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Aria
Seren had, after washing them, taken the blankets they had used for Stargazing, and made a little comfy nest with some pillows she'd 'borrowed' from the lounge too. She planned to replace them once they could get a bunch of their own, but for the moment... She had a nest, and she used it to do things like study, or finish up reports.

At the moment, she was curled up inside of it, reading the first of the Harry Potter books, from the set they'd bought while in London. She hadn't had a chance, yet, to indulge in it, with her studies, and had decided today she was going to take a break from Astronomy and instead read something that was for pleasure.

Pao
Rhys was heading in after a boring shift in the underwater observation deck. The cramped space was easily ignored, though, as he was making his way through the next installment in the Dresden files. Catching up to the most current book was slow but he was getting more and more into it, the whole reading thing, so his pace was a lot quicker now as compared to when he first started.

Still, being out and dealing with the world of Deus was tiring, so it was a relief for him to come home to the sight of his girlfriend, who was comfortably curled up with a book. It was almost like all his exhaustion melted away for a moment, the instant that he laid eyes on her, and he couldn't help the way his lips curled up into a small smile.

"Hey, beautiful," he greeted as he locked the door behind him, then headed to set his stuff down on the desk.

Aria
She looked up when the door opened, her face lighting up in a smile at the sight of him walking in the door. His greeting earned him a blush, and a "Hey, gorgeous. Glad you're home." in response.

She marked her place in the book, and set it on the bedside table, then slowly stood up, stretching out and popping her back a little to get all the stiffness and kinks out, before walked over to him, and wrapping her arms around him to give him a hug and a kiss. "Did you have a good day, baby? I mean, for being on duty?" Her eyes were focused on his, filled with love for the man in her arms.

She saw how tired he looked when she got up close, and sighed, before reaching up to caress his cheek. "You want dinner, or a nap? You look tired."

Pao
The brunette welcomed both the hug and the kiss, the exhaustion continuing to just melt away as he held her. He turned and wrapped his arms around her as well, pulling her closer to him as he gave her question a little bit of thought. "Good, yeah." A pause as he squinted, trying to find the right word to really express what he went through today. When it came to him he added, "Long," then leaned a bit into her touch, smile soft as he looked into her eyes.

She always had a way of making him feel extra loved and cared for, like there was something in her eyes and the way she touched him and the way she noticed things without him having to say anything. "Kinda just wanna lie down for now? Could do dinner after a little while, though." He paused there again, blinking down at her.

"You haven't eaten yet?"

Aria
She continued to stroke his cheek, listening to him talk, her eyes focused on his. She nodded softly. "Yeah, underwater is always long. Wish I had gotten sent in with you, it would have been better, if you ask me." She always found being on Duty with him less boring then otherwise. She hadn't really been put on duty, for the most part, with people she knew beyond him, other then that one time on Lighthouse Watch with Luna, and that had been a strange experience indeed.

She considered his words, and said "Go lay down. I'll put your stuff away for you, then come join you, ok?" She was about to gently pull away when he asked her that. "I had lunch, Babe. But I had it a little on the late side, I was on morning cleaning shift, and wanted a shower before I ate. So I'm not hungry yet. Better I wait until you're ready too, I'll probably be hungry then.." She leaned up, kissed his cheek, and then got the stuff he'd put on the desk, moving to put everything away.

Pao
"Would have been," he echoed, thoughts about on the same wavelenghts as hers. Duty with her was always more interesting and without fail more fun when it was with her. But maybe it was their rank or just their luck but they were hardly ever paired up for their assignements. Which was another reason he loved being able to come straight home to her. At her offer he turned and pressed a soft kiss to her palm. "Thanks, baby."

And then he listened and nodded, hoping his concern hadn't bothered her too much. "Alright, just checking."

Before she could fully pull away he tugged her back for a proper kiss, however brief, and then slipped out of his jacket and shoes before flopping down on the bed and getting comfy. From where he lay he kept his loving gaze on her, waiting for her to come over before he really settled down to rest, maybe even nap if it came to that.

Aria
She smiled a little at his reaction, and shivered when he kissed her hand, a loving smile on her face. "You're always welcome, lover mine." She said. When he got his jacket and shoes off, she gathered them up too, and hung the coat in the closet, before tucking the shoes in at the foot of the bed, next to hers. She glanced around, then went and neatened up the nest, to be sure it didn't start spilling out all over the room.

After that, she turned back to face him. She gave him a warm smile, and stood there for a long moment, just admiring the love of her life on their bed, her eyes filled with love and warmth for him. Finally, she walked over to the bed, and climbed onto it, then snuggled up to him, inviting him to use her as a pillow if he needed, to help him rest. She wasn't really tired, so if he fell asleep, she'd probably read while he rested.

Pao
He accepted the invitation and scooted down before he snuggled in, resting his head on her shoulder this time before sighing very, very contently. The nap was imminent, but he held on to the waking world for a while, arms going around her and pulling her tight against him. "Mm...best pillow," he murmured, a little smile on his face as he looked up at her for a change. "So what'd you do while I was out?"(edited)

Aria
She smiled softly down at him, slightly amused by this reversal of their usual position for sleep. "Well, there was cleaning duty, my shower... Lunch, then I came back here. I was about to read, and decided to remake the nest, but this time with a focus for reading, and then, as you saw, I read. Finally decided to start reading the Harry Potter books. I never got to, before, but I'd heard so much about them."

Pao
While she spoke he snuggled in, nodding along with his eyes closed. At mention of the nest he couldn't help the smirk, flashes of that night coming to mind. "Could probably still repurpose it if we wanted," he murmured, chuckling softly.

"I remember a lot of my classmates got into Harry Potter," he commented when she was done, eyes still closed but he was wide awake. "You already know I wasn't a reader. I spent most of my time working or skating or in the gym. Only heard good things though. I hope you enjoy it."

Aria
She smiled at his words, laughing gently. "Yes, it's still usable for more then one purpose. But we should get our own, so we can stop borrowing the ones from the lounge, when we go to Costco. Blankets, pillows... That sort of thing." She leaned to kiss the top of his head, her eyes gentle as she looked at the man she loved from a vantage she was just not used to seeing, but enjoying the novelty.

"Yeah, everyone I knew was into it too... I was thinking after I finished them, you could... maybe... give them a go? If you want to, that is. So far it's been pretty good, though I feel for Harry, I really do." She stared at the ceiling, comparing his unwanted status with her own in her mind for a long minute, before adding "But if you don't, then once I'm done, we could see the movies."

Pao
"We'll put a list together, hm?" he said, smiling bright from the sound of her laughter. He angled his head up a little bit when she kissed him, suddenly realizing that that must be how it felt to her whenever he did it--warm and safe and loved. "Would also vote to bring one of those whole pizzas home since it's ten ********' dollars for one."

He finally opened his eyes before he looked up at her as she talked about the books, her pensieve expression pushing him to reach up and pinch her cheek. "I'll read it if you try and learn to skate, baby." The offer was more to pull her out of her headspace than anything else. "Thought we could even the score a little bit since I gave reading a try."

Aria
"Yeah, good idea. Better to go shopping with a list, so you don't end up wandering around going 'Oh Em Gee what did we need? There is sooooooo much stuff' or something equally ridiculous." She smiled down at him, her eyes gentle and filled with love for him, enjoying being in the position he usually got to be in. "And hell yeah." She paused, and blushed, saying "I wanna watch 'em make the pizzas for a few minutes, too, cause I... wanna see the spinning sauce machine. Never got to before..."

She blinked, startled, by the way he pinched her cheeks, and her eyes completely refocused on his. "Well... Ok. You started reading, I gave the skating a try... Fine. When we're places where we can take an hour or two to skate, I'll try to learn how to do it properly. It's a good bargain, love." Her eyes shone at him for that. "And then once we're both done, 8 movies to get through."

Pao
He chuckled at her thoughts on the list idea. It was something he'd taken a liking to since they started their "Where to Go for Vacation" list way back before they even started dating. He'd innocently suggested Greece back then, and they've since just added after they crossed over the line of friendship and into dating territory. "We'll watch the spinning sauce machine, then, love." He leaned up for a second to kiss her on the cheek, amusement dancing in his eyes when he pulled away.

The way she reacted to the pinch was unexpected and surprised him a little. "I was thinking now, in the hallway," he said, reaching up to caress the spot he'd pinched. "Did I pinch too hard or...?" The amusement from moments earlier quickly turned to concern.

Aria
"Awesome!" She sounded enthusiastic about it, perhaps a bit more so then most adult women would, but she'd heard about it and how fascinating it was, and she wanted to see it herself. "And we can start the list later. Maybe we can do that one on one of our phones, so that we don't need to carry a big old list around." She looked thoughtful for a moment. "We might need to arrange to rent a car, though, too... That way we can haul the stuff back to the portal site. I'd have to stay with the stuff while you took the car back but I think it'll be worth it. Also, I think I want those muffins they make. Especially the chocolate chocolate chip."

"You were thinking what, now, in the hallway?" She sounded confused, because somehow that sentence was either a non sequitur, or it was half finished. When he touched her cheek, she smiled, then blinked, before shaking her head. "No, you just startled me out of the thoughts I was having. I find myself connecting to Harry, in ways I didn't expect, to be honest."

Pao
Reaching into his pocket, he pulled his phone out and offered it to her. "Didya wanna set some kinda reminder to make this list?" he asked through a smile, clearly amused by enthusiasm but at the same time loving the fact that he got to see it. "And to include a rental car? Passcode's our anniversary."

Still he caressed that spot on her cheek for a second longer before nodding. "Okay, and I was thinkin' I could teach you now, in the hallway. The basics won't take too long, and you'll have walls to help you stop." He blinked at the imagery of walls helping her stop, and he frowned. "Gently, 'cause you're gonna be goin' slow anyway."

Aria
She chuckled and accepted the phone, then gave him that beaming smile when he said what the passcode was. "I like that..." She murmured, then put in all the information, so it would be available when they needed it, and a reminder so they did not forget. "We should get a classic calendar for in here, though, so we can have physical documents to track the whens of our life, just in case."

She blinked slowly. She blinked a lot, and then realized he meant skate boarding, not trying to learn to be a better ice skater, which is what she had thought he meant. Finally she said "OH. UM. Well ok. But if anyone complains, we need a different spot."

Pao
He smirked at that, leaning up to give her another kiss on the cheek before snuggling in again. "I like it, too." Rhys quieted down while she typed, his breathing gradually slowing down and evening out as he started off to sleep. Her calendar suggestion pulled him out of it enough that he could murmur, "One of those giant ones? Maybe a whiteboard type thing?"

He stirred after another long moment, chuckling at the way she cleared up the little misunderstanding on her own. "Works for me. Didya wanna go now or later...?"

Aria
"Yeah, a big a** whiteboard Calendar is an excellent plan, babe." She said, and finished putting info into his phone, then closed it and set it aside for now. She ran her fingers through his hair, for a moment, as she settled back against the pillows of their bed, smiling at him in quiet contentment.

She blinked in surprise at his question. "Ah? Oh, later. You wanted to rest, babe. I want you to feel refreshed." She didn't say it but she was thinking 'Just in case I somehow manage to go down the staircase and need you to carry my idiot a** to the infirmary.' "After you get your nap in, we can do that, and then after, go have dinner maybe?"

Pao
He hummed happily at the feel of her hands in his hair again, the gesture soothing and slowly lulling him back to sleep. "Big a** whiteboard, okay...more for the list..." he murmured, his breathing slowing again.

"And thank you, baby. You really know how to take care of me." So he snuggled in again, his hold on her tightening just a little bit, and he drifted off into a quiet, very peaceful sleep. He always had his best nights when she was in his arms, after all.

Aria
As he drifted off, she simply got the list started on her own phone, for now, adding the things they'd discussed so far tonight. She had no need to rush, but she did not want any of the stuff to be forgotten. Once she did that, she put it with his, and picked up her book. She settled in to read, continuing to pet his hair as she did so, finding the action just as soothing as he did, in her own way.

Sometime later, when she'd gotten a good way through her book, she put her bookmark in, and closed it, then glanced at the time. She nodded, and then gently leaned to begin pressing soft kisses to Rhys' cheek, trying to wake him in a nice way... If they were going to do this, it should be soon, so they weren't risking ruining anyone's sleep with the sounds of her crashing into the walls.

Pao
The first two kisses had been enough to wake him, though he enjoyed them so he didn't move for a little while longer, a smile eventually giving him away. "Mornin'," he mumbled, still half-asleep as he slowly, very slowly, opened his eyes. It was a struggle but he eventually got them open, and he looked up at his beautiful girlfriend, finding the vantage point odd but still very, very nice.

"Did I sleep too long? What time is it?"

Aria
She laughed, when she realized he was trying to be sneaky, and gently tapped his nose. "Goof. And actually the term is evening. Do you think I'd let us skip dinner?" She caressed his cheek, amused at her boyfriend. She smiled at him, a warm grin on her face. "Enjoying getting to sleep like this? Now do you see why I insist you're the best pillow, with how comfy that is?"

She blinked at the question and said "7ish, babe. Wanted to give us time to have me be an inept dork on a board without interupting most peoples' sleep schedules, then we could go have a slightly late dinner."

Pao
Rhys gave her a sleepy smile and nodded at her second question, but soon moved away from her because the temptation to stay in bed was a little too much for him to resist in his still sleepy state. "Can now see why you wound up winning that discussion," he said while stretching and sitting up. And then he turned to look at her, snorting at the idea of her not being good on a board.

"You swing around a sword and slay shadows and freaky s**t for a living. Skateboarding's gonna be cake for you, babe. But yeah, good plan across the board. You wanna go pick a board over there you wanna use?"

Aria
She chuckled at his words and slowly stood, stretching as well. "It's a great way to sleep." She said, with a happy sigh. If he asked to switch up, sometimes, she wouldn't mind, but she would honestly prefer sleeping like they usually do most of the time. He made her feel safe in a way she had never had the chance to feel before, safe and warm and protected. Still, he deserved to feel that way too.

Her brows rose at his comment. "I don't have to stand on a board with wheels to do that, though. But we'll see." She sighs and looks at all the boards, her eyes worried now. "Babe, I am worried about damaging 'em... Pick the one you prefer, therefore? Or I'm gonna be in a tizzy of worry about your boards and never be able to pick." She was being honest, not trying to avoid the issue.

Pao
"It is," he nodded, standing as well and making the bed. "Still kinda like how we usually sleep, though." He loved being in a position that made him seem like her shield, because it was a top priority of his to protect her and give her that feeling of safety and security when she was in his arms. "Not sure I'd switch things up at night, but for naps I might ask once or twice."

Her concern he found adorable, and when he finished with the bed he went over and curled himself around her, pulling her into a bear hug, smile warm and full of his love for her. "It's fine if you mess 'em up, gives 'em more the grungey, used look skateboards are supposed to have in my opinion," he said softly, leaning down to kiss her cheek. "But thank you for being that thoughtful. If it bothers you that much, just pick the one that looks most beat up."

Aria
"Same, babe..." She said, not at all interested in arguing wit the idea of not switching up how they usually slept most of the time. "But any time you want to, let me know... I don't mind switching on occasion." She looked happy, though, at the idea of not having to switch most of the time. Being safe and in his arms was the best thing in the world, and she loved every minute of it, from the moment they settled in to sleep until the moment before they had to actually seperate in the morning.

She blinked and leaned into the hug, her eyes focusing on what she could see of him, with the way he curled around her. His words made her blink a little, and she looked back at the boards, listening to all of what he said. The kiss made her smile again, and finally she selected the most beat up one, per his suggestion, then went and put on her sneakers.

Pao
He grabbed his jacket and got his sneakers on before heading to the door, watching her curiously. He doubted she was too interested in skating, though she did ask that one time he mentioned it so in a way he was making that request a reality. Still, he couldn't tell if she was nervous or just not that into it.

Still, he kept his thoughts to himself and, when she was ready, opened the door for her, waiting to follow her out to start their lesson.

Aria
"You still need to teach me how to free run at some point, though, babe... I haven't forgetten that I asked you about that the day you told me you skated." She said, calmly mentioning the hobby he'd told her about she had gotten enthusiastic and interested in. She lifted the board, though, and followed him to the door. He wanted her to learn, she was going to do her best to at least try.

Even if she was quite sure she was going to look like an idiot, and fall down a LOT, and just not be very good at this.

Pao
"I didn't forget," he said with a grin as he locked the door behind them. "But I wanted you to try this one first. I know we won't really get to use it much here, but still." He pulled her in for another hug before taking her hand and walking her to the end of the hall, as far away from the stairs as they could possibly get.

"It's really fun when you get used to it, even if you're just riding and not doing any tricks and s**t."

Aria
She leaned into the hug, eyes closing for a moment. "All right, babe. I just wanted to remind you, given it's been awhile. Also, we need to schedule in time for those cooking lessons. One of the reasons I want the white board, really. It'll help us plan when we're doing what." She followed him to the end of the hall, her fingers a little tight on his hand, betraying the fact that she was nervous about this.

"All right, I'll do my best, I promise..." She said, eyeing the distance between them and where the stairs were, just to be sure. Once they got to the end of the hall, she set the board down. "So. How do I get on this?"

Pao
Rhys gave her hand one last squeeze before letting her go, eyes going down to the board clattering on the ground. "If it's not fun, just lemme know," he said, smiling as he got on the board so he could show her. "We can always just skip to dinner."

Leaning toward her, he gave her a little kiss before pointing down at his feet. "So where to stand: basically your feet are gonna be right on top of where the screws are."

Aria
Seren watched Rhys climb aboard, her eyes focused on how he was placing his feet. When he kissed her, though, she beamed up at him, then refocused on his foot position. She studied it, still nervous, but slowly nodded, as she considered the way things looked. "K... but I promised to try, and I will try." That determination again, which sometimes she got a little too into.

Finally she nodded more, and looked up at him. "I think I have the foot position down, if nothing else. Do you want to show me how to get moving before you get off, or have me work out how to stand on it a few times, then do that?"

Pao
Her beaming smile was encouraging, her determination more so. At her question he got off the board and gestured toward it before taking both of her hands and settling them on his shoulders so she could have the support he felt she would need at first.

"Get on first, I'll teach you how to move once you can stand on the board on your own."

Aria
Seren bit her lip for a long moment, mildly disappointed but not actually showing it, because she sort of had hoped he would chose the option that would give her more time to avoid it. She gave him a smile, though, grateful for his support and care. He really always was looking out for her, to make sure she felt safer and happier. It was wonderful.

She slowly, carefully, stepped onto the board, feeling it wobble under her feet some as she did so. For a moment, she blanched because it felt like it was going to escape her... But then she managed to get her feet into position, and this, at least, she was doing for the moment... With his support.

Pao
His hands found her waist as she moved to step on the board, moving his foot to block the front wheel so the board didn't wobble too much as she took her first step onto it. "You got it," he murmured, eyes down and watching her feet to make sure she had them in the right spot. When he looked up he gave her an encouraging smile, happy to steady her as she got used to being on wheels as opposed to on her feet.

"How ya doin', babe? Scared still?"

Aria
She gripped his shoulders a little tightly, eyes still nervous, but she was very grateful for his hands on her waist, even if it had startled her just a little when he first did it. She gave him a wobbly smile in response to his encouraging words, and she straightened just a little more, trying to stand on the board in a slightly more stable fashion... Specifically one where she did not feel she was going to fall forwards.

"I... Still nervous, yes. This feels very odd, and unbalanced, like it could escape at any moment..."

Pao
He smirked, leaning in a little bit to give her a quick little kiss similar to the way she encouraged him in the kitchen. "You'll get used to that, but for now that's why I'm holding you." He glanced back down at her foot placement, then gave a short nod.

"Your feet are good, this is how they should be when you're cruising along. For now just try and get your balance though. Try to keep yourself as centered as possible, not leaning back or forward. When you feel a little better, trying rocking the board back and forth a little. You can hold onto me until you feel okay enough not to, okay?"

Aria
She blinked, surprised, at the kiss, then gave him an amused and loving smile, distracted from her nerves for a moment. His words earned a nod, and she said "And I one hundred percent appreciate you holding me. Not that I don't appreciate you holding me normally, since that's awesome, but... well yeah."

She listened to him more, and managed to finally straighten to the proper position. It took a few minutes before she attempted the rocking of the board... and while it would remain a mystery to her as to how she managed it while doing so, because she did not see what exactly triggered this, she somehow did manage to knock the board out from under her own feet and send it back, and herself falling forwards onto Rhys.(edited)

Pao
"Always, babe," was his response to her gratitude, because he would always very happily be her source of strength and support for anything and everything she got herself into. So he held onto her as she found her balance, expression bright. He found a good bit of enjoyment in teaching her about the things he enjoyed; the gym was one, this would count as the second so far.

"So far, so goo--"

Her sudden falling had him completely wrap his arms around her to catch her, securing her against him for a second. He left the skateboard to zoom off, the sound of it hitting the wall rather distant. He was only glad it didn't make its way down the stairs, really. After a second of holding her he set her back down.

"Or not. You okay?"

Aria
She clung to him while he held her, her eyes closing for a moment as she took several deep breaths. Once she was back on her feet, she finally opened her eyes again, and looked up at him. "I... yeah, yeah I'm ok. Apparently inept, I have no idea how I even managed to do that, but... I'm ok." She hugged him for a moment, then gently pulled free to go rescue his skateboard, before someone found it, or worse, tripped on it, and then complained.

She carried it back, an expression of willful determination on her face, and she set it back in position besides him, then once again, carefully mounted the board, her hands on his shoulders. She took a little more time to get back into position, but finally did, and tried the rocking again. She managed it, but she was wobbly and nervous looking.

Pao
He chuckled and gave her a little bit of a squeeze. "It happens to everyone, don't think on it too much or you'll never get back on a board." After one final kiss he let her go get the board, and then held her as she tried again. He absolutely loved seeing the fire in her when she got all determined about getting something done.

"See, you've got it, babe," he said with a grin when she managed to rock the board a little without falling. "Think you can stand without me?"

Aria
She sighed a little, part of her wishing she wasn't so determined in these situations, but she still refused to give up. Instead, she just did what she agreed to do, and worked on it. At his words, though, she bit her lip again, nervously. She stood on the board, not rocking while she thought, then slowly, she nodded.

Her hands dropped from his shoulders, and she stood as steady as she could be on the board, eyes focused on his. Her hands were slightly trembly, and her eyes showed how nervous she was... otherwise she'd seem perfectly calm.

Pao
He followed her pace as far as taking her hands off of his shoulders, waiting until she fully let go before letting her go as well. He felt a little nervous for her as well, all too familiar with faceplanting while not even moving back when he was learning how to skatebaord still, but he kept his most encouraging smile on as he watched her.

She looked alright though, as he took microsteps back to give her a little space. "Nice and steady," he said, nodding a little bit. "Still okay? Think you can rock it like you did earlier?"

Aria
She took several slow, deep breaths as she got used to the balance on the board. She finally nodded slowly at the first question, and looked uncertain about the second half. "Hmm..." She shifted a little, trying to feel out the balance again. She seemed to be ok, so she nodded again.

"Alright, I'll try..." She began to rock, very slowly at first, but gaining a little speed, until she was managing the speed she had been at before they let go.

Pao
When she started the rocking thing again he took a step back again, though was still ready to jump in if something like last time happened again. So far so good though, and he was beaming at her from where he stood.

"You were worried?" he said as he watched her, obviously very happy that it was going as well as it was. "How ya feelin' though?"

Aria
"Yes..." She admitted, not at all interested in lying to Rhys. She was staring down at her feet now as she rocked, trying to get the feel for this. "Honestly, still nervous... I just..." And the board shot out from under her again. Unfortunately, she went backwards, not forwards, and ended up on her a**.

"AH... ow." She said, with a wince. She did not immediately rush to get up, because, to be quite frank, she was feeling a little bruised around the dignity. "Well this is going to be slow, I can tell. But I'm not gonna give up."

Pao
He wasn't quite fast enough to catch her when she suddenly fell back this time, so he was in a half-action pose when she landed with a thud. Wincing, he got down on one knee beside her, a comforting hand on her shoulder as he looked her over to make sure she was okay. Fear shield or not, he worried. And when he saw that she was he sighed and glanced over at the board halfway down the hallway, semi-glaring at it not wanting to cooperate.

"Sorry, love," he turned back to her, frowning. "Wanna skip out, at least for tonight, and just get dinner? You at least got most of the balance thing down so it's not like nothing happened."

Aria
She reached up to rest her hand on his, and gave it a gentle squeeze of appreciation at his support, and leaned towards him a little, in an unconcious way, just seeking the comfort of being closer instinctively. She sighed a little, and checked on the board, too, making sure it hadn't gotten actually damaged in it's flight down the hall. It looked ok, so she felt relieved, because she was more worried about it at this point.

She looked back up at him at his words. "It's ok. Not your fault. It's learning something new, right?" She gave him a smile, if a slightly wobbly one. "And... I wanna give it one more go." She had a fiercely determined expression on her face, because she was going to refuse to give up so quickly. Only two attempts, and giving up? She just fell, it wasn't like she was going to get hurt! She had a FEAR shield to protect her from real damage. She carefully got off the ground, and moved to get the board, her back stiff with her willful determination.

Pao
"Right," he nodded, reaching with his free hand to cup her cheek. Her determination sometimes concerned him, too, but skateboarding was fairly...fairly...harmless, especially with FEAR shields and all, so he gave a nod. "One more time, then dinner." He might have sounded a bit stern, just to get across the point that he would hold her to just one more time before making her pause for now.

The brunette stood slowly up with her, again looking her over to make sure she was fine before letting her go off to get the board. "So I guess maybe learning to push off could be after you get the basics of standing and getting your balance down?"

Aria
His concern always made her smile, even if she was not sure it was necessary. "Hey. I said one more, right?" She grabbed the board, brought it back, then set it down, then walked over to him, and leaned up to give him a small kiss. "If I say 'one more,' I promise I mean it, ok, babe?" She gave his cheek a caress, her eyes focused on his, trying to make him see she was serious and that she really was ok.

She nodded and sighed a little. "Yeah, this seems like it's gonna be slower then maybe we were hoping it would be..." She made a slight face, but then stiffened her back again, that determination coming back. "But I'll stick to it, we'll see this through." She moved back over to the board, and stepped up onto it, carefully, but not reaching for him this time, determined to get this right.

She was fine getting on, and managed to get her balance. She managed to even do the rocking, and she looked up at him, pleased, thinking she had it.

Pao
"You did," he nodded,, crossing his arms across his chest as he watched her go and come back. He was tense for those few brief moments, wondering if he had potentially overstepped in some way. The kiss, though, relaxed him somewhat, and he only nodded when she reassured him that she would only try just once more.

"Slow is fine, it took me two weeks or something to really get it down and get comfortable skating faster." He ran a hand through his hair as he recalled those times, tough but the skating added an element of fun to his daily grind. "But I'm serious, if you're not into it we can stop whenever you want."

He moved to stand just two steps away from her once she got on the board again, just wanting her to be more in reach just in case, but after she got on and rocked around a little bit on her own he was, as usual, incredibly impressed, smiling brightly at his girlfriend. "I think you've pretty much got that," the brunetted chuckled as he moved closer. "Two falls--not bad at all."

Aria
She nodded, listening to him talk about it. "Well, we'll see how it goes. I mean, it looks fun?" She said, with a shrug, as she continued to do the rocking, trying to make sure she would know how this felt in the future. She was quite sure things would get a lot more complicated when she started trying to figure out how to move on this thing, and she hoped that next time would not be a repeat of this one.

"Two falls, but man, I did it just while standing still... I probably looked ridiculous." She shrugged a little, but sighed, then frowned as a thought struck her. "Um. Babe...?" She looked concerned. "You did forget, I think, to tell me something really important... How to get off this without sending it, and myself flying. I don't wanna ******** with gravity, or momentum..."

Pao
"Everybody falls," he said, not standing just in front of her, eyes on hers. "And you looked...yeah, but still beautiful to me. No worries." He gave a wink, and then blinked at her question, the smirk falling and his face taking on a little expression of confusion as he scrunched his brows together. And then he offered her a hand.

"For now? Or you could try just...getting off the way you got on? Just one step at a time, except backwards." It wasn't a thing he thought needed teaching, but now that she brought it up he wondered how he figured out how to get off the board back then too.

Aria
"Mmmm all right..." She said, but gave him a warm and loving smile at his words. "And if me falling somehow made you think differently about me, I'd be worried about what alien I was dealing with, cause that wouldn't be the Rhys I know."

His reaction to her question made her brows go up, and she studied him, wondering how this was gonna go.

She considered his hand, and his other suggestion, expression thoughtful as she stopped rocking. She bit her lip, and stepped, carefully, backwards off the board. As her weight was settled half on the foot going onto the ground, and half on the one still on the board, her foot slid a little, and the board, once again, made a bid for freedom, sending her flailing forwards. She grabbed at his hand, thudding into his chest once more.

She leaned there, silent for a long moment, and then, without lifting her face from his chest, she said "If I wasn't already familiar with what it felt like to be pressed against your chest, this would certainly be teaching me..."

Pao
Rhys laughed at that, and nodded. "Nothing could change the way I see you, babe. Definitely not something you need to worry about."

And then he waited for her to decide, leaving his hand out for her, again just in case. He was hopeful, though, when she started to step off the board...started, and then stopped short and interrupted by the board's insistance on running wild, being free. His grip around her hand was tight, his arm immediately around her when she fell against him.

"Safe, I hope?" he offered, tone laced with worry. Letting her hand go, he wrapped his other arm around her and pulled her into a tight hug, hoping to give her a bit of comfort for this last little mishap. "And maybe comfy? ...Perfect, maybe?" He was grinning then, obviously joking.

Aria
She stayed pressed against him, feeling grateful for his arms around her, safe and comforted by the way he always seemed to be there to catch her. There was a moment of reflection, thinking that this was a very physical representation of how much he supported her, caught her in bad moments, and helped her through them. She smiled a little, and then looked up, laughing, when he made the comment about perfect.

"Safe, as always with you here... And of course comfy. Perfect... well." She gave him a teasing grin, for a moment, as she let that sentence hang, before finishing with "Perfect for me, certainly." She slowly straightened up, though she didn't pull free for the moment, and she wrapped her arms around him, sighing a little. "Ugh, I feel so klutzy, though. Still, I'm gonna get this."

She glanced to see where the board had gone, and sighed, then gently pulled free. "All right. Lemme go put that away, then we can go get dinner."

Pao
Her laugh brightened up his smile, and the way she wrapped her arms around him just made everything in the world feel so very right. Even when she teased him, which he scrunched his face at in a mock pout. He conceded though, leaning in for a kiss. "Well as long as it works for you, guess I can't complain. As for feeling klutzy...happens when you're still learning, but you'll get it." He kissed her again, smiling. "That fire you've got for everything? Just a matter of time, and there's no need to rush."

He let her pull free for the most part; he took hold of her hand and followed her to the board. "Sounds good."