Aria
Seren woke, slowly, smiling as she often did, now, instead of just feeling blah. Waking up in the arms of someone who loved her, and she loved, was just an amazing feeling. She glanced at the time, and saw it was pretty early yet, so she very carefully shifted until she was in the spooning position, her back against his chest, and she reached for her phone. She didn't want to wake him, she just wanted to begin looking at good places for breakfast this morning.

She connected to the apartment's WIFI, and began to browse, eyes lost in thought, and then found a place she thought would be perfect. She got its name, it's address, and directions downloaded to her phone, and then began to browse other things for the day. Finally, she settled on going from breakfast to the Natural History Museum, which she was amazed to find was free, and then a slightly late lunch at a restaurant nearby, before a trip to the shops. She got directions for everything, and then settled back against him.

Pao
Rhys woke shortly after her, all smiles as well considering no nightmares plagues him throughout the night, but he stayed quiet and just moved closer to her, content to let her do whatever it was she was doing in peace. When she finally settled against him he sighed and leaned down, eyes barely open as he pressed a soft kiss to her shoulder.

"Mornin' baby..." he murmured, tone cheerful but still very sleepy.

Aria
She blinked at the kiss, not having realized he was awake, and turned her head to smile warmly at him. "Morning, love... Did I wake you?" She saved all the stuff she'd copied into her notes, then put her phone down and turned back over to face him, eyes bright with happiness. "If so, sorry... Wasn't my intention." She slipped her arms around him again, and just smiled and pressed a kiss to his chin, not wanting to give him a blast of morning breath.

She also didn't want to move, but she did want them to get to the breakfast place she'd picked on time... The reason she'd picked it ran out early, according to the reviews.

Pao
He was still sleepily squinting but he caught her smile, and it warmed him up on the inside. "Nah, just barely woke up...still barely awake." But he did open his eyes when she was facing him up and he smiled back, chuckling as she kissed his chin.

"Why up so early though? Vacation should be nice mornings in."

Aria
"Mmm good, I'm glad." She enjoyed watching him slowly begin to process reality, waking a bit, eyes soft with love. "And I happened to wake up, decided to use the free WIFI to just get some planning in... found a place for breakfast that I think you'll like..." She gave him a small smile, and added "But the reason behind that apparently often runs out early... I was thinking tomorrow would be a good morning in. Get the last of the energetic done stuff today, then sleep in til 9 or 10ish? Since checkout's 11, and our portal back is noonish?"

Pao
He smirked, a little amused that she turned out to be the planner sort. Not something he'd given much thought to before, when he was just starting to get to know her, but even after things between them became more he wouldn't have really pegged her as one. "Breakfast sounds good," he started, but then cuddled into her playfully. "Five more minutes?"

He reached a hand up and brushed some stray strands of hair aside before cupping her cheek, still watching her through squinty eyes. "Rest of your plan sounds good, too. Thanks for figuring it all out for us, love."

Aria
Seren chuckled softly and murmured "Yeah, we definitely can manage five more minutes, babe." She rested her head against him, eyes closing to just relax in his arms. She loved the feeling of being in his arms, the warmth and strength and safety she felt from him, and when they were having a morning where they did not have to worry about duty interrupting them, she just let herself focus on how wonderful it felt.

She tilted her head to nuzzle his hand, when he rested it on her cheek, and just gave him a look of pure love. "Of course, babe... I worked out the rest of today, too, unless you had something you wanted to add?" She was ready to revise her plan to fit in anything he wanted.

Pao
When she green-lit his request he smiled and snuggled in, eyes opening up a bit more as he watched her lovingly. Mornings that could go uninterrupted were rare and absolutely perfect, so he planned on taking full advantage of that in whatever way that he could. More time with her, in the warmth and safety of her embrace was always gonna be a good thing.

Gently he caressed her cheek, smile loving and gentle. "Nah, think I'm good. Let's stick to what you've got, maybe if something sticks out to me today we can just improvise a little as we go."

Aria
She sighed happily, between the snuggling and the way he caressed her cheek. She couldn't imagine a better way to start the day. Or at least, not until they worked through his issues, and even then, it would be a pretty damn tight run race between this and that option. Her hand slid up to rest on his, sharing warmth.

"Mmmm sounds good, then. After breakfast, which we don't have to rush, I was thinking the Natural History museum. It's... huge, and got so much stuff and for ******** sake, it's free, can you believe it?" She was still astonished over that.

Pao
He really couldn't imagine a much better start to the day than this, and he smiled softly when she rested her hand on his. If there was anything better, she'd have to be the one to show him.

His brows went up in surprise when she mentioned "free" about the museum; back in NYC nothing was ever "free" so the concept, while not lost on him, was still rather foreign. "Free?" he asked, as though needed confirmation. "You sure they're not gonna ask us for something at the end? Like...I dunno... blood?" Because nothing in this world could possibly be really free.

Aria
"I think they ask for donations, and then some special exhibits have a fee, but the main museum is... free entry. I don't know how they manage it. It is government supported, maybe they have some special taxes or something." She shrugged, still amazed at the idea of free herself. Nothing fun back home was free, beyond the parks, which is why she never got to really do much of it. And even the parks weren't that amazing where she'd lived.

She tilted her head to kiss his palm for a moment, then sighed softly, just silently enjoying snuggling for a few more minutes. Finally, though, she said "All right... let's get going, yeah?" She slipped out of the bed, and walked to the bathroom to brush her teeth and redo her hair.

Pao
Nothing really was entirely free, but free entry was good enough for him so he let it go, smiling as she kissed his palm. It felt like that would mark the end of their extra few minutes in bed, and what she said next just had him sigh and nod. "Alright," he replied, letting her out of bed first before getting out as well. While she was in the bathroom he went ahead and made the bed, then followed her in there to do his own morning routine.

He was back in the bedroom, refreshed and more awake than he had been earlier, and he quickly got dressed and ready to head back out to tour some more of London. After slipping his shoes on he glanced out the window and almost scowled. "Babe, it's raining..."

Aria
She finished up a little after him, and came out to dress, pulling on a pair of tights, then nice warm socks, another pair of jeans. She got one of her turtlenecks on, and a sweater, then turned at his words. "Mmm it's why we brought umbrellas, right, babe?" She walked over and looked out the window, her arm sliding around him. "And coats. It's not too far to breakfast, and then we hop the underground to the Museum. I think we'll stay dry ok."

She paused, and then added "And we can find lots of out of the way spots to pause under overhangs too..."

Pao
He'd just gotten tired of the rain back at Deus is all, so going on leave and meeting with it again was a little bummer. Like she said, though, they did come prepared, so it wasn't the end of the world or anything like that. Even if they weren't prepared there were shops around that he was certain sold umbrellas. He gave a pouty 'mmmn' when she slipped her arms around him but nodded, turning to kiss her and draw some added comfort from that.

"Yeah, should be fine. Extra reason to cuddle up in public too, I guess?"

Aria
She chuckled at his pout, finding it oddly adorable on the tall man. She leaned up and kissed him back, and murmured "You are a silly man, love." She reaches up and brushes her fingers through his hair for a moment, then adds "You asked me, a bit back, if I had a suggestion for your hair... You considered going blonde, or partly blonde? I love your brown, I just was thinking it might look good on you, babe."

She then grinned, and added "Yes, cuddles and kisses, that's sort of what I was suggesting with the overhangs, love."

Pao
He smirked, amused and exceptionally proud to be her silly man. A happy hum slipped past his lips when he felt her hand through his hair, and he blinked and tried to remember that conversation. "Partly blonde, maybe," he said after processing her question. "I love my brown too, but change is good. I know you were for me, so."

The brunette leaned down and kissed her again, chuckling when she clarified. "Gotcha. Well, good reason to be thankful for the rain."

With that he slipped out of her arms but quickly found her hand and tugged her along with him toward the door. "You all set? Can we go? ...Where's breakfast again?"

Aria
She wasn't entirely surprised he didn't totally remember the conversation... It had been during that first morning where he'd changed in her room, and dealt with the fact that she was changing in front of him too. She considered his comment and nodded. "Yeah, partial blonde would look good too. I just think it'll flatter your gold tones in your skin, babe." She blushed some about being a good change for him.

She kissed him back, her hands resting on his shoulders for a moment, and smiled at his words.

She sighed when he pulled free, and yet didn't argue, letting him tug her after him. She did want to get going, but she had been cozy. She grabbed her bag as they passed it, to make sure she has her umbrella. "Yes, I'm set, we can go... And I'll show you. It's a couple blocks away." She slipped out the door, and waited for him to lock up, before leading them to the place she'd picked.

It was a small diner-type place, but it was already busy, despite being a workday and early. She went in, and they got a table... They'd just beaten the crowd, it seemed, because shortly after a line started. When the menu was placed in front of them, she tapped a section labeled 'Fresh Donuts' on his menu, before browsing her own.

Pao
Locking up and walking to the diner, at least that's the vibe he got from the place, didn't take so long at all, and once they were seated his eyes darted around the menu for ideas on what to get for breakfast. When she pointed out the "fresh donuts" though, he smiled brightly in her direction. He would have kissed her if she hadn't been so focused, so instead he leaned over and just gave her a kiss on the cheek, and then he looked through their donut selection.

The waiter came and went with their drink order, two coffees (which surprised him, but he didn't say anything), and left them to browse some more before coming back to take their order. When the waiter came back to take their order, he gave his: a combo plate with scrambled eggs, more scrambled eggs (instead of hash browns), four sausage links, and two fresh chocolate French crullers.

Once he was done he turned to her, waiting to hear what she was gonna get probably more eagerly than their server.

Aria
She glanced up at the waiter and smiled. "I'll have the two meat combo? Bacon and sausage. Make that bacon crispy. Eggs over easy, and I do want the hash... And 1 chocolate French Cruller for me as well." She handed the menu over to the waiter, then settled to lean against her boyfriend, comfortably warm and happy to be there. She was enjoying watching people watching a bit, seeing the antics people got up to in the big city.

"Mmm was New York like this...?" She asked, gesturing at all the people and the way they moved and acted. She had a feeling it was different, because it felt different from San Francisco... The way people talked to each other, and the level of familiarity with strangers seemed a very different style of interaction in her eyes.

Pao
Rhys leaned toward her as well, smiling as he sipped his coffee and glanced around at the various people and whatever it was that they did so early in the morning in London. Her question had him pull a thoughtful expression on as he gave it a bit of thought. "If you mean busy diners, then yeah?" he answered after a beat. "I remember havin' breakfast at crappy-but-ridiculous-cheap diners to kinda treat myself after a good week or somethin', and the busy-ness is the same. Atmosphere's totally different though."

He sipped his coffee and let an older gent and his wife pass before setting his cup down again. "My side of the city had loud drunks in the morning, so."

Aria
"Mmmm gotcha." She said, and then leaned up to give him a warm kiss, before she doctored her coffee to her preferred sweetness and creaminess, then began to slowly drink her cup, continuing to observe people that passed. "Sounds like a different vibe, yeah. Interesting... All one species, and yet different places can have such varied vibes, I guess. It's interesting." She blinked, then shook her head a little.

"Well, anyways. I hope the donuts are up to par, babe... They caught my eye, and I wanted you to get a nice treat."

Pao
He gave a quiet 'mmm' into the kiss before she pulled away, a warm smile still on his face as he watched her mix her coffee. He took mental notes for future use, too, and when she finished he sipped his again and nodded along with her observations. "Yeah, can't say I don't miss the city vibe. Busy, teeming with life." Then he lowered his voice, adding, "Less things wanting to kill you." He went back to his coffee for a second, bright smile returning as he set it down.

"Thanks, babe," he replied, leaning in for short and sweet little kiss. And then another, and another, and then he smiled and pulled back. "It's weird how I fall for you all over again when you remember the small things like that."

Aria
She listened curiously to his words, her eyes thoughtful and curious about city life, though not overly curious. "It's so different from living out in a small town. Mine wasn't quite 'everyone knows everyone' small, but the population was so tiny compared to here, or San Francisco, or probably New York. Everything was really different, too. Even if I didn't know everyone, if something happened to someone, you heard about it." She didn't comment on the other side of that. "I don't know how I feel about this many people crowded together, honestly."

She was about to take a sip of her coffee, but put the mug down quickly when he leaned in and began that series of little kisses, her eyes closing for a moment, to enjoy them. "Mmmm but it's one of your favorites. That's not so small at all." In her mind, anyways.

Pao
"Mm... small enough that you're the only one on the island that knows about it at all," he said before fully pulling back so she could drink her coffee comfortably. On the topic of city life, he sort of shrugged.

"New York was small but huge, if that makes sense? Lots of people, most you never see again after just one run-in, but you make you find your own community. If I think about it the people I knew were kinda my own little 'town', but those were just 'hey, how you doing' kinds of relationships, too. Could never call anyone 'friend' or anything like that." And up to this point, even with Seren, he still never used the word.

Aria
"But that's more because you chose to confide in me, then because it's small." She said, in a way that seemed perfectly logical to her. "There's no reason for someone to know the foods you love until you tell them, and why would you without a reason?" She picked her cup back up and took a sip, enjoying the sweet, creamy beverage.

She tilted her head, listening as he spoke, trying to figure out how that worked. "I guess...? I mean it makes sense, with so many people, that things would be like that. I just... the idea of having so many people living in such a comparatively small space is amazing to me." She shrugged softly, and sighed. "Never had real friends before... home... myself, but I have people I can call friends now, so that's what matters to me. And of course, you..." She sighed, soft and happy.

Pao
He shrugged, not really understanding the whole dynamic of how "friendships" worked either. He'd never cared to, even to this day it was just...a concept that typically went over his head. "I think it's supposed to be...people pick up small things if you hang out enough, like a favorite donut. I just never hung out with people is all," he replied before going back to his coffee.

"And I get you, but once you're in it you don't really notice anymore. And hell yes, you've got me now." With that he leaned in for another kiss. "Hope you don't ever forget that, no matter what happens."

Aria
She shrugged a little and said "I guess so? Never really worked that part out. But the things you love are important to me, because they're important to you, so I try to remember them." She was drinking her coffee, kind of ignoring the people passing by now, lost in thought about the differences between home and the place he had called home, and even here. Beyond that, and the taste of her coffee, the only thing that had her attention was him.

She kissed him back, chuckling softly. "It would take one hell of a strange think to make me forget that, love. You're the most important thing in my life." She considered the other statement, and added "I think I'll be fine not living like that."

Pao
"I'm keepin' track of things about you, too," he said with a little grin, smiling that bright smile of his that was meant just for her. "Always good to know we kinda do everything mutually like that." Aside from that one thing everything always felt balanced with her, and it kept him very grounded and content with just being with her. "And you're the most important thing in mine, so gettin' rid of me's probably gonna be impossible."

The brunette chuckled at the afterthought about city living. "Good that you won't be anytime soon, then?" He laughed and turned as the server came and set their plates down in front of them. Rhys felt his stomach grumble so he didn't waste any time and stabbed a fork into his very fluffy eggs.

"We're not rushing to the museum, right? So I don't need to eat too fast?"

Aria
"Wasn't planning on 'getting rid' of you. Utterly ridiculous idea." She gave him a bemused look and shook her head. "You're the best thing that's ever happened to me. Getting rid of you would be utterly mad." The rest of what he said, though, earned him a smile, a happy, loving smile that wasn't 'his' smile, but was one she never gave to anyone else, nonetheless, her blue eyes just focused on his green ones.

"I definitely agree it's a good thing. Visiting is fine, but I'll be glad to get back to home, too, where there's far less people, and I don't have to wonder about pickpockets or anything of that nature." She looked up, watching the server bring the food over, and she smiled happily. She lifted her fork, and began to cut her eggs, very carefully, aiming to not break her yolk while she ate the whites first.

She got the first bite into her mouth just as he asked that question, so she kind of made a 'Mmmf!' noise, and shook her head, to indicate he could relax.

Pao
The noise she made had him give an amused snort in response, then nodded and started into his own food. Not that relaxing meant he would slow down too much, but he wasn't scarfing things down like he normally did. He actually stopped to sip his coffee more as he thought about her thoughts on city life.

"Mm, yeah. Vacations to busier places are cool but I kinda like home, too. A different kind of crazy, but more the kind I can handle."

Aria
She wrinkled her nose at him for the snort, and continued to eat, her eyes happy at the perfectly fried eggs. This was one thing she was not good at cooking for herself... She always managed to mess up and break the yolk, which frustrated the heck out of her. She loved a fried over easy egg, and if she could figure out how to flip it without destroying it, she would be as happy as the proverbial clam.

She tilted her head, listening to his words, and chuckled after she swallowed. "Mmmm crazy for sure, but familiar crazy, at this point, at least." She shrugged, and continued to eat her way through her eggs, pausing for coffee, or bites of that crispy crispy bacon.

Pao
"Familiar," he chuckled as he cut a piece of sausage. "That, too, for sure."

Just having eggs and sausage links meant that Rhys zoomed through breakfast without really having to try, and soon enough he was biting into his first donut. Almost immediately after he took the bite he gave a very approving groan, indicating that it was absolutely up to par with his standards of what a good French cruller was supposed to be.

He sipped his coffee once he swallowed that bite, and glanced over at Seren, expression brighter than it should have been just for a donut. "You gotta get into this soon, babe. I haven't had a good cruller in years, so this is blowing my mind."

Aria
By the time he was done with his eggs and sausage, she'd finished her eggs and bacon, and was eating her own sausages. She loved having a little of each, so it was a good platter for her. His groan had her looking up, though, as she was eating the first sausage. Her brows rose, amused to hear that familiar sound that made her think thoughts she maybe shouldn't be thinking at the breakfast table.

She refused to comment on it, though, because she wasn't going to spoil his enjoyment of the donut.

Instead, she finished her sausage, listening to his words. "Mmm I will, once I get the rest of my meal down. You know I'm not as fast as you." She shrugged, and ate the second sausage, before hunting out the ketchup, and pouring some on her hash browns.

Pao
He nodded, not wanting to rush her or anything, and went on to finish his first donut before pausing and taking more sips of his coffee. The server was a good server and came to refill their cups, so he took the chance to ask for some water as well before relaxing for a little bit, wanting to wait to finish up his last cruller.

"So what's after the museum, babe?" he asked, glancing over at her as she worked through the rest of her plate. There was that puff of pride again as he noted the near empty plate, and he hoped the progress would keep on going even after they got back to Deus.

Aria
She mixed up the ketchup and hash, then began to work through it, making a happy, pleased noise at it. She gave the waiter a thank you smile for the coffee top up, then added a bit more cream and sweetener. She drank her coffee between bites of her hash, slowly making her way through it. She cleared the plate, before she pulled the little plate with her donut on it over. She picked it up, and examined it with a slightly critical expression on her face.

After a moment, she took a careful bite, then closed her eyes, and made a happy sigh. "Mmm as good as the ones at Mama Leona's back home." She worked her way through the donut, looking really happy about it. "Awesome." Her brain suddenly processed his question about the plans. "Lunch, then the shopping, then dinner." She said, looking a little red faced when she realized how focused she'd been.

Pao
Rhys watched and waited patiently, sipping his coffee some as he did. When she got to her donut he smiled wide and went to start on his as well, though he was still waiting on an answer to his question.

When it finally came he laughed lightly, and leaned over to kiss her cheek. "Lunch? We'll be in the museum for that long?" He bit into his donut, determined to let it last for a little longer than the last one.

Aria
"It's a huge museum... But if you get bored, we can leave early and find stuff to do instead... They have dinosaur skeletons and all kinds of stuff. I mean, so it's kind of what interests in the end?" She wouldn't make him stay if he got bored. This was his vacation too, after all.

She smiled, though, because of the kiss. She loved how free he was with affection, and it kind of amazed her, thinking of how distant he could be with people. She snuggled up against him as she finished her donut and coffee.

Pao
"Mm..." he mused while chewing, and then swallowed the bite before speaking. "If it's huge let's get through as much of it as we can without rushing," he said, suddenly more interested than before because she mentioned dinosaur skeletons. "We're there so let's make the most of it. And also... dinosaurs."

The brunette gave a huge grin before getting into his donut again, leaning slightly against her when she snuggled in.

Aria
She had not realized he was into dinosaurs but that was a neat thing to learn. "Yeah dinosaurs are freaking cool." She said, smiling up at him happily. "You like Dinosaurs? What are your favorites?" She wasn't as big into them as she been about the stars, but they were freaking amazing and interesting. She suspected most kids liked them at one point at least somewhat.

When she finished her food completely... Clean plate club today it seemed... She wiped her fingers off, then just wrapped her arm around him.

Pao
"I was a triceratops guy," he said, thinking back to the time his dad had brought him a giant bucket full of little plastic dinosaurs. "And raptors. Pops always played the T-Rex when we played, but I'd always win because team tricero-raptor." The memory had him pause with his donut, and when he came back he sighed and took another bite.

He looked over at her clean plate and grinned, resting his cheek against her hair because he was eating. She was improving, and it was so great to see.

Aria
She smiled a little, then had to control a quick hint of jealousy, because she always envied him, just a little, that he had memories of a loving parent. She refused to spill his memories by letting him know, and instead said "Those are both cool. I was a stegosaurus girl. Loved how they had those back plates, and the spikey club on the end of their tail. They seemed so cool to me." She hugged him close, though, at the sigh, trying to just show him some love.

Her eyes closed and she just sat there, comfortable against him while he finished up, not wanting him to feel rushed.

Pao
The quiet that settled afterward was comfortable, he didn't even care that people (singles or older folks, incidentally) were shooting looks at them because he'd wrapped his arm around her and kept her close once he'd finished his donut and coffee as well. "We'll get to look at other things too," he said as he snuggled in, "make our own memories goin' forward."

Aria
She didn't even notice the looks the strangers were giving them, focused on him and their conversation. "Mmmm lots of memories, yes." She said, softly, eyes lost in thought for a moment at the memories they'd made so far, too. She was focusing specifically on the good ones, none of the sad, for the moment, and it made her smile brightly. "It's a good plan. You're full of them."

The waiter came by and discretely set the check down, before refilling their cups once more, and going back to serving their other tables.

Pao
He was happy to sit there for however long, just snuggled up with her and sipping his coffee. They weren't in a rush anyway, so after he dropped his debit card for the waiter to take care of their check he leaned down and caught her lips in a kiss...

And he really didn't care if people saw.

Aria
She was slowly sipping her refill, when he set his card down. When he leaned to kiss her, however, she set her cup down, and refocused on him, eyes closing to just focus on how she felt when kissing him, and the taste of him on her lips. She cared about him, and the kiss, and that was all. Anyone who objected to a simple kiss was a prude, in her mind, and could shove it.

Pao
"Mm, this is one of 'em," he said once he pulled back for a breath. Not for long, though, and he leaned back in just hovering his lips above hers for a second. "We're not rushing, right?"

Aria
She smiled at his words, and opened her eyes again to gaze into his gorgeous green ones. The feeling of his breath brushing her lips when he asked the question caused her to shiver a moment, before she answered. "Mmm no rush at all, babe."

Pao
He smiled, "Good," before going in for the kiss. And that was where all of his focus went. He focused on only her, the feel of her lips, the taste of her...even after he pulled back he kept his eyes on hers, content to get lost in her beautiful blues.

Aria
She murmured a soft ahhh into the kiss, her eyes half closing for a moment after he pulled back, gazing through her eyelashes at him. She vaguely noted the waiter coming by to return the card to Rhys, along with the signature page, and realized she hadn't noticed him take it. The waiter was nicely discreet, at least.

Pao
It was a good while before Rhys pulled back farther than an inch or two from her, because they weren't in a rush and he was content to just have her be his only point of focus, but he did at some point notice the waiter swinging by a little more often so he guessed that they were maybe overstaying their welcome.

Still he smiled, amused but totally in love with the woman in his arms. "Think we should maybe get going...?" he chuckled, leaning in for a very brief kiss.