Lucy's P.O.V.

I turned to see the man that entered my secret place and tore me away from my memory. Mild surprise was evident on the usually stoic face of Rouge when he saw me. Even dragon senses could not find a person's sent through the thick foliage.

"Should you really be moving around so much? You're still injured," I said, unable to remove all of the concern from my voice.

A soft smile spread across Rouges face as he sat next to me. "Don't worry, I just needed some air."

"This deep into the forest?"

"Yea, I always feel more relaxed when I am in the forest."

"Oh… me too."

We both became quiet for a short moment. It wasn't as awkward a silence as I would have expected though. It was more of a peaceful silence that made you feel comfortable and content. I glanced at Rouge to see his stoic face tilted up so he could look up at the sky between the trees. Suddenly, he turned his head toward me and looked me in the eyes before speaking. "Do you come hear a lot?"

A bit shaken by the sudden break in the silence, I paused before responding. "Not so much recently, but I used to come here very often."

Rouge smiled in reply and I couldn't help but notice how attractive he was when he smiled. The thought brought warmth to my cheeks.

"What?" Rouge said.

Embarrassed that I was caught staring at him I stuttered through the first half of my sentence. "I-It's j-j-just that, you should smile more often," I finished smoothly.

"There isn't always something to smile about."

"Are you kidding? Try being more optimistic."

"Like you?" he said in a slightly teasing tone.

"Exactly," I said, lifting my head proudly.

We stayed like that for a second to long and we burst out laughing. Yes, WE! I had never seen Rouge laugh like that, or show much emotion at all. But here he was, head back laughing with a huge smile spread across his face.

"So you do have emotions," I tease lightly.

"Yea, yea."

"Seriously, why are you usually so stoic?"

"I don't really know. At some point it just became easier."

The light mood was completely gone, as though it hadn't been there at all.

"Easier than what, exactly?" I question in my most serious tone.

At this, Rouge tenses up.

"Just what happened?"

"I can't say, not yet." Rouge's face resumed its stoic appearance, but his eyes were anything but stoic.

Rouge.

I looked directly into his eyes and nodded slightly. Pain and sadness swirled in his red eyes and I knew I couldn't pry any deeper right now. I will find out eventually, and when I do, I will help you to become comfortable showing your emotions.

The sky began to grow darker and I knew it was getting late.

"Let's head back to my apartment. I still need to get Gray his ice cream," I said, breaking the long silence.

"Yea."

Standing up, I brushed the dirt off me and began leading the way out of the forest.

Light shown through the trees in front of us, letting us know we were reaching the end of the woods. I stopped, and so did Rouge. We stood there quietly for a moment and then I turned around and said in a shaky voice," From now on, you can tell me anything. I will keep your secrets and I will always be here to listen and help in any way I can. Just… just remember that, okay?"

I saw a sudden rush of emotion in Rouge's eyes but it quickly vanished. We just looked at each other for a moment and then he nodded, ever so slightly. Good.

With that I turned around and made my way out of the forest with Rouge trailing behind. When we came to the clearing, we were met by an array of colors. The sun set painted oranges, yellows, and reds. Traces of pink were brushed effortlessly across the blue canvas and it was by far the most gorgeous painting I had ever seen. The whole time I stood next to Rouge, staring at the sky, I thought of our spot, hoping to return there soon.


Author's note: Hey, I'm back with yet another short chapter. I was planning on making it longer then ending with a cliff hanger, but I thought that that was a nice place to end it. Please don't lose interest and keep the reviews coming for a little more motivation to take time out of my schedule and update! :3