disclaimer: disclaimed!
author's note: I really ship this a lot. I'll probably add just one or two more chapters to this as closure.
other info: Rogue/Lucy
my surreptitious lover
ii. ignite
by levy mcgardens
.
.
Dredges of sunlight peer shyly through the latticework. The navy blue curtains are drawn and the new day has yet to come, but Lucy stirs in the dark.
She buries her face deeper into Rogue's bare abdomen and lies with piqued breath, contentedly reassured by the steady rise and fall of his chest as she listens to the faint beating of his heart. The blonde scrunches her eyes together and pretends she has a chance of staying.
Then she rises, untangling herself from the dark-haired sleeping beauty. Brushing her tangled hair aside, Lucy leans on an elbow and reaches out a hand to tenderly trace Rogue's elegant, serene features.
His defiant jawline. His cherub cheekbones. His enthralling, hypnotizing crimson eyes.
Her eyes flit to his defined nose, where on the bridge the scar resides. Against her better judgment, Lucy's thumb skims along his brow and temple and she leans forward to kiss the wound. She can't help but think, in the soothing meandering of daybreak, that he is beautiful. And that although wounds can heal and scars remain, they are still indubitably breathtaking.
The ebony-haired dragon slayer's eyes open marginally when she pulls away, and he drowsily, tenderly brushes his own thumb against her cheek and tucks a stray strand of gold behind her ear. His lids flutter closed, but his senses tingle with consciousness and the dream-like reality that he is with the woman he loves.
"It isn't even morning," he says, shifting to lie on his back. Blood rushes to the celestial mage's face as she notices the way his muscles stand out when he flexes.
"Mhm." She resumes tracing her finger down his neck, about his collarbone, across his muscled shoulder. After a minute she finally moves to get up. "Well, I need to go anyway," she states matter-of-factly, as much both of them want to deny it.
Rogue's fingers are like butterflies against her wrist. "Don't go just yet," the plea is laced in the undertone, not blatant, but she knows it. "Stay a while, for once."
"You know I can't." Lucy reaches for the clothes she wore the night prior almost unwillingly. "What would the guild say?"
"Hn." Rogue rests a hand on his forehead.
"How about Sabertooth? They don't know, do they?" Lucy continues quietly, her skirt shimmying up her legs. "Have you thought about what they'd say?"
Rogue says nothing, because he actually hasn't. He's been too preoccupied pining over a girl in an endless cycle of beneficial skinny love.
"Why not?" His reply dances on the edge of a tease. Finally, he sits upright, revealing the warmth she reveled in the previous night that is now out of her grasp. She yearns for another embrace.
"Just because," Lucy settles on the edge of the bed and busies herself with fixing her hair so as not to look his way. Oblivious, Rogue inches over and rests his chin against her shoulders, expression blank except for the loving and fondness carved into the depths of his stormy eyes. She leans against him, sighing, and his warm breath tickles the nape of her neck. "They would disapprove."
Resignedly, she throws herself back onto the bed in the mess of sheets, and in response Rogue lays back down on his elbows and hovers over her.
Oh God, she muses breathlessly, mind on fire as her eyes take in his features once more, he looks just as good upside down. She taps his nose. "You're my secret to love and to keep."
His soft black locks graze against her forehead, and Lucy can't help but grin, slip her hands along his jaw, and pull him down for a kiss.
When they pull away, Rogue's eyes are soft and half-lidded. He smiles, guides another idle strand of blonde away from her cheek, and gently, ever-so-lightly kisses her forehead.
"Because," Lucy's mind is a-jumble, "because..." Her fingers drift along his neck, and a rumble rises up his throat. "Because we used to be rivals? I don't know. Team Natsu... They just wouldn't agree, you know?"
"What makes you think that?" Rogue raises an eyebrow, perplexed.
"They're not into that kind of thing!" Lucy protests childishly, her sense of reason thrown off-balance by how damn perfect this guy was. "I mean—"
"I highly doubt it," his eyebrows shoot into his hairline for a second and he harrumphs silently in laughable disbelief. "They aren't much better." At the blonde's inquisitive glance, he sucked in a breath. "You know."
"True..." Lucy smiles and flips over so they are nose to nose. "Either way," she gets up and gathers her belongings, "I need to leave. I have to catch the earliest train back before that Natsu suspects anything."
"You've already worn the same outfit several times," Rogue points out, his hair falling across his face when he rises and pads after her. Lucy pauses and curses mentally at how perceptive the dragon slayer is.
"W-Well, heh." She laughs awkwardly.
When Rogue wraps his arms around her waist, she almost reflexively circles her own around his neck and plays with his hair. They're both already so familiar with this routine that it's almost their second nature. Lucy sighs deeply and buries her face in his chest, inhaling his scent and cherishing how it reminds her of twinkling starry nights and the most pleasant mornings—nature in general.
He's so beautiful.
They stand in silence, and Rogue reassuringly runs a palm up and down the small of her back, tracing circles, emanating security and comfort. Lucy's hands rest at his shoulder and by his waist. After what seems like a breathtakingly mundane moment, the celestial mage's gaze darts up to meet his, and the mutual passion is both eternal and heartbreaking.
"A perfect match like us will burn out fast," she quotes cryptically, and they release one another. Rogue reaches for the nearest shirt.
"A spark lights a flame, and the flame doesn't cease," is the reply, and her responding laugh is like the tinkling of morning bells. Her finger darts to his scar once more in silence before she turns and leads him down the stairs and to the front door. They stop abruptly. Lucy whips around, a mischievous glint in her irises, wrenches his shirt collar down towards herself, and tugs him in for another fiery kiss. Not unsurprised, Rogue returns the fire of the gesture.
When they pull apart, Lucy lets out a morose breath, for their time together is limited, and turns the knob. Outside, the streets are tranquil, empty, and bathed in amber and pink. Steadying herself and shoving away the urge to turn back to Rogue, she makes her way down the path before turning.
"I love you," she says, solemn. "You know that, right?" Her eyes are apologetic. "I wish it was better."
"Any time with you is well-spent." Rogue's arms are crossed and he leans heavily against the doorway, watching as she leaves with his heart in her hands.
In truth, he admits to himself once she's gone and he's closed the door and run a hand exasperatedly through his hair, skinny love is all he can get for now.
But, like his scar, it may not heal, but it'll still be good. Soon.
Someday.
endnote: I hope you enjoyed this!