Seren woke up slowly, in Rhys' arms for the second morning in a row. It was blissful, and wonderful, and she really didn't want to move. But it was almost time to get up. She simply gave a soft sigh, resting against him, her eyes staring off into the distance at one of her posters, not really seeing it due to not having her glasses on. She wondered, as she had repeatedly, if maybe she should find out what kind of vision care they provided here on Deus.
Maybe they had contacts, or Lasik. It would be nice not to have to worry about her glasses.
Pao
The night had been nightmare free, his first one in the past two weeks, so when he woke up he felt more rested than he'd been in a while. He would have to get used to the light trickling in through the window, but it was a tiny complaint that was far outweighed by the bonus of waking up with Seren in his arms. He wrapped his arms around her a bit tighter as he stirred fully awake, his lips already upturned into a small smile as soon as he opened his eyes.
"Morning," he said, very groggy but still planting a soft kiss on her forehead.
Aria
She shifted her gaze back to him, and smiled quietly. "Morning." She sighed softly, and added "Don't want to move, not gonna lie. Feels good. Slept really well." She didn't care that she was speaking in fragmentary sentences at the moment, because she was just too comfortable to care.
At least today was just, for her, a run day. She could still feel the aches from yesterday's workout, not that she minded. It meant it was working, after all.
Pao
He chuckled, eyes closing again. "Me too," he started to say, but it seemed like he'd have to be the responsible voice between the two of them that morning. "But we gotta, c'mon." Even after saying that though, he just lay there with her for a good five more minutes before eventually sliding out of bed. He was in his PJs this time, which probably helped him get more comfortable last night, and it was a lot better to stretch out in those, too.
He looked toward her desk and saw the bag he'd brought up last night. Just his PJs and morning essentials so it was a small bag, but bringing it with him would definitely save him at least a few minutes.
Aria
She sighed, grateful for those extra five minutes before he moved. She followed him out of bed, and drifted towards the closet in her nightshirt. She found herself thinking, just for a moment, about the first time he'd seen her wear it, and a small smile crossed her face. She pulled out her exercise clothing, then went over to the desk and grabbed her hair brush, and began working on her long hair.
She got focused on the task, long as her hair was, and it was 10 minutes before she had it up and secured.
Pao
He went for his bag when she started working on her hair, pulling out his bathroom stuff before wandering to the door. "Be right back," he said, glancing back to see how far along with her hair she was before slipping out. When he got back she was all done, and he smirked.
"Thought for sure I'd make it back before you got done with that."
Aria
"Just barely finished." She said as she drifted to her clothing, calm and relaxed. "It was behaving today. Sometimes it takes longer." She shrugged a little, then turned, her back to him. She didn't want him to see that she was suddenly feeling shy, but it was time to change, then she'd run by the bathroom to deal with her teeth etc. She took a slow deep breath, then quietly pulled her nightshirt off, acting as nonchalant as she could manage. Once it was off, she grabbed her sports bra and began to work it on, mumbling a little at the tightness of the damn thing.
Pao
His eyes were on her until she pulled her shirt off, which was about the time he blinked and forced himself to look away. It took a second looking at one of her posters for him to process what in the hell was going on, and when she started muttering about her sports bra being a little tight he cleared his throat to remind her that he was still there.
The brunette went back to his bag, admittedly stealing one or two glances at her along the way. The sight of the scars was sobering, and he couldn't help the lopsided little frown that settled on his face when he saw them. It was enough to get him to focus on what he was supposed to be doing, so he pulled his gym clothes out of the bag before tugging his shirt off and starting to get ready, as well.
"See, that's why I keep my hair short. It flops around and stuff sometimes but doesn't give me too much s**t otherwise."
Aria
His clearing of his throat simply caused her to lift her brows, wondering lightly if he was having second thoughts about his plan, though she stopped the muttering. She glanced at him, and when she saw he was looking away, took the moment to change underwear, then pulled her tank top on. She then sat down on the bed, to slide her socks on, focusing on that so she wouldn't take a chance at getting distracted while he changed.
"Mmm I somehow don't think short hair would really be that great a look on me, sadly."
Pao
"Mm," he said just as he was about to pull his pajama bottoms down. "You'd be gorgeous either way, but I think it'd be a waste to chop off all that beautiful hair."
Rhys glanced over at her for a second before dropping his pants, a little relieved to find that her focus was on changing her socks. He, in just his underwear, was still in plain sight but he slipped into his gym shorts as fast as humanly possible. How much she saw he'd never know, but hopefully that was fast enough.
Aria
She stood up again, not looking at him because she was still trying not to feel overly unnerved, honestly. When he called her gorgeous, though, she went pink indeed, and fumbled with her leggings, nearly dropping them, but not quite. "Ah... Yeah. I... Love my hair, so I'm not going to cut it."
She took a breath, then slipped them on, wiggling a little to make sure they sat right on her. She hoped he hadn't looked up at any point in the process of getting them on, because she felt unusually self-conscious about this part.
Pao
The shorts, for him, was the trickiest part, but he had those on he moved a bit more comfortably, though he was still being careful about looking over in her direction. He did, though, just before she pulled her leggings on, and coughed very loudly as his ears turned a very nice shade of pink.
"I've honestly been thinking about doin' somethin' new with my hair," he tried to recover, flopping on the bed so he could slip his socks on comfortable. His shirt was right beside him since he usually put it on last. "Not sure what yet, but somethin' new would be good."
Aria
The coughing made her ears go pink too, because that was the sound that made her suspect he'd gotten a glimpse of more than he was ready for, and maybe more than she was ready for too. Well this was an awkward morning, but... she still was glad he'd been there.
She settled back in the bed to get her running shoes on. "I mean, if I can help, let me know? I've been doing my own hair for years."
Pao
He relaxed a bit once she flopped onto the bed and he saw that she was fully dressed now, though for a split second his eyes wandered a bit lower because of that sports bra thing she said earlier, first to the hicky in plain view and then just a bit lower than that, and then he blinked and coughed again and went about putting his own shoes on.
"Maybe just share some ideas? What might look good on me, that kinda thing. Don't remember the last time I changed my style."
Aria
The second cough made her wonder what on Earth he was reacting to this time. She was fully dressed, so it made no sense to her. She didn't think about the fact that he'd be able to see the mark he'd left on her neck, let alone anything else. Finally, she mentally shrugged, and tied her shoes before standing.
She pondered him for a minute. "Let me think about it, get some ideas. In the meantime..." She dropped her room keys on the bed beside him. "Gonna go brush my teeth. I'll meet you at the doors, ok?" And then headed for the ladies’ room to take care of the last step.
Pao
"Thanks, babe," he said as he stood up as well, eyes on her as she made her way out. How he didn't notice more of her in those leggings he'd never know, but he definitely saw this morning. He mentally slapped himself for not thinking this far ahead back when he asked about just bringing his clothes over...
And then he actually slapped himself to snap out of ********' genius," he muttered before slipping his shirt on and heading out. Again, he got to his stretches first, his head sort of...completely focused on what had just happened. Thankfully by now stretching was mostly an autopilot sort of activity so very low risk of injuring himself while he got distracted by his thoughts and imagination.
Aria
She was out quickly enough, and joined him in stretching. She had been thinking about the awkwardness this morning, though part of her was glad that it'd happened... Because if he was going to keep sleeping with her like that, eventually something like that was going to occur, and it just made more sense in her head to deal with it.
Still, if he felt uncomfortable and decided this wasn't going to work for him, she wasn't going to push the issue. But maybe she could find a little room divider, or folding screen type thing, if he didn't but still was feeling uncomfortable.
She'd let him bring it up, though, if he felt it needed to be. Despite feeling sort of shy and nervous, she had at the same time not minded.
Pao
He smiled over at her when she eventually joined him, and then forced himself to wrestle his not so appropriate thoughts into submission so he could look at her without blushing. That took as long as it took him to finish out his stretches, and he bounced in place to start getting warm and glanced over at her.
"So..." he started, his eyes struggling to stay on her face. "About this morning..."
Aria
She smiled back, and continued her stretches, not worrying until and unless she had to. Morning run was too important to let fears and concerns get in her way. When he spoke, she looked up, still working on her stretches.
"Yes?" She didn't know where to take this, but she was prepared to handle whatever he threw at her.
Pao
He ran a hand through his hair when she replied in a way that meant he actually had to start the conversation. So, for a second he just kept bouncing in place until he thought of what he should say and how he should say it.
"Uh..." he started again after a beat. "Feels like I should apologize 'cause I didn't...think...about what could happen if I brought my clothes over in the morning. So... sorry." He stopped bouncing, a lopsided frown on his face. "I could change in my room if it'd make things easier for you."
Aria
She watched him bouncing, then slowly and carefully stood, doing her last few stretches. She arched a brow while she waited, nerves burning inside.
When he finally spoke, she just blinked a few times. Well. The ball was back in her court, but she could handle this play. "Mmm well nothing bothered me? I felt a little shy, perhaps..." She paused to do an arm stretch, then continued. "So, unless it bothered you, I don't mind if you continue to change in my room. It's up to you." She rolled her neck and looked him in the eye. "I don't mind at all. I'm not ashamed of you seeing my body while I change."
Pao
It surprised a little when she just threw the ball in his court again, and he had to wonder for a second if this was some kind of test. Like she wanted to see how far he wanted to push things or something. He knew better, of course, and kicked that thought aside as he went back to bouncing in place.
"Doesn't bother me," he said with a little shake of his head. "Just wasn't sure how much of you, you wanted me to see, since we haven't..." And he let that sentence trail as he looked ahead to the path that they'd be running.
Aria
She smiled a little, and shrugged. "Frankly, at this point, you've seen the only thing I feel I have to hide so..." Another shrug, with a calm expression on her face. "Anything else is just... It's a body. We all have one. If I didn't have... my back to consider, I wouldn't care, frankly. As a species, I think we're a bit too caught up on so-called modesty. It's not like anyone of us has anything new."
She turned to the path and said "Ready to go?" She wondered if this revelation that she didn't care if people saw would bother him, though, because she knew it did bother some guys if the girls they were interested were seen by other men in anything that didn't cover them, at least mostly.
Pao
If she asked, he'd be lying if he said it didn't bother him at least a little, but if she was okay with showing a little skin he wasn't so possessive that he'd make a big stink about it. As long as she wound up in his arms at the end of the day that was all he really cared about. But she didn't ask so he didn't say a whole lot. Just nodded a bit. "So same bit tomorrow, then?" he said, grinning as he made the joke.
He was back to business quick though, and he nodded before starting off on their run. "Yep, let's pick the pace up a little though."
Aria
She chuckled softly. "Absolutely, Rhys." He didn't react negatively, so she could only think he was at least accepting of it. Not that it mattered in the long run, most revealing clothing showed the back and that she wasn't likely to ever be ok with. At least around anyone other than him.
She followed him, and nodded at his words. "I can do that, I think." She said calmly. These runs haven’t been too hard so far. The worst bit had been getting used to running with her weapon and that was getting easier all the time.
Pao
"Good, let's go then." He summoned Zephira before nodding in the direction they'd be going and jogging just a little bit ahead of her at first. It wasn't long before they were side by side, but he made sure to keep her challenged by upping the pace at more or less regular intervals. By the end of it they were back at the front of the dorms, and he was drenched in sweat. He hefted Zephira over his shoulder once they came to a full stop and glanced over at Seren.
"Just a run for you today, right?"
Aria
She kept up just fine, though she definitely could feel the burn in her legs. She was taking deep breaths, for sure, once they got back to the doors of the dorm. She took a slow sip of her water, her eyes closing for a minute as she got her breath under control.
His question had her opening her eyes. "Yeah, unless you think I need to start working out more?" She asked, because if there was one thing she knew for sure, it was he knew far more then her about this stuff, and she'd follow his advice.
Pao
"Not unless you tell me everything I throw at you is getting too easy," he said with a little grin. "If not, you're good." When his breathing was a little more even he moved over to her for a quick kiss before gesturing toward the gym.
"I'm that way. Check in with you later?"
Aria
"Sounds good, handsome. I think I'm ok for now. I can still feel the burn from yesterday." She smiled and kissed him back, running her fingers along his cheek for a moment. "I'm going to shower and change. I'll see you later, babe."
She slid into the dorm doors, giving him a warm smile as she went, stretching herself out.
Pao
He glanced just once more over his shoulder as he went to shoot her a smile before jogging to the gym to get in the rest of his workout. As usual it really knocked the wind out of him, but he was done and back at the dorms within the next hour, and then all ready to head out and get other stuff done very soon after that. He was grabbing his gym clothes for the next morning while he shot her a text.
Quote:
can I still drop off some stuff or did you already head out?
Aria
She had just been about to head to Kitchen duty... She'd noticed she'd been getting that a fair amount and was bemused be it... When she got the text. She had time, so she nodded and replied.
Quote:
Come on by. Gonna leave shortly for duty, but am here still.
She popped the door open for him.
Pao
He didn't bother with a reply and instead showed up at her door, knocking just so she knew to expect the door to suddenly swing open. His eyes went straight to where she was, and he smiled, bright and energetic now that he'd gotten his morning workout in.
"Hey," he said as he went to his bag and plopped the clothes right on top. "Thanks for waiting."
Aria
She smiled up at him. " No problem, babe. I should just get you a spare key or something, in case you need to drop something or grab something when I'm out." She didn't even begin to consider what she was saying, she was just finishing pulling on her shoes.
Pao
It didn't occur to him either, what exchanging keys could really mean. He just sort of thought about it for a second and then nodded when it clicked in his head that that'd make a lot of things easier. He moved to lean against the wall by the door to wait for her to finish up as he thought about it a bit more.
"Think we might have to go on leave to find a place to make the copies," he mused, eyes on the ceiling. "So won't happen 'til next month, probably."
Aria
She nodded and stood up, ready to head out. "Could do your idea of going to London for fish n chips, then get the copies made?" She nodded a little, heading out the door. "Let's see what we can do about that."
Pao
Rhys followed her out and waited until she locked up before heading toward the door. "That sounds like a good plan," he said with a little nod, walking in step with her. As the doors came into view he pulled his phone out to check where he'd be going this time around, and he sighed a very loud sigh. "******** me," he muttered while putting his phone away.
"Where you headed?"
Aria
She glanced at him, amused as always when he said that. "What you on for today? I'm off to the kitchens. I think someone figured out I'm not inept in the kitchen and decided they like having food that isn't awful, I've been getting that duty at least three times a week past few." She shrugged, then added "But I'll be done once lunch is made, so that's a bonus."
Pao
"Cleaning duty," he said with a sigh and an envious glance in her direction. "I usually get sent out to do heavy lifting type work when I get 'cleaning duty', like clearing rubble and s**t like that." He gravitated toward her and bumped her, very possibly pouting.
"It's familiar for you, at least. And you've got air-conditioning."
Aria
She chuckled up at him, and said "Just think of it as time to work on your tan again, now that we've got the sun back. I mean, I assume you like that, since you always seem to be tanned." She bumped him back, then added "And that's all true but... I prefer cooking for only a few people, those that matter to me."
Pao
Well that was true about his tan. If it hadn't been for being in Mexico for so long he might have gotten a bit paler; the sun didn't get a chance to show its face back when it was still raining almost all day, every day. And then she said something that pulled his frown up into a little smile as he bumped her again.
"So I matter to you, huh?" he said, teasing.
Aria
She looked at him, surprised he had to ask. "I mean. Duh? I thought that was obvious by now, dork." She shook her head at him, fondly. "You matter more to me than anyone I know at this point." She kind of shrugged, while internally panicking because what if THAT was too much? But she'd said it and she'd stand by it too.
Pao
He smiled warmly in her direction, happy to hear her say it even though he already knew that she cared about him. The last bit surprised him some, but he felt a little twinge of happiness in his chest and so he leaned down and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Good to know we're on the same page, babe," he said quietly before straightening himself out.
Aria
She beamed at him when he said that, and then sighed as they came even with the kitchen doors. "If you wanna join me when you're done, I'll be here eating." She offered, smiling at him with a hopeful look in her eyes.
Pao
He slowed a bit when they got to the doors and pulled his phone out to see how he was doing on time. "I'll be free around lunchtime, yeah," he said, and then added. "I've still got a little time now though, you?" He was glancing around, trying to see if there might have been people wandering about.
Aria
She smiled happily, then blinked, and glanced at her phone to see the time. "Mmm 15, 20 minutes before I got to be in there to get started. No idea who's going to be working with me today, after all." She tilted her head, smiling sweetly at him. "Why, got some plans to fill that time?"
Pao
He smiled all innocent like and nodded toward the side of the building. "Maybe?" he said, blinking to see if she'd be willing to kill at least a few more minutes with him.
Aria
She smiled slowly and went to the side of the building, reaching over to take his hand as she walked. "Sounds like a plan to me." She was pretty much always willing to kill time with him when he wanted, if she was free.
Pao
He followed after her, squeezing her hand gently as they went. Once they were mostly out of sight he gently pushed her up against the wall, hands soon finding her waist as he smiled and leaned down, hovering his lips just above hers.
Aria
She sighed happily, and rested her arms on his shoulders, her blue eyes focused on his beautiful green ones. She studied his expression for a long moment, a smile on her face, then she leaned up to slowly kiss him, with a soft murmur of happiness.
Pao
He has happy to keep to her pace, slow and easy. They had time, after all, and if things did get hot and heavy it'd probably make going to duty even less appealing. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her just a bit closer, his hand steadying just a little bit lower than the small of her back.
Aria
She mmm'd softly into the kissing, and blushed slightly when she realized where his hand was resting, but did not object. It actually felt kind of nice, and she just slid one hand up to hold his cheek. She had no desire to rush, to try for anything that might overly distract them. She didn't want them to get in trouble for being late, after all.
Pao
He leaned into her touch, smiling into the kiss just before he pressed into her a little more, his mind slowly emptying of any thoughts except of her. His hand feathered up and down her back, and while the kiss was still slow it was getting gradually deeper the longer it went on. And the longer it went on the hotter it got under his coat...not that that made him want to stop at all.
Aria
She shivered softly from the feelings caused by his hand on her back. Sensitive zone, after all, and normally she would pull away from such touches, but with him, she was safe, and that made her feel so good. She got lost in the kissing, fingers caressing his cheek softly. She knew she had to break the kiss before things got... too distracting, but it was so hard to care at the moment.
Pao
It really was hard to care, but thankfully they both had to breath at some point, and Rhys had to break away first. Still, he stayed close and rested his forehead gently against hers, eyes closed as he caught his breath and just reveled at the feeling of her caressing fingers. "Tempting to skip duty," he said, sounding amused still a bit breathless.
Aria
She took some slow deep breaths herself, sighing softly and happy. She knew that she didn't want to move, except maybe to try to take them back to her room. She wouldn't, though, she knew she would have the self-control to not, but it was so very tempting. His words made her chuckle, softly. "I know what you mean... But if we're good, we can have lunch, then not worry about punishment duty..."
Pao
He couldn't argue with her very sound logic, but still he leaned down for another kiss. They still had time, he figured, but he kept it short and sweet. "'Cause I'm not hungry right now it's tempting to ask to just skip lunch, too," he said with a little chuckle. "But I'll just change my mind later when I get hungry so. Lunch date it is."
And yes, he said date and was aware but didn't flinch at all. Instead he just kissed her again, a little deeper, a little longer, enough to keep him going the rest of the morning, and as he did that he pulled her away from the wall so she could have some room to wriggle out of his arms whenever she felt like it.
Aria
She laughed and kissed him back, just enjoying the feeling of him there. His calling it a lunch date made her eyes widen a little, though her lips curled up in a soft, happy smile. "Excellent. I look forwards to seeing you at lunch, then." Her eyes were gentle, loving, as she gazed into his.
She continued to kiss him, until she sighed and pulled back, to check her phone. "Mmm... gotta go, babe... I don't want to, but if not, I'll be late." She slipped free of his arms, unwilling but determined. She leaned up, once free, though, to give him one last kiss, before sliding around the building and inside.
Several hours later, she was sitting at a table with the best of the lunch she'd been working on reserved on two plates, waiting quietly for him to join her.