Aria
Seren was sitting on their bed, waiting for Rhys to come back from the shower he was taking after his duties for the day. She had grabbed the smaller duffel bag, and packed enough blankets to be sure they would be comfortable, and warm, even if they fell asleep out on the cliffs, some bottle water, and tucked in the outer pouch, some other supplies.

She was dressed in her favorite turtleneck, but was wearing the leggings she'd worn on the night she'd finally properly gotten his attention, with her coat over it, and closed, to make it less obvious. She was reading one of the astronomy books she'd borrowed from the library, a smile on her face.

Pao
Rhys made it back to the room, as usual half-covered in a towel and using a second towel to dry off his hair a little bit. His eyes flickered to the bed as soon as he got there, a soft smile on his lips when she filled his vision. Stargazing hadn't been in his plans for the day, but he could hardly get himself to say "no" when she asked him to go. He'd promised her before, after all, and he had incredibly fond memories of the first time she'd taken his stargazing so it wasn't like he didn't want to go. He just hadn't expected it.

"All ready, huh?" he said, quickly moving to the closet to start getting dressed and ready to go out. "Didya wait long?"

Aria
She glanced up when he came in, and beamed at the sight of him, her eyes filled with happiness at the fact that he was back. "Not too long, no, and I had a book to read, so..." She stood up, marking her page as she did, and crossed to him to lean up and give him a warm kiss, before she went to set the book on one corner of the table. "After lunch, I went looking, and I found a spot that I think will be perfect for tonight." She said, as she leaned down to pick up the duffle bag.

She leaned back against the wall to just watch her boyfriend get dressed, happily.

Pao
"Good," he said as he slipped into his underwear, then gladly stopped what he was doing to return the kiss before hurriedly finishing up as she spoke. It didn't surprise him that she'd planned things out; it was a skill of hers that he was convinced would have served her incredibly well in the civilian world, either as a direct profession or a well-honed skill to use for a profession. "Hope it's not taken," he said, finally working on combing back his hair.

"Probably wouldn't be, but still." He moved toward her, leaning down for a quick kiss and to grab the duffel from her before opening the door. "Let's go?"

Aria
She kissed him back, and then laughed when he stole the duffle from her, amused at her beautiful, gentlemanly boyfriend. It wasn't like she wasn't getting decent upper body strength, with the workouts he had created for her to do, and her work on the sparring field. But she still loved that he did that, because it was one of the ways he showed her he cared, she knew that, even if it was unnecessary.

She walked out the door, and waited for him to shut and lock it, then reached back to take his hand, leading him out of the dorm, and then turned towards the cliffs. "I doubt anyone else will have taken it, but yes, I hope not as well. That would be sad."

Pao
He slung the duffel over his shoulder and happily took her hand, giving it a little squeeze as they headed out toward the cliffs finally. It was perfect out, not too hot and not at all humid. He imagined it'd be a little cooler by the cliffs, but from the weight of the duffle he knew she'd packed more than what they would actually need.

"Would be, yeah. I'm glad you finally get to go stargazing out here, though." He glanced up at the surprisingly clear sky, a little smile on his face. "And you picked a great night for it, too."

Aria
"I am glad we get to, yes." She was very happy he was along, because she much preferred to do things in his company these days. "And we can stay out much longer, since we won't be in danger of freezing any extremities off, too."

She was looking happy, and excited, as they made their way down the path. When they got to the base of the path up the cliffs, she paused, smiling, and then began to guide him upwards. They went a decent ways up, and then she turned in, heading for a spot that was secluded, and mostly ringed in by the rock around them, but had a nice direct view of the sky, especially up. It was lightly covered with some form of sea-grass, but there were no trees clinging on to block anything. She beamed at him. "What do you think?"

Pao
He smirked and gave her hand a little squeeze. "Longer, probably not advisable all night. It's always risky bein' out at night, even on this island." Still, he was happy they got to be out and in much nicer weather than what they had to deal with in Siberia. He did miss the cocoa a little bit, though.

The path to the spot she found took a surprising bit of work to get to, but when they got there his eyes went a little wide, clearly impressed. "Wow..." was all he managed at first, then turned to her, smile bright as he leaned in for a little kiss. "Must've taken forever to find it, but it's amazing, love."

Aria
She gave a soft chuckle, squeezing his hand back and then nodded. "Fair enough." Was all she said, because if they didn't stay all night, that was fine.. they just might be there longer than he expected, though.

His reaction made her expression brighten even more, and she gently tugged the bag from him, before she began to make something like a blanket nest. After it was set up, she gently kicked off her shoes to step into it and then she looked at him. "Care to join me?"

Pao
He would have offered to help set up but she was quick about it and just left him smirking on the sidelines. At her invitation he stepped forward, carefully slipping out of his shoes before joining her. He opened his arms wide, a loving smile on his face. It felt the optimal time to cuddle, after all, being out here under all the stars.

Which he hadn't really taken a second to look up at, but that was because she had all of his focus at the moment.

Aria
She moved into his arms, and gave him a loving kiss, then gently pulled them both down so that they were sitting on the blankets. Well, he was, she settled onto his lap. She'd set the duffle right next to the nest, making sure it was in range to get into at need.

Once they were settled, she rested her head against his shoulder, and looked up, her eyes focusing on the stars above them, getting lost in the universe on display for the moment.

Pao
He kept his arms around her as they sat down on the blankets, pure contentment on his face as she sat on his lap and settled against him. Gently he rested his head against hers, eyes up at last at the stars overhead. It was a comfortable quiet, being out there like that with her, one that they didn't often get outside of their room.

"For all the madness that goes on out here," he said softly, "it's still hard not to appreciate this view."

Aria
She nodded at his words, a smile on her face. "I agree. Living away from the cities, for all that they have so much to offer, does have its benefits. Lack of a light dome is definitely one of them."

She searched the stars above them, then began to point out constellations that were visible. She smiled some at the various things she saw, then added "And there's Orion, who we talked about in Siberia." She showed him how the constellation lined up. "His 'belt' is one of the easiest to find constellation markers, if you ask me. A lot of people can recognize it, along with the two dippers." Her hands were raised so that she could point at the various stars, and her voice was happy, filled with love for him for don't this with her, and for the activity she loved so much.

Pao
He could only nod and follow along where she pointed, trying to find and connect the bright dots she was talking about. He'd done a little bit of his own research since their trip to Siberia so he knew what the shapes of the most common constellations were, but...finding them in an actual night sky was vastly different than looking at pictures in a book.

"I remember that one, yeah," he murmured, squinting and trying his best to follow along. "I still confuse the dippers though. Can never tell if I found Big or Little 'cause I never find 'em both at the same time." He turned his head to watch her watch her beloved night sky, smile soft as he leaned in to kiss her cheek. Not to distract her or anything, but he just loved the look on her face while she doing something she loved.

Aria
She smiled, glad he remembered the stuff they had talked about. "There's ways to tell, and I'll show you that at some point in the future, but for now..." She sighed happily at the kiss, and turned her head to give him a proper, loving kiss, before going back to gazing at the stars overhead.

After a while however, and she wasn't sure how long it had been, she got so caught up in the beauty of the universe overhead, she considered, still staring up at the stars... Then very carefully, she shifted back on his lap so that she was pressed just a little closer, her back tight against his chest now.

Pao
"I'll try and read up a little bit more 'til then," he offered, happily returning her kiss. He was fine with letting her go when she pulled back to turn back to the stars, considering this activity more for her enjoyment. He was just happy to spend the time with her, and share in one of her passions. He didn't think much of it when she moved a little closer, though he did glance down to see if she was maybe uncomfortable.

Aria
She couldn't help but smile brightly at the idea that he'd read up more... The fact that he'd done so to begin with, simply because it mattered to her, was an amazing thing to her, and made her want to thank him... She hoped her plan for tonight would help do that. When he didn't seem to respond to her physical closeness very much, she considered in silence, then 'accidentally' kicked the duffle, knocking it so that the bottles of water she'd put in there rolled out and out of reach, as she shifted a little. "Ah! Oops!" She wiggled up and out of his lap and went to go grab them, leaving over, rump in the air, hoping he might notice the tight leggings... And start getting ideas.

Pao
When she adjusted again and kicked the duffle he couldn't help but chuckle, a little curious what was maybe going through her head. He was about to reach over when she wiggled out of his lap and beat him to it, leaving him with quite the view...to which he blinked, suddenly reminded of the first time he ever noticed her in that way.

Except this time he didn't have to tuck away any thoughts he might have had about the view, so instead he very gently spanked her, chuckling. "You got somethin' on your mind, baby?"

Aria
She jumped at the spank, her eyes going wide, and she looked back at him, torn between wanting to encourage him and wanting to tell him to please never spank her again. She didn't mind him grabbing, fondling, any of that.

Spanking, though... It made her uncomfortable. She bit her lip for a moment as she put the bottles back in the bag, then turned fully to face him, moving to slide to her knees before him, leaning in to give him a slow kiss, then said "Please, baby... don't spank... There's so many things I don't mind, but... That..." She bit her lip for a moment, then said "It's a little too close to other things." She rested her forehead against his, and said "I know you didn't mean that, you were just being playful."

Pao
The shift in mood was more than noticeable, and his smirk quickly turned into a frown just before she kissed him. He sighed when she pulled away, guilt causing his chest to tighten as he nodded. "Sorry..." was all he could manage for the moment, and then, "I won't do it again, promise." His tone was more worried than anything else, worried that he'd hurt her and that he'd ruined their night, and he opened his eyes and cupped her face in his hands before he gently pressed his lips against hers.

Aria
She kissed him back, sliding back into Rhys' lap, her arms going around him. "Thank you, baby." She gave him another soft kiss, relaxing some as she took comfort from being close to him, and the feeling of his hands on her face. She refused to let a mistake ruin their night but she needed a few moments of just being here, with him, to become fully calm again. "I love you."

Pao
"Of course, love," he whispered back before she kissed him again. He felt her relax a bit more against him he felt a little relieved, and his hands moved to warp around her waist, pulling her just a little bit closer. "Love you, too.

And he held her, happily, occasionally kissing her but mostly just reveling in their closeness, hoping it brought her a bit of comfort for his mistake. He was comfortable just being there with her, under the stars on such a beautiful night.

Aria
She sighed softly, and kissed him again, her eyes focused on his, one hand sliding up to caress his cheek. She continued to slowly relax, until she finally relaxed back, breaking the kiss. She smiled lovingly at him and then arched a brow slowly, considering the situation.

Finally, after a moment, she gave him a slightly naughty grin, and she sat back, slowly, not moving off of his lap. She began to work her shirt off, slowly revealing more and more skin. After a minute, she dropped it aside, letting him get a full view of her in a lacy black and red balconette bra. She watched his expression, wondering how he was going to respond.

Pao
He leaned into her touch, glad to see she was easing up again. It wasn't until she smiled that he knew she was feeling quite a bit better, though her expression had him raise a curious brow at her as well. And then he watched her slowly slip out of her shirt and quite frankly take his breath away with the simple act.

The brunette looked on at her in a lacey bra, his heartbeat already picking up pace as he ran his hands along her skin, maybe a little bit slack jawed as he pulled her in for a little kiss.

"Are we celebrating something or...?" he asked, chuckling. He was fairly sure he hadn't missed any kind of important date for them, but he was curious.

Aria
She kissed him back, softly, and shivered at the feeling of his hands on her skin. It always managed to make her skin feel like it was on fire, in the best possible way, and she gave a slow, happy smile when he broke the kiss. She chuckled softly at his words, and shook her head. "Nothing in particular. Just... Something I've considered since that night in Siberia."

She gave him another kiss, slow, deep and a little enticing, before she broke it to stand again, and slowly, teasingly, work her leggings off of her. She slowly turned, as she stepped out of them, so that he got a full view of the matching thong she'd gotten to go with the bra, before turning to face him again.

Pao
"Siberia?" He sounded quite surprised, but quickly shut up when she kissed him again and he got lost in it however briefly. He took a slow breath as she stood, leaning back to enjoy her little strip tease, desire gradually filling his eyes as she slipped out of her leggings to show off a matching thong, of all things...and his breath caught.

"Is this something you got in London?" he asked, reaching up to take her hand and gently tug her back down into his lap.

Aria
"Siberia... when we were star gazing, yes. I thought something along the lines of 'it's a good thing it's so cold, because the temptation to make this night even more memorable would be strong otherwise...' and filed it away for the future." She smiled down at him, and more than willingly let him pull her back down. She settled on him, facing him now, her lips pressing against his for a long moment before she answered his.

"By 'this,' if you mean the set, yes... One of my... little surprises." She gave him a loving smile, and said "I thought you might enjoy it..."

Pao
"'Enjoy' is putting it mildly," he said, smiling before he leaned in for a slow and very loving kiss. When he eventually pulled away he didn't go far and just rested his forehead against hers for a moment. "I'm glad you filed it away though. If we tried somethin' like this back then it might have been extra frustrating for the both of us." Though he did recall being the one to instigate most of those...moments. So he was grateful for the self-control that Seren had, most especially in retrospect.

It wasn't a problem now, though, which was made obvious by his wandering hands. They glided down her body, slow and savoring the feel of her body beneath his touch until they settled just south of her lower back. And he pulled her closer as he leaned forward, teasingly brushing his lips to hers.

Aria
"Good... I'm glad..." She kissed him back, her arms going around his shoulders again. She shivered and sighed happily into the kiss, and then gave him an amused smile. "Yes, it probably would have. Also, it would have been way the ******** too cold to even consider making love under the stars. I would much rather you keep all of your bits intact, and I suspect you feel the same way." The last was said in a voice that was teasing and loving, and just a bit amused. "So keeping it saved for later really was the only option."

She enjoyed the way his hands explored her body, like she always did. His touches felt amazing to her, and when his hands stopped where they did, she gave another shiver, as she pressed close to him, letting him feel her warmth all along his front through his clothing. She mmm'd at the teasing brush and waited, letting him decide what he wanted to do next.