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"Broke wha--" he started to say, and then everything clicked back into focus, dropping him back into the here-and-now. He blinked, and then felt the corners of his mouth twitch up in a relieved smile.

She was okay. In spite of everything, somehow, he hadn't made it worse.

Shifting closer to her, he pulled her into a tight hug, his wings trembling on his back to betray the aftershock of what had been a very tense last few hours.

He smiled back at her, giving a wry chuckle in response to her question. "Yeah....that's one term for it, I guess." he told her, feeling whatever remaining tension there was easing within him as, even in the tallow light of the candles, he could see the color that had flushed back into her complexion.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Uhm...." he looked about himself for a clock as she settled back. Not immediately finding one, he gave a shrug. "I don't know exactly. Last I remember it was sometime after eleven..."

He fidgeted a bit before continuing "Rose said I should stay here to watch you and she took care of Seiji for the night." he explained, the previous guilt he'd felt finally stabbing through the relief that she was all right. "I....Nani, I didn't know it was going to do that to you. I'm sorry."

She'd offered him an out from having to deal with his dad tonight, she'd cooked him dinner, and he'd thanked her by making her spend an evening out cold.

Feeling her give his hand a tug, he leaned in, settling beside her a bit more comfortably. "I'll try not to." he relented. She -did- look much better, after all. And if this had happened before and she'd recovered, maybe it wasn't as devastating as it had looked to him. She certainly knew her own self best...

In response to her question, he gave her a smile which, though it was a little shaky, was genuine. "I'm glad you're okay..."

At the question, he felt his face grow hot under her touch as he dropped his eyes from hers, a bit embarrassed. "Sorry...." he muttered, though he didn't want to get up. "I can leave you alone to rest if you want..."

He probably should, he told himself. She was probably exhausted, and once the adrenaline of waking up to find her okay wore off, he was sure HE would be exhausted. Last night and tonight combined, he would be surprised if he'd slept five hours total.

He leaned into the hand on his cheek a bit, placing his own over it and giving it a squeeze.

"....when we practice to deceive." he finished for her, quirking a brow. He didn't know where it came from originally, or what it was in reference to, but it was something his mother had always been fond of saying when catching someone in a lie.

So then who was lying, he wondered? Her? Him? Both of them?

Somewhere between thinking it over and opening his mouth to tell her that, no, he wasn't uncomfortable, he kissed her softly.

He was similarly breathless as he looked back at her through a forest of golden and black bangs.

It wasn't that he'd picked up on what she was thinking....it wasn't even that he felt upset or nervous about taking things any further. It was that, simply, he'd never been in such a situation before and was content with where they currently were. Anything else right now seemed....complicated.

Smiling at her, brushing his lips over hers again fleetingly, he nestled his head on her shoulder and laid still, close enough to share in the pocket of warmth her body had made in the covers.

He was quiet for a long moment, just long enough to make Tinania wonder if maybe he'd not fallen asleep on her.

"I dunno about destiny." he said at last, his voice a bit muffled against her shoulder as he spoke. "....but I do know I'm glad I met you, Nani. And if I had this last week or so to do over, I wouldn't change anything about it."

After saying it, he reflected on the statement, but found he meant it. If his dad had never flown off the handle, it wouldn't have necessitated him finding himself at her home for the night. And they may never have found themselves as they were now.