She steps through into the gardens and looks around and twirls.

He follows, and gazes adoringly at her.

She hugs him.

Hug.

"—I think I'm in love with you," he says. "And I want to resurrect your mother."

He doesn't quite mean those thoughts to come out in such close succession, but - he was put so far off-balance by that talk of freeing her that he didn't even remember until right now, and he doesn't want to risk forgetting again.

"You--you want to what?"

"Bring your mother back to life. I can do that. It's not trivial but it's possible."

She wraps her arms around his neck and kisses him.

—he goes still for a moment, and then beams and kisses back.

She breaks away, gasping for air, and then kisses him again.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmkiss.

The next time she breaks away she doesn't kiss him again immediately, lets go of his neck and places her palms against his chest.

"If you could--that would be--yes, please--"

He hugs her and kisses her forehead.

"It'll take a while - half a day's work, maybe - and I really don't know how to manage not letting your family find out I'm the Emperor afterward, but if anything would make them favourably disposed to the idea..."

"No kidding."

Hug. Kiss. "I can start on it - well, right now, if you want to skip the sunrise for it."

"No. She's waited a decade already. Let's watch the sunrise."

"Okay."

He sits down in the grass.

She sits down beside him. "I missed it yesterday morning, after all; I don't want to make a habit of it."

...he wraps his arms around her and kisses her on the cheek. "I love you."

She hugs him back.

And he flops down with his head in her lap and cuddles her and watches the sunrise.

She pets his hair and watches the sunrise.

It's really pretty.

"I want you to be happy," he murmurs, when the sun is well above the horizon.

Pet pet. "I can think of nothing that would make me happier than the return of my mother."

He smiles adoringly up at her.

She smiles affectionately down at him.