Rhydar was glad that she hadn't frozen up when he had embraced her. She had, in fact, pressed into the kiss. That has surprised him some, but not enough for him to pull back. He needed this: being close to Lily and holding her. It reminded him how real this was, and how special she was to him. The absolute truth of his feelings for her was starting to make themselves known in the back of his mind, but he was too scared to voice them right now. He had come close in the hallway, but that was as far as he would allow himself to go.
Kissing Rhydar was like forgetting everything. Even though it was obvious it didn’t, it felt like time stopped just for that moment, like the world couldn’t find her when she was with him. Her past didn’t haunt her still, her family didn’t occupy her every thought. It was quieting, and comforting and felt like taking a breath of fresh air after spending forever in a dark room. Ironic, considering. She wasn’t quite sure how or why, but he was.
Rhydar reluctantly broke the kiss but didn't pull away. His lips still bushed against her lips, and his head was pressed against hers. He knew that he wanted to quit stalling and get onto the date, but he didn't want to pull away. Lily was so cozy, despite her issues with touch, and she had yet to express any dislike for the embrace.
He bit his lip in hesitation, unsure of how she'd react. It was always his first thought when he was about to do something he had never done with her before. He gave himself a mental shake, then moved his head so it was buried in the crook of her neck.
Lily blinked as Rhydar buried his face in her neck, her cheeks warming as the haze that followed kissing him faded. He wasn’t messing with her though, just holding onto her. Holding onto her like he was afraid she was about to pull away, but willing to risk it. She wasn’t quite sure what came over her, but in a split second half-decision, she hesitantly moved one hand to thread her fingers gently through his hair. She paused then, giving him the chance to react, to speak if he was uncomfortable.
Rhydar froze.
Of all the things for her to do, that had to be the one thing that he was least expecting. It was no secret to him that he liked having his hair messed with—a quirk he has yet to figure out—but Lily didn't know that, nor did he want her to know. It was probably the one way to get him both flustered and under her control in less than a second, and it was completely unfair.
True to what usually happened when his hair was played with, he closed his eyes and leaned into her touch while simultaneously feeling his cheeks heat up. He buried his face further into her neck to hide the latter but didn't protest to her fingers being there. He didn't say anything, actually, because he just couldn't.
Lily tilted her head, relaxing after almost pulling away when he froze. He hadn’t told her to stop. Did that mean it was alright for her to do? Taking another small leap of faith and praying to the Fates that she wasn’t royally fucking up, she began working her fingers through his hair gently and slowly, not at all aware of just the effect her actions had on him, or his inner dramatic panic. Maybe if she had been, she would have stopped, or maybe not. If he told her to she would, but payback might be nice if she could manage it.
His eyes fluttered, and he grew incredibly relaxed as she began moving her fingers and playing with his hair. Fuck, she's got me, he internally mumbled while externally sighing contently. If they hadn't been standing and she was just a little more comfortable with his tendency to like hanging off of each other, he would've contemplated the pros and cons of going into a little half-nap state. Unfortunately, they had things to do, and they weren't quite there yet. He was still rendered speechless and practically useless just by her simple and innocent actions.
“We’re never going to get anything done together.” She whispered, shifting slightly as he relaxed even more. He likes it. The thought hit her suddenly, her brows furrowing with the realization as she continued to play with his hair. “Your hair is so soft.” That had nothing to do with her first comment, but she felt like it was worth noting. She certainly had, that was for sure. She made a mental note of his apparent like of having his hair played with, in case there was another situation where it might be doable. It was fun, and almost felt like petting some sort of animal, though instead of a furry creature in her arms, it was Rhydar.
His lips twitched up in amusement at both of her comments, though he only acknowledged one. "No, we're not," he murmured, his breath fanning over her neck in a hot puff of air. If she had let him pull away, or she had pulled away, before playing with his hair, then maybe they'd have been getting a horse and riding over to the farm by now. Instead, here they were, tangled in a relaxing embrace with her messing with him in the way that he messes with her. He might complain that it wasn't fair, but he knew damn well that he deserved some payback. "But I'm not overly opposed to our forms of procrastination," he added in a half-assed attempt to regain some of his status as the never-to-be-flustered flirt.
“How unhelpful.” She said, huffing a small laugh. His breath in her neck had, admittedly, caused her to shiver, but she moved past that with remarkable ease considering her usual reactions. Maybe it was the power switch, one she wasn’t quite consciously aware of, but was on some level. “Though, while I was excited about the strawberries, this is a perfectly fine thing to do instead. While it lasts.” When would she be able to handle something like this again? There was no way of knowing, so she would appreciate it while she could.
"I'm always unhelpful," he mumbled, still feeling slightly drowsy. It was that sort of relaxation that you got during certain times, where you were so relaxed you could just fall asleep right there without a problem. He wasn't trying to get so sleepy, but he couldn't help it. Her fingers playing with his hair, combined with her scent and their embrace, made it incredibly difficult to remain bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. 'while it lasts' he heard her say, and he knew that was their reality at the moment. He wasn't bitter about it, but it was also a small reality-check he needed. "Well. . ." he started softly with a hint of amusement, "if you'd free me from this lovely spell you've put me under, we could get going to your strawberries."
“Dear, if this is a spell, it’s the easiest I’ve ever cast.” She said, shaking her head slightly. She lingered a moment longer before sliding her hands from his hair and lightly nudging his head with her chin. “Alright, there you go.” She didn’t make any move to release him beyond that or move away, leaving that entirely up to him. Strawberries were nice, but she had to admit, she preferred Rhydar over them. By just a small amount. Or maybe a lot. It depended on whether there were strawberries in front of her or not, honestly.
He turned his head slightly to press a parting kiss to her neck, getting back at her for finding out his secret weakness. He was being overdramatic, yes, but that was just Rhydar being Rhydar. Truth be told, he didn't have any qualms with her finding out about how much he liked his hair being played with. It was only fair, considering how much he's gathered about Lily.
He pulled back without a word, both of his hands slipping down her arms to lace his fingers with hers. Once his head was lifted, he pressed a tender kiss to her forehead, a small smile on his lips. "How about those strawberries, hm?" he murmured against her skin.
She should have expected the neck kiss, honestly. But whether she did or not, her cheeks still warmed, the familiar pink spreading quickly. Her nose scrunched up when he kissed her forehead, her blush forgotten mostly as she smiled softly. “You would have to let go of me first.” She pointed out, squeezing his hands to show she wasn’t hinting at him doing so. Holding his hand was nice.
He sighed and pecked her nose, then let go. He knew she wasn't telling him to let go, but they stalled quite enough already. Besides, they had plenty of time to hold hands during their strawberry picking adventure. "Come on, let's get going. I'm sure you're just dying to go get strawberries." He jerked his head in the direction of a horse, and one of the stablehands got the sturdy and even-tempered mare ready for travel.
“Possibly.” She admitted with a small laugh, shrugging a shoulder. “I don’t get to eat much fruit, so it’s always exciting.” She shifted her feet, adjusting her balance now that she wasn’t supporting Rhydar, and closed her eyes briefly as the memory of her mother’s berry fields flickered through her mind. The fields she had spent hours and hours in, tending to sick plants and dying ones, keeping the plants thriving.
Rhydar tapped her shoulder. "Lily? Our ride is here." He sounded amused, as if she had spaced out a bit and he had spent a few tries attempting to get her attention. The large black mare was all saddled and ready to go, the saddle fashioned to handle two riders. She was standing patiently, eating from a dangling ball of hay.
Lily blinked a few times, flushing as she realized she had lost herself in happy memories. “Sorry.” She apologized quickly, rubbing the back of her neck and looking at the mare. Her eyes lit up happily, and she tapped Rhydar's arm quickly. “She’s gorgeous! I’ve never seen an Appaloosa with coloring like that!” She rambled excitedly, stepping over to the mare and studying her coat with awe.
"She a rare beaut," Rhydar agreed with a smile as he followed Lily. The mare turned her head to look at Lily, munching on her hay still. Her long mane was in braids, and there were some braids in her equally long tail as well. "Sired by one of our specially bred war-horses." He patted the horse's neck, coming on the other side of the mare. "Name's Nevarra."
“Nevarra. What a pretty name for a pretty horse.” Lily cooed, slowly reaching out and running her hand along the mare’s neck. “A warhorse, hm? Strong then too, probably.” She lifted her head to meet Rhydar’s eyes, smiling. “One of the neighboring farmers had a horse of her breed. He was such a sweet horse. All the children in town loved going over there for rides.” She huffed a laugh, shaking her head. “My own family’s horse was entirely different. He was a grumpy old horse. Quickest way to his heart was with fruit.”
Rhydar snorted. "Sounds like Danzing." He moved over to Lily's side of the mare, reaching up to brush a knuckle along her cheek as he passed her. "You can fawn all you'd like over her, but we've got berries to pick. You first." He gestured to the saddle with a chuckle as he checked the buckles out of habit. He trusted the stablehands to do their job to their utmost proficiency, but his saddles have been messed with a few too many times for him to stop checking them anytime soon.
She sighed, giving Nevarra one last scratch behind the ears. “After, then. Actually, Qhuil and Danzing have quite a few similarities. Though, Qhuil was a workhorse.” She mused, pausing before pulling herself up onto Nevarra to make sure she didn’t overshoot. She had done that a few times, when she was young, and sent herself flying over Qhuil and straight into the ground. And then she pulled herself up, Nevarra’s size compared to Danzing’s making it a bit easier for her. “Alright!”
Rhydar pulled himself up after Lily, situating himself in front of her so she could grab onto him if she felt like it. "What's the speed limit, madame?" he asked over his shoulder as he gathered the reigns from one of the stablehands and waited for Nevarra to finish eating. This was a horse to respect, and bullying her was definitely out of the question, considering what she was bred for. She might have an easygoing temperament, but she could get mean and violent when she wanted to be. Rhydar blamed her father.
“None, as long as you aren’t pushing her too hard.” Lily said, hesitating for a second before placing her hands on Rhydar’s waist to hold on. She took a deep breath, glad she wasn’t in front of him. She wouldn’t be able to handle that, for sure. Shaking her head, she pressed her forehead to Rhydar’s shoulder, tapping on his waist. “Thank you. For letting me sit back here.”
He reached down to gently pat one of her hands softly, shifting the reigns into his other hand. "Always," he said, then clicked his tongue once Nevarra was done eating. She responded immediately, starting off at a steady walk as a stablehand opened the doors for them. Rhydar curled his fingers around Lily's, holding them in an act of reassurance for her.
Lily lifted her head once they had left the stables, shifting her hand to lace her fingers through Rhydar’s in a silent thank you. Now that they were moving, the churning in her gut had lessened, replayed instead by the excitement of the knowledge that they were going strawberry picking. Strawberries and Rhydar. Why pick a favorite when the two could be put together like that? She huffed a laugh at her own train of thought, glad for the distraction from the other things she could be focusing on.
They exited the stable, and Rhydar only warned Lily once before picking up the speed to a gallop, Nevarra ready to comply. She wasn't as antsy as Kaspa, but she was always willing to pick up the speed. Rhydar kept the reigns in one hand while holding onto Lily's hand with the other. He glanced back at her briefly to see how she was doing, making sure that he didn't see any signs of discomfort or dread in her face signaling the start of her response to too much contact.
Lily tilted her face up, catching the last rays of light from the sun as it dipped closer and closer to the horizon, the breeze from the gallop drawing a happy smile to her lips. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been on a horse moving at this speed, but whenever that was, it was still freeing now. Even being stuck this close to someone couldn’t get rid of that feeling of freedom, and a happy laugh spilled from her lips before she could even think about it.
Rhydar looked over his shoulder at Lily, trusting Nevarra to keep control while he gazed at the beauty behind him. Her laugh was music to his ears, an awe-inspiring instrument of unfamiliar making but beautiful nevertheless. Her smile was a brilliant sunrise to the darkening day. Her happiness was a breath of fresh air he's been patiently waiting for. She was so relaxed and unguarded; something different than before; similar, but not the same. It brought a small and warm smile to his face as he studied her uptilted face for a few seconds, then turned back around to steer Nevarra towards the road.
“The wind feels like flying.” Lily murmured, her closeness to Rhydar making the words just audible to him. It felt like the dreams she’d had when she was little about growing wings. Flying had always been something she’d wished she could do, and while she might not have gotten the wings, this was close and perfect enough. She had Rhydar to thank for that.
In the moment, it didn’t quite hit her the way it would later, that she was managing to live out dreams with Rhydar’s help. Things really were getting so much better, a positive change.
