Lily knew she should let Rhydar get some rest, but she really, really didn't want him to leave quite yet. And to be honest, she wanted to kiss him as long as she could. Don't leave me quite yet, please. She rested her forehead against his, eyes still closed as she breathed quietly for a few moments. "Can I kiss you again? Just one more time?"
He smiled softly, then gently cupped her face in his hands as he tilted his head to press his lips against hers. He was perfectly fine with staying here for a little while longer, and sleep barely even occurred to him as he continued to taste Lily's lips and have her so close.
His hands on her face were soft and warm, and she found herself leaning just slightly to the left, pressing her cheek into his palm as a smile flickered across her lips. He kissed her like she was something priceless, which never failed to make her heart flutter.
The fact that she leaned into his touch instead of away made his heart swell with happiness, and his lips curled slightly in a small smile. Just like any moment with Lily, it was like a dream that Rhydar never wanted to wake up from. It was just so unbelievable.
For a split second, Lily was almost worried she'd done something wrong. But the feeling of his smile against her lips eased that worry, allowing her to focus again on just that, his lips against hers.
Once again, Rhydar let the kiss linger for a few moments before breaking it once again. He kept his forehead pressed against hers as his thumb lightly brushed against her cheek. He looked down at her with a soft, almost happy smile on his face.
Lily opened her eyes slowly to meet his, her own sparkling with a definite happiness. Kissing him really never got old, just as she'd predicted. And neither did his smiles. Rhydar was safe, they'd been over that, but he also made her feel happy, and like someone worth the care he put into holding her.
His smile warmed at seeing the sparkle in her eyes. She looked so happy, and he had a pretty good guess as to what the cause was. He kissed her forehead and moved his hands down to her shoulders, then down to her upper arms. "That was more than one goodnight kiss, darling Lily," he teased, looking down at her again and meeting her eyes. "Not that I'm complaining."
She huffed a laugh, a light blush painting her cheeks. "I know, I know. I should really stop holding you up, shouldn't I?" She said, tilting her head and scrunching her nose slightly. She liked the comfort she felt when she was with him, though, and the welcome reprieve from her thoughts.
He grinned at her blush, then lightly tapped her scrunched up nose. It was cute—she was cute. "I'm perfectly capable of refusing a kiss and letting both of us get to bed." Lie. He could never refuse a kiss or anything from Lily. It was almost physically impossible for him to keep himself from kissing her if she asked.
She crossed her eyes slightly in an attempt to see his finger as he tapped her nose, before looking back up at him. "Of course you can." She said honestly, nodding. "But I guess that makes you about as ready to go to bed as I am." Which was to say, not at all.
He opened his mouth, sucking in a breath to deny it, before closing it and licking his lip ring. "Alright, fine. I may or may not have other things on my mind that don't involve going to sleep," he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck and shifting his weight.
She huffed a small and soft laugh, tilting her head. "Penny for your thoughts, then?" She just hoped they weren't anything that would make her worry about him. But she would listen anyway, and that much was obvious.
"You, mostly," he said after a few quiet moments, his eyes flicking around her face. "But I'm also thinking about how I'm gonna get whooped for skipping out on my royal duties again. I might just stay up with Cin to catch up on what I missed."
She blinked, somehow not expecting the first answer. Mostly. Out of all the things he could be thinking about, and all the different levels, she was the one thing occupying most of his thoughts? "O-oh. Y-you really should get some sleep, but I would rather you didn't get 'whooped'."
He smiled and chuckled softly at her reaction to his answer, then kissed her forehead again and backed away. "I'll just get up early and get some of it done. At least I'm making the effort," he added with a shrug, then sketched a bow to Lily with a warm smile. "Until we meet again, Lily darling."
She curtsied with a small laugh, brushing her hair back as she straightened. "Until then." She agreed, giving him a smile that was happy and warm and bright, as she tilted her head. "Goodnight, Rhydar. Try and get some rest?"
He visibly brightened at the sight of her smile as he straightened. He then nodded, sliding his hands into his pockets. "I'll try," he said with a small laugh, "Goodnight, Lily." He dipped his chin in farewell, then turned and headed to his room.
((Skip?))
((Yeah. Maybe we could skip to Rhydar doing his royal duties and whatnot, such as going through piles of papers, and Lily walks in and offers to help? A sort of simple bonding moment?))
((Works for me! Your start or mine?))
((I can start, just gimme a minute))
The giant greenhouse probably wasn't the best place to look over a bunch of papers that his mother had dumped onto him, but it was his favorite place in the palace, and it was the best place for him to think straight. The occasional lady waltzed in and feigned surprise to see him, but he made his busy schedule clear and they let themselves out. Rude maybe, but he didn't need them yapping his ear off while he was trying to read, nor a thousand questions on what he was doing every time he switched papers. It was beyond annoying.
The greenhouse was marvelous in its grandeur, with large trees spiraling up towards the high glass ceiling, equally large purplish leaves from exotic places, tiny fields of low lying flowers, a small pond with ducks and geese playing in the trickling fountain. Stone paths wound through the thick and exotic brush, though some ducking had to be done to get past some vines or leaves or branches. Gardeners weren't allowed to trim anything here, as it would ruin its authenticity. Some people came in here and said it was too cluttered with different sorts of plants. Rhydar came in here and immediately felt the tension roll off his shoulders, the peace taking its place.
He was currently sitting in the middle of one of the larger stone paths, a dark purple leaf the size of his entire body looming over him and protecting him from the glaring sun as he worked. His mother apparently had spies watching his doings in the city and found out about his secret. How did he know this? Well, he was now filling out papers for a charity program supposedly set up by yours truly. At least it was better than a scolding.
Sleep, for once, had actually come to Lily. A dreamless two hours, the most she had been able to manage in what seemed like forever. And as she wandered quietly through the halls of the palace, she found herself wondering if a certain Prince had anything to do with that. She had been happy when she'd fallen asleep, something that, as she looked back on every night in the past year, she realized realized she hadn't felt since she was young. Another thing to thank him for.
It wasn't long before she found herself in the greenhouse, her previous train of though completely derailed at the sight of all the plants around her. A sort of childlike wonder that only showed itself when she was alone made it's way onto her face, as she flitted from plant to plant. The muttered names of each plant, without fail, slipped from her tongue as she did, her eyes bright. The greenhouse topped the gardens when it came to plant variety, that was for sure.
Lily stuck to the pathway as she muttered excitedly, not wanting to get herself lost. She was, in fact, so enthralled with the plants, that she only noticed Rhydar as she was studying the plant bearing the leaf that gave him a reprieve from the sun.
Rhydar ran his hands through his hair as he groaned and threw his head back, already tired of all this work. Sure, it was for a good cause that he genuinely stood behind. But it was so boring as opposed to actually stealing the money. His eyes were closed, and he wasn't expecting visitors, so he didn't notice Lily until he heard the soft padding of her feet on the pathway. "Beats sitting at a desk," he said by greeting, not opening his eyes.
"I bet." Lily said, raising an eyebrow slightly at him, despite his eyes being closed. "So many plants, and it's so peaceful." She returned to looking around at the foliage surrounding the pathway, her smile still very much in place. "What are the papers for?"
He sighed and hunched back over said papers, eyes open again. "Some sort of charity thing my mother set up under my name," he said, "I have to go through it all and sign off on things. Sometimes scratch or change some other things, then wait for the response."
She tilted her head, looking back down at him. "Do you…want any help?" She asked, already moving closer and sitting down across from him. Folding her legs, she rested her arms on her knees as she waited for an answer. She might not be able to help much, but she was willing to try, at least, if he wanted her help.
He didn't answer her verbally, but he did pick up a small stack of papers and rifled through it, checking that he was picking up the right things, then handed it to her. "If you wouldn't mind, I'd like a second opinion on this entire thing. Mother has pretty much set up a fundraising program that collects donations from the people and funnels it to the poor or homeless. I'm not sure how she plans on getting people to donate money, though."
She nodded, setting the papers in her lap and reading over the top paper as she pulled her hair out of the way, into a quick and messy bun, before picking the papers back up. "As in you don't know what she has planned, or you don't know if she has anything planned at all?" She asked, flipping through the papers methodically.