"O-oh." She squeaked out, after a moment of startled quiet. His breath on her ear sent a small shiver down her spine, the way it had last night. "You, er-are you sure those a-are the right words?" She bit her bottom lip, chewing on it slightly as she kept her gaze on the papers in her hand.
He smiled and hummed, lifting his head and pressing a lingering kiss to the side of her head. "Positive," he reassured her, "There's no way you can convince me otherwise." She flusters so easily, he mused to himself, not bringing himself to point it out to her. He doubted she'd appreciate it.
She opened her mouth, definitely to try and change his mind, and paused. Did she really want to change his mind? Having someone care about her like this…it was nice. She liked feeling liked, liked feeling like she mattered. Was her lack of self confidence something she was going to let get in the way of that? "If you s-say so." She finally said, voice soft as she leaned back just a bit.
He flicked his eyes down at her when she leaned back. He didn't make a move to get closer, but he didn't try to back away either. He had done quite a bit without her permission today; he wouldn't push his luck any further than he already had. It was her choice of how much she wanted to push her limits in one day. He was perfectly fine with whatever she wanted to do, but only on her terms. "I do," he said softly, still looking down at her.
She finally shifted to look at him, an expression that was equal parts soft and hopeful and happy lighting up her face as her eyes met his. She didn't fully lean back into him, but it was definitely close, an obvious vote of trust. "I guess I really can't argue with you, then." She said softly, raising an eyebrow slightly as though he might change his mind.
His only answer was a small smile. There was no way in hell he would take back anything he said regarding how amazing Lily was. She was truly a light in a world of darkness—a light that had to fight for its right to shine. She might be still flickering, but she was steadily growing stronger and brighter as the days went on. He slowly and gently hooked his fingers around her arms, keeping her steady so she didn't lean too far back.
She studied him for a moment, her skin tingling slightly where his hands touched her arms. Without saying anything she picked up the flower she'd set aside, careful not to disrupt his arm as she reached up. She proceeded to tuck it behind his ear, her fingers brushing his skin as she did. She kept quiet still, though her smile brightened somewhat as she met his eyes again.
He couldn't help it. That was the sweetest and most adorable gesture he's ever seen—and he was already smitten with the sweetest and most adorable girl he knew—so it was no surprise that his lips unbiddenly spread into a bright smile as he flicked his eyes over to where she had tucked the flower. He looked back over to her, meeting her gaze, his eyes bright but soft at the same time.
"Purple looks nice on you." She said softly, the corners of her eyes crinkling just slightly with her smile. The purple of the flower definitely drew attention to his eyes, something she was all for. She wasn't all that sure why she'd decided to give him the flower, let alone tuck it behind his ear, but if the way he was smiling at her was any indication, it had been an okay decision.
He tilted his head as if that would help him get a better look at the flower. It didn't, but this was Rhydar we're talking about here. "I usually go green, but purple's a nice change of pace." He flicked his gaze back to her but kept his head tilted. Strangely enough, he wasn't opposed to the flower. Maybe it was just because it was a gift from Lily, or maybe because his heart was still melted by the adorable gesture she just made. Perhaps it was because he simply loved seeing Lily smile, and if it meant wearing a flower, then so be it—he's wearing a flower and going to be proud of the flower.
She huffed a small laugh at the way he tilted his head, the action lighting up her face a bit more. She wouldn't have blamed him for removing the flower, but the fact that he hadn't yet just made her smile grow as she looked up at him, pulling away slowly and with obvious reluctance. "A change of pace is always good, you know."
He let go of her when she pulled away, not making her stay near even if she looked reluctant in her actions. A tiny smirk ghosted his lips as he simply said, "I know," while he looked to her. Everything he did with Lily was a change of pace, and he was happy to say it was a nice one. She brought out the better parts of him that he never really showed to people, and that was just because he felt compelled to show her.
How are you so amazing? The thought came suddenly, but Lily found herself dwelling on it slightly as she turned a bit to look at him. There were so many different things that might have contributed to what exactly made him so amazing to her, starting with the way he let her pull away. She'd listed a few of them earlier, but that barely even scratched the surface. "Why don't we keep up with that change of pace then? Starting with strawberries, since I still have a hard time believing you've never gone berry picking."
He rolled his eyes and grabbed the rest of the papers, separating them with the remaining flowers. "Yeah yeah yeah. Believe me or not, but I can honestly say I've never gone berry picking." He held out a hand for her as he stood up, offering to help her up if she wanted to. A small but warm smile settled on his lips as he looked down at her.
She accepted the hand without hesitation, letting Rhydar help her up. Once standing, she didn't step back, but left a tiny bit of distance between them, more for his sake than her own. She still had her moments of wariness when it came to his boundaries. "Blasphemous. Are there any other important things you haven't done that I should be worried about?"
He snorted and opened his mouth to say that berry picking wasn't that important, but closed it and shook his head with a chuckle. "Depends on what you consider important," he said instead, raising his pierced brow in inquiry. He knew that if Lily wanted to do something that he had never really felt like doing, he would do it for her sake.
"Obviously berry picking is on that list." She said, nudging him slightly with a smile. "Lucky for you, it's a pretty short list." Considering there were plenty of things she hadn't done herself, she couldn't make fun of him too much. The list was actually fairly nonexistent at this point.
He stuck his tongue out at the nudge, then jerked his head in the direction of the greenhouse exit. "C'mon. Let's drop these off in my room and then we can get to your precious berry picking." He looped an arm around her—without actually touching her—to usher her over to the exit. "We've stalled quite a bit already."
"There has been an incredible amount of stalling. I'm blaming you." She said, scrunching up her nose at him as she let him usher her out of the garden. She moved just a tiny bit closer to him, raising an eyebrow playfully. "Do you want me to carry those papers?"
"Hey," he protested at being blamed for the stalling, "It's not my fault you're irresistible," he added with a smirk and wink. He then dramatically pulled the papers close to his chest in a protective manner. "And I'm perfectly capable of carrying them, thank you very much."
"You aren't helping your case, because I'm definitely not irresistible." She said, her cheeks colored by a slight blush. She shook her head at his theatrics, raising her hands in a submissive gesture. "Alright. I wasn't suggesting you weren't, just offering to help."
"Mmhmm," he hummed accusingly, but he was smiling at the blush he managed to cause yet again. It was fun, teasing her and giving her compliments that made her blush. He lightly nudged her with an elbow as they headed through the exit and into the palace. "You're irresistible to me, and you can't say otherwise."
She shook her head, her nose scrunching up more in disbelief. Irresistible. He kept doing that, describing her with words that she never really expected to hear pertaining to her. Was she allowed to like it as much as she did? "Are you sure I can't?" She asked, twisting the ring three times as she arched an eyebrow slightly.
He nodded seriously, then glanced down at her. "Positive. I might be a thief and liar, but I'd never lie to you." He offered a warm smile to add to his promise. He'd never lie to Lily if he could help it, that he knew for certain, and every compliment he gave her or the words he used to describe her were never lies.
"That's quite the promise to make." She said softly, despite the happy swelling of her heart. Her eyes brightened unintentionally, that same hope that Rhydar seemed to easily create shining in them. Lying wasn't always bad, she knew that, and she hoped Rhydar wouldn't assume he had to change just for her. Thief and liar or not, she liked him as is. His promise of honesty was a bonus.