She was so delicate, he noted when she brought her arms around his shoulders, unaccustomed to having done anything to warrant affection in this way. He wondered if anyone else thought of her that way, certainly not the men here who had kept a careful distance from her, just the same as the typical army soldier. Everyone acted like she was a ticking time bomb, thought there could be nothing beneath the surface besides what they saw when she was forced to act; if they could only see the girl he had learned her to be, but that could never be. Even before he had first removed the crown, though, he had never acted that way towards her, intrigued by the mystery around her, rather than fearing it. He had used her the same as them, but he had let her be a person for it, never an object.
Briefly, his thoughts wandered to how she treated that other man, how it was she looked upon and regarded him, before he discarded the idea entirely, deciding he didn't want to know. When they had been together in the past, that was for the mutual agreement she owed it to him for the freedom he gave her. Both of their acts came from something else, along the way having become something inexplicable to each other, and he was glad she didn't draw extra attention to the fact. The most he would allow himself was to not oppose this, and in that way, replying to her thank you with you don't need to, didn't need to be said.
After a quiet moment had passed, he drew his thumb past some strands of hair that hung near her cheek, tucking them back behind her ear, signaling he wanted to see her face again. This was how he liked to see her, her eyes alive when she looked at him, enough so that he had made the risk in the first place. When she did look to him, his palm cupped her face, and he brought his lips to hers. He knew they wouldn't be interrupted for at least a little while longer, and when he thought of another man having been here, he wanted to replace it. His other arm found her waist, keeping her drawn close to him. Insistent as always, but in a different way now, both in realizing they would have limited time both now and later, but also in how she had made him feel with her confession, in a way he didn't think he would of been able to. He couldn't say anything more to it, but it didn't take the same careful consideration to express it this way.