My Darling Wife by EpicFaerieTale

"Why don't you get ready yourself for your bath and I'll see about getting you at least a good snack before heading off to bed?" Richard asked, smiling and rubbing her back. He too took notice of the color of the sky, especially the time. Soon it would be night and everything they see would be cloaked by nothing but darkness.

"Heh, maybe." Richard said, watching as Antionette left for her bath. He ordered for a nice warm soup. Chicken bits in noodle soup. It was pretty good actually, and he thought it would warm the soul nicely. He then sighed, chuckling with a grin as he knocked on the bathroom door. "Dear?"

"Nothing wrong, my love. Just checking on you. I'm having a soup prepared for you as we speak." Richard said, musing at her being shy. He could tell in her voice especially. "I won't go in this time, you need to relax." he added, chuckling and resting beside the door. "Autumn's birthday is soon to come, right? Next month?" he asked, smiling warmly.

Perfect access, yes, but what would that have to do with anything? Shouldn't he have been relaxing in the first place or was she hoping for something else? Richard would comply but, they had enough on their plates. "Yeah, a small party. Even if it's just us and your parents." he chuckled. A nice gathering of family, even if his parents weren't included. "Have any ideas to pitch in? Like, we could always have a picnic."

Was it so hard to believe Richard wasn't coming in to take her? He had patience! It's not as if he didn't have patience when they first met. Hell, he thought she was gorgeous! He coughed, hearing some of the water splashing about. Why was she so nervous? "I guess the simplest of things. It's just a picnic, nothing special. It's just nice to go out every once in a while, especially on a child's birthday." he smiled. "You alright? You sound nervous."

Who was to say he wasn't thinking anything? That's the catch right there. Richard chuckled, peeking in and whistling. "Well then, don't take too long." he said, smiling and leaving, going to their bedroom. He was just going to relax for now, take a bath later. Obviously he wouldn't let himself be dirty longer than a day and that was very rare. As he entered their bedroom, he sat down on the end of the bed and removed his shoes and socks. "It sure is hot today, whew.." he said, staring out the window.

As he heard footsteps, Richard smirked. He should tease her a little bit. Getting up, he hid behind the semi-closed door and waited for her to walk in. She was sure to be surprised, maybe even ticked off. As soon as Antionette walked in, probably confused as to why he wasn't in the room, he snuck behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, nuzzling her neck. "Hm, is this better than watching from the door? I'm sure you didn't like that I didn't join you in the bathtub."

Richard only chuckled, calming himself and thinking of other things on his mind besides the fact that his wife was in just a robe in his arms. "Are you mad at me?" he asked, nibbling her ear softly. Obviously he was only teasing her, he wouldn't go beyond that. Today wasn't the best of days for the time being. Their daughter had just gone to bed and he doubted she would want to wake up to her mother screaming.

"Yes, but it's so much more fun for me." Richard muttered, grinning. He pulled away from her, stretching and sitting on his side of the bed, patting the empty space beside him. He grabbed his book and opened it to a page he left off on. It seemed they were going to bed. Yes, he had teased his wife to no end in a few seconds and left to the bed. He was cruel, but just for play.

"Well, aren't we bold today?" Richard said, acting totally unaffected. Though, his legs seemed to twitch after a while. He continued to read his book, chuckling at some parts. They were mostly about war, but it had good ol' fashioned irony in it. "Honestly, you should read this, dear." he said softly as she got into bed.

Richard pouted a bit. So, his plan backfired? He sighed, putting his book away after folding the page in delicately and laid his head next to hers. "I'm sorry for...teasing you. That was mean of me.." he mumbled, pressing his head against hers and staring at her. He hoped she'd forgive him, he would promise to make it up in the morning.

Could it be just being spontaneous? Richard had been around his daughter for so long, maybe his logic was affected just a bit. Looking into his wife's eyes, he leaned in and kissed her softly, caressing her cheek. His humor was affected also, so no wonder why this all seemed odd. A child can affect a lot. "Your lips for some reason are incredibly soft today, more than usual.." he muttered, kissing her again.

((It's silver hair TT, Remember?))

He too was surprised. Usually when they were close to just making love for the first time in that month, she cried. If she cried this time, he swore he'd get the nurse to take care of her for a moment. For now, after thinking back about a few minutes ago, she seemed ready to go. He pulled away from her lips and kissed her neck. "Do you want me to continue?" he asked softly.