Warmth. That was all Ares could really comprehend as he floated on a sea of fluff. A parade of King Woolies was marching through an endless field of grass, while the Earthmate lay on the back of one. The bright sun shone down through clear skys. All these features worked to bask the Earthmate in a euphoric haze. He could only sigh in contentedness at the feeling.

A sound soon broke the silence; a ringing, saccharine giggle that signified he was not alone in this bliss. The blond turned his head to the side, homing in on the source. It came from right by his side, from a source even softer and sweeter then the enveloping fluff. A head of platinum-blonde (arguably white) hair, freed from its usual tie to sprawl all over the white fur. Below it was a youthful face, freckles dotting its owner's cheeks and framing her smile. Her eyelids, closed in her elated titter, soon opened. They revealed shining cyan eyes, a set of jewels he could get lost in all day long.

The girl noticed his staring, turning her head to meet his gaze. Her soft lips morphed into a grin. That familiar, playful grin, the one she got when thinking up a new challenge, or teasing her younger brother. It's part of what made her her. Part of why he fell in love with her. He turned his head back to the sky, sighing yet again. This was the life.

The wool below him shifted. A comfortable weight suddenly pressed against his lower body, and soon the warm dunlight was blocked by a body. Her body. Her hands hands rested on both sides of his head, holding herself up right above him. She was staring down at him, her loose hair framing her face. Her cyan eyes glimmered in the shade, accentuating her teasing grin.

"Ares..." She whispered, the man shuddering as he heard her honeyed voice. Her rare voice. The soft one reserved just for special moments. When it was just the two of them, sitting on the beach or foraging for a particular tree seed in the Woodlands.

"Ares, dear..."

Oh, how he wanted to hear that voice everyday. To hear it after waking up, before heading to the fields for work, right before bed...

"Ares... its time to wake up~"

It was not the first time he tho-

Wait...

The world started turning, the soft wool hardening, the bright sun dulling, the warm air cooling...

...before abruptly coming back into focus, revealing a pillow. Ares pushed his head over his pillow, blinking and rubbing his eyes with a groan. Gods, what kind of dream was that? He felt his cheeks reddening at the memory of it, spotty as dreams usually were.

Lucy's right, I AM too sappy. Whispering in my ear, surrounded in a pool of fluff? It sounds like one of Beatrice's novels.

"Rise and shine, Chief!"

The Earthmate's eyes shot open, his hands pushing the blanket off his body. His eyes shot side to side, looking for the source of the voice, before gazing upwards...

...He blinked once. Then twice. Above him, in an eerily familiar position, lay Lucy, of all people, right above his face. Her hair was bound in her usual style behind her head, but she sported a VERY familiar grin.

...though her cheeks were FAR redder then her dream self's were. Ares had to admit: she was much more adorable like this.

"H-hey Luce... why the sudden wake-up call?" He shifted back a bit, sitting up against his pillows. Lucy's face shifted, as if the gravity of where she was catching up to her. She jumped back a bit, her face turning scarlet. She kneeled on the foot of the bed, covering one of her cheeks with a hand.

"Er, well I, uh... um, well... I just... a-hem!" The white-haired girl stopped, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath in and out. When she opened them again, she managed to bring back soft smile.

"Well, I was up early and wanted to go for a run! When I got past the bridge, I didnt see you on your fields." She turned he graze towards the room, eyes settling on his newly-built-up set of kitchen tools. "Then I realized I hadn't seen your room since, well, you moved in, so... I thought I'd come say hi!"

She pushed herself off the bed. Ares could tell she was losing her nerve. A slight slouch, wringing her hands behind her back, avoidng his gaze. All parts of Lucy's personal language he had learned to interpret over the months he's known her for. "Sorry for just, like, barging in without permission..."

Ares cut off her sulk with a chuckle, a lighthearted one with no real bite. Her gaze turned back to the blond. He shot her his usual smile; that chipper and charming one that made any passerby feel at ease. "Don't apologize! Feel free to drop by anytime! I always enjoy your company, Luce. And I'll always love the idea of you waking me up."

Lucy's blush, having mostly faded away by now, suddenly blazed a brilliant crimson. She stepped back, slapping her hands over her face and letting out a loud whine.

"Augh! How do you ALWAYS say the SAPPIEST things?!" She moved her hands down and peeked her eyes out just a little over. "Were you a bard in a past life or something?!"

Try as she might, though, she couldn't fully hide a smile.

Her hands fell from her face, though her blush hadn't yet managed to join them. "W-whatever! It's almost 7 AM, so you better get on up!" She reached over and grabbed Ares arm, tugging the Earthmate almost right off the bed. He managed to clamber to his feet, barely staying upright as she dragged him to the space he had Palmo renovate a little while ago.

"Go on! Get dressed!" She practicaly shouted, shoving him into the room. "I want a full tour of the place once you're done! If I'm gonna start coming over, I wanna learn where everything is! There's no one better equipped to help with that then you, so hop to it, mister!"

With that last quip, she shut the door. Ares stood right in front of it, blinking a few time. The silence was broken by a bout of laughter.

"Too cute." He said to himself as he opened his wardrobe, pulling out his SEED uniform. Already, his dream had been mentally shelved. His actual day seemed preferable right about now, and it's only just starting!

I could probably show her the storage room first. I can show her what I caught last week. Plus, its best to show her where the medicine is, just in case...

"...wait, start coming over?!"