Her eyes had fluttered closed as they crossed the threshhold, the sense of it nostalgic. She was finally able to put feelings with the memory of other women being carried thusly... all seven of her sisters-in-law. Opening her eyes at the sound of the solid clink of the lock in place, she smiled delicately. "Welcome home," she whispered in Gaelic, greeting the empty room as she always did. The gesture was infinitely more intimate with the solid presence of Johnny's shoulder beneath her cheek. She giggled again, not out of wickedness, but sheer nervous amazement at how this had all transpired so quickly.

The moongleams illuminated his face, setting the blond hair to an ethereal silver-dipped gleam of finely spun starlight. Gentle fingertips touched the ends that brushed against his collar in amazement, her attention riveted the moment she heard the tell-tale intake of breath. She could relate to them a thousand-fold.

Once settled in his lap, her arms settled around his torso like a well-fitted garment, her head resting just over his heart. Their frames were so well suited for the other that as they were, her head fit neatly under his chin. The sensation of his fingers in her hair was delicious and a contented little sigh soon escaped parted lips.

For all that he was whispering, she could hear every word with perfect clarity. Years of performing in crowded rooms had fine-tuned her ability to cling to a voice no matter what. Not to mention the fact that his chest was acting as a resonating cavity... a personal speaker underneath her ear. Blushing heavily at the "never" comment, she nods her head slightly. "Oh aye... I ken verra well how ye feel, although in my case th' genders are a wee bit switched..." She bit her lower lip pensively before continuing, "but I'm a lucky lass indeed tae be the one yer holding." Her head tilted back then, soft lips planting a kiss just beneath his ear.

"And when 'tis time tae make ready to actually sleep, ye may step over there..." a long arm unfolding reluctantly to point towards a shadowed corner near the end of the settee, "tae place yer boots and things, while I step over there..." the slender arm arcing to indicate the opposite corner complete with wash basin, clothes stand, and a changing screen, "tae make ready myself." And after all that was said, she returned her arm to its rightful place and let another blissful sound escape her, perfectly content with how they were.

She was humming softly as she bounced between realistic dreams and a dreamy reality in human form. His touch along her spine was hypnotic, her own eyes half-closed in drowsy rest.

"Then ye should ha' let them shut as I did mine..." stretching languidly before being roused from her comfortable repose, "although ye are right. If we are no' careful it'll be dawn yet wi' us not yet a'bed."

Sitting on the edge of the bed, blinking her eyes several times to bring them into focus, she soaked up the sight of him. The lean lines of contour and shadow made him appear half-man, half-shadow. "If I'm dreamin', please dinna let me wake up jus' yet," barely whispered to whatever fates had brought her to Rhy'din in the first place.

At the removal of his shirt, however, she reproached herself for so openly staring and moved behind the modesty screen to change into her long cotton sleeping gown. Totally unaware that the moonlight cast her and the fabric covered screen in illuminated silhouette. Stretching her arms high above her head, she rolled her neck in a small circle before removing her dress. The thin homespun cotton floated gently about her.

She stepped out from behind the screen then, crossing to the dry sink and pouring a fair dollop of fresh water into the basin. Fingers tugged at a pile of ribbons to extract one which she then used to tie her curls out of her face. Dipping her hands in the water, she splashed her face a few times before gently patting it dry with a towel. Her evening ablution ended with a quick touch of the rose water's stopper to her neck and behind each ear. She paused for a moment, prayed silently he wasn't watching too closely and tapped the stopper to the top of her chest before returning it.

She turned then, folding back the sheets and fluffing the pillows.

The weight of their bodies created a deep dent in the soft featherbed, turning the bed into a warm, secure nest in which to drift off to dreams. Propped up on one elbow, she pulled the sheets up, tucking them at his side, unable to resist the softest of tickles. As always, some ancient melody escaped from her as she smoothed the hair back from his brow with featherlight fingertips. It was almost as if she was invoking only the sweetest dreams and deepest slumber for him.

With her body turned towards his, safe in the crook of his arm, her breath catches at the realization that she had never been -this- close to a man in -this- manner of dishabile in her life. It sounded as if a puff of breeze had set some reeds to wheezing. Stretched out length-to-length, a thousand points of contact were made between hip, thigh, side... and all points beyond and between.

As he murmured his tender goodnight, she placed a kiss on her collarbone and rested her head on his shoulder, trying to rein her mind into chaste, tender, sleepy thoughts lest her lack of willpower cause her to overwhelm a man only barely awake.

Her hair spread out like a fan across his chest, she took long deep breaths, willing each nerve to settle and relax before trusting herself to lay her arm across his abdomen.

"Goodnight tae ye, mo chroidh... but do ye no' think it is shaping up tae be the most wonderful morning..." her voice trailing off in drowsy murmurings.

And then sleep found them, as unbidden and unexpectedly as they had found each other. Harbored safe with the other, the fates smiled, as the moonshine slowly gave way to the soft blooming of the dawn. The dappled sunlight encompassing them in a halo of blessing... and a final arrival home.