Lyra loved cuddling. Loved it. She was an affectionate person, and would usually show all that affection through overt physical gestures.
Her best friend Ethan could very well attest to it. He was sick and tired of being "hug-bombed", as he so kindly put it when she wrapped her arms tightly against him just because she felt like it.
Contrary to norm, her physicality only got more and more scandalous as the years passed her by, and when she started dating, her craving increased thousand-fold. She just wanted to cuddle with her boyfriend, feel his body close to hers and show him how much she adored him.
That being said, she was not sure exactly how to ask him for it.
Would he be weirded out? Uncomfortable? What if he just flat out rejected her advances? The younger trainer did not think Lance actually would, at least unkindly so, but still, there was the strong possibility. He was a feudal lord, the heir of the Dragon Clan of Blackthorn, and had all sorts of cultural habits and social expectations she did not understand or could even fathom.
Not to mention that he was a very famous man. A famous, experienced, worldly, older man. It was not out of the realm of possibility that he would find her behaviour childish or needy.
Of course, like the stupid cookie that she is, Lyra could not help but think of the worst-case scenario and then fear that that would come true and it was just… It was just a mess.
It was late at night, she sat there, right now, laying comfortably on the couch set for her use at the newly-remodelled Champion's apartments in the Indigo Plateau, next to its former occupier. Their shoulders were touching and it was not any sort of uncomfortable experience for her. Not at all. In fact, she would be perfectly content for it to go on until the sun came up.
The two of them have been dating for long enough to be past the awkward stage, to have gone through some difficult conversations, but not that one. Besides, in no regard to their communication abilities, the nerves and the insecurity over the situation nagged on the sides of her sleepy mind, and she could not help but feel a little tense, wondering if she should just ask him to stay in this position or if she should just stay quiet.
Rubbing tiredly at her muddy brown eyes, the pigtailed girl pushed the thought away. She did not have to ask, she was perfectly fine just sitting here, slowly slipping off, since she was particularly tired, and who knew, maybe she could just slowly let her head fall on his shoulder and pass it off as being asleep.
Lance would certainly not know the difference. Would he?
Besides, Lyra could postpone her worry about being more comfortable with her boyfriend later, on another day. Just not today. Today was…
"You tired?" Lance broke her reverie on a whisper.
Blinking her sleepiness away, she turns her head, meeting the Dragon Master's soft gaze with her emaciated own. He almost seems amused, lips curled up into a small smile as she blinks lazily up at him, eyelids heavy.
Shifting slightly in her seat, she nods her head slowly.
"Just a little…" She explains. "It's been too long of a day."
"Here, you can lay down if you would like." Lance offers, raising his arm and wrapping it around her shoulder.
Her breath halts, shoulders tensing slightly as Lyra feels herself being pulled to the side, guided towards her boyfriend's strong side. Though she is a little bit shocked and completely unsure of what she should do, she definitely does not mind it.
With one more brief glance at his way, only to see him smiling down at her, the high-performing trainer let her head fall against his shoulder.
Then, there is a pause, her arm inching upwards. When Lance's own does not leave her, Lyra finds the confidence within herself to let her arm wrap around his own waist, cuddling against him.
"Are you comfortable?" He asked, with his deep voice, more so than usual, as it was peppered with his own tiredness.
"Very." She whispers, voice faint as her cheeks warm and a small smile crawls onto her lips. "Thank you."
Lance just presses a kiss against the top of her head, one that practically makes she melt at the touch. She feels all her tension drift away with ease, letting her eyes fall shut as she shifts slightly, getting more comfortable.
"Just sleep." The League official whispers faintly. "Relax. I will be here when you wake up."
"Okay…" Lyra hums, unable to see the wide grin that curls onto the champion's lips as he stares down at his beloved girlfriend.
Little did she know, Lance loves cuddling just as much as her. Growing up at the clan, being revered as a prodigy from young age, he was more than a little touch-starved. Despite his heroic tendencies and well-crafted public persona, he was shy and bumbling in his personal relationships.
He knew he had an image, of fearless Dragon Tamer, and it is not as if he thought he would be dumped as soon as he did not live up to it. Lyra was not that kind of girl. However, living as Champion Lance was easier at times than to be geeky, needy Lancey all over again. So he kept guard, stayed vigilant over his own behaviour.
It would come the day that he would have to come out and say that he would really, really like to just cuddle in front of the TV, but that day is not today.
Until such time came to pass, if it so happened that his girlfriend falls asleep on the sofa, leaning on his shoulder, the better. He sent out his hopes to every dragon that he would find himself in this position more often.
One day. Not today.