Theo chuckled softly and nodded. He smiled and gently moved his free hand to rub her leg a little. "Well...I don't actually own a home. I left my parent's place maybe....five years ago I think. Been living off my trades ever since."

Casey's father eyed Theo "so... you don't have a steady enviroment?" he asked "daddy, shush. leave him alone" Casey commanded. "I have a right to be slightly upset about this, I'm letting you leave us and go live with him, even though you barely met. The least he can do is provide you with a proper home" he argued "daddy, I'm sure I'll be fine. Besides, I practually live outside anyway. I'm sure whatever I end up with will be perfectly wonderful for me" she argued. Casey's father grunted and turned back to Theo "well, answer my question, boy. What kind of enviroment are you dragging my little girl into?" he asked "he's not dragging me" Casey muttered.

Theo sighed softly and waited until he could speak. "I do apologize, sir. I understand that you would be upset about this." Then he looked up at him. "The only reason why I haven't tried to stay in one place is that I just haven't found somewhere that I could see myself staying for more than a month. Until now anyway." He smiled slightly at Casey. "But...if I'm to stay here, I'm sure my friend will be willing to board us until I can build us a home."

Casey shot her dad a look "see? There you go" she argued. "I still think--" her father was cut off by her mother intervening "dear, do you recall what your situation in life was like when you decided to whisk me away from my family?" she asked "of course, but--" once again, he was interupted "if I recall correctly, my father said almost the exact same thing" she pointed out "that's different" argued her father. "How? How is this any different? He doesn't have a steady home, yet, but I'm sure he'll have one in no time" she argued. Casey's father grumbled "I'm the father, I'm supposed to torture the boy that takes my little girl away from me. It's an unwritten law. Your dad did it to me, our fathers got the treatment. It's trial by fire" he pointed out "then does he pass?" her mother asked. Casey's dad grumbled "yes" he said reluctantly.

Theo watched, slightly nervously. He hadn't really built a whole house himself before, but he did help build houses every now and then. And, since he was building theirs, he could make it as big as he wanted. He couldn't help but smile at the idea. He listened to them, then smiled happily when they were done arguing.

Casey sensed Theo's unease and reached out to grab his hand. She smiled and squeezed it lightly before leaning into him "see, told you that you'd pass" she whispered. She laced her fingers through his and closed her eyes, smiling as she imagined her home with Theo.

Theo smiled and kissed her softly, on the cheek...as to not anger her father. Then nodded slightly. "You did say that."

Casey's father grumbled "don't think that just because you pass, doesn't mean I give up the right to torture you. Until the both of you are married, you will not escape that. Tomorrow you will work the hardest you've ever worked before. There is a reason why all blacksmiths are large" he pointed out.

Theo smiled at her father. "I didn't expect you to. And I know blacksmiths work hard. A friend of mine is one. One of the biggest guys I've ever seen."

Casey stifled a yawn as her father regarded Theo "you know... with the proper training... you could've turned into a rather nice blacksmith. Too late now, of course, blacksmith training needs to start when the boy is young, elsewise their muscles and hands get used to working otherwise. Sure, you could learn to be a blacksmith, you could even be as strong as one. But, the best smiths are always the ones that were trained in it when they were young. Theirs, are the hands that know the feel of a hammer pounding on an anvil, they know how hot the fire needs to be to work the metal, yet know when to stop without damaging the metal. They--" he was cut off by Casey's mother "you two can talk about this all day long tomorrow. In case you haven't noticed, Casey's practically asleep, I'm sure Theo is just as tired. You go let them rest. Casey dear, we'll just put Theo in the guest room next to yours, alright?" she said, directing her motion at Casey at the end. Casey nodded and stood up. "Come on, lover boy" she urged, grabbing his hand and tugging him upwards.

Theo listened to her father with some interest, mostly he took it as him telling Theo that he'd never be able to be a great smith. He'd raised his eyebrow slightly when he got that impression, sounded like a challenge to him. When he was interupted, Theo blinked and looked at Casey, seeing she was tired. When she pulled him up, he chuckled and waved at the other two. "See you two in the morning." Allowing Casey to pull him away.

She trudged up the stairs and stopped in front of the door to the guest bedroom "I'm right next door if you need me. Wake me up before you leave, tommorrow, ok?" she asked, leaning against the door, staring at him. Her eyes were half closed, partly because she was always relaxed when she was around him, the other part because she was tired. She reached up, grabbed his collar and gently tugged him down until their lips met.

Theo smiled down at her when she leaned against the door like she did, it looked slightly sexy to him, though he didn't know why. "Of course, love." Then he grinned when she pulled him down. He kissed her deeply, hands on either side of her on the door, for support.

Casey's lips moved against his gently, she wrapped her arms around his neck for support. On top of being tired, his kiss always made her knees go weak. She pulled away after a few spectacular moments and smiled at him "my dad really likes you, by the way. He just shows it different than most. There was only one guy that passed the interview to take me out on a date... my dad never mentioned anything about his trade. Smithing is my dad's favorite thing, the only thing he loves more is his family. So when he decided to share it with you, I knew that he really liked you" she mumbled, finding it hard to keep her eyes open.

Theo smiled softly at her, listening to her. "Well, that is a good thing. Because I'm going to be around for a long time." He kissed her forehead softly, then suddenly lifted her into his arms. "Can't have you passing out in the hallway." He started carrying her to her room.

Casey gasped slightly out of surprise when her feet left the floor, but she didn't protest. She simply relaxed her head against his shoulder "I love you" she whispered before she fell into dreamland. She dreamt of Theo, of course.

Theo smiled and kissed her forehead. "I love you too." Then opened her door and took her to her bed. Laying her down he gave her a soft kiss. "Sweet dreams."

((how are we going to do the next day? I'm planning on having her sleep until she's woken up the next day))

((Hmm...that works. ^^))

Theo smiled and watched her until she fell asleep, then went to his room. He was out as soon as his head hit the pillow.

----

In the morning, Theo actually woke before anyone came in to wake him. It sort of surprised him, but he got up and ruffled his hair a little in an attempt to wake up. Then he went to wash up. Afterwards, he went over to Casey's room, still drying his hair. Knocking softly, he waited for a reply.

Casey grumbled in her sleep and rolled over. Hearing he knock again she opened her eyes and rolled out of bed. She stumbled to the door and opened it. She stared, bleary-eyed, and vaguely registered that Theo was in the doorway. "Hi" she grumbled and stumbled forward into his arms.

Theo chuckled softly when she did that, gently holding her shoulders. "You look tired, love...sure you don't want to go back to bed? You can just see me at lunch."

Casey smiled "I plan on it, babe. But I'm not letting your go to the forgery without a proper kiss" she said, tilting her chin up, hovering her lips over his.

Theo smiled down at her. "Alright then." He planted a kiss on her, loving and passionate at the same time.

Casey smiled and kissed him back just as passionately. She licked his lips lightly and nibbled his lip in an almost teasing manner. She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, lifting herself up slightly.

Theo loved the kiss, now fully awake. Then he grinned when she licked and nibbled on his lip. His hands slowly wandered over her sides and stomach, almost ghosting along them.