Framed in Fortune (Arc/Lani, Painters)(NSFW)

It was his intention not to break away from her like before, so he was more than happy to oblige her silent plea. He wrapped his arms as best as he could around her waist and drew the two of them closer together.

The closeness kindled the blushing deeper, and her returning kiss became more submissive as her brain darted off in various directions, most of them none too appropriate for a noble. Nobility be damned, though, she was a Toromaki --- conventional didn't fit her anyway.

Takumi was, perhaps even partially unconsciously, trying to keep the kiss more or less steady. He didn't think he was very good at it, considering that he hadn't had much practice, so it's not like he was going to stir the boat himself. This had the effect of making it look like he was, though, as Rin's submissiveness was quickly made up for with what seemed like the opposite from the usually meek Takumi.

The girl squirmed in his arms, letting out a soft gasp as heat flushed further over her face. She ended up pulling back just after the sound, placing a hand on his chest and seeming to use it to steady her, like the room was spinning. In a way, it was, and it disoriented her a bit to realize such.

Takumi found when they separated that his chest was heaving much more than he expected. Despite the long kiss he hadn't really been breathing, for one, but he also had a feeling that just the excitement of this all would have left him just the same if he had been.

Her chin was tucked a bit, causing her forehead to somewhat lean against his chest as she caught her breath. She was still blushing, worse than before at that, and tried to clear her throat, ending instead with a giggle. Shaking her head, she took to cuddling up to him, not trusting herself with the ability to initiate another kiss.

Takumi reached up to stroke her hair, gently, while resting his cheek against the top of her head. It seemed like they both needed a little time to calm down...

She let herself relax, a conscious effort that probably shouldn't have worked like a switch, the way that it did. Of course, she had never found it unusual and thus had no reason to question her own behavior. Coming down from her little bit of a high, she curled in his arms, seeming almost to be drifting to sleep.

That was fine by Takumi, just as long as she didn't grab him in a way that meant he had to stay with her. It would be nice to share a bed again, but it would suck if someone were to see him missing or them both in here. Nonetheless, he kept stroking her hair.

As much as she was normally overly fretful about the gossiping help --- which, really, she should find help that didn't do that, but they were too sweet to fire --- she seemed not to care, at the present moment. Instead, she let herself relax with him, even somewhat ignoring the way her frames dug into the side of her face in this position.

Unfortunately, Takumi wasn't in a position to either see or notice how the frames of Rin's new glasses behaved when pressed against. As he carried on his coddling just the same way, he whispered quietly. "Love you."

It somehow didn't become any less pleasant to say or hear it no matter how many times he did so.

She blushed softly, nuzzling up against him gently, "Love you back," she whispered, as though any louder might break the moment.

He smiled anew, the words once again having the very same effect. He settled his head as close as possible to the top of Rin's. Though worried about people finding out too much due to the worries that Rin had herself, he thought that, yeah, he'd stick around if she'd let him...

Rin wasn't about to bother kicking him out; in fact, she might be more likely to hold him mock-captive if he tried to leave at all. As luck would have it, no one bothered to check on either of them that night, tending to their duties and leaving the "children" in peace. Mentally, Rin made a note to give them a raise. Or a banquet. Or something. She really didn't care enough at the moment. Being alone and at peace with him was enough, especially without the risk of waggling tongues taunting them about it later.

Takumi, all in all, wouldn't mind if they didn't have to be so secretive about things. Spending more time like they were at that moment would be bliss in his books and not having to hide anything even when they weren't alone would make things much easier. There was the concern of the rest of her family and their views, but Rin as the perfect child could always tell them to suck diry, no? Oh well.

Even if normal circumstances dared to dictate that she couldn't, the fact that their outdated "royal bloodline" nonsense meant that she was to be promised to Ace would override all of that. He was missing, and nothing said that she couldn't take whatever lover or lovers she wanted; fuck, if things had progressed as the family hierarchy wished, she still could have legally married her cousin and otherwise been hopeless dedicated to Takumi. She'd very much prefer, no matter her feelings on the topic, to keep Takumi has her first and foremost, her number one, but the thought of marriage, which inevitably her line of thinking at present snuck into, made her blush deeper and bury her face more thoroughly in his shirt. Thinking of marrying her darling weapon was perhaps too early of a notion.

It was a little early indeed. Takumi's thoughts didn't go in that direction, but if they had, he'd probably have acted the very same way. Perhaps even more so, since he wasn't known for having the best mastery of controlling what happened up in his noggin. Those theoretical happenings aside, Takumi found the current, real, happenings to be relaxing enough that it was his turn to start nodding off. If he wasn't actively stroking Rin's hair, he would probably have been gone by now.

When she finally regained some semblence of her composure, she took to coddling him, curling up with his head against her chest and gently stroking his hair. It was an intimate gesture, to be sure, but not one intended or directed towards a sexual nature; it was nurturing, comforting, and she was simply trying to help him ease to sleep without interference. This was comfortable. This felt like home.

It's not like Takumi hasn't more or less shoved his face against her like that for comfort before. Perhaps not entirely, but either way, he didn't think of it. It was entirely as she had intended, and it worked like a charm. Soon enough, he settled against her and rather promptly nodded off into dreamland.

She giggled softly when she felt him go slack against her, letting her own eyes begin to lull. It wasn't exactly night time yet, but she wasn't going to complain. Detaching herself just enough to slide her glasses off, fold them, and set them aside, she shifted to a more comfortable position and held him as she drifted off. Morning could bring with it it's own troubles, but for now she embraced the peace.

Unusually, Takumi was the first to rouse in the morning, probably due to how early the two of them had both fallen asleep. Opening his eyes, in his sleep addled state, he was a little confused as to why he was waking up with a faceful of Rin; he figured it out a couple of moments later, however, and he once again settled to at the least wait until she was awake as well.

The more he stirred, the more she curled up against him, seeming to be seeking him engulfing her in his embrace. Muttering to herself, she refused to wake up. It wasn't every morning that she woke up being snuggled, and she wasn't about to give that up, now.

Takumi, of course, would never have any issue with prolonging every moment of closeness as long as possible. The more she curled up the closer he he held her, at least as much as was possible.

Without interruption or prompting, the young noblewoman was clearly not going to leave her bed, let alone her lover's arms. Of course, the Toromaki staff lacked the bravery to dare interrupt her if they had even the slightest indication that doing so might upset the woman. They were still prone to gossip if they thought that upsetting her would be because of Tamuki's presence, but no one ever put the effort forth to wake him other than Rin himself. For now, at least, they were safe and secure in their privacy, though this likely wouldn't last once lunch hour arrived. Breakfast was one thing, but the staff would by no means let her skip more than a single meal in a day.

Perhaps skipping breakfast wouldn't be such a bad thing. Takumi certainly made not attempt to move, at the very least until the moment was interrupted perhaps as should have been expected. The embarrassment Takumi felt at the growl of his stomach was directly correlated with the volume and that amount was not inconsiderable. "Eeeh..." he sighed, somehow thinking that looking away from Rin who wasn't even looking at him directly would actually have any effect in hiding the red face that was in fact already hidden.