Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters: that right belongs to Hiro Mashima.


Monday, August 6th, 3 am Nature's calling

Rogue's P.O.V.

Rogue's eyes snapped open to the sound of something banging loudly, causing him to turn his head and look first at the couch. The only thing he saw was the blanket tossed there with a softly snoring Frosch, sleeping soundly. Immediately, his mind registered that Lucy had vanished, as the last words he heard before sleep surfaced in his fogged mind. He was wondering where she had gotten to when the muted sound of water came from the bathroom, causing him to flush lightly. Rogue looked at the digital clock with a sigh, reading that it was Three a.m. in the morning. Knowing that he wouldn't be able to go back to sleep until she was lying back down, Rogue waited patiently for her to finish her call of nature.

As he watched the clock slowly count off the minutes, he wondered how it could take someone that long in the bathroom. After five minutes, the door opened, allowing him to hear the shuffling of Lucy's feet on the floor as she walked. Tilting his head up so he could see her as she came into view, Rogue had to blink and do a double-take. Lucy's normally controlled blond hair had escaped its side ponytail and stood up in several different angles. Her eyes were half-lidded, indicating that she wasn't even awake, just running on the base instincts and functions of her body. Rogue felt his lips curl up in a small smile at what he saw because Lucy was always prim, proper, and perfectly groomed when she appeared before people. It was quite funny to get to see this side of her, giving him possible material for harassment later.

Keeping his red eyes trained on Lucy, Rogue watched as she crashed into the chair from her table, making him wince at the sound. He noted that she didn't seem to be phased at all, as she kept on shuffling. When she reached the couch, Rogue sighed and closed his eyes, figuring that she would automatically lay back down and go to sleep. So it was a bit of a shock when he heard her shuffle to the bed and climb in next to him. His eyes snapped open wide, body tensing slightly as he only moved his eyes to look at her, seeing her face relaxed in sleep.

Panic started to seep into him, causing Rogue to try and shift away, which caused a few things to happen. The first was pain that exploded from the wound in his side. The second was that Lucy scooted closer to him, wrapping her arms around his right arm and pulling it towards her. As her chest enveloped his arm, almost like it was eating the appendage, Lucy shifted her head so it was resting on his shoulder.

Only to hear her mumble softly into his shoulder, "Natsu, you idiot, you always hog the bed. Now stop moving and allow me to get comfortable."

If he had not been looking at her face during all of this, Rogue would have sworn she was awake. He blinked his eyes slowly as he kept them on her face, taking note of its features, now that it was close to his own The face itself was heart-shaped, with eyes that were an even distance apart, a short, pert nose that sat above lips full and pouty, a soft pink in color.

Quirking an eyebrow, he thought to himself, "If she is this close to Natsu, then why is she unmarked by him? What exactly is their relationship? And is she aware that she smells like blood and dirt?"

His nose wrinkled at the last thought as the smells assaulted him. Figuring it would be safe to try and dislodge his arm from Lucy's hold, Rogue gently tugged on it to not disturb her or his wound. The end result was Lucy growling low in her throat in a threatening manner while wrapping herself tighter around his arm. Knowing when to admit defeat, Rogue just closed his eyes while breathing evenly. He knew that sleep would not come again as long as she was cuddling him, so meditation was his only option.

TBC!

Post Notes: Next story to update is Silver Memories (FF7 x InuYasha)