"Not your fault," she says, softly.

"I still regret it." Careful, human-compliant squeeze.

"That's a bit silly. It's kind of sad, but it's not a regret? You wouldn't have the stupid mind control if you weren't a vampire. If you weren't a vampire, you'd be dead, and then never met me, and I wouldn't have even known to mourn you. So. Maybe a reason to figure out how to stop the mind control for other people, but. Not a regret. Unless you regret meeting me?"

"I absolutely do not regret meeting you!" he says, like that would be the most horrifying thing this planet could've given him.

She lets out a little giggle. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't tease you. About that, anyway. I don't regret meeting you either, I just. Wish the world were a bit more fair."

He breathes out then grins at her. "You," he accuses, "are way too good for me."

"Oh, probably! Win me over anyway!" she invites, brightly.

"My love, I plan to."

"Good." She looks up at him and considers whether or not she should be concerned about the potential manipulations of an immortal vampire over six times her age. That would be a sensible thing to be concerned about. After a brief deliberation, she decides that worrying about that sounds annoying, and that kissing is fun. So she goes with the fun option.

He approves of the fun option very much. He is also very good at kissing and very in love with her.

She's not as good at kissing, and not currently in love with him, but she clearly enjoys both of these qualities in him. Mm.

"Okay," she says, when she pulls away. One of them has to breathe, and it's not him. "We, we should. Maybe not be illegally loitering in a castle. As fairytale appropriate as it was to have you carry me off to a pretty castle to romance and kiss me, I don't want a janitor to trip over us while we're distracted."

"I would hear one even if most of my brain were distracted with kissing but that is reasonable." He eyes her. "Hmm. I think I fancy carrying you all the way back outside."

"Sure," she says, with an affectionate eye roll. "Just make sure to leave everything as it was when we got here, I can help there if you need it but you have a better memory."

"Yes, ma'am."

Scoop and carry!

She gives a little muted eep upon scooping, then snorts at herself and settles in his arms.

He runs back upstairs, pausing a couple of times to wait for people to not be on the other side of doors, and once back up locks the door again.

Yvette obligingly stays very still and quiet, and does not make any attempt to distract him!

"Thank you," she says, once they are on the other side of the locked door. "And now the jumping part?"

"And now the jumping part. Are you ready, my sun?"

She beams at him and nods, nestling closer in his arms.

And speaking of the sun, he spots a patch of grass where there's a spot of sun over there...

He has an idea. But first: jump.

Jump! Whee! Having a vampire sorta-boyfriend-they-haven't-really-talked-about-it-but-he-would-die-for-her comes with so many neat perks!

It does! But then rather than set her down he runs towards the patch of sun. It's far enough from the castle.

And then the sun hits his skin and he sparkles like a million diamonds are embedded on his skin, a prismatic rainbow turning him into a living jewel. Or, well, the parts of his skin that are exposed, anyway.

"Oh," she breathes, staring. "You're. That. Glittering like gemstones does. Not. Do that justice."

"Perhaps it doesn't." He sets her to her feet again, gently, so that she can look better.

She smiles at him, and reaches out with a hand to cast a shadow over one of the sparkling parts of his skin. Then she moves the hand, watching the way the glittering begins anew and recedes elsewhere.

"This is really quite ostentatious," she murmurs, still staring and smiling faintly. "Are you quite sure no one can see you from here?"