Lucy flopped back onto her bed with a soft thump.

It had been a long, hard week. Nastu had dragged her on yet another hazardous mission she never would have chosen herself, this time featuring several snow covered mountains and a large, amorous Vulcan. Though she'd been exaggerating a little when she said she was dying of frostbite, the cold had left her with sore feet and a headache. That wasn't the worst part though. The worst part was that Natsu had accidentally destroyed the box they were supposed to be delivering when he got a bit too enthusiastic and lit his whole body on fire, effectively burning their cargo to a crisp. Lucy suffered through lectures from a disgruntled client, a disappointed Mirajane, and (worst of all) an irate Erza. By the time she'd gotten home that afternoon, she was tired, grumpy, and lacking any way of paying her rent for the month.

"Ugh," she moaned, "I want a hot shower."

Needless to say, she was less than excited when a smooth, confident voice answered.

"Excellent idea. I'll run the water, you get the towels?"

She sat up, and her look of surprise was quickly replaced with one of extreme displeasure.

"Out."

"Alright alright, you can shower alone, but I think when you're done we should still do something together. How about dinner tonight? I know a great little place where-"
"Loke get out right now."

The spirit smiled, ruffling his orange hair sheepishly, though his expression was by no means bashful. In fact, he looked rather cocky as he walked across the room, effortlessly cool in his designer suit (or so he thought anyways.)

"Don't you even want to know why I'm here?"
"Nope. Not interested. Now go away, I'm too tired to deal with you."

Ever optimistic in the face of Lucy's mood swings, Loke sat next to her on the bed, scooped her feet onto his lap, and started taking off her shoes.

"I know what will make you feel better, tea. You keep it in the cupboard on the left, right? Oh wow your socks are damp, were you walking through water? You really shouldn't do that, you'll catch a cold. Of course, if you-""

Lucy groaned loudly and put her pillow on her face, screaming into it.

"Fine," she said in a muffled voice, "You win. I'll play along. Clearly I was destined never to have a moment of peace. Why are you here."

Loke pulled off her socks and tossed them to the floor, then began massaging her feet as if it was the most normal thing in the world. "Oh well Taurus said your mission had gone pretty badly so I figured you needed someone to cheer you up."

She sighed, and moved the pillow off of her face. "I'm impressed," she said flatly, "you've found yet another excuse to summon yourself. I'm surprised you don't have some kind of a record by now."

"Ah, you're so funny Lucy." He moved his hands from her feet to her legs, and began massaging her calves. He very much enjoyed the way she blushed.

"W-what are you doing."
"You're sore aren't you? I'm just fulfilling our contract and keeping you in mint condition."

"I really don't think our contract says anything about massages," she mumbled, but she didn't ask him to stop either.

"Oh Lucy, Lucy, Lucy, you can be as sarcastic as you like, but deep down I know you love it when I come to see you."

She grumbled, but didn't contradict him. Though she hated to admit it, Loke's company was almost never as annoying as she pretended it was. Even his flirtations could be entertaining at times. And after all, it's not like he's serious. I suppose there is no harm in indulging him every once in a while. And of course, he's saved me more times than I can count. And I really do like spending time with him, he's a good friend.

Loke watched Lucy's face, enjoying the way her features softened while she thought. She got up rather suddenly, and walked to her bureau.

"Fine you can stay, but only because you're using your magic, and because everyone else invades my apartment on a regular basis so you might as well do it too."

"Was that an invitation?"

She answered by closing the bathroom door.

Loke grinned, and took off his jacket.

All kidding aside, he really did plan on spending the afternoon with her. He'd been thinking about her a lot lately, more than usual. And he'd figured it was time to do something about it.