This was written for the Prumano Secret Santa Exchange as a gift to Femaleoreo! The prompt was "Gilbert wakes up and stares at sleeping Lovino/Lovina." I hope this fits your tastes! :D

Warnings: Language

It wasn't often that Gilbert was the one who woke up first. He was the sort of guy who actually liked to sleep in. Why get up and do stuff, he always wondered, when the bed was a much better prospect? It was warm and inviting and was always there for you.

So it was quite a mystery when he woke up at six in the morning, with Lovina laying fast asleep next to him.

His Italian girlfriend was typically the one to rise first. She had to check on her tomatoes and fix a good breakfast and read the newspaper and do all the womanly stuff that he supposed women did. He wasn't sure, really; women were beyond him.

He tried going back to sleep once he saw the time, but after half an hour, he realized he was up for good.

And it sucked.

He didn't want to move and possibly wake Lovina. She was a hard-worker, after all, and she deserved a good sleep.

That, and she was mighty grumpy in the early mornings, especially when it was Gilbert who was waking her up.

So rather than move, he stayed in bed, keeping his crimson eyes on his girlfriend.

He could never get over how pretty she was.

Sure, she had a scowl on her face what seemed to be nearly all the time, but he knew what lay underneath that scowl. He knew there was warmth and kindness. He knew she secretly liked to laugh and smile and enjoy herself. She put on a strong front to make up for the fact that she was afraid of being rejected, afraid of people hating her, afraid of being second place.

He was the only one who had seen through that shield. It had faltered a few times before on his watch, and he did everything in his power to make her see that she was never second best. And once he discovered her apparent fears, he consistently told her just how gorgeous and amazing she truly was.

"You're the only one who thinks that," she would usually respond, sending a glare his way.

"I should be the only one that matters," he would always reply, drowning in the complete sappiness in his words, and, god, he really shouldn't be so cliched and silly like that. Even if Lovina was his girlfriend, they were never one of those mushy couples. But, hey, it worked like a charm. Lovina would blush, call him a bastard, and scurry off to do some other business.

He quietly chuckled at the mere memories of all those times.

Unfortunately, the sound of his laughter caused Lovina's eyelids to slowly flutter open. Either his laugh was louder than he originally thought, or she was just a very light sleeper (and that option seemed far more likely, based on how early and how quickly she was able to wake).

As she began to focus more on her surroundings, Gilbert gave her the biggest grin he could muster, running a pale hand up and down her tan shoulder, the contrast of the colors making him amused, and not for the first time. He loved the tone of her skin, the olive shine and the smooth curves. It fit her perfectly- she was, without a shadow of a doubt, the most beautiful human being he had ever come to know.

"Why are you up this early, you bastard?" she asked sleepily, breaking him out of his thoughts. "You usually stay asleep and make me slave away for you."

"You do not slave away for me," Gilbert scoffed, drawing his arm away.

"I cook you breakfast, you ungrateful asshole," she snarled. "And I clean the kitchen and I-"

"You do the woman stuff. Great." Gilbert gave her a thumbs-up, which Lovina promptly swatted away in irritability.

"Do you realize just how incredibly sexist you sound?" she asked, propping herself up on her elbows.

Gilbert showed how much he cared by making a farting sound in his hands.

His girlfriend rolled her eyes, her teeth gritted behind closed lips- Gilbert could tell, what with the shape of her jaw. "Mature, Gil, that's really mature." She made a move to get out of bed, but Gilbert held her back.

"Come on, Lovi," he begged, using that nickname of hers to possibly trigger some sort of obligation. That nickname, though she said she hated it, always made her listen closer to what he had to say. "Just stay here for a little bit longer, 'kay? It's early, anyway, and it's not every morning that you can cuddle with someone as awesome as me!"

She snorted. "How do you know I don't have some other awesome, secret lover?"

"Because I trust you," Gilbert responded, shooting her a small smile. "I know you love me just as much as I love you." With those words, he leaned over and kissed her cheek softly, enjoying himself when he saw the way her face flushed from the simple contact.

Lovina was always like that, he realized. Always blushing and fidgeting whenever he showed any sort of affection. He loved the way she tried to disregard it, to push it aside, yet how she kept it with her for as long as she possibly could. It was one of the many things that made him fall in love with her.

"You're stupid," she muttered, stuffing her blushed face into her pillow.

"And you're silly." He gave the back of her head a quick, soft pat, careful not to tangle his fingers in her bed-ridden hair. He wasn't too keen on getting it knotted so early in the morning (as he had accidentally done once before when he was trying to be romantic). He wished he could brush it. He would never admit it, but he really did enjoy brushing out her hair for her, always being so careful to avoid that one curl (or, sometimes, being careful so as to not avoid it) and giving it the soft shine that people always seemed to notice. "But, I guess that's one of the reasons why I love you so much." He smiled as he sat straighter in bed, stretching his pale arms out above his head.

Lovina watched him with narrowed eyes, obviously not going to respond to his romantic compliments. She was never one to respond to such things unless she was feeling really pleased, Gilbert knew. He didn't mind. The gazes she would give him when she thought he wasn't looking were indication enough of her feelings. He didn't need to hear her say it every five seconds to get the picture. She said it enough, and she acted on it more so. Contrary to popular belief, the two of them loved each other deeply. And if Gilbert had anything to say about it, that was something that would never change, no matter how old they both became.

"So," he started, smacking his lips together to try and get the taste of morning breath out of his mouth (which he knew wouldn't happen unless he brushed his teeth or something). "Do you suppose we should get up and make breakfast together?"

"Together?" Lovina asked, raising an eyebrow and looking very suspicious of his intentions to be helpful for once. "What happened to me being the slave of your world?"

Gilbert chuckled, patting her hair. "I'm giving you a break, is all. Besides, I wanted to cook something with potatoes. My potato dishes are awesome, you know they are." He also knew that Lovina would rather die before admitting such a thing.

Lovina snorted, her face showing that she was clearly aware of Gilbert's attempts to goad her into an argument. However, she seemed not to care that she was giving him what he wanted. "Your shitty potatoes are useless," she snapped. "And I thought I told you that we're not supposed to have potatoes in my house."

"Yeah, but Luddy gave me a few when I told him I was hungry for potatoes."

His Italian girlfriend shot straight up, crossing her legs and glaring at Gilbert. "Where did you put them?" she growled, eyes murderous.

"Not telling."

Even before he got that sentence out, Gilbert knew their sweet, morning talk was over. He didn't mind, though. This was as normal as his relationship got, and he really did love normalcy.

That, and Lovina was adorable when she was angry.