Aria
Seren woke slowly on their last morning in London, well before the alarm. She managed not to sigh, but she had just been reminded of how hard it was to convince a body that was used getting up early for a run to actually let her sleep as late as she wanted. She quietly reached over and grabbed her phone, hoping not to wake her sleeping boyfriend, and saw it was about 8:30 AM. Well, she'd gotten an extra hour and a half, at least. She set the phone back down, and considered the situation.

She considered the situation, and with some care, she wriggled gently free, to go to the bathroom, then begin to pack. She figured she'd get all their purchases evenly between the two duffels, then if there was room, put in the little zip shut hamper in the large duffle. She was trying to get as much done as she could before the alarm went off.

Pao
Rhys had been drifting in and out of sleep since his usual wake-up time of before sunrise, so he did notice when she woke up and when she got out of bed and all of that. In a rare display of really just wanting to sleep in, he let her go and just grabbed her pillow instead, pulling it close for the rest of the time he wanted to sleep. Which wasn't for a whole lot longer as he got out of bed about half an hour after her.

Yawning, he sat up and rubbed the bleariness from his eyes before taking a look around the room. Naturally his eyes landed on Seren, and he smiled a warm and very loving smile. "G'morning, gorgeous," he greeted before slowly getting out of bed. He quickly made the bed before making his way over to her, wrapping himself around her from behind and resting his head on her shoulder. "We're both still up before the alarm...why the hell do we even try to sleep in?"

Aria
She looked up and smiled brightly back at him. "Good morning, love." She snuggled back against him, eyes closing in happiness at his presence. She chuckled at his words, and leaned to kiss his cheek. "Well I got at least an extra hour plus. But yeah, I know. Wishful thinking, I guess?" She leans against him in the cuddle for a long moment, before saying "Why don't you go get ready while I finish packing the stuff we don't need for today? I'll do that after you're done." She didn't, despite her words, move at all, not really wanting their time here to end.

Pao
Rhys had his eyes closed, not wanting to really move either because he'd gotten really comfortable. He was always comfortable when she was in his arms, so as soon as she leaned back against him it was basically game over. Luckily she did a good job keeping him on track, so when she suggested he get ready he lazily nodded his head.

"Okay..." though his movement was delayed. It was only after another minute or so that he finally peeled himself off of her. "Thanks, love." And he finally disappeared, heading for the bathroom.

Aria
"You're welcome, babe." She called after him, sighing some when he was off of her, then went back to work at packing up. Soon the only things still out where clothes for today, the PJs they had on, their toiletries, and GiGa, who wouldn't fit in even the bigger duffle. She stretched for a long moment, getting all the kinks out of her spine, then glanced at GiGa.

After a moment, she looked around, a little shyly, even if it was just Rhys... And went and snuggled GiGa up close, in a very childlike fashion, her face buried into his soft, fluffy side.

Pao
Rhys emerged from the bathroom and blinked at the sight before him: his girlfriend hugging a stuffed animal in perhaps the most adorable way imaginable. He smiled slowly, soft and warm and loving as always, maybe with a touch of amusement mixed in.

"Do I have some competition now?" he asked playfully, obviously joking.

Aria
She looked up, startled, and turned cherry red, as she unpeeled herself from GiGa. "No, not at all, baby. But... I always wanted one to cuddle, as a kid... I know I vaguely mentioned it. I can't resist, specially when you're doin' something else." She moved over to him, and gave him a tight hug, then said "Gonna go get ready for the day." Before slipping into the bathroom to brush her hair and teeth.

Her hair was being annoying that morning, so it took an extra half an hour. She found herself grateful they hadn't slept in until 10, since it was 9:30 when she was done. She stalked out of the bathroom, grumbling at the universe, and over to her clothing to get dressed.

Pao
He chuckled quietly and nodded, hugging her tight in return. "I know. I was kidding, babe," he thought to add, "you can cuddle him all you want, I'm not that jealous." He let her slip away and got dressed for the day before packing away the rest of his things so she didn't need to for him.

Rhys waited out on the sofa for, hugging GiGa in the meantime because she was taking a while. He heard her eventually come out of the bathroom and craned his neck to see what was going on, asking, "Everything okay?"

Aria
"My hair was being an a** this morning!" She called back, her tone very disgruntled. "It decided to be FIFTY KINDS of knotted and ugh! If I didn't love my hair so much, at times like this I'd be tempted to chop it all off!" She was soon dressed and out, carrying the last of her things. She packed them up as well, and took a few slow, deep breaths to calm down, then focused on him. A small smile crossed her lips as she saw he was hugging GiGa.

"Mmm seems you're not the only one with concerns about competition." She teased him, then walked over to give him a minty fresh kiss, her arms going around him. "Mmm we're ahead of schedule. Want to run to get breakfast, after all, then come back, check out, and grab the stuff? We might need to hurry a little, check out is at 11, but we can manage I think."

Pao
Her struggle was adorable to him, and his smile said as much. "Would still think you're gorgeous with or without your hair the way it is," he said, "but your hair is too pretty to cut, I gotta say." When she emerged from the room and smiled at him he smiled right back, waiting patiently for her to make her way over.

"You don't have to worry. He's pretty loyal to you." He chuckled, smiling into the kiss and letting GiGa go in favor of holding his girlfriend instead. "Yeah, I like that plan. Let's go?"

Aria
His words about her hair made her feel a ton better about it, and the challenge it had been this morning. She ran her fingers along the tight braid she had put it into, so as to avoid extra dirt, dust, and more knots, then smiled at him in thanks. "I'm glad you like my hair as is too. I sometimes wonder if it ever gets in the way or bothers you, with the giant mass of it, when we're snuggling." She sighed, and shrugged, trying to kick that self consciousness out of her head.

His loyalty comment made her laugh, and she gave him another kiss for it. "You're a loyal sort of man, I know. And I am a lucky woman for it. I'm sure I don't have to worry about you, or GiGa, straying." She gave him a tight hug, and then nodded, stepping back and pulling him gently with her. She led him out of the apartment, and two blocks away, to the nearest Pret a Manger store, and into the line. There were sandwiches, pastries of various natures, hot selections, and more on the food side, and various hot and cold drinks. It was the kind of place where people went through the line, grabbing prepackaged fresh sandwiches and the like, or ordered one of the hot foods as they went.

Pao
"Never does, baby," he shook his head, "don't worry about that. He kissed her back and let her slip away for the moment, grinning at the way she labeled him loyal. He would say the same about himself, really, provided the trust was there between him and the party in question. And no doubt he trusted Seren with everything he had. When she tugged him up he paused and pulled her into a slower, lingering kiss. Still, he knew they had a bit of a time constraint so he didn't let it last too long and let her lead him to the store in question.

Upon arrival he looked everything over, standing close behind her as they stood in line. "Hmm..."

Aria
Knowing her hair never bothered him made her feel even better, and when he gave her the last kiss before they left to get food, she found herself filled with the kind of energy coffee usually gave her. Mmm kisses instead of coffee for the morning... It was a pity the kiss's effect would not last as long, even if she enjoyed it far far more.

She considered the selection, and selected an Egg and Bacon baguette, a chocolate hazelnut croissant, a mocha, and then a fruit pot, before glancing at him, wondering what he wanted. The food all looked good to her, so she hoped he would find something he wanted. The food was interesting, and there were a fair number of options.

Pao
The food looked good to him too, which was why he was musing out loud as he struggled to decide on just one or two things. In the end he decided on an omelette, two chocolate hazelnut croissants, and a medium sized cup of coffee to wake him up a bit more.

With his foot now in mind he slipped his arms around Seren’s waist and sighed happily, glancing around to admire the restaurant a little more. "Cozy type spot...you really like these kinds of places, huh?"

Aria
She smiles a little at his order, not surprised he's indulging in the croissants too. Once the order was in, and they were in the pay and pick up here line, she leaned back against him, smiling at the feeling of being back in his arms. "Mmm well I mean... they're cozy. Comfortable, relaxed, and perfect in my eyes." She rested her head back against his shoulder, moving forwards in the line as needed.

Once they've gotten to the front, got their food, and paid, she found a small table for two in a corner, and takes the tray, heading for it, letting him grab the drinks. She settles into the inner chair, since it puts her back to the wall, and it's a smaller space, then sets the tray on the table between them.

Pao
"I'm cool with cozy," he replied in passing, a small smile on his face as he imagined their home to very much have the same atmosphere as their breakfast places they've been going to. He thought about it on the way to their table, the idea of having a home to design as he (really she, he wasn't going to be too picky provided it wasn't overly feminine in style) pleased still something he couldn't wrap his head around. It probably wouldn't really hit him until they started working on it, too.

Once they were settled he pulled his food over, smiling contentedly down at their little spread. "Feel free to grab some of this omelette, babe," he offered just before taking a bite. A pleasantly surprised "mmm" slowly escaped him as he chewed and swallowed that first bite. "Good stuff again...great choice, babe."

Aria
She gave him a gentle smile at that, and pondered ways to have spaces in their future home that would be cozy. She thought about it for a long moment, then set it aside for now, because it would be easier to figure out once they had a place, so she would know what they would have to work with.

She picked up her baguette, and made an 'mmm!' face, the bacon perfectly crispy in the sandwich, and the egg light and fluffy. "I bet! Do you want a taste of this? So good!" She stole a tiny bite from his omelette, and nodded. "Yeah... That's super good too!" She sighed in happiness, and then had some of her fruit, before going back to her sandwich, ready to hand it to him, though, if he wanted a taste.

Pao
He took a few more bites of his omelette before going to sip his coffee to wash it down and wake up a little more. Finally he took her up on her offer and, when she handed her baguette over, he took a bite, nodding his approval as he handed it back. "It's good, wow," he said once he'd swallowed the bite.

Breakfast went quick for him as usual, and he was sipping at the last of his coffee while nibbling at his second croissant. He didn't want to rush her so he slowed down on purpose. "So," he said after a sip, "did you have fun for your first leave?"

Aria
She grinned at his reaction, amused, and then went back to work on it. Her eyes closed some, a happy expression on her face as she ate. Not a bad meal this whole two days, lots of fun... She was in a wonderful mood. She alternated between her baguette and her fruit, saving the croissant as a treat at the end.

She'd finished the baguette when he spoke again, and her eyes focused on his, her head tilted. "I think you know the answer, but yes. I had a lot of fun, and a large part of it was because you were there with me." She said, her voice filled with love, warmth, and honesty. "I am so glad we got to do this together." She finished her fruit, and took a sip of her mocha, then bit into the croissant, and her eyes went wide at the flavor. "Mmm! I need to learn how to make something like this at home..." She murmured, staring down at it in awe.

Pao
His expression was as full of love as her tone of voice had been when she answered, and he nodded before taking a little bite of his croissant. "Same on all counts," was his reply to that, "probably wouldn't have come if not for you, so thanks for opening up my world a little more."

When she bit into the croissant he chuckled at her reaction, brows going up at the idea of having this at home. "I don't think I could love you more than I already do, but that might actually prove me wrong." He grinned, joking, and reached over to take her hand.

"I love you, by the way."

Aria
She smiled and ducked her head a little. "You did the same for me, in many ways. I might have panicked here in a big, foreign city on my own, because I admit... Cities kind of intimidate me, I realized. I'd never have tried ice skating... You encourage me to look at things I don't think I'd do and convince me to try them, and just see." She paused, thought about it, and said "Though I don't think you'd ever convince me to go skydiving or bungee jumping. Not after that tree in Siberia." She gave a shrug, and a laugh, then added "But anyways... You're the reason I got the courage up, in many ways."

His joke made her laugh and squeeze his hand lovingly, shaking her head at him in amusement. "Well I'll definitely have to try to learn how, now, just to find out." She joked back. "Mmm I think I'll start with learning how to make croissants, then work from there."

"I love you too, babe."

She paused, then had a 'duh' expression cross her face. "Remind me when we get back to the apartment, before we have to check out, to order that Kindle, please. I almost forgot!"

Pao
The brunette smiled warmly at his love, not quite realizing that he did all that for her. The skydiving and bungee jumping idea got him to chuckle and squeeze her hand gently. "We risk our lives enough to keep me from wanting to be that daring," he said a little on the quieter side, but still smiled as she went on. He fell silent through her response to the joke and to those three words he just loved saying to her, happy to quietly admire her for the moment as he sipped his coffee.

Her sudden expression got him to snort, though, luckily not into his coffee, and he chuckled while nodding. "I can do that, sure." He finished up his food and drink finally before asking, "Did you wanna take some to go?" If he were being honest, it was more for him...but if she said no he wouldn't mind.

Aria
"That is fine with me." She said with a pleased tone, perhaps a little more emphatically than needed but grateful he wouldn't even be trying to get her to do those things. "And unfortunately true but... It led to us, so I'm not complaining in the long run." She sipped at her mocha, softly sighing, fingers wrapping around the warm cup.

She laughed but stuck her tongue out at him playfully, for the chuckles, then said "Thanks, babe." She'd gotten half her croissant down when he asked his question, and she looked thoughtful. "Yeah... That sounds nice. Have a small treat to bring home and enjoy. Brilliant idea, babe."

Pao
"It did lead to us, huh?" he mused, not exactly surprised (because...duh) but at the same time sounding like it was maybe the first time it dawned on him. So he gave her hand a squeeze, playfully a bit tighter than usual when she stuck her tongue out at him.

"Yeah, something food-ish to hold onto London a little longer." He felt a puff of confidence when she labeled his idea brilliant; for him, normally all the brilliant ideas were hers, and he was happy to just go along with them. He looked at her empty plate, smiling with a hint of pride at the fact that she had once again conquered another meal. "You ready to go?"

Aria
She lifted their joined hands, and gave his a soft kiss to the back, then lowered them back to the table as she worked on her croissant, eyes soft with happiness. Quiet moments over food... One of the things that she enjoyed with him, because she found her appetite tended to be better when he was around. Maybe it was because of how happy he made her, maybe it was because she felt safe, and knew he wanted her to eat, but he helped her so much with this, too.

She smiled and sipped her mocha, after taking the last bite of her croissant. "Sure, let's go get a bag of the croissants, then head back." She glanced at the time, and said "Or... I could head back, order the kindle, and bring our stuff out, while you get them?" She was looking at the line, which wasn't TOO long, but she didn't want them to miss check out and have him charged extra for it.

Pao
He shook his head, taking his turn to kiss the back of her hand with a little smile. "I'll go get our stuff and order your Kindle, you get the croissants. I'll pick a good one out for you." He winked, giving her hand a squeeze. "Cool?"

Aria
She blinks, and flushes with happiness, then stands and moves to him to give him a slow, loving kiss. "You're the best, baby... All right. I'll see you shortly." She hugs him, then moves to the line, her eyes soft with her happiness. She gets their croissants ordered, then headed back to the apartment, and to his side. "Got 'em, babe!" She looks around, and examines the duffles. She finds enough room to put the treats in one of them, and says "Shall we get checked out, then, babe?"

She gave him a loving smile, and picks up one of the duffles, along with her original pack, then tucks GiGa under her arm.

Pao
Once they parted he hurried back, making sure to order the Kindle first so he doesn't forget, and then he double-checked to make sure everything was packed before he started loading himself up with their bags. He locked the room behind him once he was outside, then waited downstairs in the lobby for her. Once she arrived he grinned and happily greeted her with a kiss before she put the croissants away in a duffle, then nodded. "Yep, keys are in my pocket."

Check-out wasn't very long, in fact it lasted about as long as it takes to hand over a set of keys and say their thanks and goodbyes. Thankfully the people they were renting from were in the same building so it was a quick trip back upstairs, and then they were finally headed to the station.

Aria
She sighed as they left, GiGa in her grasp as they walked. "I wish we could stay longer, this was so wonderful. Thank you for a wonderful first vacation ever, babe. You are the best." Between her bags and GiGa, she wasn't about to hug or kiss him, out she would have.

Making it through the stile at the station was an interesting juggling act but finally they made it to the platform for the train back to the station they had started at. The locals were giving them, and GiGa, amused looks.

Pao
His hand were pretty full, too, but he decided he could kiss her more once they finally got back to Deus and unloaded everything in their room. Their room was an interesting way to phrase it, given they now had keys and would be able to do that. "Ditto, babe," he replied with a bright grin. Eventually they made it back to the right platform and he did his best to ignore the amused looks; they were tourists...these people needed to get over it.

"So..." he murmured once they were on board. "The tricky part's gonna be getting back to where we originally started. Hopefully the crowd'll be thick enough that we can just blend in and...yeah..."

Aria
She leaned against a train wall next to him, bracing herself against the wall so she didn't fall over but could keep her grip on her things. His comments had her thinking about it, humming in thought about that issue. She'd never had this issue before, so it was a new issue to consider for her. She leaned her head back, considering.

Finally, she said "We can figure it out when we get there, then? I'm not sure what we'll see at that station. Pity we can't count on something like and distracting, but not dangerous, happening."

Pao
He nodded, thinking on the issue as well. It wasn't quite so new for him, porting out of a city, what was new was that it wasn't nighttime, nor was the surrounding area devoid of any kind of life. Not to mention the cameras all over the place that they would have to avoid.

"We can, yeah," he eventually said as the came to their stop. He let her off first and followed close behind, for the first time since arriving going into sort of his mission alert mode. He looked for potential openings of backways into the abandoned platform that they ported to, and after walking for a bit he gave her a nudge and nodded toward a maintenance door.

Aria
She would have preferred to follow him... She didn't know what to look for... But when he guided her attention to a door, she gave a small nod in return, and moved to subtly lean against it. She managed to use her elbow to pop it slightly open, and then slipped through. She quietly moved into an out of the way spot, and waited silently for Rhys to make it through too.

Once he was there, she beamed at him, and moved carefully through the back halls until she emerged back onto the abandoned platform. She grinned, and murmured to him "We're a couple minutes early. Awesome."

Pao
He wished he could have held her hand throughout that whole deal, if only to remind her of his presence, that he was right on her tail and that if anything weird happened he'd have her back. Luckily nothing of the sort happened, and they were back on the abandoned platform a little ahead of schedule.

Rhys smiled back and nodded, wishing their hands weren't so full so he could pull her into a hug. For now he playfully bumped her. "Home soon...when didya want me to move in?"

Aria
Seren chuckled at the bump, and bumped him back, her eyes glittering in the low lighting. She simply leaned near him, so she was against him but not putting her weight on him, what with all they were carrying.

His question made her name a thoughtful sound, and she tilted her head at she considered that. After a moment, she simply said "As soon as you're ready to do so. Sooner the better, to me." She gave him a small side smile, and half shrugged.

Pao
"Sooner then," he said with a chuckle, bumping her back while giving it a bit of thought. "Might have to move things around slowly, like when our time between shifts lines up, but officially can be when we get back? I practically live in your room now anyway, just basically gotta move my clothes." There was a pause as he thought on it a little bit more.

"And maybe a few other things, but it's mostly the clothes. And if there's anything you wanna move to storage, we can take care of that slowly, too."

Aria
She smiled up at him and said "Sounds like a good plan to me. We can look at schedules once we're back and see when we have a few hours at the same time to move you in, and I can move some spare stuff out. Not a huge amount of that, really, but there's definitely a box of stuff to store away for now."

She glanced at the space where the portal is supposed to show, and added, as an afterthought, "You mentioned a mementos box... And that our photo was in it. Maybe at some point you can show me what else is in there? If you don't mind, that is."

Pao
He nodded at the plan, again another good one because it was Seren and she was just good at planning based on this entire vacation, and then smiled when she asked about his box. "Surprised you remember that," he said with a chuckle, leaning just enough to give her a kiss on the forehead. "Just one other thing in there, but I'm bringing it with me when I move so I can definitely can show you."

The portal showed up almost as soon as he said that, to which he grinned and gestured for her to first. "I'm right behind you, babe."

Aria
She beamed up at the kiss, and his promise, and said "Awesome!" then glanced at the portal. She gave him a soft smile at his ever gentlemanly treatment of her, then carefully walked through the portal, making sure nothing clipped on the edges. Especially not GiGa's tail or nose. She moved out of the way, and grinned at the startled expression on the nearest Tech's face. She was pretty sure it was the giant Dinosaur plush that had him looking so surprised, and she even gave in to laughter, as she turned to watch her boyfriend come through.

"To my room with the stuff, then, babe? I see no reason to take it to yours, and then move it all."

Pao
He followed after her and first gave the tech a two-finger salute in thanks, then turned to his girlfriend with a smile and a nod. "Yep, home first. We can deal with storage things later."

Admittedly there was something warm and fuzzy about referring to it as their home; it was, essentially, since to him wherever she was, was home. But there was just something about calling a specific space exclusively theirs that touched him, and he couldn't not smile at the idea.

Aria
She beamed up at him and led the way back to home. "You have at least part of a hand free, babe. I don't. Time, I think, for you to test the new key you got, so we can get into our little home." Oh yeah, that did sound nice. She was eager for the day their little home was moved to a larger space, but for now, well... They had a home.

A space that was theirs, a space that no one would go in but them without permission. She paused when they got to the front door of the dorms, and just looked up at him, with love in her eyes.

Pao
"Can do that, sure," he replied with a chuckle as they went. The bright smile stayed on his face all the way until they got to the front door of the dorms, where he used his partially free hand to open the door and let her through first, and finally to their dorm. Using that same hand he pulled his keys out and fumbled with them until he got the right one. He turned to her at around the same time he turned the key, smile brightening all the more when he successfully unlocked it.

"Home sweet home," he said, expression soft and warm now as it dawned on him that this would be the first time he was walking in here on more of an officially-permanent basis.

He pushed the door open and stepped aside so she could go in ahead of him, and then followed her inside before locking the door behind him.