When Anna leaned away from his back, Cinead finally pulled the black t-shirt still crumpled in one of his hands over his head, tugging on the edge until it fell into place. Then he tucked the woman next to his chest, gently resting his chin on top of her head as he watched her sort through the photos she had taken. He hummed in satisfaction, rubbing his chin over her curls. Then she pulled far enough away to look up at him, asking him if he knew what... something was. He blinked once.

“Self... fee?” He mumbled tiredly, even more exhausted after the rush of adrenaline he had gotten after discovering his mark. “ what are we charging?”

Anna gave him space to put on his shirt, only reacting when he started to gently rub his chin on top of her head after pulling her close. Even then, it was just a change of facial expression to closed eyes and a smile before she questioned if he knew what a selfie was. As expected, he didn’t. She noticed his slowed down pace for speaking and decided that she’d leave soon, they could always meet up tomorrow.

“A selfie is when you take a picture of yourself or you and someone else, in this case.” She explained briefly as she set up the camera to take a picture of them. “I want one for my home screen.”

“Ah. I see.” Cinead responded, watching interested Lee as Anna started to line up her shot. “ I wondered why there were lenses on the front of the phone. Now I know.” He chuckled softly, the action only coming through as a deep rumble in his chest. “ what do you need me to do?” He then asked, watching The miniature versions of himself and Anna on the screen of her phone.

“Some people believe that the government watches you through those lenses.” She joked, laughing a little. “All I do need you to do right now though, is smile and look into the lens, tempting as it is to watch ourselves.” She explained making sure he was visible on the screen.

“I don’t think I need flash, so...I’ll take a few on the count of 3.” She thought out loud. “1....2...3!” She took a small burst of photos with a smile for said photo.

Cinead willingly enough smiled for Anna, The corners of his eyes crinkling with the expression. But as soon as she stop taking pictures, the look slipped away, though hints of the smile still remained in his eyes. He rubbed his chin over her curls once again before quite abruptly tugging her up into his lap before laying back on the couch himself, holding her against his chest. Head propped against one of the squishy throw pillows, he closed his eyes, releasing a soft sigh of contentment.

“...No more pictures tonight. There will be plenty of time for that in the future.” He murmured softly.

“Thank you.” She nodded, keeping a somewhat smaller smile on her face as she set the best picture as her new homescreen. She yelped when he suddenly tugged her onto him and laid down, taking a few deep breathes to calm down a little. She listened to his request and nodded, closing her eyes.

“Ok.” She answered simply.

“...What a day.” She sighed a minute or 2 later. “I’m sure neither of us were truly ready for all of that.”

Anna’s initial yelp of surprise had provoked a soft chuckle from Cinead, though his smile didn’t return in full. He simply enjoyed the weight of her body on his, the sound of her breath, her heartbeat...

When she spoke again a moment later, her voice pulled him back from the edge of sleep. He hummed in agreement before the sound broke into another deep chuckle that vibrated his chest. “ indeed. Especially since I had made a Val with myself not to tell you about being a dragon only the week before.” His Voice suggested amusement, Welsh lilt strong. Although a moment later, he sobered, eyes opening just enough to look down at the top of her head. “ are you sure you are all right? I’m worried you might be going into shock...”

Anna laughed at the mention of his promise to not tell her what he was. “It seems the fire pig really threw a wrench into that idea.” She felt his neck shift and he asked if she was fine.

“I think the disbelief is starting to set in. I saw it all with my own eyes and I still think it was somehow just a daydream. I might just snap out of it and we’ll be back at the party with you trying to snap me out of it.” She half joked, really beginning to question if she had gone bonkers all of a sudden.

A bubble of a growl rumbled quietly in Cinead’s chest at the mention of the ember boar, but he forced the feeling away as Anna continued on, admitting to a sense of disbelief that had started to overcome her. He mentally filed away a reminder to himself to hunt down the fiery pig before it made a nuisance of itself before focusing on pulling his fingers gently once through his mate’s curls.

“... i’m not sure how to reassure you that you haven’t imagined the whole thing. Other than my word that it did happen, I can do no more. Unless there is something you think I might be able to do to reassure yourself that you are not going insane.” He said saufley, wishing there was more that he could do.

“It might take me a little to get used to it, that and I need to teach you about human stuff so you don’t stick out like a sore thumb as much as usual.” She teased. It was her way of processing, getting cheap laughs from herself and others. “I should be ok, but thank you for the reassurance. It’s nice to hear it.” She shifted and rested her forearms to his sides and pushed herself up a little so they could have eye contact. “Besides, the more I see you in your natural state, the more I get over it.” She smiled.

As Anna spoke, Cinead listened carefully, thoughtful, and was a little surprised when she leveled herself up to look at him, her smile reassuring. He looked back into her face for several seconds before one corner of his mouth finally turned up. “Well, since you have already gotten me used to the idea of kissing and eating pizza, and since you yourself are most certainly human, I concede defeat and admit that my charade hasn’t been the most convincing. I still don’t know how I am suppose to react to all of this either... But if you are willing to teach, I will listen.”

He sighed after a moment, touching the backs of his fingers against her cheek. “ and if you say you are all right, I will except it. Although being around me as a dragon might be... dangerous. I would never intentionally hurt you, but I have never spent time around humans as a dragon before. I might move too fast suddenly, or breathe fire when I did not intend to.” He was starting to babble a little, a very rare occurrence in his case, but the idea of spending more time with Anna in his natural form was a frightening unknown to him.

“Our next date will include a complimentary slang lesson.” She nodded. “I’m here for you, always.” Anna nodded again at his words about being a dragon around her.

“It’s all about getting used to it. Trust me when I say that I’ve never been around any living animal as big as you. We’ll take baby steps and play it by ear.” She remembered he might not know the saying and inspected his face for understanding. “Ah, see how it goes and act accordingly. Anyway,” He started trying to see how she’d get off of him.

“I should probably start heading out. Test bright and early tomorrow.”

His expression instantly softened at Anna’s soft declaration that she would always be there for him and his possessiveness once again rose to the surface. He was glad that it wasn’t just him that felt that way. As she then turned to talking about baby steps when it came to being around him in his dragon form, his eyebrows had momentarily furrowed with confusion. But, true to her word, she had explained the expression almost at once and he nodded after a moment to show his understanding. “ that’s probably a good idea.” He admitted, settled somewhat by the idea.

Sensing her shift in weight, a hint to her intent to get up, Cinead helpfully maneuvered her onto her side before sitting up himself, swinging her around so that she sat on his lap. “...College almost feels like a distant dream at this point. It’s hard to imagine that life still continues on so mundanely.” He murmured thoughtfully. “ if I’m not mistaken, I believe I have a test tomorrow as well. May I walk you back to your car?” He then asked, giving his head a slight tilt.

Anna was a bit unsure on how he maneuvered the 2 of them so they were both sitting up, with her in his lap, but there were also no objections on her part neither. She leaned against his chest a little and nodded at his words. She almost missed them too.

“The world continues turning. But, our lives have changed. For the better, of course. I have finally been allowed to pester you to try foods full-time. First on the agenda being ice cream!” She teased.

The smaller of the two got up and grunted a ‘yes’ as she smoothed out her dress a little. She silently looked over her burn and saw there wasn’t much to be worried about based on how it looked. “I didn’t keep you from studying, did I? Do you wanna lecture me on the way to the car about it?” She joked.

“Ice cream again. Now I am worried, If you’re that determined about it.” Cinead responded with a short laugh as he too got to his feet, stretching his arms up and over his head for a moment, his back popping in response. “ as long as you don’t try to make me try something like, say, broccoli., For instants. I think will be safe.”

Fortunately for Anna, Cinead hadn’t noticed her examining her burn. If he had, he probably would have started making a fuss over it. As it was, he was focused on extracting a second pair of shoes he kept in a box near the front door, sliding them onto his feet without bothering to go get a pair of socks.

“ you forget.” He then said, Opening the door for her. “ before you, I had no reason to venture out. I had plenty of time to study on my hands. So no, I won’t need to lecture you this time.” He grinned, eyes bright with amusement.

“I will make you try it at least once! It is one of my new purposes in life!” She declared with a laugh. “I will stuff you with sweets until you beg for mercy!” She paused as he mentioned refusing things like broccoli before gain a mischievous grin. “That sounds like a fabulous idea! I will make you have veggies!”

He opened the door and she walked out, going to hold his hand after he closed it behind him. “Touché. But that just means you are smarter than I, she who procrastinated her studying in order to set herself up for failure.”

Make him try veggies? Cinead had to glance quickly down at Anna to gauge the level of her seriousness. But the impish grin she gave him wasn’t really giving anything away. And it made him nervous. Sure, he’d try anything at least once for her, but vegetables? He couldn’t help but scowl slightly. “...I’m not so sure that’s a good idea.” He warned, softening the statement with a small chuckle.

Her hand in his felt nice, Warm against his skin, and he gave her finger is a gentle squeeze as he started down the stairs. “ i’m not sure that people avoiding me is necessarily a good thing. But I’m sure that you will do much better than you expect.” He reassured.

She laughed at his response, even if she was hoping for a pretend glare instead of a small denial. Both worked though. “We shall see.” She nodded. They walked towards the stairs and Anna enjoyed the feeling of them holding hands while he made a rebuttal to her self deprecating joke.

“You’re too kind, Cinead. But this is one of my worst classes. One that I shall study my butt off for once I get home and before I go to that class. There’s a lot of stuff I have to cover.” She groaned. Math while somewhat easier to learn in theory, was never her strong point.

Rubbing his thumb across the back of her hand as they walked, Cinead glanced down to Anna as she lamented the upcoming study session. He tilted his head thoughtfully. “ would I be of any help to you? Or would I just end up being a distraction from your studies?” He queried, curious about the subject. If it had anything to do with animal anatomy or the best way to treat a rabbit, he would definitely be in the dark.

“Unless you’re good with Calculus? Because if we’re both in the dark, it won’t be more than spending time in front of a textbook, Cin.” She giggled. It was nice that he offered, but maybe he was a Math Wiz on top of being the World’s biggest Microbiologist.

The newly mated couple arrived at the car soon after. “Well, I guess this is Good Night.” She pretended to groan.