CHAPTER 2 – DAY 2

Day 2 is here! I really like this chapter! :D ^^
Thanks to everyone who read the first chapter! Lots of love to you all! 3

Warnings and the likes are the same as the first chapter!

The morning of the second day, Escanor was gradually woken up by something warm and gentle that was passing on his head, like a caress, stroking lightly his hair, to slowly pass on his cheek and going to slightly stroke his mustache, he shook his nose, trying to dislodge the thing that was making him ticklish, he heard a faint chuckle, and felt again something now pulling gently on his mustache.

"Come on sleepy lion, open your blue eyes"

It took Escanor some very long and fuzzy moments, before he was able to comprehend what he had heard and who had said that. He opened his eyes wide in shock, to find a smirking Merlin, sitting on his bed, besides him, and playing jokingly with his mustache, trying to wake him up.

"There you are sleepy Master, good morning"

She continued smirking, while letting her hand brush slightly on his cheek and then retreating on her lap.

"Mm.. Merlin?"

He was almost sure to be still dreaming, it didn't matter that he had felt the thug on his mustache quite well.

"Are you awake, Master?"

She was still smirking mischievously, he blushed and tried to sit up, he could feel his muscles growing slowly and remembered that he didn't have his glasses on, sometimes he went to bed without them. Merlin watched him closely, fascinated by his change, as usual, and secretly pleased to have been able to touch his moustache, she wouldn't admit it even to herself but that patch of hair over his lips has always mesmerized her, and now she knew that it was very soft and pleasing to the touch.

"I brought you food, I thought you may enjoy to share a breakfast in bed with me"

Just the last words of her phrase had him burning completely, blushing furiously, no matter what time of the day it was.

Merlin, without noticing much his flusteredness, turned towards his desk, where she had set the tray with their breakfast, and made it fluctuate towards them, in the meantime she motioned for him to make room, he sat straighter, crossing his legs, and she sat fully on his bed, turned towards him, with her legs curled on a side. That day she had dressed like he had said the night before: a simple red shirt, with a square neckline and the sleeves that stopped at her elbows, where they flared out for a little while longer, she had a pair of black shorts, that stopped at her mid thigh, with some red details on the lower part, and she was shoeless, the black boots, almost knee high, rested beside his bed.

Now, looking at her in these clothes, on his bed, he was damning himself for his choice, her bare legs were absolutely delicious and distracting.

Merlin sat the tray between them, she had brought a wide variety of food, some salty, but the majority were sweets, Escanor smiled amused at that sight.

"I have to admit that I don't know what you prefer, so I took one of each"

She was a little embarrassed, that morning she had really realized that she didn't know a lot about her fellow Sin, but she wanted to remedy that.

"I.. thank you"

He swallowed and tried to concentrate on the food on his bed, the one on the tray.

"Please, go ahead"

He was a little embarrassed, he wasn't used to this and felt spoiled, but she was waiting for him to choose first what to eat, so he did as he was offered. The Mage watched closely what he would choose, filing away the information, and noted how he specifically passed over her favorite sweets, she felt moved and warmed by his attentiveness towards her.

They both began eating, more or less comfortably, he couldn't forget the fact that they were in his room alone, that she was on his bed.

"Mmm.. these are really delicious!"

She was really enjoying her pastries, he chuckled a bit, he knew she had a very sweet tooth, and was really refreshing seeing her enjoy so much something so simple.

"Ah! I met the Captain in the kitchen, it seems that King asked him to have breakfast in bed too. Although I don't think they will share it"

She laughed lightly and he joined her, imagining the less than enthusiast Captain and the smug fairy.

"Ban really outdid himself with these!"

She couldn't help but compliment the chef for the little solid happiness she had found that morning, she really liked these sweets, it seemed that he improved every time he baked them.

"Ah-h… these weren't ...uhm ...made by Ban…"

He said with a little shyness, she looked at him immediately, confused by his statement.

"I… uhm… I was the one who b-baked them"

The sun was helping him control his stutter, but he would always feel restless in her presence, no matter if it was the peak of the day or the deeper part of the night, and right now he had all her attention, she was staring at him, shocked, and very pleasantly surprised!

"You baked these sweets?"

"Well, not only these... since I returned to the Sins I have been in charge of the oven. Ban prefers cooking, and I really like b-baking things"

Merlin felt almost dumb, how could she miss this?! Thinking back now, she could tell that after the Lion Sin's return the sweets and baked goods had become much more frequently available than before, and were even more tasty than the previous ones.

She continued to stare at him in shocked silence, and Escanor was beginning to worry, when suddenly she was in his face, the tray hovered above them, and he could only gasp in surprise. She had been quicker than lightning, and he almost suspected that she had teleported, she was up on her knees, in front of him, and was dangerously leaning towards him, her hands on his thighs to help her stay upright.

"Escanor, you are a wonderful, talented man! A baking genius!"

She was looking at him in absolute rapture, the excitement clear in her beautiful golden eyes, while his blush was covering even his neck.

"Uhm… I… t-thank you"

He turned his head to the side, clearing his throat, and trying to dodge her gaze that was making him hotter than the sun itself.

"W-well… uhm… I know we are running out of baking goods, so…"

He tried to steel himself more, turning to look at her in the eyes.

"Your Master has a baking job to do… uhm… and would like some company during it…"

Merlin regarded him in surprise that quickly muted in almost childish delight at his subtle 'order'.

"Your servant would be more than honored to stay with you during your delicious job"

She smiled brightly at him, and quickly sat back on his bed, bending forward to retrieve and put on her boots, the tray hovered besides her when she raised up.

"I will let you change, and I'll be waiting for you downstairs"

She went out the door with almost a bounce in her steps, and he continued to look at the closed door for some moments after, surprised at this new side of her, and chuckling lightly at her over enthusiasm towards something as simple as baked sweets.

Escanor washed, changed and was downstairs in almost record time, not wanting to make her wait, he decided to not wear his glasses for now, it was just morning, he had a few hours before he needed them. Coming down the stairs and going into the bar's kitchen he was met by a very humorous sight: there he found Diane and Ban, that seemed to be cooking something, that were staring at Merlin like she had grown two other heads, and they were demon's heads; they were throwing glances at her, curious, worried, and suspicious. Following their incredulous gazes he saw the Mage, with a very bright smile on her face, that was also humming to herself, while looking at all the ingredients that they had. He admitted to be equally surprised, but couldn't help a goofy smile to grace his lips, knowing that he had a part in her unexpected behaviour, very few saw her smile that way, and absolutely no one could say they had ever heard her hum before. He chose to make himself known.

"Good morning"

The other two shocked Sins murmured a greeting back, their eyes never leaving the Mage, who turned towards him and her smile grew even brighter, if possible.

"You were fast, Master"

He blushed when the surprised stare of his other fellow Sins turned to him.

"Yes, well… I need some time to bake all the things we need"

He cleared his throat, only looking towards her, avoiding the other two companions that now seemed suspiciously interested in their conversation.

"...and I need even more time if I want to teach you how to b-bake some pastries"

At that he could hear three different gasps of surprise, but only one had him blushing and tingle in delight.

Merlin seemed incredulous, but quickly recovered from the astonishing surprise, and now was looking at him in total adoration.

"I really like your orders, Master, thank you"

Her thanks were almost heartfelt, and he felt very proud of himself and his ideas.

"Ha! Not only the heart of a man passes through his stomach, it seems..!"

That was Ban, laughing, while Diane chuckled slightly behind her hand.

Escanor blushed, throwing them an embarrassed stare, Merlin just arched a brow, a little annoyed by the interruption, and tried to change the topic.

"What are you two doing here?"

Ban had a knowing smirk on his face but let it slide, shrugging his shoulders.

"Diane here wanted cooking lessons"

He pointed toward the giant girl in human form, both of them were wearing aprons.

"Yeah! I thought it would be interesting and useful, so I made him teach me"

She was sporting a victorious smile, while her companion shrugged, not really bothered.

"And you two?"

Ban looked from one to the other, pausing to stare mischievously at Escanor.

"Are you really going to teach her how to bake?"

The Lion cleared his throat and nodded, looking at the other man.

"That was the idea, are we inconveniencing you?"

"Nah, man, go on and do your things"

Ban dismissed them, turning back to his own cooking.

"Just remember that we are still here"

The fox looked at them over his shoulder, smirking teasingly at the prideful Sin, making him fidget nervously, while the Mage didn't even bother to reply, instead she focused again on her companion.

"So, where should we start?"

Her enthusiasm came back full force thinking about baking sweets, and Escanor chuckled slightly.

"First we must wear aprons"

He was already moving and reaching for two aprons, giving one to Merlin, who accepted it and put it on, securing it on the back, while he did the same; he hadn't bothered with a shirt, knowing it would be totally useless in less than an hour, so he had just his pants and the apron on, and she had to admit to be a little distracted by the unusual, and very interesting, sight.

"Now we must prepare the ingredients and the utensils we need"

He reached around for the tools while he instructed her on which ingredients to take and where she could find them.

"Good, we have everything. I will show you now how to create the mixture for the pastries, and how to knead it to make it uniform"

He began taking ingredients, explaining what, why, and in which doses, and mixing all together, Merlin was almost pending from his lips, focused on every word he was saying, never taking her eyes off of him, trying to remember exactly which movements he was making, so that she could replicate them, but admittedly, she was also staring at him sometimes, fascinated, he seemed completely at ease in this setting.

"Now you try, and no magic is admitted"

He moved so that she could take his place, and the Boar found herself in front of the formless mix, perplexed, and with a little hesitation she moved her arms forward, and let her hands come in contact with the sticky mess. It was a really strange sensation and experience for her, but she was determined to learn, and began kneading the dough strongly.

Escanor was watching her, a look of pure determination in her beautiful eyes, and she was trying to mimic his gestures, sadly not effortlessly, he let her try for a few seconds more and then came to her rescue.

"Wait, you need to be firm but gentle, here, follow me"

He positioned himself behind her, putting his hands on top of hers and guiding them in the right movements, looking down from above her shoulder.

"You feel the difference?"

She was certainly feeling something, but she wasn't sure it was the dough's doing: she could feel his chest slightly on her back, no doubt, and the warmth that was spreading from him to her, his hot breath on the side of her face, his arms brushing hers, making them tingle whenever they came in contact, and his hands on her own, guiding her, firmly but gently; those were adjective that described him quite well overall: she could feel the solid presence of his body, the sureness of his movements, the tenderness of his words, and his peaceful demeanor, and she was also feeling her ears turning red, affected by him and the situation.

"Merlin?"

She suddenly was made aware that she hadn't responded to his earlier question, and trying to think of a reply she turned her head towards him, finding out that their faces were closer than she expected, she could almost feel his breath on her lips as he gasped and then exhaled, taken aback by their proximity. They stayed still for a few seconds, looking into eachothers eyes, caught off guard but don't daring to move, until there was a sudden sound of some tools falling down, and some raised voices.

"Ohi! You be careful with that!"

"You should have told me sooner Ban!"

That had them turning back to reality, and Escanor, blushing a deep red, slowly got back from her, sliding his hands from hers, along her forearms, as if savoring the contact just a little more, before turning back to stay on her side.

"So… uhm… you u-understand?"

He stuttered slightly, still shocked and embarrassed, and she could only manage a little nod of affirmation, almost not hearing him over the thundering of her heart, but she mentally shook herself, and tried to concentrate on her job once more, this time doing like he had shown her.

The Lion watched her until he had regained his senses, as well as made sure that she was mixing the dough correctly, once satisfied he too began preparing his own share of goods, with much more skills than she could have thought, she almost lost herself watching him working on all that, seemingly without any effort.

They worked together side by side, with him jumping from his own baking, to instruct and help her with her pastries, and by the time that all their creations were in the oven, one could find more than one speck of flour and other ingredients on both of them, less on Escanor than on Merlin. He watched her pass a hand on her forehead, leaving a bit of something there, he chuckled, she turned to him, an eyebrow lifted up in question, and he could see another trace of flour on her cheek.

"You have something there"

Without much thought he reached forward, trying to wipe the sign on her forehead with his hand, while she watched him and grinned in turn.

"You have some on yourself too"

She in turn reached up to him, brushing an angle of his mustache that was white with flour, then going in search of more traces of dirt on him, letting her hand pass on his cheek, his neck, his collarbone, stopping on the skin of his pectoral, half covered by the apron, while his own hand went to her cheek to clean it, caressing her with his thumb after. Their eyes locked with eachothers once more, regarding one another, lost in their own world.

"We are still here"

"Ban!"

"What? They may want to take it somewhere else!"

Diane rolled her eyes at him, acting annoyed but trying to hide a smile, the Fox had a big smirk on his face, watching the couple that had separated, startled by his interruption. Merlin was glaring at him, truly annoyed by his antics, while Escanor was trying to find anything to occupy himself with, his gaze landing on the oven.

"Oh! They are almost ready, we can prepare the stuffing"

He then busied himself preparing everything they needed, teaching the Mage how to create the sweet filling, letting her try to stir it. The cream splashed around a little, resulting in a drop landing on his cheek, she made sure that the other two Sins were occupied and not watching them, and she quickly lifted herself up, licking the sweet thing from his cheek, and just as quickly went back down. He stilled, shocked, feeling her wet tongue on him, turning bright red, and seeing her looking at him with a smug smirk on her lips, and then going back to her job, satisfied.

In the end all the baked goods were ready, and her pastries turned out really well under his supervision, filling both of them with pride, and her with another round of delicious sweets!

In the afternoon they were both occupied with last minute missions or requests from various people, but were able to tie them up quickly, so that in the evening they met again to watch and study the stars.

After the busy half day they had it was a real relief to be able to stay there together and pass the time comfortably with each other, it was recharging, and they went to bed that night, both awaiting their time together the next day, with longing.

Yeah, maybe I exaggerated Merlin's childish behavior, but I liked the idea! I wanted to see a more genuine Merlin, more relaxed and easily excited for simple things she liked!
I hope you liked this chapter! I loved writing that Ghost-like scene of them in the kitchen! *ç* they are so cute!
Please! Let me know wht you think! ^^