"What was all that about Kaname?" Aina asked as they watched the couple leave, making sure that the did in fact leave.
"What about him?" Rido asked as she leaned against him.
"Something Haruka said confused me." She told him. "That Kaname would be King no matter how he chose to. And then Juri saying that he can get what he wants and Haruka knows why." Rido shrugged.
"Maybe they will step down for Kaname rather than making him wait until they die?" Rido mused. "He must have learnt something he shouldn't have but I have no idea what." Hethen added, seeming to dance around the question as though he did know what was going on.
"It seems a little strange, I mean why did Haruka say he had given Kaname everything he wanted since he was a baby? Surely you would say, from birth?" She the questioned.
"I don't know Aina, maybe you're reading too much into it. It just seems like Haruka has finally put his foot down and Juri doesn't like it." He said and turned her to face him. "Now can we stop thinking about them and think about us?" He asked her, his arm wrapping around her waist. "I like thinking about you especially." He added as he pulled her closer. Aina giggled and smiled. He leaned down for a kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck and accepted the kiss.
Rido was finally happy, she was all his.
Aina smiled as they pulled apart.
"Thank you for stopping me being stupid when Zero left." She said, referring to her attempt to kiss him when she finally came out of her room.
"I knew you weren't yourself. I would never take advantage of you, no matter what." He told her. He was surprised she remembered what happened.
"Thank you for being patient with me. I know I properly wasn't very easy to live with." She then said with a sigh.
"You have no need to thank me. All I wanted at that point was for you feel better." He told her with a smile.
"No, I need to thank you. You have been there for me through all of this. I can't imagine how tough it has been for you. You have welcomed me and my lover into your home and allowed me to happy at the expense of your own happiness."
"No, seeing you happy, brought me happiness." He reassured her. "You have not caused me any hurt or pain by being with him. You were happy with him. I am just sorry I wasn't able to stop him from hurting you." He added and she shook her head, tearing up.
"You couldn't have done anything." She told him. "He chose revenge over love. I always thought that our love would be enough to stop him." She admitted as Rido wiped the tears from her face.
"You have me now and I promise I will never leave you. I will never hurt you." He promised her as he looked into her eyes.
"Will you promise that you never chose revenge over me?" She asked. She knew at some point something would happen, mostly likely to do with Kaname. She didn't want Rido from following Zero's footsteps. She had watched the need for revenge devour Zero but she had always hoped he would stay with her. She hoped that their love would be enough to keep him sane.
"I promise." She kissed him, pressing her body to his. "What do you want to do now?" He asked once they pulled apart.
"Anything you want." She whispered in his ear and Rido smirked.
"Let's go somewhere more private." He said and quickly led her to her room. He wanted everything to be on her terms, where she felt safe.
Once they were in her room, Rido pulled her close. "If you want to stop, just tell me." He told her before kissing her again. Aina's hands went up to his shoulders, gently pushing his jacket back. Rido took the hint and removed his jacket without stopping the kiss. She then moved down to his waistcoat, slowly unbuttoning it, once again he took the hint and took it off.
When they finally came up for air, Rido reached around to the lace at the back of her dress, asking for permission before untying it. Aina turned around, allowing him to start. Rido smiled and started work on the dress, as he did, he kissed down her neck. Once the dress was loose enough, he pulled the dress over her head. He was glad she didn't bother with all the padding and hoop skirts when she was home alone with him. He still hated the fact she felt the need to wear a corset. She was perfect to him and didn't need to wear the stupid thing. Aina turned to face him and pulled his shirt off over his head. Her hands ran over his chest, taking in every dip and bump of his body "Like what you see?" He teased her, making her blush. He smiled before kissing her, holding her close. "You know you don't have to have to wear the corset." He told her. "You look beautiful without and I honestly don't understand why you have to wear it, even for fashion. I mean, how do you even breath in it" He continued making Aina laugh.
"I've got used to it." She admitted.
"You don't have to wear them here." He told her as his hands rested on her waist. "Besides, they only get in the way." He added with a smirk. Aina blushed again. She let him take off her corset, now she was left in a knee length underdress. Rido kissed her softly on the lips. "Do you want to go further?" He asked as he felt her tense up a little once she was almost completely bare to him.
"I..." She paused, not sure how to tell that she felt like she was betraying Zero. She would close her eyes and Zero would be glaring at her for moving on.
"If you're not ready, I understand." He reassured her. Aina couldn't understand how or why Rido was being so patient with her. He was so kind and generous; he had asked for nothing in return. She worried that one day he would ask her for something that would have very disastrous consequence for her. "How about we have a cuddle in bed, nothing more?" He asked hopeful. Aina nodded and led him over to the bed.
Aina got on the bed and lay on her right side. Rido joined her, facing her.
"Why are being so patient with me?" Aina asked, she had to know. It had to be something more than he loved her enough to let her be happy.
"Because I love you." He told her and she shook his head.
"Where has to be something else. That can't be the only reason." She pressed and Rido sighed.
"I love you and I don't want to push you. I don't want to lose you if I push you too much. I would rather have you as my friend instead of you hating me." He admitted to her.
"I could never hate you." She reassured him with a smiled. "You have been so generous, kind and caring to me and you never had to. Sadly, I find myself often wondering what you may ask in return for all of this." Rido frowned slightly.
"I promise you that I will never ask for anything." He told her.
"I trust you." Rido's heart swelled inside. She trusted him, she finally told him she trusted him.
"That means more to me then you realise." He told her with a kiss. She smiled and moved closer to him. He wrapped his arms around her and smiled. "Can we stay like this for a while?" He then asked.
"I can't see why not." She answered and relaxed against him. Rido relaxed as well.
Aina woke up a few hours later, she had rolled over in that time, putting her back against his chest. When she woke, she had forgotten that she had fallen asleep with Rido. She froze when she felt the weight of Rido's arm on her waist. For a split second, she thought Zero had fall asleep with her. Zero never allowed that happen, it was all to make sure they never got caught in a sleepy haze.
Rido felt Aina suddenly tense up, he knew she had just woken up. He had been awake for some time but didn't want to move. He wanted to stay in the moment for as long as possible. He closed his eyes, letting her think he was asleep if she turned her head to look at him, but also staying as relaxed as possible.
Once Aina remembered where she was and she was with Rido, she relaxed back. She hadn't known what it was like to wake up next to someone holding you. She had slept so much better too. She gently pulled his arm tighter against herself and Rido smiled against her shoulder, giving himself away. "Did I wake you?" She asked as she felt him smile.
"No, I didn't want to disturb you by moving." He told her, pressing himself to her as he cuddled her.
"I never realised I was missing out." She said out of nowhere.
"Missing out on what?" He asked curiously, kissing her shoulder.
"With Zero, we would never cuddle like this. I could never wake up in his arms." She told him with a sigh. Rido frowned.
"Why not?"
"In case we got caught. In case someone came around and found us in bed together." She told him as if it was obvious.
"Aina, if your relationship with Zero was mainly evolving around sex, then that wasn't much of a relationship. You should have moments of spontaneous holding and kissing as well. You should be able to spend hours together with saying a word but still being close. You should never feel like you can't feel cared for." He told her, sitting up and pulling her gently to look at him as she lay next to him.
"It wasn't just sex." She said, sounding a little annoyed at the suggestion.
"I'm not saying that you two didn't love each other. I just don't believe a relationship that doesn't involve moments like this, is a strong and solid relationship." He didn't want her to feel like he was judging her. "What did you and Zero do together, maybe I jumped to my own conclusions?" He then asked, hoping she would say something that he could use against Zero.
"Well, he would wake me up every day by playing with my hair, I'm not good at waking up nicely. He would help me dress and would talk about what we needed to do and stuff like that. I would often read like I do here and Zero would hover over me, sometimes he would give me a shoulder massage, over times he would plait my hair. He never sat with me or stayed in the room for too long. He was so worried and paranoid about being seen by someone. He would say it about keeping my reputation and making sure I was safe from any possible consequences. But I never cared about my reputation. I knew he was more at threat than me. If we were being careful, we were..." She paused. Yes, she and Zero would talk about everything and they loved each other. They would often use any free uninterrupted time to make love. It was like they were living as if it was their last day together.
"You were what?"
"Living like it was a last day together. Making love like it was the last time." She admitted.
"Living like that would make a relationship hard to keep together when you have the safety to stay together without that worry." Rido told her. "The danger of being caught had kept you two together for so long, without it, it would be a struggle to keep it going when that danger went." He added and Aina sighed.
"Maybe you're right."
"It's only what I think. You were the one in the relationship with Zero, you know the truth."
"I think the danger disappearing when we moved here made Zero look for danger." She admitted. "He is a selfless man who cares a lot about keeping people safe, no matter the danger. Maybe he simply thrives off that danger."
"Maybe." Rido sighed and pulled her closer. "Things change over time and time is all we have as a consent. We know we will live for centuries or more. All that time allows us time to change our personalities, our options and what we are willing to put up with." He tried to reassure her that none of this was her fault.
"I suppose." She sighed. "I thought that Zero was the one despite our differences and the many obstacles."
"You have me now." He told her with a smile and she smiled back.
"I'm sorry about all of this. It isn't the best start to a relationship, to talk about your past relationships downfall."
"I think talking about it and why it ended may help our own relationship." Rido told her and looked at him confused.
"How?"
"By looking at what happened and how it made you feel, it will help you voice your feelings if things are repeating themselves." He told her with a shrug.
"But I'm talking to you about it and it doesn't seem right."
"Aina, I know Zero will always be a part of you past. But I know I am a part of your future. That is all I need. We will work through everything and we will be stronger for it."