If you open your heart [Private with Aquamarine]

Hyruu glanced inside another room, trying to get something out of the mess his thoughts currently were. The evening sure didn't go as he could have planned. The grey dragon still couldn't believe he got the courage to ask Aquamarine out. Even though it ended up quite awkward... like usual. And now he didn't dare to do anything else. What was he supposed to do ? Well, first mates should at least kiss, right ? But there was no way he gathered enough confidence to do something like that ! He already blushed after giving her a single nuzzle !
The next room he glanced in was the good one. The room was empty and just big enough for the two of them. They shouldn't be interrupted there. All at his thinking, the young dragon didn't really look around at the room. The room itself was more a balcony, which was giving a nice view at the jungle outside. The sun, which was about to start setting, was lighting the balcony with some impressive colors.
"Alright this one should do it." he called Aquamarine, going through the door.

Aquamarine nodded and followed him. Her bright blue gaze swept across the balcony, grinning somewhat when she noticed the sky changing from blue to a brilliant mix of pinks, oranges, and blue hues. She approached him and entered the area, standing before him. She stared at her own paws, her pale literally aquamarine coloured scales changing a bit pinkish around her cheeks. She looked up at him with a smaller smiler, her head now tilted. She hadn't intended to be as awkward as he once was. It was more of his thing to be the shy, unsure one of the couple. So many things were racing through her mind - hatchlings? Mates? Different tribes? How would this work? She was somewhat looking down at him, though she was glad. It wasn't unusual for a female of their species to be tall, though to be fair, they were from some of the rather vertically challenged tribes of Pyyria.

"Yes... i' will. Sa, ah was wonderin'... wha' exactleh got ya tah werk up tha cerage tah ask me ta be yer.. mate?" She asked suddenly. She blushed harder, though she stood closer to him and her tail entwined around his.

("Yes... it will. So, I was wondering... what exactly got you to work up the courage to ask me to be your... mate?")

Hyruu finally noticed the sun was setting when he saw Aquamarine entering the room. The sun was giving beautiful reflection on her shiny scales, mixing the warm orange tones with her delicate aquamarine scales. The grey dragon couldn't help but stare at her. Everything in her was delicate, from her tone to her slender build and her delicate scales. And her eyes. Well she was bigger than him so most of the time he had to look up at her, but it was nothing he minded.
"Well, actually... I just don't know. I... I just threw myself, I wasn't even sure of what I was doing. For once I wanted to be the one to make the step forward. Maybe some stupid male pride. I don't know, nor I care. I... I love you and I want to go even further." he declared.
He had begun shyly, but he grew more confident at the end. Hyruu wanted to open his heart to her. He wanted to tell her how much he loved her, how beautiful she was. He wanted to make her happy. A warm feeling spread in his chest, and under its effect his scales suddenly became shinier. He was now looking more silver than grey. The sun began to reflect on his own scales, mixing the cold silver tones with the warm orange tones. Like her, his scales were creating a painting mixing hot and cold tones. As the sun was slowly setting, though, the warmer tones were gaining over the colder ones.
Hyruu managed not to blush completely when Aquamarine got closer from him and entwined her tail with his own. He responded by moving their entwined tails between them. He then looked up at her, gazing at her amber eyes.
"Are you the one to feel shy for once, Aquamarine ?" he asked her with a smile.


((We never really decided the exact size difference between Aquamarine and Hyruu. I was figuring something line 2/3, it feels appropriate to have some size difference without it causing them difficulties.))

(Aquamarine was only the smallest bit taller than Hyruu)

Aquamarine took in every word. She was drinking in the sound of his gentle voice, her head tilted as she listened to him. Her own gaze raised from her paws to his face when he begun to stare at her. As she was about to say something, she paused. The inhalation of her breath was followed by silence, her orange-brown eyes darting all over him. She was used to a grey dragon, quiet, shy. Unsure of himself. Now, however, he simply radiated with confidence. He was brighter, and she thought to herself - handsome. The sun's light reflected from the palace's walls, and onto their scales. Aquamarine swallowed and dropped her optic's gaze to match his own.

"Ya... love me, Haruu? Ah'm... Ah love ya too. An' maybe Ah am bein' sha, bu' it's because Ah'm happy tha' such a carin', attractive dragon asked me ta be his mate." She said, her voice trailing off at the end and was instead replaced with a smile.

(You... love me, Hyruu? I'm... I love you too. And maybe I am being shy, but it's because I'm happy that such a caring, attractive dragon asked me to be his mate.)

((Oh right then))

Hyruu couldn't help but blush under the compliment. Even his newfound confidence had its limits after all. His body began to turn red, but with the setting sun the orange reflections were nicely mixing with this new color. However he managed not to break his gaze in Aquamarine amber eyes. The dragoness was also gazing in his eyes now. For a few seconds, Hyruu kept staring in her amazing eyes, loosing himself in them. Staring in her eyes calmed him, and his scales slowly went back to their usual grey.
"Woah... well, thank you. I'm really the luckiest dragon on Pyria to get such a delicate and beautiful dragoness as my mate." he replied.
He was about to say more but hesitated at the last second. Aquamarine seemed to like seeing him more confident, but wouldn't it be a bit too much to add more to what he said ? Maybe not. For the second time this day, the grey dragon threw his concerns away. He didn't risk a lot if it failed this time.
"But yes, I'd want to go farther with you. I'd want to be your mate for the rest of our lifes. I'd want to be the father of our future children. I'd want to take care of you and make you happy like you are making me happy right now. I'd want you to be my partner so we can discover new places and live new experiences together. I'd like you to be mine and me to be yours. I'd take all the colors in this world to satisfy you. I'd be your sunrise, your day, your sunset and even your night." he declared, changing his color to match his words with a surprising precision. During his rant, he had taken a step back so she could watch him better.
"All this because I would want to be yours." he finished, reproducing Aquamarine's color with an impressive fidelity, spreading his wings to emphasise on these words.
The young dragon stood a few seconds in this position, seeming to just think about what he had done.
"Erm... I went a bit overboard, didn't I ?" he commented with an awkward smirk.

Aquamarine's gaze never broke from Hyruu's. Her head tilted and her cheeks turned an even darker shade of magenta, fading into her scales, when he continued speaking. She was swooning. She took a small step back when he spread his wings, which she nearly matched. Her wings were slightly open now, fanned out about halfway. She was smiling and nodded when he finished speaking. Her tail curled around his in an even tighter manner, and she took her step forward again. She giggled.

"Yes, Haruu. Maght'a been a bi' ta overboard, bu' Ah understand. Yer so sweet." She said with a smirk. She was somewhat tempted to nuzzle him. She did anyway - it was much too difficult for her to not flirt back.

(Yes, Hyruu. Might've been a bit too overboard, but I understand. You're so sweet.)

Hyruu slightly blushed again when Aquamarine nuzzled him, blushing only on the cheeks. The funny point was that he was blushing while still being of the same color as her, and they both ended up with the same magenta-ish tone on their cheeks. The now aquamarine dragon nuzzled her back, feeling the warm sensation in his chest again. He wanted to show her how much he loved her, but words just weren't enough. His rant didn't calmed the feeling the slightest.
A sudden flash in his mind gave him the answer to his problem. Hyruu blinked, surprised he hadn't understood this sooner. But... Could he really do it ? That maybe wasn't the moment, was it ? Once again, a small part of his thoughts wanted to do it anyway and not care at all about the possible consequences. He had to make a move anyway.
Still feeling unsure of himself, Hyruu pressed his muzzle slightly harder against Aquamarine's muzzle. He then slowly tilted his head on the side. His heart was racing at the idea of what he was about to do. He locked his lips against her, and began his kiss. A simple, soft kiss. His heart raced even faster as he waited for Aquamarine's reaction.

Aquamarine was nuzzled, which only caused her to blush deeper. She was taken aback slightly when he got closer to her, her muzzle. She felt like she couldn't breathe out of pure surprise when he kissed her. She was already shocked enough at the fact that he had managed to actually speak to her without stuttering, and still the lasting fact of the question he had only so recently asked her thirty or so minutes ago. Her eyes widened, though she closed them so her amber gaze no longer could show any sort of discontent. She smiled a bit and accepted the kiss, though she was still blushing - even darker now, it seems. Her paw found its away to Hyruu's, which she rested it atop of. She didn't speak.

For a long second, Aquamarine didn't react from his kiss. Hyruu's heart missed a beat at the idea he could have messed up. What should he do ? Should he withdraw right now ? He almost got surprised himself as he suddenly felt Aquamarine responding to the kiss. She... she accepted it ? She accepted his kiss ! His chest instantly went from his cold fear to a warm passion. He really feared he had done a mistake somewhere.
Hyruu continued the kiss, getting more passionate. He closed his own eyes, focusing on this new experiment. He didn't really know what he was doing, but apparently his body knew and was doing a decent job - at least he hoped so. The young dragon used his wings to hug Aquamarine, and he moved his free front paw onto her other paw, like she did for him. For once he was stopping to think, he was acting.

Aquamarine, despite how hard it was to believe - rarely kissed anyone. This was new to her, too - strange. She just went with what Hyruu was doing, occasionally mirroring his actions. She was now wrapped in his wings, his paw on top of her free one. She was still somewhat shocked. She drew her head back after many moments, her eyes opening. She gave him another kiss, still directly on the muzzle, though it only lasted a few seconds. She batted her eyelashes.

"Wha' was thayt? Either way... Ah lak'd it.." She said, her voice getting quieter and drifting of the closer she got to her sentence.

(What was that? Either way.. I liked it...)

Hyruu enjoyed his kiss the best he could. He couldn't tell how long it lasted, it could have been a few seconds or a few minutes. What was sure was he lost himself in the feeling, this feeling to be closer from Aquamarine than he has ever been, to be in contact with her body, his lips locked on hers...
They both withdraw at the same time, like in an implicit common decision. Aquamarine gave him another quick kiss, this time shorter. Opening his eyes again and tilting his head back to a normal position, his look locked on her eyes.
"That was... I never experienced something like that." the young dragon replied. She probably liked it as much as he did, and it pleased him to see her happy.

Aquamarine was smiling. Her orange-tinted brown eyes looked at him, giving off a warm yet flirtatious gaze. Her pale blue wings shifted and she snuggled into his underbelly, his wings wrapped around her - his face was just further from hers. She swallowed and nodded.

"Ya never kissed a'yone? Ah haven't either, Haruu." She said, muttering. She didn't exactly want him to hear that. She was supposed to be the one that had experienced everything... and that wasn't something that had happened exactly. Despite that, she was still happy. And her cheeks - still blushing.

Hyruu tilted his head at Aquamarine's words.
"Oh, you never kissed anyone either ? I would have thought you already did... Well, this makes me feel special then !" he chuckled.
He didn't know what he had this evening, but never in his life he had showed such a confidence. A small part of him wondered if that fermented raspberry juice couldn't have somehow helped with that... Maybe it was best not knowing.
The grey dragon blushed when Aquamarine suddenly snuggled against his underbelly. He slightly tightened his wings around her, not really sure what to do.

Aquamarine closed her eyes for a few moments before opening them again, nuzzling Hyruu. She shook her head at his comment as though to wave it off, then she grinned.

"Haruu, are we supposed ta live tagether?" She asked, her head tilted and her neck drawn back enough so she could look at him without their muzzles touching.

Hyruu let out a smile when Aquamarine nuzzled him. He then blinked, surprised by her question.
"Well, yeah, of course, that's the point of being mates no ? Why that question ?" he asked, slightly frowning.

The light blue dragoness shook her head at him, slightly confused as to why she asked it herself. It was quite an obvious answer as well, but she figured it was something she should ask. She wasn't certain about it, but another question occurred to her: Were they supposed to live on a tribe's territory, or somewhere else? Who was keeping whose den? She shook her head lightly again, her amber eyes blinking a few times as if to think, then beginning to rise slowly back to Hyruu. She grinned the smallest amount and made a light giggling noise, which was yet another uncharacteristic thing she has done today. But of course, today was weird. She had gotten a mate. A shy dragon, as a mate. How he managed to work up the courage, she had no idea, but he did it. And what was even more odd - she had stopped paying attention to her surroundings, stopped looking at others.

"Ah... ah asked because Ah didn't know, Ah gue'..." She muttered, shrugging. She sat down next to him, rather than directly in front of him, and lay her head on his shoulder in a very light manner.

Hyruu kept looking at Aquamarine, still a bit surprised by her question. The dragoness seemed lost in her thoughts, and the grey dragon wondered what she could think. Maybe she was wondering about their future ? It was right that himself couldn't imagine how it would be. He acted on an impulse when he proposed her, and he still didn't know how he ever managed to do it. Would their life be similar to these days they spent together on his territory ? Probably, with more romance to it maybe.
Hyruu got surprised as Aquamarine let out a giggle and sat next to him, her head resting on his shoulder. For a second he didn't react, but then he relaxed his shoulder and wrapped his wing around her. Behind them the sun was finishing to set, letting the night take place.
"This surely has been the most unusual evening I've ever had. But also probably the best." the grey dragon commented.

Aquamarine's scales had begun to shadow from the setting sun, though fading pink and orange hues still glimmered off of the couple's scales. She looked at him and tried not to move, for fear of him moving his wing away from her. She nodded at his sentence, a nod of agreement. This was quite possibly the best night she'd ever had, though the most shocking.

"Same here. Also, Ah didn't say, bu' yer territory is gorgeous. An' this palace, too." The pale dragoness said, her eyes flashing around the palace and taking in the yellowed, shining marble.

Hyruu wrapped his wing slightly tighter around Aquamarine, moving a bit to make their position more comfortable. It was quite an unique feeling to have Aquamarine, his mate, at his side like this. He didn't want this moment to end, yet he knew that at a moment he would have to withdraw from the hug. But at least not now.
"Oh, well, thanks. I also like it. It's nice I have the sea at the border of my territory, it will be convenient for you." he just replied.

Aquamarine raised her head a bit and looked at him directly again when he mentioned having water at the border of his territory. And a large body of it. She smiled and nodded, looking at him with her brown eyes and a warm smile.

"Ah woul'. Mah terratory is nace too, we've go' beautaful coral reefs..." She told him, flicking her tail.

(I would. My territory is nice too, we've got beautiful coral reefs..."

Hyruu delicately withdrew from the hug, opening his wing and looking at Aquamarine in her captivating eyes.
"I would love to see this, but I can't breathe underwater like the Seawings. I fear this might be problematic..." he slightly chuckled.
The sun had finishing to set outside, and the room was now lit only by the few torches that were burning on the wall. The light of the flames were reflecting on their scales, almost dancing.
"It's getting late. What about we head back to my den ?" the grey dragon suggested.

Aquamarine's smile faded the slightest when she realized that Hyruu could possibly drown in her territory. It was beautiful there. Aquamarine, luckily, could remain in the LightWing territory without too much issue. She nodded at him and stood up, stretching her wings for a moment before looking at Hyruu.

"Ah don't quite remember how ta get there. Yer den is so comfortable, bah the way." She replied, smiling to herself.

Hyruu nuzzled Aquamarine when he saw her smile slightly fading.
"Don't worry, I'm pretty sure we'll find a way to visit your territory." he told her.
The grey dragon also stood up, folding his wings on his flanks.
"I'll show the way. And thanks, I really like it as well. I've been lucky to find such a nice piece of land with a comfortable cave, and now I'm having a gorgeous dragoness as my mate. I'm really a lucky dragon." he said with a chuckle.

Aquamarine smiled at him and giggled, blushing a bit brighter and perking up from this compliment. She said nothing, instead waiting for him to take off. She spread her wings only the slightest, allowing them to open enough for take off but not enough to interrupt their conversation or interfere with the walls or Hyruu's body. Her amber gaze kept flying back from the doors of the palace, the wilderness on the right side and the set of paws next to her.

Hyruu gave Aquamarine a last tender look before actually managing to get his eyes away from her. He stood up and began to walk outside the room, giving a look back right before getting through the door.
"Let us get going then, shall we ?" he just said.
The grey dragon then went through the door, walking along the corridor toward the Palace's main doors. The Palace seemed desert, as everyone must have left the feast at that time. He didn't realize how long he had been talking to Aquamarine. To his mate. He quickly reached the doors, still glancing back from time to time to ensure Aquamarine was following. Once there he spread his wings and took off swiftly. The night was warm, deliciously warm.
Once Aquamarine would have taken off, Hyruu waited for her and started to fly next to her.
"So you're okay with living in my territory ?" he asked her.