"It's definitely true." The words remained soft as if he were afraid of shattering this dream-like moment. "I've never met a woman like you before. You entice me, Lily. You're incredible." What he spoke rang true in his mind, and his eyes shone with that truth as they darted back and forth between hers.
A light pink blossomed on her cheeks, but she didn't look away from him. "You're incredible." He thought she was incredible. The truth of it was obvious in his eyes, and the sincerity in his voice, and sent her heart fluttering again. "I'm…incredible?"
He nodded and lightly brushed his knuckles against her one cheek as he gazed at her. He was pushing his luck with the amount of contact he was allowing himself, but he knew she'd tell him to stop. "In an inefficient word, yes," he said softly, eyes finally landing back onto hers.
"O-oh." She blinked, her cheeks warming even more at the light and gentle touch. Taking a deep breath, she reluctantly tapped the hand on her hip once, a silent request. She could handle him touching her cheek, but she had pushed herself just a bit far with the other contact. Someday. Someday, she would be able to let him hold her without issue, if he stuck around that long.
Rhydar nodded in understanding and let both of his hands drop to his sides. He wasn't upset or disappointed—quite the contrary, actually. He was proud and amazed by her progress so far, and both those emotions shone in his eyes as he smiled softly at the sight of her blush and her stuttered speech. It was cute.
Lily sighed, the slowly building knot in her gut easing. She kept her hand on his cheek as she pressed a quick kiss to the other one with obvious gratitude, before letting her hand fall to tuck it into her pocket. As she met his eyes again, she blinked, the pride and amazement in his eyes startling.
He slid his own hands into his pockets as he straightened, but didn't back away from Lily. "You did good," he said softly, his smile growing warm. "A lot better than before." Each kiss he shared with Lily was something to cherish, he realized. It couldn't be easy for her.
"I want…to make it normal. To be normal." She said, tilting her head slightly as she gazed up at him. The words of praise brought a small and happy smile to her face, along with a return of her blush. "I've got you to thank for that."
"You'll get there," he said, then lightly hooked his fingers around her wrists and kissed her forehead, "I know you will," he finished, murmuring the words against her skin before letting go and looking back down at her. His smile was still there, and his eyes crinkled at seeing her blush again.
Her eyes widened a fraction as she blinked in surprise, her pink cheeks quickly reddening in a slightly late response to the move. She bit her lip, warmth at such a simple gesture swelling in her chest as her eyes flickered across his face. "I-I hope so."
Rhydar dipped his chin in a slight nod, then tilted his head towards the door. "We should go get some sleep," he said, noticing her reaction to such a simple gesture. I just might do that more often, he noted. "I'll walk you to your room," he said out loud.
"R-right. Sleep. You definitely need sleep." Lily nodded, reaching up to fiddle with her hair. The exclusion of herself in that sentence wasn't even something she seemed aware of, though if she had been, she still would have stood by it. She was plenty used to not getting much sleep, and some nights it was easier to just find other things to do.
"And so do you," he said gently, turning his body towards the door to let her go first. "I can only imagine how long of a day it's been for you. And…uh…" He ducked his head, running a hand through his hair with a guilty look on his face. "Sorry for disappearing like that and making you worry—and breaking my promise."
She paused, mid step towards the door, and looked over at him. "Long days just mean I'm even less likely to sleep. And Rhydar, you don't need to apologize." She said softly, lifting a hand with less hesitance than before to rest it on his shoulder. "I asked you to try. That was all. I'm just glad you're alright, okay?"
"But–" He stopped himself and sighed, knowing it was no use when he saw the look on her face. He nodded and said, "Alright, alright. But you're going to bed," he said, narrowing his gaze on her. "I don't want to see you tomorrow lookin' like the dead because you didn't go to sleep."
She shook her head, pointedly looking away and avoiding his gaze as she continued towards the door, her hand returning to her pocket. "I'll be fine. I don't get a lot of sleep, anyway." She said quietly, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth.
"Lily," he said, trailing after her. "Lily, you can't expect me to sit around and watch you do that without saying something. You need to sleep." Cinthia suffered from insomnia, and he knew how bad it could get when she couldn't sleep for a while.
She stayed quiet, just shrugging slightly. She had been trying for a year to be able to get more than an hour of sleep in one sitting, and nothing she did worked. If the nightmares didn't wake her up, they left her feeling like she'd gone back in time on sleep, like she had somehow managed to exhaust herself just by trying.
He pinched his lips together, thinking this through before he opened his big mouth. Cinthia had insomnia and night terrors, though she told no one but the healers what they were about. She always managed to sleep thanks to a tonic that they whipped up for her every time she was running low. Maybe if he asked nicely, she'd let him borrow some.
"You really shouldn't worry." She said after a minute or two of silence, her voice incredibly soft. Other people worrying for her wasn't something she was used to, and it felt…odd. "I've had these issues for years. They're as normal as the touch aversion for me."
"So why work on one and not the other?" he challenged gently, obviously not letting this go. He had his own problems, sure, but at least he did his best to create minimum damage. He didn't like seeing people letting something harming their health continue, especially those that he cared about.
She opened her mouth, only to close it again as she found herself struggling to come up with a rebuttal. Why was right. She fell quiet again, thinking, for a few moments. "I'm so used to not sleeping, I guess. And I'm not even sure how I would begin to work on the other. You're the one that set the work in motion for the first one, even."
"Then how about I help with this one as well?" he offered. "Cinthia has a tonic that I'm sure she can share with you to see if it even works." If I tell her it's for Lily, she'll be more inclined to let her borrow it rather than if I was the one asking for it.
"A…tonic?" She tilted her head, a small flicker of something possibly akin to hope crossing her face. Maybe he was right, and fixing it was something she'd be able to do. "One that helps her sleep?"
"Sleep and keep the night terrors away," he said, leaning forward as he also looked hopeful that she'd try it, "if her claims are to be belived—but she has no reason to lie about that." He tilted his head, and his eyes pleaded with her to at least try it.