A/N: The final scene/final third (or there abouts) of this chapter is smut, and it is not at all crucial to the plot. So feel free to skip it if you're uncomfortable with it.

When the 25th came around, Bickslow couldn't help but be excited. The date marked six months of being together (assuming them breaking up for all of five seconds in October and the fight they'd had over not being able to say how they really felt didn't count, and he really didn't think they did), and he knew it wasn't really something worth celebrating, but he wanted to. To Bickslow, lasting six months in an actual committed relationship was a big thing because he'd never done that before. Even though six months was relatively nothing compared to wanting to spend the rest of his life with her, he still wanted to celebrate it. He wanted to celebrate the fact that the last six months had arguably been the best of his entire life and it was all because of Lucy.

He'd spent way too much time on a train the day before just because he wanted to have everything perfect for the day. He'd been putting the plan together since Valentine's Day, a week and a half earlier.

Everything was meticulously planned and thought out for their night, and Lucy knew nothing about it and it was exactly what he wanted. He wanted to surprise her, but he wasn't going to do so until the very last second. He wanted their night to be one she remembered.

So when Bickslow walked into the guild at a little past eleven o'clock, he instantly sought out the blonde and when he saw her sitting with her team, his face split into a wide grin and made his way over to her.

"So did you want to leave today or tomorrow morning?" Erza asked her team as Bickslow slid down onto the bench next to Lucy.

Bickslow frowned. If she was going on a job, then his plan wasn't going to work. No, that just wasn't good enough. He couldn't have that. "Going on a job?" he asked after pressing a kiss to Lucy's cheek, his arm going over her shoulders.

"Yeah, for a couple of days," she said, a hint of sadness in her voice, because if her team decided they wanted to leave that night, then she wouldn't be able to spend it with Bickslow.

She'd at least wanted to get dinner with her boyfriend, because to her, six months was a milestone that was worth acknowledging. Lucy never expected to get to that point, to have been dating Bickslow of all people for half a year, but she had been, and she'd loved every second of it. But she wanted to love more seconds of it. She wanted to get to an actual milestone worth actually celebrating. She wanted to get to a point where small milestones like six months, and if they got there, one year, were exactly that – small.

"Can you not go?" he asked quietly, feeling the guilt rise inside of him. He had no right to ask her not to go on jobs, just like she had no right to ask him, and up until that point, he'd never even come close to asking her to skip out on a job. It felt horrible and it really made him feel selfish, and what was it for? Just because he wanted to take her out on a glorified date. But he was going to let himself be selfish for once. "I made plans for tonight. For us."

"Oh?" Lucy said, raising an eyebrow. If the plans that Bickslow made were important enough that they couldn't be cancelled or postponed, then she was really curious as to what they would be, on that day of all days, no less. They'd had to reschedule dates before because of jobs and such, but she knew this was different.

"Don't go ruining my romantic evening, now."

"Romantic, huh?"

Bickslow shrugged before turning to her team. "Think you'll survive without her on this one?"

Erza nodded with a small smile on her lips. "We'll be fine."

"But jobs aren't the same without Lucy," Natsu grumbled, his chin resting on his folded arms. When Gray elbowed the Dragon Slayer in the side, he sat up abruptly. "What the fuck was that for, popsicle?!"

"Jesus, let the guy take his girlfriend out," Gray muttered, and then, turning to face Lucy and Bickslow as he shoved a fistful of ice in Natsu's face before he could start screaming. "We'll survive, I swear."

Lucy giggled as she looked up to the grinning Seith mage beside her. "Gray gets it."

"He gets it," Bickslow agreed. "Alright, come on, the night starts now." He tightened the arm around her waist as he slid from the bench and pulled her with him, pulling her to her feet as his hand took hers once he was standing.

She continued to laugh and let Bickslow drag her out of the guild. "But it's not even noon!"

"Yeah, and?"

"Noon isn't night, Bicks."

"I know that."

"So are you going to explain why our night starts now?" she asked, walking through the guild doors with her arm around his back.

Wrapping his own arm back around her waist, he laughed again. "No way. That would ruin the surprise and there's no way I'm letting that happen."

Bickslow had everything on that surprise. There really was no way he could let any details about it slip. Everything had to be perfect, and everything was going to be perfect. That meant going about everything as according to his plan.

She hummed in thought, looking up again. "Good or bad surprise?"

"Good. Definitely good. Well, I'm hoping it's good."

"Are you sure you can't tell me anything about your plans?"

"Very sure," he laughed. "Now… I have to go home and get changed, and you need to get changed and pack some clothes…"

"Oooh, are we taking a trip?" she asked, barely able to hide the excitement and curiosity in her voice. When he nodded and she noticed the smirk, she continued, "What do I need to pack for this trip then?"

He shrugged. "Just your normal clothes for tomorrow."

Normal clothes… Interesting. So with a single nod, she continued with her questions. His answers didn't give her any hints on what he was planning, but they didn't quell her curiosity. "And what kind of clothes do I need to change into?"

"Something for dinner."

"So like a dress?"

"Up to you," he said with another shrug. "But if you do decide to wear a dress, you know I love that blue one."

"Hm, I'll think about it," she mused, the smile never leaving as she looked up when they stopped. ready to part ways and head down separate streets to their own houses. "Are we going to meet somewhere later or…"

He shook his head. "I'll come over when I'm done and then we'll go when you're ready," he said, and then, leaning down for a quick, chaste kiss. "I'll see you soon."

Lucy never lost her smile as she walked home along the canal and she was too lost in her thoughts to pay attention to the warnings from the men in the boat as they passed. She was too busy thinking about what her night want entail, and god, was she excited.

Because whenever Bickslow actually took the time and effort to make plans for them, they really were amazing. Lucy could tell that just by keeping it all a secret, he'd gone above and beyond, and whatever it was he'd planned, it was supposed to be special.

She just had to wait and see what it was.

Bickslow had been trying so hard to keep his excitement in check during the entire train ride. He'd had a grin on his face the entire time, and hell, it was starting to hurt his face but he didn't care. He just couldn't stop smiling.

When he heard the conductor announce they'd be arriving at the station in fifteen minutes, Lucy stirred, lifting her head from where she'd had it leaning on Bickslow's chest having fallen asleep. Though this time, she wasn't embarrassed about falling asleep on him.

Stretching her arms above her head when Bickslow removed his arm from where he'd had it around her shoulders, she stood up to smooth out the wrinkled fabric of the navy blue dress that she couldn't help but wear, just because she knew how much Bickslow loved it. "Are we almost there?" she asked, looking out the window of their compartment at the forests that seemed to never end, the pink and orange sky peeking through the trees and above them, bathing the train in an orange glow.

"About fifteen minutes," Bickslow said as she sat back down and he wrapped his arm around her again before he went back to looking out the window.

Everything was so close and he was getting all the more excited.

So just as the train was pulling into the station, he pulled a thin strip of black fabric from one of the pockets of his suit jacket and she raised an eyebrow at him. "What is that?" she asked sceptically, her eyes following it as he unfolded the fabric.

"A blindfold."

"What?!"

"I told you, it's a surprise," Bickslow chuckled as he lifted it over her head. "Now please, just go with it, okay? I promise nothing will happen."

With a sigh, she turned on the bench seat slightly and leant back, allowing Bickslow to finally let the black cloth fall over her eyes and tie it securely at the back of her head, making sure not to mess up her hair.

It was a weird sensation, losing her sight. She felt exposed; vulnerable, even. If it wasn't for the fact Bickslow was right there beside her, then she'd be beginning to panic, begging to have it taken off. It was because she trusted Bickslow with her life that she okay and she knew that nothing was going to happen. She was safe with him.

When the train finally came to a halt, Bickslow stood slowly as he grabbed their bags from the overhead compartment and let them balance on the babies as he laced his arm through hers, guiding her out of the train and onto the platform with the rest of the people.

"This is weird…" Lucy mumbled, trying to keep as close as possible to Bickslow as they slowly walked through… well, she didn't know what they were walking through. Lucy could hear the people around her, the footsteps on what sounded like a cobbled path, and the voices of them all, none of their conversations giving her a hint to where they were.

She didn't even know what town they were in, but she knew that it had been a long train ride, especially since they'd left around noon and it was now sunset.

"I know, just bear with it," Bickslow said quietly, carefully pulling her every which way so she wouldn't trip on slightly raised stones here and there.

The first stop was the hotel, and thankfully, it was only a short walk from the station. Of course, when he walked in, guiding his blindfolded girlfriend, he received an odd look from the receptionist, just as he had every time he'd step foot in the building, but he just ignored it, instead turning to lead Lucy down the seemingly never-ending hallway. But of course, the hallway did have an end and he knew that because he'd walked down the same hallway before. So when they reached the end, Bickslow pulled the key from another pocket and inserted it into the lock and guided Lucy into the room.

As Bickslow grabbed their bags and put them on the dresser that sat on one side of the room, Lucy stood awkwardly in the centre of the room. She could hear shuffling from what she assumed to be Bickslow, but that was it.

"Can I look yet?" she asked.

"Nope," Bickslow said, crossing the room to stand before her before leaning down slightly to press his lips to hers briefly. He chuckled when she jumped, startled by it. "Sorry."

"That wasn't very nice," Lucy pouted, prodding him in the chest (or what she supposed was his chest) with her finger.

"I know," Bickslow chuckled, never quite losing the grin still as he laced his arm through hers again and led them out of the room once again, locking the door behind him. "Almost there though. This was just a pit stop."

"You're making me nervous."

"Good."

So out they went, down the never-ending hallway, past the receptionist that gave them dirty looks and back out onto the busy streets where he stopped them, yet again.

"Are we there yet?" she asked, a hopeful smile on her face as she looked up to Bickslow. Well, she thought she was.

He chuckled again, letting his babies line up just in front of him and just above the ground. "I said almost. I'm gonna pick you up now, okay?" When she nodded, he leant down and picked her up with one arm around her back and the other behind her knees.

"Babies?" she asked, feeling him step up as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Yep," he answered, looking down at the ground that was getting further and further away.

And so off they went, flying over the tops of the buildings and towards the edge of the town. Bickslow knew it wasn't fair to make her walk blindfolded across the entire town. Besides, using the babies made it all the more fun because she really had no idea where they were going, what direction they were heading, or how fast they were going.

It was getting to the point where Bickslow was considering just ruining the surprise in general just because he was so excited.

So when they reached the edge of the town, the familiar ranger's cabin in sight, he gently stepped off from his perch on the babies before they went back to hovering just behind him. He didn't let Lucy get back on her feet though. He continued carrying her, only shifting his grip on her slightly to make it more comfortable for himself.

She could hear the sound of stones and twigs crunching and snapping as he walked and her brow furrowed in confusion. Why the hell had he made her wear a dress if he was taking her to a forest? Well, that's just what it seemed like. There was a familiar smell in the air and it reminded her of a forest, so that's just what she was going with.

So with a smile, she shifted to rest the side of her head against his shoulder. "If you were anyone else, I'd think you were taking me out to the middle of a forest to murder me so they don't find my body or something."

Lucy felt his laugh vibrate through his chest and she unconsciously tried to make herself closer. "Maybe that's exactly what I'm doing."

"So much for a surprise."

"Oops."

Eventually, Bickslow reached his destination and although his arms were getting a little sore from carrying the blonde for so long, he wasn't going to complain. He hadn't wanted her to trip on the trail because of her heels, so he'd get over the sore muscles.

So after carefully making his way down the slope that had once caused them to both go tumbling and get covered in mud and end up in a heap at the bottom of it, he stood right in the centre of the small area and finally lowered Lucy to the ground and turned her to face him.

He could feel his heart racing in his chest as he reached for the back of the blindfold, and slowly, he untied it and let it fall away, balling it up and shoving it in a pocket as he looked down at Lucy with his great big grin.

Lucy looked around in confusion, blinking a few times when she got used to having her eyes open again. The trees, the ground, the area… It just all seemed so familiar. She looked up, the sky above a mix of deep blue and orange with the late sunset, though it was still light enough to see.

"This is… familiar," she mused, looking back to Bickslow in hopes he'd explain it all.

"That's because it is," Bickslow said as he wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her against him. "Because nearly seven months ago, we came here on that job and we ended up in this very spot, getting completely drenched and covered in mud."

Her face lit up in realisation as she looked around again. "Cartervale?!" Bickslow nodded. When she looked back up, she smiled back at him because his grin was making her heart melt. It always did – it was always so big and full of happiness, and the grin he had then was nothing different. "Why are we here though?" she asked.

"Because I wanted to come back to the place where everything started for me," he admitted. "When we were standing here, standing in the downpour, my heart was racing. Kinda like it is now." Lucy couldn't help but giggle along with him as she felt the distinct heat creep up on her cheeks when he lifted a hand to tuck a strand of golden hair behind her ear, just like he'd done nearly seven months prior. "I did that last time, too, and when I was standing here last time, I really wanted to kiss you."

Her breath caught as she continued to stare up. His grin had softened some, instead just a smile but it was so full of love – for her, and Lucy could see it. He was smiling because of her; he was smiling at her.

"Right here, in this very spot, was where everything started for me. Even though it took a bit to admit it, I think this is where I realised that there was something more to you and I might've actually had feelings for you. This is where it all began for me," he whispered.

Lucy could feel the tears well up in her eyes, just from the sheer happiness from hearing his words. Her own heart was racing as he stared back down at her with nothing but love, and she had to hold back her tears. In those nearly seven months – the six they'd been together – they'd grown so much together. They'd gone from not being able to admit their feelings for each other to themselves, let alone each other. They'd been through pain and emotional turmoil more than once and they'd still managed to come out of it in love with each other.

They'd still managed to make it through it all, and if none of that pain and heartbreak had occurred, then maybe they wouldn't be where they were in that moment. Maybe all of that pain had allowed them to become a pair as strong as they are, where they felt like they could get through anything just because they had each other.

And that's really all that matters, wasn't it? It was that they had each other. They were each the centre of the other's world, and that's all that mattered.

Reaching up to wrap her arms around his neck, Lucy pulled Bickslow down, and when his lips touched hers in a kiss so full of passion and love, she choked on a sob, only to have it drowned out by his lips against hers. She desperately tried to bring herself closer to Bickslow, and he got the message, somehow.

When he reached down to lift her up, keeping his arms wrapped around her waist and pinning against him, he smiled against her mouth.

But as much as he wanted to stay there pressed against his girlfriend, their lips moving together with their tongues almost intertwined, he really had more to say. More important things to say, and really, they were the entire reason for it to be a surprise.

So pulling away and gently lowering her back to the ground, though not letting go of her, he looked down with another smile as she wiped under her eyes.

"Lucy, you know I love you more than anything," he whispered.

"I know you do, and I love you too, Bicks," she said as her hands moved to rest against his sides, between his shirt and his jacket.

"No, really. I don't think you know just how much I do, because it's more than I ever thought possible. I didn't think I'd ever love someone as much as I love you, but I do, and it's you of all people, and god, every time I see you I just feel like my heart is going to explode just because of how much I love you," he said as he chuckled slightly, mostly at himself. Damn it, don't ramble. "There's still times where I wake up next to you and question just how I managed to get you to fall in love with me, even after everything I've done to you… But you helped me get through it all. You helped me see the good in everything, and that good is you, Lucy. You helped me get to a point where I was able to move on from the past, and even though I'm never going to truly forgive myself for any of it, I'm okay with it all, because you helped tell me what was important and what wasn't. But every time I wake up next to you, I get reminded of just how lucky I am. I feel like the luckiest man alive, just because I have you in my life and I get to love you, because you're the most amazing woman in the entire world. You really are my entire world, Cosplayer."

"Jesus, Bicks…" Lucy laughed quietly, wiping her cheek with her hands again. She hadn't been able to stop herself from crying from his words, she really hadn't. "I hope you didn't have any plans where it involves me going in public."

He chuckled as his hand went up, cupping the side of her face as his thumb brushed the tears from under her eye. "You're still beautiful either way," he murmured. Then, gathering the courage, he continued with his grand speech of how much he loved the woman before him, at least like while he still had some courage. "In these six months, I have totally, completely, madly, hopelessly, and irrevocably fallen in love with you. I just really fucking love you, okay?" He laughed and when she started to laugh with him, and his grin got wider. "But each moment I spend with you, I still feel like I'm falling in love with you just a little bit more, even though I'm not even sure how that's possible at this point, but whatever, it is. I'm not complaining. And, you know I want to have kids with you one day. Hell, I'll give you as many as you want when we get there, just as long as you're happy. I want to have an actual family with you; our own family. I want to have a life with you because I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

And even though they're basically the words any girl wants to hear when they're madly in love with someone, like she was with Bickslow, she was beginning to realise it was sounding a lot like a proposal and she was beginning to panic. Even though she knew she too wanted to spend the rest of her life with Bickslow, if he was actually going to propose, right then and right there, she didn't know if she'd be able to say yes straight away.

It really wasn't that she didn't want to marry him, because she did, but one day, not then. She'd grown up in a world where you only got married to produce an heir for the company, so marriages were often arranged and were rushed in to.

She didn't want that with Bickslow. She didn't want to rush into something like that. She wanted to enjoy what they had then, and she didn't want it to be ruined by something so huge.

She really just felt like six months was too soon for something like that.

"I'm going to ask you to marry me," he said, and when he saw the flicker in her eyes as she began to panic, he paused, just long enough to lean down and press a soft kiss to her forehead before resting his own forehead against hers. "But not today."

Bickslow saw when she visibly and instantly relaxed, and he smiled softly. He'd had no intentions of actually proposing, not that night, anyway.

But one day, he was going to. He was going to find the perfect ring and the perfect moment and everything was going to be, well… perfect.

"I want to enjoy what we have, just the way it is, just because I really hope that I actually get to spend the rest of my life with you, so I don't see the need to rush into anything like that. Hell, as long as you're by my side, I honestly don't care if we ever get married or not; I just want to spend my life with you, regardless. But… One day, I'll actually propose, unless you really don't want me to, in which case this is going to be really awk—"

"I want you to propose," Lucy cut in suddenly, her blush back in full force as she stared up at the love of her life who for the first time that day was staring back at her with confusion. "One day, I mean," she added, because really, that was the important part. "If you'd asked me to marry you right now, I'd have said no just because I want to enjoy what we have right now and I don't want to rush into anything either… But one day, if you actually ask me to marry you, I'll say yes. You know, as long as it's not like next week or anything."

And suddenly, he had leant down and crashed his lips to hers, his tongue slipping past when the kiss drowned out her squeal of surprise. Bickslow was pretty sure his heart should have had exploded by that point, because all he felt coursing throughout him in that moment was joy and immense love for the woman right before him. From just a few sentences, he felt like he loved her so much more.

Lucy had more or less agreed to spending the rest of her life with him. She'd agreed to making an actual, official lifelong commitment to him. One day. Even though something about it all felt incredibly familiar, he didn't care. The only thing he cared about was the fact that one day, he was going to propose and she was going to say yes.

He would get to the spend the rest of his life with Lucy, and in that moment, he was positive it was the happiest he's ever been in his entire life.

"I love you so much," he murmured against her lips, his thumb idly brushing her cheek.

"I love you too, Bicks," she whispered, pulling him back down.

And just like Bickslow, Lucy didn't think she'd ever been happier. All that mattered was Bickslow and spending the rest of her life with him, and even though she'd been panicking about what she'd do if he'd actually proposed at that very moment, and making that commitment, she hadn't been scared when saying she'd say yes when he eventually proposed… one day.

They both knew that they wanted to wait for something so huge and they each wanted to just enjoy what they had going for them, even without ever bringing it up in a conversation.

And sure, it was a little worrying that she wasn't ready to actually take that step and completely make that commitment, but she was basically able to promise she'd spend the rest of her life with him, but she could forget about that. Lucy didn't need to worry about that because they each felt the same way about it and they each knew how they felt about each other, and that's really all that mattered.

Because one day, they were going to actually take that step; that final step, and it was going to be when they were both completely ready for it.

The world crumbled around them, leaving nothing but each other and the bed below them, the same bed that months earlier they'd been so adamant about making sure they each kept to their sides on, but of course, come morning, that had completely failed. It was the same bed they'd woken up in, curled up in and cuddled up against one another by accident. The same room in the same hotel with the same rude receptionist in the same town where everything really had begun, especially for Bickslow.

And now, they were connected in the most intimate way possible, in that same really, it wasn't that the bed was important, because it wasn't. The bed was irrelevant to them.

Nothing else mattered or existed outside of each other, like it always did.

The blue dress that both Bickslow and Lucy loved dearly was long forgotten, thrown to some corner of the room or draped over a chair or something – neither really knew. Their moans sounded out across the otherwise quiet room, moans of pleasure for each other as their naked chests slid across one another, practically clinging to each other like their lives depended on it.

Each whimper, moan, gasp, scream; each and every sound Lucy made had Bickslow responding with own sound of pleasure, for her, because of her. He loved the sounds the blonde below him made, and he always had. He loved that he was, and hopefully, would always be, the only person to ever be able to make her make such sounds. Each whimper, moan, gasp and scream – they they were all for him and because of him.

Bickslow knew exactly how to elicit those sounds. He knew Lucy's body like the back of his hand. Every spot that could have her whimpering and writhing from his touch alone, he knew exactly where they were.

Bickslow knew exactly how to bring her right up to the edge, right to the brink of climax, only to stop and bring her back down slowly, just to tease her. And she hated that; Lucy hated that he would tease her, bring her right up to the edge and have her writhing from pleasure in his arms, only to have her release denied. Over and over again.

But eventually, that sinfully wicked tongue of his would push her over the edge and have her screaming his name to the heavens, over and over, just from the pure feeling of ecstasy that only he could give her.

But when he'd finally driven home into her after barely giving her time to come down from the orgasm that still had her reeling and shivering with each brief touch, she tipped her head back, his lips already tracing over her jaw and down her neck. "Oh god… Bicks…." she whimpered, already feeling that heat amass low in her belly all over again.

The friction, the heat, the contact – it was almost too much, but it was never enough to stop. It was never enough to stop them from being together and connected in the most intimate way possible.

He was slurring her name like a mantra, over and over again as she dug her heels into his back, silently begging for more. Bickslow would never deny her that; he could never deny her anything for long, even her release. There was only so much he could tease her before he gave in, just from wanting to hear her scream his name like she always did.

"Oh, right… there…" she gasped when Bickslow angled his hips just at the right angle to brush against that spot inside of her that had her writhing beneath his body, his chest pressed against hers.

Every time, he'd have her gasping for more. He'd have her wrap her arms around his shoulders just to pull him down onto her more, to be as close as physically and humanly possible. "Fuck, Lucy…" he hissed, smothering his moan as he lifted his head just enough to crash his lips down to hers, their tongues sliding past each other before she ripped away just to moan his name again.

It was never just sex to each other; it was making love and it had always been making love, not sex. To Bickslow, Lucy was and always be the only woman where it was anything other than sex. To Bickslow, sex had always been meaningless, one-night stands. Love wasn't even something that existed, let alone something he was capable of doing. But with Lucy, it was, and really, that's all there was.

His heart swelled with love and joy for the woman below him. He felt like his soul was always trying to reach out to hers, to connect on another level, just because she was the love of his love and he needed to be connected with her in every single way.

He needed to be as close as he possibly could do her; he needed to feel her wrapped around him as he buried himself in her core, over and over again. He needed to feel his arms wrapped around her shoulders as her nails dug into his back and her legs around his hips, only pulling him in deeper with each thrust.

It was the friction, the heat, and the contact. That's what they both needed, and that's why it had never just been sex. It had never been just sex because they needed to be as close to each other as physically and emotionally possible.

But when it all became too much – the friction, the heat, the contact – she arched her back under him, only to pull her closer against him. The heat and tension in her belly was too much, and as her breathing became more ragged, almost gasping for air between her moans and whimpers, Bickslow kissed over her jaw and up to her ear.

"Scream for me, baby," he murmured in her ear, stifling his own loud moan by pressing his lips to her shoulder as her walls tightened almost painfully around him.

And she screamed like he'd told her to, the cord inside of her snapping as she screamed his name up to the heavens once more, surrounded by profanities and never aware of the time or the fact that there were people she was possibly waking up. The outside world didn't exist, just because when they made love, they were each other's entire worlds, more so than usual.

Lucy all but shook beneath him, a whimper escaping her throat each time he rolled his hips, rubbing against her over-sensitive bundle of nerves that sent a shiver down her spine.

But when it all became too much for Bickslow – the friction, the heat, the contact, he ducked his head and with a groan against her neck, he found his own release finally; her core clamping down on him as he filled her again, shuddering slightly with each flutter of her walls.

Lucy's fingers slowly ran over the scar on his back as their chests rose and fell with each breath, panting desperately as they slowly came down from their high together, enjoying the almost silent room once again.

So when he finally withdrew and rolled onto his side just next to her, he pulled her close to him once again, still needing to feel the warmth from her body against him as she pulled the sheets up.

"I love you so much, Bicks," she whispered breathlessly, resting her head against his chest as he wrapped his arms around her.

"I love you too, Lucy," he whispered back as his lips curled up into a small smile before he pressed a soft kiss to the top of her head.

So as the two slowly and eventually drifted off to sleep, the sounds of their breathing still the only sounds in the room, they found themselves wishing that they could wake up like that in the morning – curled up and cuddled up against one another like they had several months earlier.

Except that time, it would be entirely intentional.