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Jora shifted her weight, leaning back against the wall with a shrug. "Comfort over form, always," she grinned, thinking about how practical it all felt. When Sage brought up the rings, Jora's gaze softened, thinking about the stone he had found, the design that had come to life from his hands. "Yeah, I get what you're saying," she said, rubbing her chin. "It’d just be... real. But that’s okay, right? Something simple but meaningful. That's all that matters." She let out a quiet chuckle at the thought of trying to figure out the logistics of actually making it happen. "You know me, though. We’ll figure it out. Whether I’m working the metal myself or not, it’s still gonna be ours.”
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Sage nodded with a soft smile, squeezing her hand lightly as he shifted to settle down next to her, resting his head lightly on her shoulder with a content sigh. "As long as we're together, I don't care what the rings look like," he admitted with a chuckle. It would still be his design, still have the personal touch to it all. So, if she wanted it in metal, then he was ok with that. After a while longer though, the sun started to go down. They watched the sunset, since it really was a beautiful time of the day. And it was nice to just linger there together. Eventually though, once the sun had dipped below the horizon and the moon had risen, they knew they had to go back to the house. So, that's what they did, wandering back to the house slowly, lingering in each other's presence as they moved back inside, greeting Selene and Lyra happily
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Jora smiled softly, feeling her heart settle into a peaceful rhythm as Sage nestled against her. She squeezed his hand in return, the simple warmth of the gesture speaking volumes. "I like that," she murmured, her voice light, teasing even. "The rings don’t need to be grand, just meaningful... with you, they’ll always be perfect." She could feel the weight of his words settle in her chest, and it made her smile again. The quiet moments like this, wrapped up in the comfort of his presence, were always the most precious. The sunset was a perfect backdrop for their quiet time together—color spilling across the sky, the world slowing down as they watched the day slip into night. She leaned into him a little more as the last rays disappeared, her mind drifting between the moment and the future. As the moon rose, there was a soft sadness in knowing they had to leave, but it was fleeting. Hand in hand, they walked back, the quiet hum of their companionship filling the space around them. When they entered the house and saw Selene and Lyra, the familiar warmth of home wrapped around her like a blanket, and Jora couldn’t help but smile at how right everything felt.
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They had taken their time coming back, enjoying the quiet space just the two of them. Of course, coming back home felt nice as well, and he greeted Selene and Liz happily once they were back home. Selene had gotten dinner for herself and Liz, so everyone was happy and ready for bed. Well...Liz was already mostly asleep, so he moved to scoop her up and settle her down in her new crib, glad to see that project done and the baby nestle in comfortably. He wandered over to get himself ready for bed as well, stepping into the shower and letting the warm water rush over his still rather sore body. He'd had a good day....a really good day....but now he was crashing, so he sort of just stood there under the steaming water for a good long while, enjoying it all.
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Jora had taken her time, carefully changing into something more comfortable before making her way back into the room. She glanced over at Liz, nestled peacefully in the crib, a small smile tugging at her lips. The crib was perfect, and Lyra—sleeping so soundly—looked so content. Moving closer, Jora gently adjusted the blanket around her daughter, making sure she was tucked in securely. The quiet stillness of the room was soothing, almost surreal. She stood there for a moment, just watching her, taking in the peaceful sight. Satisfied, she turned toward the bathroom where she knew Sage would be, stepping into the steam-filled room. He was standing under the warm water, a peaceful but tired look on his face. She didn’t need to ask how his day had gone—he looked content, yet worn out. She waited a moment before stepping closer, softly calling out, “Sage?” Her voice was low, warm. “You alright in there?” She leaned against the doorframe, her hand resting gently on her hip as she watched him unwind.
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Sage had really been paying attention, so he only noticed Jora when she spoke up, shaking him out of his stupor. He'd sort of just...zoned out at some point, he supposed, but nodded in response to her comment. "It's warm in here," he noted with a chuckle, lifting his shoulders in a sort of shrug. "I'll be out soon. I got distracted," he added with a sort of grin. If she needed in, he'd be out soon enough, or she could always join him. He wouldn't mind. He was slowly getting used to things in terms of showering together and stuff like that. He was back home and safe, and he knew she'd never hurt him, so he was plenty comfortable with it now. He wasn't sure how long it would be until they had any sort of action that came out of it...but he supposed the fact that he was wondering how long it would take him to get back at it again without freaking out or anything proved it wouldn't be too long. He supposed he hoped not, anyway. But for now, he was sore after working for two days on the crib, body still weary. Plenty of bruises still lingered on his skin, too, from the tavern owner or roughter women who'd grabbed him. So yeah, he hadn't healed completely. But that was ok. He was pretty well satisfied with how his day had gone.
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Jora raised an eyebrow, glancing at Sage with a small smirk as he spoke, the way his words came out so nonchalant despite the clear signs of his weariness. She could tell he'd been pushing himself, even if he didn’t admit it outright. The bruises on his skin didn’t lie. She nodded, but her eyes lingered on the subtle way his shoulders lifted, the exhaustion threading through his chuckle. "You look like you could use more than a shower," she said softly, her voice warm but laced with concern. She knew he wasn’t the type to ask for help, especially when it came to things like rest. But she was used to reading him by now, able to see through the bravado. "Don't push yourself too hard," she added, glancing at him for a moment longer before looking away, giving him some space to breathe. Though the idea of joining him crossed her mind, she didn’t want to crowd him. Sometimes, it felt like he needed to recalibrate, even in the most intimate of moments. She could tell he was getting comfortable with the idea of them sharing more than just space, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t give him the room to move at his own pace. “Let me know when you’re done,” she said, with a half-smile. “I’m not in a rush.” She didn’t push for anything else, content to let the silence hang for a few moments before she moved away, the light sound of her footsteps echoing as she left him to his thoughts.
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Sage felt a somewhat sheepish smile cross his face in response to her comments, nodding softly. "I'll rest some tomorrow," he agreed softly. He knew he'd pushed himself to get things done, but the crib needed to get done, and her birthday was the day to propose.....and he certainly wasn't going to wait a while other year to do that. So yeah, he'd pushed himself. But he'd gotten everything done, so tomorrow his plan was to stay home, work on the smaller things around the house and that sort of thing. Nothing too physically taxing. Of course, the dock did need to get done too. The longer the boat moved on the beach the more the bottom would get scraped up. Maybe he'd do some of both. Right now though, he couldn't imagine doing any more work. He took a while longer than he'd expected to be in there, but eventually managed to wash up and slide out of the shower, drying himself off and getting dressed before wandering over to work at combing his hair. He didn't get super far before he gave up, too tired to really bother with it at the moment. So he just tossed the brush onto the counter and moved out of the bathroom, just flopping on the bed with a sort of groan.
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Jora stood by the doorway, watching Sage as he wandered in and out of the bathroom, still looking a bit worn out. She couldn’t help but smile at the sight of him. He’d always been the type to push through, to get things done no matter how much it took out of him. And yet, she knew he wouldn’t let a single detail slip—especially when it came to their future. She wasn’t about to stop him. But seeing him this tired, the way he practically collapsed onto the bed with that groan, made her want to scoop him up and make him rest. She walked over and sat next to him, running a hand through his hair for a moment before speaking softly, “You’ve done enough for today, you know. I can’t imagine you’ll get much done if you don’t give yourself a break." Her voice was playful but laced with concern, as she leaned over to give him a quick kiss on the cheek. "The dock can wait. You’ve more than earned tomorrow off. Besides,” she added, a bit of a teasing glint in her eyes, “I think I’ve got a better idea for how we can spend some time together tomorrow... no more work, just you and me.” She settled in beside him, not wanting to make him move more than he already had. Even though she knew he’d still be thinking about the things left to do, maybe, just maybe, a bit of rest could finally let him relax.
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Sage had shifted slightly so Jora would have room to lay down on the bed when she came over, humming lightly and leaning into her touch as she ran her fingers through his hair. It was still wet, and uncombed for the most part, so he'd left it loose for now, though that was fairly common for him at this point. It would be tangled the next morning even if he brushed it out fully tonight, so he would deal with that later. He offered her a small smile and nod, agreeing after a moment of heasitation to let himself rest tomorrow. Heal, before running off to work as long as he possibly could each day until the dock was finished. Then it would be expanding the house more for some other bedrooms, and maybe another bathroom now that there were more of them living here, if Selene decided to stay. There was a lot to get done...but he supposed he did need to rest in order to do all that. "I think I could deal with that," he mused lightly in response to her comments, lips curling upwards in an exhausted smile. When she lay down and curled up, he nestled into her lightly, passing out pretty much as soon as his eyes closed, body relaxing as he slipped off into sleep. He wished he was stronger....could heal sooner. There was so much to be done. And in all honesty, he was just still sore. He hated being sore...it limited things he could do, and it made what he could do hurt. The war, water helped, but he couldn't just stand in the shower all day either. But that was tomorrow's problem....for now, he was jsut happy to get to sleep.
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