"Lissy!" Lucy laughed almost the second she and her girlfriend stepped into their apartment and the door slammed shut behind them. "Are you sure you didn't drink too much?"

"I didn't drink more than Mira," Lisanna replied with a teasing grin. "And Mira's married to Freed, so she's going to need that to loosen him up! I'm pretty sure if she drinks more, he does just to keep pace with her and I think we all know why she wants him to relax."

"Don't make me think about that," Lucy lightly swatted at her girlfriend's arm with the feather she had pulled out of her hair. "I get queasy just thinking about the things Bickslow had to say about us."

Lisanna tip toed up to her and pulled Lucy in close from the waist, their foreheads just barely brushing against each other.

"Well, he's not here now," She whispered, lightly pressing a kiss to her lips.

"It is pretty late," Lucy quietly replied, not entirely sure the words had left her, her mind still focused on the gentle sensation of Lisanna's lips against hers and the faint taste of champagne that lingered there. "We do have work tomorrow. Maybe it'd be best for us to start getting ready for bed."

Lisanna nodded, pulling away after a few more seconds, and looping an arm around Lucy's waist instead. "Alright," She said with a slight yawn. "You won't mind if I brush your hair, will you? It's going to be a bitch in the morning if you leave it with all of those things tied up."

Lucy reached up and awkwardly tried to untangle the other feathers from her hair, wincing a bit. She swore she hadn't put them in so tightly, yet, for whatever reason, they were essentially stabbing her now. Lisanna shook her head and reached up, her fingers wrapping around the base of one of the feathers and, deftly, untangling it from the awry strands of hair it had latched onto. She repeated this process with the other nine feathers gathering them together in her free hand. There was a little bit of snow clinging to the beautiful white feathers, having caught hold of it for the brief time they had been outside. Their Crocus apartment was not terribly far from the palace where they had been, and they had all but run through the back streets to get home quickly, nevermind their ballgowns and lack of coats. Lisanna let out a small sigh when she had finished, but she smiled when Lucy turned around and shook out her now free hair.

"You are exhausted," Lisanna reached out and gently massaged her girlfriend's eyes. Lucy welcomed the sensation, Lisanna's soft fingers feeling only slightly colder than her. It was a sensation similar to stepping into a cooled pool in the dead heat of summer, and Lucy, seemingly always tired of late, couldn't help but want it to last. "Mind if I brush out your hair?"

"That'd be nice," Lucy replied. She took Lisanna's hand tightly in hers while they walked the few feet into their bedroom. "You'll have to let me scrub your feet later in return."

Lisanna chuckled, slowly starting to shed her ballgown. "My feet aren't that bad."

"That isn't what Mira said," Lucy teasingly replied, pulling down her pyjamas from atop the small dresser. "And are you really objecting to a free pedicure?"

Lisanna considered that, briefly setting her hands to her hips. "Now be careful, Luce," She said, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Or you may very well end up with these feet dangling in front of your face tomorrow morning."

Lucy nearly tripped back into their bed when she started to laugh heartily, all but kicking her ballgown, which had now fallen to her feet, halfway across the room.

"You aren't that mean!" She exclaimed, still wheezing from her laughter. "That sounds like something Gray would do to try and get back at me for something stupid!"

"He wouldn't do it to you ," Lisanna replied, slipping her tank top on over her shoulders. "Maybe to Natsu, but who's to say he wouldn't deserve it?"

Lucy snickered. "After all the times he and Happy have broken into our apartment, maybe you should let him sleep on the couch and let him wake up to your unkempt feet in his face."

Lisanna shrugged, swiping the hairbrush quickly up off the nightstand. Lucy finally regained herself enough to sit up calmly on the edge of their bed. Her girlfriend sat down beside her, scooting just a bit behind her to get a better angle.

"Hopefully he's never dumb enough to try and break into the palace," Lisanna said, her fingers treading through Lucy's hair to separate it into chunks. "Hisui would probably be amused by it, but Laxus certainly wouldn't be. Poor guy, really, something like that would make him even more worried about her than he always is."

"Laxus has gotten even more protective recently," Lucy remarked, the tension in her shoulders dropping nearly the second Lisanna began to brush through her hair. "It's almost like he was after the war ended three years ago. They had only been married for a year and then…."

Lisanna chewed at the inside of her cheek, still brushing through her girlfriend's hair in thought.

"It was horrible for them," She said, shaking her head. "I guess it's not a surprise that he's so protective of her now that she's pregnant. He's probably thinking about her and their child constantly."

Lucy nodded, wincing slightly when the movement tugged harshly against her scalp.

"You alright?" Lisanna stopped, her hands lingering over Lucy's hair.

Lucy turned a bit to meet her eyes. "I shouldn't move while you're doing your work."

Lisanna raised an eyebrow. "Are you suggesting I start an illegal, tax evading hairdressing business? Because if I start that, then you're getting involved too."

Lucy's eyes widened, her face flushing a little.

"What about that made you think I want us to start a criminal enterprise?"

"Oh, nothing," Lisanna slyly replied. "Forget I said anything. I'm sure we can find perfectly legal ways for us to pick up plenty of extra money between jobs."

Lucy started laughing again. "Damn it, Lissy," She shook her head. "You just had to suggest a 'completely reasonable' scheme only to undercut it. I thought you were more adventurous than that."

"Well," She said as Lucy turned back around so she could finish brushing out her hair. "If you want adventurous, I bet we could go down to the south of the kingdom this weekend and go for some….naked late night swims."

Lucy leaned forward slightly, obviously still blushing. Ever diligent, Lisanna kept brushing through her girlfriend's hair, enjoying everything about it. As she so often was, she was reminded of how lucky she felt to have become so close with Lucy. Ironically, she supposed, the two of them having become briefly trapped together during the Grand Magic Games nearly five years ago, now, was what had facilitated them falling into where they were today. It was beautiful, and she didn't care how serious or free they were in their relationship. It was theirs, and, after both of them had spent so long feeling as if they had little control over the lives they were leading, it was in itself liberating.

"You know something, Lucy?" Lisanna smiled and set the brush aside, pausing for just a few seconds while Lucy turned to meet her eyes. "I think it's adorable how easily you blush."

Lucy flushed a slightly brighter pink. "Lissy, are you trying to -"

"Hush, you," Lisanna lightly pressed her finger against Lucy's lips. "Just something I noticed. Is really too weird to imagine me noticing the little things you do?"

Unable to help it, Lucy blushed harder. Lisanna moved the little she needed to so she could properly kiss her, their lips lingering against each other for a time.

"When you sleep, you always splay out," Lisanna went on, her voice low and almost a reassuring purr. "I've never come back from work or from visiting Mira and Freed to find you asleep like a normal person. Half the time, I see you asleep with your feet backed up over the headboard, almost as if you're still out and about while you rest."

Lucy laughed a bit. "Alright," She said, crossing her arms with a half serious look. "Come on, Lissy, you can't complain."

"I'm not complaining," Lisanna replied, tapping her nose. "I love it. Besides, I'm so tiny you may very well be able to pick me up and carry me around."

Lucy smirked. "Wanna see me try?"

"You're too tired right now," Lisanna embraced her tightly when Lucy, very much against her will, began to yawn again. "Besides, it's almost two in the morning, We should probably get some sleep."

"I'll give you that," Lucy laid out next to her, squeezing Lisanna's hand as she fell against the sheets as well. "And you know something?" She whispered. "I love you."

Lisanna smiled and kissed her nose. "I love you too." She replied. "No other words need be spoken."