When Lucy woke, she had almost forgotten about Loke and was startled when she rolled over and saw him dozing quietly at her desk. Her cheeks warmed, had she actually asked him to spend the night? But she smiled as she came to another realization: he cared about her enough to stay and he respected her enough not to try and pull anything on her. She quietly got out of bed and grabbed an outfit from her dresser, she'd change in the bathroom and brew some tea before he woke up.

As the kettle was heating up Lucy looked out the window, it was late morning and the sun danced brilliantly off the ripples in the canal. She was happy she had found Fairytail and loved where she lived, she had friends who had become a new and wonderful family. She smiled and played with a lose tendril of hair that had been framing her face, maybe she was ready to be a little selfish and possibly find love. She leaned against the counter and found that once again her mind was set free to wander.

She hadn't heard him come in but knew it was him as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Good-morning beautiful." His deep morning voice was amazing and Lucy leaned back into his chest smiling,

"Good-morning," her heart skipped a beat as he burrowed his face in her hair and kissed the top of her head.

The tea kettle trilled and Lucy snapped back into reality, lifting it carefully from the burner and placing it on a tray. She turned and saw that Loke hadn't moved, his head was still perched on his bent arm, breathing slow and deep. He was quite cute, she couldn't deny it, he looked a little silly though, his dark sunglasses still on but now a little askew. She chucked to herself and reached for them, slowly sliding them off his head and placing them on the desk beside his hand. Without thinking she leaned down and gave him a small kiss on the cheek, as she jumped back, mortified at what she had just done, she could have sworn she saw his lips curl up in a small smile. She hurried back to the kitchenette to finish the tea.

——————————

Loke hadn't really been sleeping all that long, maybe five or ten minutes before he heard her roll out of bed. He wasn't tired though, she looked so at peace when she was asleep, he had wanted to curl up with her and hold her, but he knew he would do nothing of the sort until she told him that's what she wanted. He had used the time to debate how he was going to talk to her though, he was tired of hinting at his feelings for her. She deserved to know he wasn't trying to play games with her. He was comfortable and even starting to doze back off again before he heard the tea pot. He was however surprised when she took his sunglasses off, he hadn't planned on falling asleep and was a little embarrassed he still had them on, but when she kissed his cheek, his heart stopped. Was it possible that Lucy liked him back? He wished he had turned his head just a fraction so her lips would fall onto his. As she hurried back off to the tea he sat up and touched his cheek with his fingertips, not being able to control his smile or the pounding of his heart. This wasn't like him and he knew it. Loke had been with a lot of girls, he had been a flirt and a womanizer, and he had liked a few of them, but none of them made him this crazy, none of them had ever made him blush or make his heart beat way to fast or skip a beat all together. He had always been the cool and collected one, but Lucy was changing that. He stood up and raked his fingers through his hair, he knew he looked a little unkempt but he didn't care at the moment. He wanted to run up to her, wrap her up in his arms and kiss her head. Instead, he leaned lazily against the wall and took a deep breath,

"Sleep well Lucy?" She jumped a little but looked over her shoulder and smiled at him.