Completed Buried Beneath (Jorin Ertihan)

[Rinya]

Day 59, Season Fall, 513 AV

"Something happened to me in your dream, didn't it, Rinya," Like Rinya predicted Jorin caught on fast. But he hadn’t figured out why, she could feel indecision clearly, as though he couldn’t make up his mind. "Did you dream about the hospital? When I was hurt?" Even as he said it, he didn’t sound as though he was convinced in the question. She mused that if she could hear the thoughts in his head, it would probably be a jumbled mess. She could easily imagine Jorin being the kind of person capable of hanging onto several ideas at a time. He was an artist after all.

"Rinya, what exactly happened in that dream? How badly was I hurt in it?" Rinya could help but laugh slightly. It seemed he finally gave up trying to read her mind, which was both good and bad. She preferred it if he just asked her things straight out, but it also meant she was going to tell him… everything. The simple fact was ‘hurt’ didn’t cover it. Wasn’t even close. Jorin shifted, holding her close again, but took her hand, pressing it back against the skin of his chest directly over his heart. While Rinya enjoyed the feeling of his heartbeat against her hand, she knew even that wouldn’t keep the entire imagery from pulling at her mood.

"I still remember what you said to me, the first night we made love," Rinya pulled her head back slightly, looking up at him the best she could in the dark. His words and the feeling of his hand holding hers to his chest made her breathe catch in her throat. A prelude to Jorin’s coming words—he had that tone that said everything, but there was always more. "Feel that? My heart? It's yours. Always has been. And it's still beating strong, for you, no matter what you saw in your dream." Rinya inwardly groaned. He was great at distracting her; words that made her want to forget her dream entirely and focus on him alone. There was a familiar snake of desire curling along her spine. It didn’t matter how many times she heard the same words in different ways, they always affected her the same way.

"Please don't be scared, Rinya. I'm right here. What happened to me in your nightmare?" This time she did groan. One moment she wanted to kiss him senseless, the next she wanted hit him. ”If you want me to tell you something don’t start so romantic. It’s distracting…” There very little heat in her voice as she groused at him. Though partly she knew she was trying to avoid saying anything at all. Dropping her head back to his shoulder, Rinya let her mind wander back to the nightmare.

”I ran, from Nickolas. I ran home. And I don’t mean home to my father, I ran here. It was a seamless transition from Sylira to Riverfall—like they were naturally connected. But you weren’t home and it was dark already… it didn’t cross my mind to really bother checking. I can’t even remember why I didn’t bother; it was… a simple reasoning. It made sense. I just went to go change and try and get comfortable to wait for you.” Rinya shrugged her shoulder slightly. It had been so simple. Going home and waiting for the one person who mattered now. It was supposed to be an escape. She sighed heavily.

”There was a sound coming from your room, and I… just decided to go check. There was so much light all of sudden, even though it was still dark outside but I barely noticed it at the time.” Rinya bit her bottom lip, trying to keep her mind from jumping far ahead of her, trying to avoid the whole dream entirely. ”After the Glassbeak attack, they kind of… filter into my dreams now and then. But never like this…” Despite how warm she had become, it wasn’t warm enough to cause her skin to break out into a new sweat—this was just caused by her nerves. Even though it made no sense as to how a Glassbeak got into the condos—much less Riverfall’s gates—it had just been so vivid.

”It was in your room Jorin. And the blood was everywhere…” It didn’t matter that none of it made sense, the shock and pain of the simple idea was enough to cause her to tremble, even with Jorin so close, so very much alive. It was still painful now, though nowhere near as crippling as before. Her heart raced and she tried to focus on reality instead of the dream swimming behind her eyes. Really, she was surprised she hadn’t screamed. She certainly had in her dream.

[Jorin Ertihan]

Season of Fall, Day 59, 513 AV

As Jorin spoke to Rinya about how his heart was hers, he could feel her desire, and it sent a sympathetic jolt of fire through his own body. He longed to just kiss her passionately, to just make the nightmare go away and replace it with pleasure and desire. Surely they were much more pleasant feelings than what she was feeling now, but he felt the nightmares would always have power over her if she just kept it inside.

Rinya's dream followed a typical nightmare pattern, fractured events, and places jumbled together when they logically shouldn't. She'd run from her old bondmate back to their condo, jumping vast distances in the blink of an eye, and just waited there for him. Jorin just continued to hold Rinya to him, closing his eyes and imagining what she must have seen. Probably the dream was even pleasant at that moment, when she was in a place where she would have felt safe.

It wasn't all that surprising that the Glassbeaks would invade Rinya's dreams after her encounter with one. By all accounts, they were vicious predators, and her survival of an attack by one was something of a minor miracle. And while Jorin was of course incredibly relieved that Rinya was mostly unharmed from her encounter, he could see how such an event might echo in her mind. But the way she described it...

His room. It was very obvious what had happened. Blood everywhere in his room, Glassbeaks, Jorin could easily paint the picture. How horrifying it must have been, and he could feel her body shiver despite the warmth of their bodies and the covers. He could feel the icy fingers of horror crawl through the bond, and he knew she was reliving what must have been a traumatizing image. One he'd made her relive all over again.

Jorin decided the images needed to disappear. Banished back into the darkness they came from. He could not battle the Glassbeak for her in her dreams, but he could drive them from her thoughts, at least temporarily. And he'd do so every night, until no Glassbeak dared invade his mate's nights. And if it did, he'd do it forever, if that was what it took.

"Rinya, that was just a dream. A horrible nightmare," he insisted. Jorin recalled his mate had shivered, and a surge of desire had followed, when he'd whispered in her ear, so he put his chin on her shoulder and did just that. "I love you, Rinya. If I could fight the Glassbeak in your nightmare, I would. But I can't. Still, maybe I can help you forget."

Jorin used his left hand, still on Rinya's waist, to press her upwards toward him, while using his right hand to find her cheek, stroking it softly while using his fingers as a guide so that the next kiss he would plant on her would reach her lips instead of missing. When their lips met, he surged forward, putting as much heat into the kiss as he could. He wanted the cold chill of horror that had gripped her spine to be replaced, evaporated, obliterated.

His left hand came up from Rinya's waist, now sliding behind her neck and pressing her closer into the kiss as his tongue snaked into her mouth. He'd only heard of this sort of kiss, but had never experienced it before. His technique was, to put it charitably, rudimentary. Nonetheless, the passion was there, fire in his veins as his right hand snaked down Rinya's spine to her buttocks.

At this point, Jorin was losing control himself. The more he kissed Rinya the more his brain fogged, replaced by desire for his mate. It was just so easy to get lost in her, to love her with everything he had and just forget everything else. He'd started this so she could forget, but he'd apparently overlooked the fact that he would forget as well. And now that the fires of passion had been stoked, it was not really possible to put it out.

[Rinya]

Day 59, Season Fall, 513 AV

"Rinya, that was just a dream. A horrible nightmare," There was a sense of determination coming from Jorin that snapped her mind out of the nightmare. For a few ticks she had been locked back inside the memory, like everything was on replay. The only thing that kept her entire mind from going under and falling apart again was his sheer presence. Jorin just reassured her and pulled her close, resting his chin on her shoulder like he often liked to do and—"I love you, Rinya. If I could fight the Glassbeak in your nightmare, I would. But I can't. Still, maybe I can help you forget."

Rinya really wished she could have said it had no effect on her. The fact that Jorin had finally figured what whispered little words did to her. The reaction they caused. Despite the fading horror and cold as she pressed the dream back into her mind, Rinya drew a sharp breath, biting down on her bottom lip almost to the point of drawing blood. Her fingers over his heart twitched. Jorin could sense distraction as easily as she could.

In all honesty she had been tempted to ask this of him in the first place. For him to kiss her as he was, with the purpose of making her forget. She just had no idea how to ask for it—or if it was even proper to ask at all. She had showed up distressed and sobbing in his room, she didn’t have the right to ask that he make her forget all of her own issues, even for just a little while. Forgetting never fixed anything, but then there was no permanent fix for nightmares. Just trying to move past them was about all she could do.

Instead of starting off with his usual sweet and gentle kisses, Jorin apparently had no issues about showing her just how much he wanted her to forget. He held her in place by the neck, and his other hand mapped out very familiar territory as well. But this time Jorin tried something new. She had opened her mouth to do her best to draw air so their lips wouldn’t have to part any longer than they had to, when Jorin slipped his tongue into her mouth. Shock was one of the first things she felt, she hadn’t been expected it, but she was amazed at the jolt that moved through her as his tongue met hers. Something new that they would certainly have to practice at, that was for sure.

But in her opinion they were moving way to slow. There were times to be gentle and explore, like their first time together or the bath house. She was still raw with emotions though, and horror was easily replaced by need. A desperate kind that had her wanting to connect with Jorin on every possible level. Joining with him even for a short time made her feel alive. And not just because of the way he made her feel, but the way she could make him feel as well.

With an easy twist of her hips, Rinya rolled Jorin onto his back, pressing her hands against his chest as her hips leveled with his. She already had the advantage her, and if he was willing, she figured there wasn’t a point either of them could argue about stopping. Breaking the kiss, Rinya panted slightly. The air had a chill again as the covers pooled around her waist. Her fingers grasped the hem of his shirt and she slid it up as far as it would go without his assistance. ”Jorin… now!” Rinya might have actually winced if her head wasn’t so foggy. The words had come out in almost a whine, her impatience to actually join with him overriding everything else.

[Jorin Ertihan]

Season of Fall, Day 59, 513 AV

At first Jorin almost pulled away from the kiss when he sensed Rinya's shock across the bond at his tongue's intrusion into her mouth. Had he done the wrong thing? Was this finally going too far? But after the momentary surprise, she did not seem upset in the least and their kiss became even deeper, and Jorin decided he rather liked this new form of kissing. It was... more intimate, and despite his relative lack of technique he was sure it just took practice before he'd be able to master this.

The kiss had a noticeable secondary effect, on the both of them. For Rinya, the effect was exactly what Jorin had set out to achieve. He could sense the worry, fear, and horror melt away, replaced by heat and desire. But for Jorin, the effect was the same, and he belatedly realized that he may have begun this endeavor trying to wipe out Rinya's bad feelings, but he also ended up shattering his own self-control. He couldn't stop himself now as the fire raged across his skin and into the pit of his stomach.

But it seemed, even his tongue was not enough for his mate, and he could feel need across the bond now. He knew exactly where that lead, and he didn't care. They were in their own home, alone, together. Even if none of those things were true, he would not have cared overly much, but since they were he welcomed her need and returned with his own. For Jorin, and everything told him it was the same for Rinya, joining with her wasn't just about the physical sensations. It was an expression of their love. Love made physical. Love made tangible.

Rinya had twisted so that now she had him on his back, hips leveled with his own and hands pressed against him, sliding his shirt up as far as it would go. "Jorin… now!" Rinya cried out, and he could feel her need and desire rising. No trace of the discomfort or crushing sadness of what she'd seen from the nightmare was left. And Jorin was all-too-happy to comply, lifting himself slightly to allow his shirt to come off.

As he reached down to remove the last of his underclothes, he shifted forward to once again frame Rinya's face with his free hand. Using that to guide his lips to hers he planted another fiery kiss on her. As the last time she permitted his tongue entry, he tried it once more. The passion of the kiss stole his breath away, and in the tattered remains of the logical portion of his mind, he knew one thing was for certain. Sleep had become the last thing on either of their minds.

----------

Syna's light was barely peeking above the horizon when Jorin's eyes ever-so-slowly creaked open. He felt much warmer than he usually did when he woke, and yet somehow things felt different. Then he realized why; he did not have any clothing on. The sensation of being between the sheets without clothing was not a common one for Jorin, and he briefly wondered why he was naked until he realized Rinya was snuggled up against him, her nude body pressed against him, one of her legs between his. He could hear her soft breathing and he could feel her chest rising and falling with each breath, pressing against and retreating from his own.

Deciding against waking her, he tried to go back to sleep, but realized that, now that he was awake, sleep would not come. So instead he decided to spend the next few chimes just looking at Rinya's peacefully sleeping face. She did not seem to have had any other nightmares that night, and if Jorin had his way, he'd make sure she'd forget them. As many times as it took.

In truth, Jorin realized with a bit of a start, he wanted her to stay. Like this, with him, forever. He didn't want her to return to her room, even if the nightmares ended. Ever since they'd professed their love for each other, he'd always felt they belonged together. Why should they separate to different rooms every night? Jorin simply couldn't come up with a feasible reason. So he decided there wasn't one. Rinya belonged here, in his arms. And so Jorin decided that, when she woke up, he would ask her to stay there the next night. And every night thereafter.

[Rinya]

Day 59, Season Fall, 513 AV

Rinya stirred slightly. For some reason she had the faintest impression she was being watched, but that was just a silly notion because she was at home snuggled up against a warm body... what was a warm body doing in her bed? It actually took Rinya a few ticks before the late night nightmare and then a visit to Jorin’s room—and then bed—filtered into her mind. And all of this swirled through her mind without even opening an eye. If she had to guess by Jorin’s breathing he wasn’t asleep, but she wasn’t blinded by light either, so it must have been quite early.

She might’ve been embarrassed too, as she remembered how needy and impatient she had been with him—except he hadn’t seemed to mind, and she wasn’t going to raise questions that didn’t need answers because she was still learning new things about her mate day by day. She would probably always learn something new about him—a thought she actually looked forward to. But despite the nightmare and Jorin’s attempts to make her forget one thing still stood out in her mind. Something she felt she had to say, even if it didn’t make sense to him where it might be coming from. Actually it had been on her mind for some time.

So reluctant, Rinya opened her eyes. It was still very poor light for her eyes, but it wouldn’t be long before more light made its way into the room. Craning her neck slightly, Rinya looked up at Jorin—and she had been right. He was watching her. Before she started her little tirade of words, she pushed herself up on her elbow and leaned forward to kiss him soundly. A thank you and good morning and I love you, all wrapped up into a single action. Pulling back, her free hand came up to rest against his neck, her thumb brushing across his skin in a small circular motion.

”I have something to tell you. And I don’t want you taking it the wrong way, or thinking that I don’t trust you.” Rinya took a deep breath, but kept her eyes on him. ”You’re human. And I don’t doubt your love me, I really don’t. But I also know that… humans can love more than one person at a time… and I’m not trying to say you should or will but…” Rinya winced slightly. Her words were coming out a jumbled mess towards the end. She had been doing so well. Taking another few breaths, Rinya tried to center her mind.

”Sometimes it does happen. You can think ‘No I’d never do that’ and be surprised that it does. But I’m… not capable of sharing. Or rather I’m very bad at it. But unless it was your choice to break the bond—I would rather stay by your side as a friend, than nothing at all. And not just because I’m afraid of another broken bond. But… because I want it that way.”

Rinya wasn’t entirely sure she made that clear. And she was rather positive that Jorin would refute anything she said about it anyways. That would be just fine—but she really felt the need to let him know that she wanted to be there for him even if he found someone he was more in tune with—more passionate about. Which in her head seemed a little impossible to picture, especially after last night. But it didn’t change how she felt. That he should never feel the bond forced him to either be with her or not—simply because he made a choice to be with her now.

Jorin wasn’t like many of the humans she had observed of course. But she also knew that some of the cultures took several wives—some men even loved each of his wives, just differently for each one. But she wasn’t able to share—or maybe she just didn’t want to—and while it was probably selfish of her, Jorin certainly wasn’t going to have no choice. She loved him as he was, and he loved people. It didn’t entirely seem impossible for him to love someone else at the same time.

[Jorin Ertihan]

Season of Fall, Day 59, 513 AV

It was the prefect way to start a day, Jorin decided. With a kiss from the woman he loved. The contact was warm and sweet, and told him everything he needed to know without any need for words. She was grateful he was there, and she loved him as much as ever. A greeting he wouldn't mind getting every morning, if he could. He smiled against her lips and held her a bit tighter. When she broke it off, Rinya's hand went to stroke his neck and jaw, and Jorin continued to smile at her.

When Rinya started to talk about him being humans loving more than one person at a time, Jorin was initially quite confused. What did she mean? Jorin only loved one woman, and that was Rinya. At least, loved in the romantic sense. Sure he loved his mother, she was a tremendous influence on his life and he owed much of who he was to her guidance. And he loved Eric Trelaine almost like a surrogate father. And he loved all his friends for being there for him when he needed them. But Rinya seemed to imply he could love another woman like he loved her. And that was a physical impossibility.

But he did understand what she was saying. Or at least he thought he did. She was saying that even if he found someone he loved more than Rinya, she still wanted to stay by his side, that she wouldn't leave him because of it. That she wanted to stay in his life. But... it seemed Rinya didn't quite know her mate well enough to understand why that could never happen.

"Rinya... I would never do that," Jorin stated flatly, kissing the top of Rinya's head as he said it. "What I feel for you... it goes deeper than physical attraction, you know that."

Jorin sighed slightly, his own free hand trailing up and down Rinya's spine in a lazy oval. "I'm not usually a selfish man but... I don't think I could share you either. I suppose when it comes to each other we're both pretty selfish, huh?" Jorin grinned slightly, then continued. "There's a special place for you in my heart, Rinya. Even if, in ten or twenty years, you leave me, you'll never die. Because I'll always love you. I'll keep you alive, right here."

As he said it, Jorin took Rinya's hand that was stroking his neck and placed it against his heart again. "This heart you like to feel beating so much, it will remember your laughter, your smiles, your kisses, your love. It will remember it for as long as it's still beating. There's a piece of it that will forever be yours. Even if I manage to love again after you are gone, no one will ever replace you."

Jorin smiled softly, the hand covering Rinya's over his heart reaching out to stroke her cheek and push a stray strand of hair behind Rinya's ear. "You know, love for me isn't like a candle. Something easily lit and just as easily snuffed out. Sure, some humans can love more than one woman. But I can't."

Drawing Rinya a bit closer, Jorin looked her directly in the eyes. Syna's light had become brighter now, and he could clearly see the beautiful gold of the most precious woman in the world to him gazing back. "But words aren't the best way for me to say this, are they?" he said, smiling mischievously. "Do you really think I could feel like this with anyone else?" Jorin asked, his lips nearly touching Rinya's now.

"Do you really think I could love anyone else like I love you?"

And before Rinya could answer, Jorin pressed his lips against hers. No words were necessary. It wasn't passion he wanted her to feel. It was love. The only person in the world who could warm his heart like this, was her. And he needed her to believe it.

[Rinya]

Day 59, Season Fall, 513 AV

"Rinya... I would never do that," For a moment Rinya considered if she might have actually upset Jorin with her little speech. Generally his voice never took on that kind of a tone. But he kissed her head and Rinya frowned slightly. Jorin may have been confused before, but she was the one thoroughly confused now. His fingers against her skin threatened to pull her back into sleep. She was surprised that after how exhausted she had been when she climbed into Jorin’s bed that they had the energy for any other sort of activity, but she was feeling it now. It would be easy to just curl into him and spend the day asleep in his arms.

The idea of Jorin being selfish was a little funny though. He didn’t have much to worry about in terms of sharing. To find another male capable of putting up with her mouth, much less her temper was next to impossible in her opinion. Plus with her Kelvic genetics to go on top of that, even if she ever became decent at talking with people, she was fairly certain most other men wouldn’t interest her. But that was also taking her own words, and twisting them so they didn’t affect her. Jorin pulled her fingers from his neck, and pressed them to the skin of his chest. It was far more intimate without clothing on for some reason. Rinya could feel a slight flush rise in her cheeks.

"This heart you like to feel beating so much, it will remember your laughter, your smiles, your kisses, your love. It will remember it for as long as it's still beating. There's a piece of it that will forever be yours. Even if I manage to love again after you are gone, no one will ever replace you." Rinya grumbled under her breath slightly. Why couldn’t she get words like that to come out? Even when she tried she sounded so… bland next to him. She wasn’t looking to be replaced, not in the slightest. Though it did please her to no end that Jorin would never forget her. It was so easy to believe it too. Even minus the bond, his touch was far too tender. His eyes rather intent.

And then Jorin grinned. She could feel her eyes narrow slightly. His words were always clear. But Jorin was looking for trouble and she realized he was drawing closer. Daring her to think about him feeling like he did with her to anyone else… loving anyone else like he did her. And while she honestly had no trouble believing him—especially right now— she couldn’t help the anticipation building her stomach. He was going to kiss her… eventually. And of course he waited until she had opened her mouth to say anything before he covered her mouth with his.

Rinya might have let herself get carried away, if it wasn’t for the pure tender emotions he flooded her with. Rinya hadn’t intended to argue, but now there really wasn’t anything she could say. Lifting her hand from his heart, she hooked her fingers into the base of his neck, returning the kiss and pulling away before she over did it. Kissing Jorin was intoxicating, and if they intended to get up at all then she couldn’t get lost in him. Taking a deep breath, she glared at him playfully.

”You’re a tease.” Rinya blurted out. And she entirely meant it. Jorin was a tease—and he didn’t even realize it. Even without a deep passionate kiss, she tended to end up half on top of him without even realizing it. She had no resistance to his words or charms. She highly doubted she would ever build up tolerance to him either. She wasn’t sure if that should annoy her or please her to no end.

But she needed a little space from him. Leaning back so she wasn’t crushed up against him, Rinya smirked at him. ”Come on, we should get up or I won’t let you leave the bed all day.” While her tone was light and teasing, she was completely serious. She still had her list of things to do with him, and they hadn’t yet found time to just lock themselves in the condo and not come out. Of course she had planned on that being days, but she would take what she could get.

Rinya thought she would have had enough after last night honestly, but Jorin’s affections curled around her heart and made her want to kiss him senseless again. And that always escalated. Kicking the covers off her legs, Rinya started to wiggle herself towards the end of bed.

[Jorin Ertihan]

Season of Fall, Day 59, 513 AV

"You’re a tease."

There was absolutely no heat in Rinya's words. In fact, she said it in a lighthearted fashion, though it did sound like, as usual, the words rather fell out of her mouth before she could stop them. Jorin just grinned and raised an eyebrow, practically saying "oh really?" with his body language.

The truth was, he didn't really think of himself as a tease. Oh sure, he'd discovered that Rinya was quite affected by him whispering into her ear, and he rather liked the pleasant sensations that always followed their kisses, but in the end he wasn't just after physical satisfaction.

But then Rinya leaned back slightly, and smirked at him. "Come on, we should get up or I won’t let you leave the bed all day." Wouldn't let him? Jorin considered the possibilities as Rinya kicked the covers off her legs and began scooting over to the end of the bed. In a quick motion, Jorin sprang forward, capturing his mate in a surprise attack from behind, wrapping his arms around her chest and leaning his face into the crook of her neck.

"What makes you think I'd let you leave?" he sang out lightly. Ok. Maybe he was a tease. Sometimes. But Rinya never seemed to mind. Neither of them did. But there was one thing Jorin wanted to say, and he refused to let Rinya go until he'd said it.

"Rinya... I like having you here," Jorin began. He winced, that could be misinterpreted.

"I mean here, in bed, with me," he clarified. "I don't know, maybe it's all in my head but, when I'm sleeping next to you it feels like... like my sleep is that much deeper. That much more satisfying. I want you here with me, every night."

Jorin blushed slightly at the admission, but pressed on. "I guess that's a little selfish of me, huh?" he confessed sheepishly. "But it's the truth. I kind of used your nightmare as an excuse, but truthfully... I would like to sleep by your side every night if I could. If you're willing."

Having made his request, Jorin snuggled a bit closer to his mate, pressing her back up against his chest. He wasn't quite sure what it was he wanted. Was he necessarily looking for a repeat of last night? Perhaps, but as he looked within himself, Jorin realized he'd be just as happy if they just stayed like this, bodies curled up together, enjoying each other's warmth, and company, and love. Even if that was all they did, it would be more than enough.

Jorin knew he could probably override his lover's thoughts by whispering in her ear, or turning her around and kissing her passionately. But really, that was rather cheating. Because even though he knew she would not resist, he also knew those actions tended to rob her of her own decision-making abilities. Not that it didn't also do the same for his.

But no, this time Jorin wanted Rinya to make the decision on her own. The last thing Jorin ever wanted was to rob Rinya of her ability to choose. So he released her and pulled back, one hand still rubbing her shoulder, thumb tracing little circles on her skin.

"I just want to be with you, Rinya," he concluded, smiling at her back even though he knew she couldn't see it. At that moment, he just felt... content. He realized, here he was, in his bed, with the woman he loved the most right there. And he couldn't imagine life getting any better than that.

"We could start right now..." he suggested, scooting up a little closer to her. But he didn't touch her any more than he already was. Jorin wanted it to be completely Rinya's decision. He wanted her, and he knew she could feel it across their bond. But he refused to decide for her.

[Rinya]

Day 59, Season Fall, 513 AV

"What makes you think I'd let you leave?" Such a question from anyone else, and Rinya would have been mad. Probably worse than mad, furious. She never let men control her actions—in fact when any of the traders in Sylira tried to get her to bend, she often did the opposite just to spite them. But Jorin wasn’t just asking, he was teasing. Cocking her head to the side slightly, Rinya smirked over her shoulder at him. She couldn’t really see much other than a peripheral of his face, which made the act all the more endearing. There was no way Jorin was going to force her to remain in the bed with him, and they both knew it.

Rinya... I like having you here," Jorin winced and Rinya felt an eyebrow raise in question. She had guessed that he liked having her around—they rather lived together, but he seemed to think that he had spit something out that might have been offensive. He tried to elaborate, including the bed of all things into the picture and Rinya had a hard time keeping herself from laughing out loud. In general terms that didn’t sound much better—considering what they had done last night after she had gotten into bed with him. At least she did know him well enough to know that wasn’t the only reason he wanted her in bed.

She was confused however as Jorin released her, and moved back, only keeping his hand on her shoulder. She glanced between his hand and his face, narrowing her eyes again slightly and pursing her lips. He just smiled at her, told her he wanted to be with her—and again Rinya found that kind of moot point. She had already been the one to try and take the steps towards staying in his bed; Jorin had just seemed oblivious to them. She could feel a myriad of emotions coming from him, and while Rinya already knew the answer to his question—apparently he did not.

"We could start right now..." He was reluctant to touch her that much was obvious. So Rinya shrugged off his hand from her shoulder and twisted herself to sit on her knees, facing him on the bed. ”You my love, are quite dense sometimes.” The words were softened slightly, as she copied his nickname for her. Really she wasn’t a fan of using nicknames herself, but it seemed to fit in this situation. She rolled her eyes, crossing her arms underneath her breasts as she tilted her head at him.

”You didn’t even pick it up that first I night I stripped naked to sleep with you in the bed.” Rinya taunted lightly. It was difficult, keeping it lighthearted when all she really wanted to do was leap across the bed and kiss him for finally offering to share the bed with her. But he had teased her enough this morning as it was. Now it was his turn. She grinned brightly at him, before she put her hands down against the bed and started to crawl off the bed backwards.

”But I’m afraid I’ll have to decline. You see… I can’t sleep in a bed with a man who wears more clothing in the bed than I do.” It was a tease, and a challenge. She would stay in the bed with him regardless—but in her opinion clothing did just rather get in the way. And the fact that she had never slept with anyone else made it a little obvious as well. But she just smiled innocently at him, shrugging her shoulders as she moved back away from him.

[Jorin Ertihan]

Season of Fall, Day 59, 513 AV

”You my love, are quite dense sometimes.” Jorin felt a surge of joy when he heard his mate use his own nickname for her. She'd shrugged his hand off and turned, so that now she was facing him and sitting up on her knees. He grinned at her words. Dense was not a descriptor he often heard leveled at himself, but for some reason it was quite probably true. It wasn't that he missed the little subtle hints that Rinya sometimes dropped, he just... always wanted to know he wasn't controlling her. Wasn't forcing her.

On some level, Jorin supposed he knew that Rinya was always free, that if she truly didn't want something she'd tell him, but it never left the back of his mind. That if she'd never met him, she'd be in a hopeless situation, without any choice. It always tore him up to even imagine his bright, beautiful mate downtrodden, chained, broken. He'd sacrifice anything to protect her from that, but it also meant he worried he might be doing the same thing to her. A foolish fear, but then most fears were.

Jorin gave himself a mental shake, banishing the dark thoughts to the recesses of his mind. There was no way he'd ever treat Rinya as anything short of an equal partner in his life. And he decided, that as long as Rinya responded, he would continue to press forward. ”You didn't even pick it up that first I night I stripped naked to sleep with you in the bed.” Rinya was saying lightheartedly. Despite her tone of voice, Jorin could feel more than just playfulness across the bond. She was clearly pleased that he had asked her to stay with him... and from her words apparently she'd been tacitly asking for a while now. He wondered how many of her signals he'd missed.

Well, it didn't matter. He just chuckled a bit, smiled back at her and said, "Well, I guess I wasn't looking hard enough back then. But it was still one of the best nights of my life."

And it was true. Even though he'd been injured, even though Farline had made it a rather stressful day, even though at the end of it he was so wiped out he didn't actually remember the moment Rinya had crawled into bed with him, it was still one of the best days of his life. He'd told her he was in love with her that day. As far as he was concerned, even though the attraction had always been there, that moment was the true beginning of their relationship.

”But I’m afraid I’ll have to decline. You see… I can’t sleep in a bed with a man who wears more clothing in the bed than I do.” As she said this, Rinya began to back off the bed, shuffling backwards away from him. But Jorin still sensed playfulness from his mate so he just grinned back at her.

"Oh? Is that so?" he smirked, as he shuffled forward toward her, even as she backed away. He liked this game, and besides they both knew he'd never force her to stay, any more than he'd force her to do anything, ever. Grinning as he continued to approach his retreating mate, Jorin chuckled slightly.

"But you don't wear any clothes when you sleep," he noted, winking at her as he sprang forward to catch her, arms reaching out to wrap around her shoulders and bring her in close to him. He did not squeeze her tight; if Rinya wanted to leave the embrace she could. Smiling down at her, Jorin just shrugged a bit.

"I won't deny what happened last night was... incredible," Jorin admitted, blood rushing to his cheeks as he remembered the fevered urgency they had both felt during their joining, the mass of emotions tumbling and rolling through their bond, passion mixing with pleasure mixing with love to produce an intoxicating mixture that kept them both coming back for more.

"Just like it always is... but it isn't the only reason I want you here." Jorin leaned down and kissed Rinya lightly, before continuing. "Your presence, Rinya, it grounds me. It lets me be free, because I can always be myself with you. And it isn't enough for me to just have you in the same condo... I guess what I'm saying is I want you as close to me as I can get you. And I know that sounds very selfish, and I don't care."

Jorin just shrugged and grinned some more. "So I'll wear as much, or as little, as you want me to," he whispered, as his lips got ever closer to Rinya's. "Whatever it takes. I love you Rinya. And I want you. Please don't go..."

And Jorin decided he'd waited long enough. Leaning in, he kissed Rinya full on the mouth, hands going to her waist to press her back up against him, as he decided to put his tongue to use once again. He supposed it was cheating, what he was doing, but then there was a very famous saying about everything being fair in love and war.

And he certainly loved Rinya, so he flooded their bond with that, and with his need for her. The longer the kiss progressed, the more he felt it, starting in his stomach and spreading to his brain until it was nothing but a pleasant fog. There wasn't anything in Mizahar; no Warrens, no Amphitheater, no Riverfall, not even a condo or a bed. There was just Rinya, and Jorin, and nothing else.

It was true that Rinya could resist. Just like, as Rinya herself was saying earlier, he could find another someday that he'd feel more strongly for than Rinya.

But just because he could didn't mean he would.