He gently tugged on the strand of hair his fingers were wrapped around. "Don't be," he mumbled against her lips, trying and failing to hide his small smile at the adorable blush on her cheeks. It was hard to continue the kiss with his smile, but he improvised to make up for it. He tilted his head a little more and pressed further into the kiss, considering and ditching the idea of pulling her closer. Her move, not his.
She could feel his smile against her lips, and for a second she was worried he was laughing at her. And then he was kissing her again, pressing into the kiss harder. Any of the fears that had spiked were drowned out as she kissed him, finding herself shifting just a bit closer to him. Well, ‘closer’ was relative, considering she was in his lap.
"I love you," he whispered as he pulled back after a while, forehead pressed against hers with his fingers still tangled in her soft hair. His emerald eyes were half-lidded, and his lips were pulled up in a soft smile. "Gods, I never realized how much I've wanted to say that before," he whispered with a soft laugh. "I love you, my Lily darling. I don't know what I'd do without you."
She nuzzled his nose with her own, eyes closed and smile bright and soft. His words made her smile widen a bit, her cheeks flushed both from being flustered and from kissing, an adorable deep pink. “I love you too, Rhydar. More than all the stars in the sky.” She murmured, wrapping her arms around his neck to hold onto him a bit better.
His one hand was loosely wrapped around her body, holding her without being restricting, while the other moved to untangle itself from her hair. He smiled and hummed, kissing her one cheek and lightly caressing her other cheek with his knuckles. "That means the world to me," he murmured, "And so do you." Right now, it didn't feel like a prince and a farm girl—it felt like him and Lily. It felt like happiness and love. It felt like warmth in a cold world. It felt right, and Rhydar didn't need anyone telling him what he could and couldn't feel towards this amazing girl. He didn't need his mother saying he needed to pick a noble girl. He didn't need the dukes and duchesses judging his decisions. He only needed his precious flower with him, in his arms, her wonderful scent wrapping around him in a flowery blanket, her soft hair spilling around her beautiful face, her bright eyes gazing at him with comfort and affection, her kind words, her adorable blush—he needed Lily.
He really was just that amazing. Amazing enough to take place over the night sky she loved so much, over her beloved strawberries and books and maybe even the plants back at her nursery. He was the bright spot that had showed up when she was sure there was no end to the dark haze surrounding her life, and through some miracle, she had managed to convince him to stay. And that was, in itself, as amazing as he was. Her swirling eyes flickered around his face, scanning it, before landing on his eyes again. "I could say the same to you. You're incredible, you know that? Everything about you."
Rhydar saw the look in her eyes as they scanned his face, and he had a feeling he wouldn't be able to handle the words that came next. And then she spoke, and he felt like his heart would implode. He leaned his head forward, resting against her chest just below her throat while he felt a slight heat creep up his cheeks and ears. The words were so simple, yet something he swore he'd never get used to. He couldln't even dare to imagine himself as important to Lily as she had just expressed to him. It was unfathomable to him to think he was even close to being considered incredible, let alone everything about him being incredible. He mumbled something incoherent.
Lily smiled softly as he rested his head against her chest, in turn resting her head on top of his, tucking him under her chin. Her arms tightened around him a bit, hug warm and loving. She didn't have much experience with receiving them, but she was alright at giving them, it seemed. "Hm? You don't believe me, do you." She said, fingers tracing shapes into the back of his neck lightly. "Which doesn't make a lot of sense to me. You really are incredible, Rhydar. You're unfaillingly sweet and fun to spend time with. You're safe and warm, a great kisser, and give the best hugs I've ever had. Just…incredible. Amazing."
Rhydar smiled softly to himself, his face hidden from Lily. He could feel her resting her chin against his head, her fingers light against the back of his neck. "You put it like that, and I almost believe you," he murmured with a soft chuckle, eyes closing contently. He really, truly loved this girl. If he got the chance to go back and change things, he wouldn't change anything concerning Lily. He was happy with how everything turned out, even if the rain had delayed their date yet again. But the rain had helped them, in a way. They were here now, weren't they? "Thank you, Lily darling," he whispered lovingly.
"Good, you should believe me." Lily stated playfully, lifting her head to press a kiss to the top of his. A week or so ago, the thought of shaking someone's hand was potentially terrifying. And here she was, sitting in the crown prince's lap, holding onto him like letting go was the more terrifying thought. And she felt comfortable. That was another amazing thing about him. His ability to worm past the walls she'd had to put up, and without even trying, make himself a home within them. "Why are you thanking me?" She asked softly, raising an eyebrow as she returned to tucking him underneath her chin.
"For being you," he said, meaning the words as he spoke further, "For being the one person in the world to believe in me and my decisions—for being someone that I would gladly choose to love again and again. Sure, I have the twins and Maggie, but… It's one thing for them to stand by me, but it's another for someone who isn't obligated to stand by my side to do that very thing and more. You routinely brighten my day with just your smile and adorable blush' you're always there to pick me up when I'm down; you let me in when you were once so adamant to keep everyone out." He loosely wrapped his arms around Lily, holding her like he couldn't bear to lose her. And he couldn't. If he lost this gorgeous and wonderful flower of his, he didn't think he'd be able to recover from that heartbreak. It'd be like his soul would be split in two, Lily taking one half with her without even knowing it and leaving him with the other half.
“You deserve all the belief in the world, dear.” Lily said softly, pressing her face to his hair to hide the flush to her cheeks. Everything he said held so much love, something she was so unused to hearing. “You-do you really mean all of that? It seems so…fanciful, but you really sound like you mean it.” She hadn’t intended to let him in. In fact, so far on the opposite side of the spectrum that she was supposed to kill him. Not fall in love with him. But he’d done it, wormed his way in, and she was so glad for that.
"I mean every word of it, Lily darling," he murmured, eyes heavy with happiness and small hidden smile bright and loving. "You're the light I never knew I needed in a world of hidden darkness." He didn't want to disturb her too much, but he wanted to kiss her, to let her know that he really meant it. So he tipped his head to the side and softly pressed his lips against her throat, his lip ring slightly cold from the chilled air, but the heat of his lips nearly overpowered it.
Lily let out a soft noise as Rhydar’s lips made contact with her throat, more out of surprise than anything, even if it did send a shiver down her spine. “I’m-while I hate knowing you ever felt that way, I’m glad I can offer help brightening up any gloom.” She said, toying with strands of his hair, fingers separating chunks and braiding them together in a simple and slightly rough braid.
Rhydar leaned into Lily's touch, loving it when she played with his hair. Hell, he practically purred from the sensation. "There is no gloom whenever you're around," he whispered, fingers trailing up and down Lily's back after a moment's hesitation. He didn't want to ruin it, but he wanted to just touch her, to hold her. He wanted to have her always near and never let her go. He couldn't live without her now that he had this wonderful human being in his life.
“That’s because you mostly see the better parts of me.” Lily said, the feeling of his fingers making her shudder slightly. They were pushing it just a bit, but for once, she felt as though if she asked him to stop, he would. For the first time with any person, she felt she had that choice. And he gave it so willingly. “I still don’t understand how you look at the bad parts and see them the same as the good.”
"If I focused on the bad," Rhydar whispered softly, his hands stopping the moment he felt her shudder, "then I'm no better than the people I despise. A person is more than their flaws. If you only saw my flaws, then we wouldn't be here, now would we?" he asked with a quirk of his lips. He very well could've fallen asleep in Lily's embrace, he was so at ease and comfortable. And with her playing with his hair… He let out a soft sigh, trying so hard not to drift off.
Thank you. Lily released a relieved, and tiny, sigh when Rhydar's hands stopped. He was helping her so much with getting better, but she could only handle so much at one time. He had stopped though, and that meant everything. "I guess we wouldn't. I saw the good amidst your flaws, and something about it called to me. Something about you felt so familiar, even though I had never met you." She said quietly, still happily playing with his hair.
He could only hum in answer as he went back to loosely hugging Lily, too focused on her fingers in his hair. He parted his lips just enough to unconsciously lick his lip ring, feeling more and more comfortable and at ease the longer she messed with his hair. He was quickly learning just how under her spell he could be by just this simple act, but he didn't mind as his lids grew heavier by the second.
She began to hum softly as they sat there, fingers running slowly through his hair. It was an old lullaby her mother's ancestors used to use to put children to sleep, one that was usually imbued with a bit of magic to help speed that process along. Lily didn't know much about using that bit of her power, and she preferred not tampering with people unless she had to anyway, which meant the lullaby was just that. A simple lullaby.
"Keep doin' tha' an' I'm gonna fall 'sleep…" Rhydar murmured, lightly poking her side in a weak attempt at payback. Even still, he tipped his head into her touch, silently and mindlessly asking for her to not stop, because he liked it. The swing wasn't exactly the best place to take a nap, even if he didn't want to move or make her stop her actions. He didn't know how long the rain would hold out. Maybe if it kept going, they could crash in the barn? He had seen a loft up above them as they put the mare in there. It was full of hay, and he assumed there would be blankets too.
Lily squirmed slightly as he poked her side, fingers pausing in his hair until he pressed against her hand. She huffed a laugh, continuing her pets. "You should sleep. Naps are good, you know. We might want to go somewhere else if you're going to sleep though." She commented, pressing her lips to the top of his head.
He hummed again, his eyes fluttering open some as he took in a deep breath, smiling at Lily's scent. "There's a loft in the barn," he murmured, carefully lifting his head to look at Lily. He most definitely looked tired and ready to go take a nap as he did so, though the emerald of his eyes shone as he smiled softly and sleepily at her.
She hummed in acknowledgement, nuzzling his nose before pulling back from him just a little bit. "We should go to the barn then. You can take your nap." The corners of her mouth lifted in that soft and warm smile, nose scrunching just slightly. He looked adorable.
Rhydar closed his eyes when she nuzzled his nose, then kept them closed as he leaned forward and kissed the corner of her mouth with a cheeky smirk, lip ring pressed against the small sliver of her lips. "And will I have someone to nap with, or am I banned to be by myself?" he asked as he opened his eyes, reaching up to lightly brush his fingers over her cheek.