It wasn't the front door opening or the quiet creek of his bedroom door that woke him from his slumber. No, it was the young woman standing at the door whispering his name.
"Zane... Zane. Wake up"
"hmm Rikki, what's up? What time is it?" he was half awake now, noticing how the sky outside was still pitch-dark and littered with stars. No light even slightly visible on the horizon yet.
"It's early, late; whatever you want to call It." was her reply
"Okay... So what's up?" he asked as she slowly walked around the foot of his bead while he leaned his back against the headboard.
"Can I maybe stay here tonight?" so quietly asked in the darkness of the room. She seemed unsure of herself which was an unusual thing. Rikki was always confident, even when she was wrong.
"Yeah, of course." he lifted his blanket to allow her to crawl under which she did. She also swiftly clung to his torso with her arms and pressed her face into his chest, right above his heart.
"I Missed you."
"is that why you came?"
And instead of a reply from her end he just softly felt her head bob several times. Her soft blonde curls tickled his chin.
"Well, I missed you too." he felt her hug him a little bit tighter when he said that. Several minutes passed before she propped her arms to lay her head on his chest and look at his face.
"Zane, I know I don't really tell you this but you're really important to me. You know that, right?" The question at the end was genuine, and she was waiting for his answer.
"Yeah, I know. You're really important to me too. I was a total ass before I knew you."
"true." the couple shared a small laugh at that.
"Thanks for putting up with my shit. I know I'm difficult to be around sometimes and the whole mermaid stuff doesn't really help."
"Were both pretty difficult to be around? And I love the fact that you're a mermaid. It's sexy." if there would have been enough light, he would have seen her cheeks flush a bright crimson color.
"ha ha funny."
"I'm serious. Now, you want to get some sleep?"
"Mhmm..."
Rikki took that moment to return to her previous position after giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.
"I love you Zane, thanks for letting me stay. G'night." that shocked them both. They hadn't exchanged the 'I love you's' yet.
"Yeah, I love you too." Zane felt Rikki's arms tighten around him for a brief second and then relax again. He gently kissed the crown of her head as she drifted off to sleep. Zane on the other hand, lay awake in his own bed. His mind was spinning with thoughts about the girl lying in his arms. He wanted to know what the reason was for her coming over in the middle of the night. Had something happened and upset her? Or did she really just miss him? Oh no, he was very happy she came over but always curious. Rikki want one of *those* girls. And he didn't want her to be.
He didn't regret the I love you's at all. He was happy about it actually. Glad that they were on the same page for a change. He could say he missed the days when they were simple but those days never existed. It wasn't ever simple, *they* were never simple. Again, not that he wanted them to be.
Somewhere along his train of thoughts, he drifted off to sleep, still thinking about Rikki.

Zane woke up slowly the next morning to sunlight hitting his still heavy eyelids. He quickly noticed the warm body curled into his. Right, Rikki. The previous night's events rushed back at him. All of the sudden he was wide awake. He looked down and saw Rikki's bright blue eyes staring into his own. When eye contact was made, she smiled.
"Hey, you're up."
"Good morning to you too."
"It is, isn't it?" a little wrinkle appeared between her eyebrows.
"You're beautiful," he said earnestly "and I love you"
She giggled at that. Rikki Chadwick actually giggled.
"I love you too, Zane." it was barely the end of her sentence before Zane pushed his lips gently onto hers and flipped them so he was straddling her waist. Disconnecting their lips, he sat up, still on top of her. Rikki's hair was strewn across the pillow, her cheeks and lips lightly flushed and her eyes sparkling. Zane slowly leaned down to her ear, his hot breath against the bare skin of her neck sent shivers down her spine and all she could do was lay there.
"Are you hungry?" he asked and pulled away with a smile
"you're such a tease, Zane!"
He laughed as he climbed off of Rikki and out of his bed.
"Zane that's not fair! You can't just leave me here after that!" Zane just laughed some more and walked back to where she was lying and leaned down to give her a quick kiss.
"Hey, it's okay. Calm down Rikki. Let's go eat first, okay?"
"Fine... Can I borrow some pants though? Unless you'd like me to walk around in only a tank and undies cause that's fine with me. I mean, I do it all the time, really." throughout her mini speech she had stood up to show off her outfit which really did consist of only a black tank and white undies with black polka dots.
"Hmm I should just let you walk around like that, I like it."
"Well, it's settled then. Let's go eat." and Zane just followed Rikki out of his room and into the kitchen.

They made pancakes together. Rikki taught him the recipe she always used and he added some of his own chocolate chips to the batter. After all the proper ingredients were added to the batter, pancakes were made by Rikki while Zane waited patiently with three plates. One for her, one for him and one for all the extras. She loaded all the pancakes up onto one plate which Zane then brought to the kitchens bar area and put it down along with the other two plates and forks. Rikki brought over the syrup and then sat down herself.
"Mhhh looks good" she said before stabbing her fork into one pancake and transferring it to her own plate. Zane soon followed suit and took the syrup before her hand could make it all the way to the bottle. She lightly hit his arm with her open palm at that and he just chuckled. They ate in silence. Not an awkward silence, a nice comfortable silence that said they were each content in that moment and with each other.
Breakfast had been finished and the dishes had all been put away in just under an hour. Rikki and Zane were currently sitting back on Zane's bed.
"how long is your dad out of town for" she asked looking over at him a little
"at least a month, then it depends on how the business deals going so it could be a lot longer"
"I'm sorry. I know what that's like"
"how about yours?"
"It's a 6 week business training thing for his job. I'm glad he got a job here though. I don't want to move again"
"hey, you know I wouldn't let that happen." he took her chin so he could look honestly into her eyes which seemed a bit distant at the moment. She just nodded her head. Her insides were screaming at her that *they didn't accept charity* but she knew that wasn't actually the proper response. "Yeah sure, that sounds good."
She snuggled into his chest for a few minutes until she reluctantly told him she would seem him later.
"I'll be back in a bit" she said as she was walking out the door.
"Wait, Rikki!" she turned around for the worry that sounded in his voice, "I love you" he said with a smile on his face.
"I love you too Zane" and she smiled too

Rikki swam to the moon pool. They had all agreed to meet there for a little bit. She surfaced and saw her two best friends waiting on her.
"Rikki! There you are! We haven't seen you in ages. What have you been up to?" was Cleo's excited reply.
"Cleo, calm down. I went to Zane's last night. No, it's not what you think," replied Rikki seeing her friends faces "we just slept, that's all. We made pancakes together this morning then talked for a little longer and now I'm here."
"Aw that's so sweet," came Cleo's reply,
"what did you guys talk about?" Bella asked, still a little suspicious of her friends' story.
"I told him I love him. He said it back. And then we just talked about some other things, nothing very important though."
"I'm so happy for you, Rikki." Bella said. She was happy her friend had finally taken this step in her relationship.
"Me too. So when are you gonna see him again?" Cleo asked
"actually, after I'm done with my swim I'm going back by my house to get some stuff and staying over at his again." Rikki hoped her friends wouldn't be mad at her for this. She didn't want them to call her irresponsible or anything like that. She knew what she was doing.
"How long are you staying for?" Bella and Cleo asked, speaking simultaneously.
"Not sure. Our parents are both gone for a while so we'll see." in all honesty though, she didn't want to go home again. It would feel too hollow again. Especially now that her and Zane were advancing their relationship more.
"Well don't let us keep you, go have fun with Zane! But text us an update later, okay?" Bella said. They all laughed at that a little.
"Will do, I'll see you guys later. And thanks" Rikki told them honestly. She was happy her friends weren't upset with her. Rikki gave them one last wave before she ducked back under the water and swam away.

She wasn't sure what she should bring. She had her small duffle bag out and had already loaded in a denim mini skirt, black shorts, and another pair of shorts but in a tan color. She had several tank tops and two shirts. She quickly put her toothbrush, comb and bikini in there. *that should be enough* Rikki said to herself. She zipped up the bag and threw it over her shoulder. She made her way out of her small room and walked through the small trailer. She stepped out and locked the door after her. Not that there was anything worth stealing in there. She walked down the road and made her way to Zane's.
She wasn't sure if she should knock or just walk in. She decided to just knock; she didn't want to push her luck too much. Within a minute the door swung open to reveal her smiling boyfriend.
"Hey," she said with a smile as Zane stepped to the side and let her in. He closed the door after her and then took her hand.
"I have something for you." he pulled her into his kitchen where he then let go of her hand and opened a drawer. Out of the drawer, he pulled a key.
"Zane what is this?"
"It's a key to my house. I mean, I know we like never lock the doors but I wanted you to have it anyway." she didn't know what to say, her eyes were brimming with tears and Zane wasn't sure if she was happy or upset. In the next instant, her arms were around his neck and her body flush against his. He rubbed her back and he could hear a mumbled "thank-you". After a few minutes, they pulled apart and she gave him a stunning smile.
"What do you wanna do for the rest of the day?" she asked
"we can take a walk along the beach, if you'd like."
"sounds good to me, let me just put on something more appropriate. I'll be right back."
Rikki made her way up the stairs, two steps at a time. Once in Zane's bedroom she quickly stripped out of all her clothes and into a dress. It was red and white and hung loosely around her body. She again made her way down the stairs and tucked herself under Zane's arm as they walked out the door.
"you look great, Rikki."
"Thanks Zane" she said with a smile as they made their way down the beach with the sunset as their backdrop.

A/N: May add more chapters, depends on the response I get. Thank you for reading though! Please review and tell me what you think and if I should continue or keep it as a one-shot.