to realize she had been missing all of this time.

But this was so different than she had really been expecting. Innocent crushes happened. She found many people of the opposite gender to be quite attractive in each their own ways, though some were obviously more so than others. She didn't generally do much more than admire from afar, however. There was no point, really, in putting herself out there. She knew she wasn't desirable, or at least, never thought of herself as such. She was just the weird, quirky, awkward, loud, and very plain old Lydia Stiles. She wasn't curvy, confident and beautiful like Cee, or have the same cute, quiet, shy appeal of somebody like Noemi.

And so, while she might have known that the feelings that rushed from the pit of her stomach up into her chest stemmed from a very deep like of the very attractive man that held her against him, that gave her the biggest, bone crushing hugs nearly every time she saw him, who's enthusiastic nature always brought a large smile to her face, and a strong desire for him to feel the same way too, she did not believe that it could be the case.

She was his friend, though, and that was good enough for her.

His smile was an easy thing to return, though she felt her chest tighten slightly as his knuckles trailed down her cheek and away, seeming to symbolize the fact that it was now time for her to leave. However, she didn't move to get up right away, her head turning, eyes going to the door though she could not seem to focus on it, teeth biting into her lower lip as she found herself now faced with the daunting task of leaving the light and going back out into the shadows.

Her muscles tensed, steeling herself as her weight shifted, finally making a move to get off of the bed, when his hand found her wrist, and she stilled beneath that touch, before relaxing, easing herself back down. The fingers moving to slide between hers was certainly an unexpected surprise, but a welcome one, as she turned to look at him again, smiling, giving his fingers a light squeeze. He said her name, and she didn't really know how to respond. It wasn't a question, after all.

"Um...yes, that's me!" She grinned, suddenly feeling all kinds of awkward and unsure again.

She was always amazed at just how at ease Arorangi usually appeared, all casual and hardly ever flustered (she remembered the few times he had blushed though, and treasured those memories, though she never really understood what had brought that reaction on). As he began to feel more at ease, it was like that momentary tension that had existed for one brief moment had never actually come to pass. She felt more sure of herself again, of the fact that he was, actually, happy to have her there and did not care too much whether she stayed or left.

Okay, maybe he did care if she left. Maybe that was why he had grabbed her hand. However, she did not really want to think about that too much right at the moment, instead she needed to force herself to recognize the words that he was speaking through a mind gone completely muddled the moment he touched lips against the back of her hand.

How many times had he done that now, completely disarmed her with a friendly brush of lips against her cheek, her forehead, her hand? Again, thoughts she could decipher later, when she could actually think beyond the primitive urges that were steamrolling her brain.

She blinked several times, her face now hot, again, as if that were anything new at this point. "What? Oh, yes, of course!" A bright smile, though she was still a little confused, because what could he want to ask her while out on a walk, that he could not ask her here? Still, a walk sounded quite pleasant, so she slid off of the bed, hand still in his, and got to her feet, all while ignoring the way her stomach lurched with yet another onslaught of nerves.

"It's not...a bad something, is it?" She couldn't help but ask.

Well that was a relief at least, but now she was burning with curiosity over what it is that he could want to ask her that required them to suddenly leave his room. Not that she was complaining, really, considering how much she enjoyed his company and now their imminent parting of ways seemed like it would be delayed for some time longer, not the mention the fact that she got to hold his hand, which was always quite pleasant as well. More than pleasant, actually. Especially when he winked at her on top of that.

Men on this island and their adorable winking!! Somehow, however, when Arorangi did it, it was less adorable and more...well, just more.

Sexy came to mind, though she quickly shut that thought down before it could set her cheeks aflame (too little too late).

She remained silent while they left his room and mad the trip from inside to out, focusing on his nearness but on how she perhaps should not lean into him and wrap her free arm around his, though she was sorely tempted to do so. It was odd that she would draw a line now, when only moments before she was all too happy to practically melt against his back in a hug. Reaching the beach seemed to come all too soon, but the silence continued to stretch between them. She bit on the inside of her lip, wondering what was coming, but forced herself to stare out towards the waves of the ocean and wait, knowing that Aro would ask his question when he was ready to.

Finally, he said her name, and she looked towards him, expectantly.

Except she hadn't been expecting that.

She stared up at him for a long moment, blinking a few times, lips parting slightly, eyebrows raising. What a question to ask! And her, with not a clue how to answer it, or at least, to what extent she should. "Well, I..." She finally started, her teeth clicking shut as she ducked her head to think past the sudden fluttering in her chest.

But he said this was a good thing. Or that he hoped it was a good thing. A very good thing. But what did that even mean?She felt, quite suddenly, like she had been put on the spot, and it was not something she was used to or could even fathom how to react to. "I--I--" She began to stutter, hopelessly flustered. "-I just...I don't know." She finally said, sounding slightly distressed, her forehead furrowing and her teeth biting into her bottom lip, venturing a small peek upward.

"I think you are a fantastically amazing guy, and I enjoy your company a lot, and I am really happy to be your friend but...Oliver's my friend too, and Chris, of course, and a few others and I don't...I just don't think about them as much as I think about you. So I just...I don't know." But she did know, she just didn't want to say it out loud, and scare him away.She didn't want to suddenly lose the friendship that she had with him over her own silliness that could easily (not so) be ignored.

"Also I think that you're very good looking and that you smell nice." She tacked on quietly, almost as an afterthought, though she had said as much to him before. She had said most of this to him before, she was sure, except for the thinking about him a lot part.