She bumped his nose with hers, sighing softly through her nose. A relaxed and happy sigh. The smile flickering across her features was warm and loving, even if neither of them realized that last bit, though he could probably feel something when she pressed her lips against his.
Rhydar leaned into the kiss, head tilting to the side slightly to deepen it a smidge. His growing feelings for Lily was swelling even more, pushing against his chest and urging him to confess. His eyes closed, and he had to break the kiss and press his forehead against Lily's thanks to the feeling. I have to tell her, he thought to himself, but he bit his lip and hesitated. But what will she say?
Lily’s eyes opened slightly as Rhydar pulled away, flickering across his face. While he seemed happy, she was good at telling when something was bothering someone, and she could tell there was something else on his mind. She didn’t speak though, just let him think as she studied his face.
He tucked Lily close to him and kissed her again before blurting, "I love you." Once it was out, it was like the crack in the dam. "Fates, I love you so much. You're incredible and I don't deserve you, but I never want to leave your side. I want to do everything with you. I want to live on a farm with you and steal eggs–"
Lily’s eyes widened as the words spilled from his mouth, the surprise on her face quickly and obviously growing. He loved her? That’s what he had said, right? There wasn’t much else he could have said, and the way he was talking just kind of furthered that.
And without even thinking, Lily cut him off, pressing her lips to his quickly but with enough emotion poured into the action that it managed to feel anything but. “I love you too.” She whispered as she pulled away again, looking like she wasn’t sure whether to cry or to grin stupidly. “A little too much. And how many times do I have to tell you you can’t steal eggs?”
Rhydar opted for grinning stupidly, his heart swelling with happiness and love. That was what's been there all along, that unnamed emotion finally named. Now that it was out there, he realized just how much he loved her, and it slightly scared him how hard he had fallen for this wonderful and amazing woman.
His first reaction to having her return his feeling was to pull her close and kiss her like there's no tomorrow, but he refrained from that. Instead, he merely kissed her. Just that kiss, however, expressed just how much he felt right in that moment.
This was real, then. For sure, considering Lily was pretty sure you couldn’t fake the overwhelming mount of emotion in Rhydar’s kiss. People could fake a lot, but not to that extent. Her arms came up to wrap around his neck, loose but with enough to hold onto him, pull him closer like she needed him about as much as air. Maybe she did. He had managed to make himself that irreplaceable to her, to become someone she wasn’t sure she could deal with not having close.
Rhydar, with both hands free now, hugged Lily close while still avoiding her waist and hips. He didn't want to be his usual self and ruin everything by triggering her trauma. He could feel how desperate she was to have him near, like she couldn't live without him, and it made him even happier. He felt the exact same way about her, and he was so glad he wasn't the only one to feel that way. He couldn't fathom a future without Lily, and just thinking about losing her made his heart twist and his kiss to because slightly needier.
Sadly, Lily would need to breathe sooner or later. But pulling away until she desperately needed to was unfathomable. She was warming up now, and maybe it was the close contact, or maybe the more metaphorical warmth built in her chest after everything, either way chasing away the chill for now. I love you. Fates, who would have thought she’d hear those words directed at her in her lifetime? Not her, for sure. Another out of reach thing that Rhydar had suddenly brought crashing into her life in the best ways possible.
Rhydar did them both a favor and pulled away, chest heaving with his gulping pants. He snuggled into Lily with his face against her neck, smiling like a madman. He wanted Lily as close as possible, but he still refrained from pulling her too close. He still pulled her against his chest, but he didn't force her any closer than she was comfortable with.
“I love you.” Lily breathed, inbetween her heavy breaths as she rested her chin on his shoulder. There was something like awe in her voice, like she wasn’t quite sure it was all real. “I love you.” She repeated the words with a kiss to the side of his head, snuggling just a bit closer.
Rhydar smiled contently and shifted to face her a bit better, arms engulfing her in a comforting embrace. "I love you too," he murmured, "So much." His smile grew when she kissed the side of his head, playfully scrunching his nose to mimic her.
She hummed happily, her cheeks pink. At one point, just the idea of hugs had been horrible, almost enough to shove her straight into a panic. But with Rhydar, they were comfortable and warm and probably one of her favorite things now. She angled her head, slightly hesitating before pressing a light and quick kiss to his jaw. “This one has to be a dream, right?”
Rhydar's eyes lit up when she kissed his jaw, and he returned the favor as he murmured, "I really hope not. I'll be really sad if it was because then I would have to confess first again," he playfully whined, chuckling against her jaw before kissing it again and pulling back to just look at her. To admire her beauty. To relish in the absolute wonder of having Lily here with him, telling him she loved him instead of rejecting him.
She shivered slightly each time he kissed her jaw, cheeks a light pink as she looked at him. Her eyes stayed on him as he pulled away, filled with what was most definitely identifiable as live at this point. “We can’t have that, my dear thief, can we?” She cooed softly, lifting her hands to cup his face, squishing his cheeks lightly.
He scrunched his nose in protest at having his cheeks squished, then chuckled and let go of her to lightly curl his fingers around her wrists, pulling them away from his face so he could lean in and kiss her lips, wrapping her hands around his neck. After he did that, his arms slowly, slowly wrapped around her waist, though his grip was incredibly light and open, inviting her to tell him no.
I want to try. Lily wanted to try more. To try handling his arms around her waist and just anything more than what she’d been giving, because it didn’t feel like enough, even if it was to Rhydar. She wanted to be able to do more. And the only way to try was to, well, try, right? So that’s what she would do.
It wasn’t much at first, just a sort of unnoticeable loosening of her lips against his, until they were slightly parted. A slow process, but one even she was proud of.
Rhydar took a quick moment to process two things. One: Lily hadn't pulled away or cringed from his touch. Two: Lily was parting her lips. That usually meant one thing. He decided to take the hesitant route and lightly brush he tongue over her lips, parting his in the process. He didn't know how much she was willing to push herself, but he was willing to give her a gentle nudge or two.
Lily’s shoulders relaxed a tad, grateful he’d been slow about it, but also glad he had shown a willingness to do this. She pulled away just long enough to take a breath, before pressing back into the kiss. This time, with an added certainty, a surety that she wanted this, to be able to kiss him like that. Her response was a bit hesitant though, like his had been, brushing her tongue briefly against his lips in a ‘yes’ of sorts.
He held onto her as if she was a fading dream, parting his lips for her, letting her go at her own pace. His hands moved to lightly brush up and down her sides, keeping his touch light and soothing. He made sure it wouldn't seem like a touch of someone hungry for her body to just use and discard. He loved her, really truly loved her, and wanted her to feel happy and safe in his embrace, not scared and panicked.
Unfortunately, she did panic. Luckily, it wasn't the kind of panic he was trying to avoid, but instead a 'what am I supposed to do now?' panic. She was incredibly inexperienced when it came to this kind of consensual kissing, having always been on the receiving end of forceful dominance. And here Rhydar was, giving her the lead. After a moment of deliberation and hesitance, she carefully slipped her tongue into his mouth, pressing a bit harder into the kiss with maybe just a touch of desperation. It was incredible, being able to do this while she could.
Rhydar closed his eyes and returned the intensity of the kiss, noting the hint of desperation she seemed to have as she pressed into the kiss. His hand skimmed down her side to her thigh, gently guiding it so that she was straddling him to make it easier for them both, then smoothly moved his touch up to her back with one going up to cup her cheek, thumb brushing over her soft skin. His heart sped up a notch at that, and he waited anxiously for her to react to that bold move on his part. He probably shouldn't have done it, but he hadn't thought much of it until now.
Lily let out a small noise of surprise as Rhydar moved her, and she almost pulled away as she realized what he was doing. Her tongue stilled it's hesitant exploration of his mouth with her surprise, but before she could pull away, she stopped herself. This was okay. She wasn't afraid, she didn't feel trapped, and most of all, she didn't want to stop kissing him. Pulling away just enough to take a quick breath, she kissed him a bit softer this time, less hurried. Like she was confident in her own ability to handle it.
Rhydar almost pulled back when Lily froze, feeling her muscles tense and ready to back out beneath his hands. A wave of guilt washed over him and he was ready to apologize when she moved. Her lips were on his again, and he could sense a hint of confidence in the less hurried and softer kiss. The hand on her cheek moved up to wrap his fingers around her hair, loosely entangling them.
A soft noise slipped past her lips as his fingers tangled loosely in her hair, and her cheeks flamed a bright red in response. "Sorry." She murmured into the kiss, as though it was necessary to apologize for enjoying herself. Newly gained confidence or not, she still had the same self consciousness deep down.