First Kiss

About four hours after she'd arrived at Mt. Fuji, Rhayvin would finay come to. His eyes fluttered open and he looked around. He saw Rhia sitting close by, toying with her gun. "Rhi...ah..." he managed to get out as he started to sit up.
She looked up quickly, eyebrows lifted as she glanced over at him. Seeing he was actually awake this time, a smile lifted on her lips. She set the gun and pieces down in front of her and said, "Hey there. Welcome back. Hungry?"
"Yeah. Got a cow handy? You needn't bother cooking it." He laughed dryly, his throat scratchy and coarse. He winced a little from a slight pain in his chest and layed back down.
"No cow, but I've some soup that might help that throat of yours." She leaned over and brushed a bit of hair out of his face. She felt his forehead, just curious to see if he had gotten himself sick, too. Finding him normal, she drew back and stood, moving to retrieve that bowl of broth. She carried it in one hand and a small lap tray in the other. She set it and the tray down, watching him struggle to sit up out of the corner of her eye.
"Heh, you going to feed me, too?"
She plopped down with a grin, hands settled in her lap. "Ya want me to? I could use the practice. It's been a while, ya know, since I had to do stuff like that." She lifted a hand, scratching the back of her neck. That really sounded awkward.
"Yeah, I suppose you'll be needing the practice now that you'll be having another mouth to feed soon, eh?
"Mm, yeah. That's kind of what I meant." She let her hand drop and got back to her feet. She searched for something to help prop him up, eventually finding a beanbag. She knelt down beside him and used her shoulder to nudge him up and slid the bag behind him, then sat beside him again. She watched for a bit as he stared down at the bowl, finally speaking up, "Want a spoon?"
"That might help."
She shrugged as she stood back up. "I usually just drink it from the bowl." She retrieved a clean spoon and returned once more to his side to hand it to him. She then turned her attention back to her gun to finish cleaning the pieces.
After a minute or two, she heard him curse. Glancing over, she saw he could hardly lift the spoon. "Oh, damnit!"
She winced as she watched him. "Boy, whatever you did must have been like my Doomsday." She set the gun down once more and wiped her hands off on her pants, then scooted back over to him. "Alright, give me the spoon. You want the airplane or the train?" She giggled, quite enjoying herself.
He scowled over to her, but she could tell there was no real anger behind it. "Oh, I give up. Give me the airplane."
She laughed and took the spoon. The laugh mercifully kept her from making any airplane sounds as she fed him. She took care of him with a mothering affection, yet that smile was something more than just those instincts that kicked in for most women. Once he had eaten it all, she spoke up, "Feel any better?"
He sighed lightly, apparently glad to have gotten something into his stomach. "Yeah."
She smiled and took the bowl. As she stood, she lifted the table away from him, then took the bowl over to the sink and put the table back where she'd found it. As she sat back down at his side, she said "Want to lay back down, or...?"
"Nah, I'm fine like this." He smiled lightly.
She returned the smile and nodded in response. Her hands pushed against the floor beside her knees to push herself back over to the gun.
She could feel his eyes on her as she worked, his voice much smoother now that his throat had been wet. "So I take it Romeo let it slip about where I was, neh?"
"Not exactly." She wouldn't elaborate on it at the moment, not entirely sure herself how she'd figured it out. She kept her gaze on the gun, once again finding herself hunched over. She closed one eye to get a good look at the various nooks and cranies along the gun and in the barrel, the shadows generated there allowing her nightvision to work, which was a lot better than her dayvision. She would just barely see what happened before the spark leapt up into her eye. "Whoa!" She jumped back and dropped both the gun and the rag to grab at her face. She kept scrambling back out of reflex, trying to get away from it. "Jesus!"
"Rhia, are you okay?!" It was strange. Even in his condition, he was still worried about her.
She growled from the sting in her eyes, leaned back against the wall. A few tears had begun to stream down her cheeks as her magick tried to flush out the burning ash from the sparks. She eventually rubbed them out, opening her eyes slowly to look towards him. "I'm fine, now."
"You sure? I wouldn't want you to...who...uh-oh." After he'd leaned over to check on her, he didn't have enough strength to lift himself back up, and he began to slide further and further to the side.
"Ack!" She quickly crawled back towards him, arm extended around his shoulder to catch him just before he fell. She shifted around to his other side and pulled him upright with a grunt.
He sighed, smiling lightly to her as he speaks. "Thank, Rhia."
She sat back on her heels as she made sure he was balanced, returning his smile with a grin. "No problem. Don't need to be mopping up blood off the floor from you cracking your head open."
"No, we don't. Oh, by the way. Thanks for carrying me. I know I'm not exactly a feather weight."
She chuckled lightly and shrugged, shaking her head. "Don't mention it. Anytime. I have to return your deeds to me somehow." Though Romeo might not have talked about it too much, so as to not embarass Rhia in the fashion she hated the most, she had returned each and every one of the 'favors' he'd granted her, which was why he'd been so willing to die for her when it came to that.
As she returned to working on the gun, Rhayvin would look out the window. After a bit, he slowly closed his eyes, falling into a meditative state.
Once she had finished with the gun and put it back together, she stood and placed it out of the way. From where she stood, she watched Rhayvin silently. Her gaze was soft, thoughtful, though she quickly shook her head and closed her eyes. She moved towards the sink to wash the bowl and spoon. "Cut it out, damnit." After putting the dishes away, she headed back over to him. He looked so peaceful. She wobbled a bit on her feet, realizing quickly how tired she really was. Groggily, she stepped over to his side and sank down to her knees. She curled up at his side, as she had long ago while sleeping beside her Master. Feeling her there, his arm dropped down and gently wraps around her shoulder. It wasn't an embrace between Master and slave, but of equals, or perhaps something more. She was already asleep, and so instinctly responded to his touch. She shifted back against him, shoulders against his chest, her head tucked up under his chin. She breathed easily, slowly, her own arms tucked up against her chest. Coming out of his meditation, he opened his eyes and stared down at her for a while. A smile lifted on his face and he closed his eyes again. So he had to admit it. This was nice. Quite nice.
Rhia would whimper quite a bit throughout her sleep, just little noises, enough to hint that she was indeed dreaming. Her fingers curled into her hands on reflex and tucked up under her chin to hopefully stay out of reach. Every once and a while, she fidgeted under his arm, either tilting a little forward or back. He would listen carefully to her, trying to see if she was having a nightmare, but the sounds hinted nothing of fear or pain. She managed to bring her knees up to rest just against his arm. Her shoulders shifted so that her chest was down against the floor, one arm still tucked under while the other stretched out away from them. It was no wonder her blankets always got tangled.
Her magick allowed only an hour or so of sleep before her eyes fluttered open. Still half asleep, she released another, stronger whimper. "Rh...ay...vin?"
"Mmm?" His eyes remained closed though he was conscious enough to answer her when she called his name.
The actual answer caused her to jump, realizing where it had come from. Her eyes attatched to the arm that was settled around her. Eek. Her heart raced, blinking a bit as she lay there, almost petrified by the thoughts that kept soaring through her head, not allowing her to think straight or rationalize. What the heck was she thinking, laying down so close to him? Eventually, she relaxed, forcing herself to think about the here and now. This was nice. A calm moment between the two of them without any real worries: Nothing was happening, he was pretting much asleep, and here she was freaking out about things that weren't happening. Slowly, she turned herself around in his grasp and gently nuzzled her head against his chest, eyes drifted shut once more. Just enjoy the peace while it lasts.
Her nuzzle brought a light moan from Rhayvin and his arms tightened around her gently. That sound would cause butterflies to attack Rhia's stomach, but she only lifted an arm to slide under his and tuck around him. A faint smile formed on her lips. He began to wake himself, feeling fully rested for the time. His eyes opened, immediately aware of the closeness of a smaller body against his. Even without looking, he knows, and just smiles. She let her cheek nuzzle again against his chest. She knew he was awake now, able to recognize the difference in his heart beat and breathing, both of which were once again calm in herself as the butterflies had settled down in her stomach. Having grown accustomed to their closeness, he isn't bothered when she nuzzles him, though something elsewhere about him seemed effected. Rhia would glance up to him slowly, arm shifted to rest her head on it.
"How're you feeling? Any better?"
"Much better..." He glanced down at her with a smile, she oblivious to the fact that his answer had more than once meaning. She smiled lightly, then let the hand resting on his side slide down under the other arm, gaze lowered. It was hard, to feel embarassed about how close they were, when there was nothing for her to be worried about, not consciously. She felt him look up at the ceiling, sharing the same thought he was having. She could grow accustomed to this. She let her arm fold down so her head would rest against the floor. They weren't exactly on a mat or anything, and she didn't want to crowd that beanbag of his, much to his disappointment. But she didn't seem to mind being on the floor. Her eyes drifted shut, not sleeping, just a bit bored and knowing there wasn't much to do while watching over him. When she felt him drift back into a meditation, she would get up and head outside into the courtyard. She left the door open, so she could hear if he needed her, as well as to send a bit of fresh air into the room. There, amidst the rain of cherry blossoms, she engrossed herself in the slow, rocking training routine.
Inside, Rhayvin had regained a good bit of his strength. He pushed the blanket off and slowly rose to his feet. He walked to the door, standing there, finding himself content in watching her train. As he came to the door, she slid into a faster-paced routine, only vaguely aware of his presence. She was focused intently on the shadow warrior she had produced before her. Despite her efforts to increase her agility back up to what it had been, the pain in her stomach and back persisted, making things difficult. Rhayvin slid down to the floor to watch. What he saw was Rhia get distracted by something, and that shadow warrior send a powerful kick to her chest. She flew back and slammed into one of the cherry blossom trees, forcing a loud grunt from her throat. She slid down to the ground with a grimmace and tried to catch her breath, the warrior fading.
"Rhia?? Are you alright?!" Rhayvin got quickly to his feet and walked out to where she was.
Her eyes lifted to him, blinking once or twice, then only closed her eyes. She leaned her head back against the tree with a nod. "I'm fine."
"Are you sure? Need a hand?" He stood over her with a smile, hand extended down to her.
But she waved his hand away, having no desire to move as the pain swelled in her front and back. Seems that tumble had not gone unfelt by a certain someone. Maybe training hadn't been the best idea. "No. I'd rather just sit right here for right now."
"Alright," he said with a nod and slowly crouched down next to her.
Her eyes opened again, slowly, gaze focused on her feet, then lifted up to his face. It was still hard to believe, that she had someone to care this much about her again. And that didn't have their own selfish reasons; at least, she hoped he didn't have any selfish reasons for caring. Bad selfish reasons, anyway.
He slid down a bit further to sit on the ground. He took in a deep breath, only to accidentally inhale a cherry blossom, leaning forward suddenly in a coughing fit.
Rhia blinked, then snickered. She glanced off to the side as she reached a hand out to pat his back. He coughed up the offending cherry blossom and glared down at it.
"I can take on an army of Hunters, but I can't handle a damned cherry blossom."
She rested her hand on his shoulder and pulled herself up some to look over at it, face resting quite close to his. Her nose scrunched up. "Eew." She let out a soft sound of surprise as a small pink butterfly decided to perch on her nose. She went crosseyed to look at it. Looked like a cherry blossom. She could hear Rhayvin chuckling. How nice of him to find this so amusing. She sat back again, tilting her head. How to get it off. She blew up at it, but it only flexed its wings and regained its feet. Urk, that tickled. She took a few breaths as she tried not to sneeze.
Her eyes quickly uncrossed as she watched Rhayvin turn around and lean in terribly close to her. With a well-placed blow, the butterfly lifted off her nose and fluttered away. She closed her eyes when he blew, and as she opened them, her cheeks flared red. A faint smile formed on her lips as her eyes focused on his. He smiled back, a smile that mirrored her own lifted on his lips.
"There, all better."
Quite suddenly, she felt as though she had swallowed the butterfly, whole. "Heh, yeah."
"Um...yeah..." he replied quietly, as if searching for something to say or do.
She swallowed as she felt herself being pulled forward a bit. Her own unconsciousness reeling her in, positioning her nose fractions of an inch from his own. Her shuddered breath passed over his lips and chin. Almost magnetically, he began to lean forward as well, head tilted to one side so to keep their noses from colliding. Her eyes drifted shut, taking in a breath just before she felt his lips brush against hers. She felt him shudder slightly as they made contact, as though a jolt had been sent up his spine.
Her hand lifted slightly, not sure what to make of the sudden wave of serenity that passed over her body. Fingers uncurled, stretching up as her hand lifted, fingertips just finding his jawline. She felt his hand lift to rest on hers, his touch like fire on her skin. Chills ran through her stomach and up her spine, the pain she had been feeling disappearing as she inched closer to him, tilting her chin up into the kiss. After a bit, his arms came around her and slowly pulled her closer.