The door of the bathroom opened with a small click. Chocolate eyes peeked through, quickly looking on the resting form of her "prisoner". His eyes were closed, his chest rising and falling evenly. Softly stepping out from her bathroom, Lucy quietly made her way to the living area near the bed. Her sore body collapsed onto the soft cushions of the couch. The tile floor that she had been sleeping on, although nice, was unfortunately uncomfortable. A chill ran through her body.

Blanket… Lucy looked around, feeling nothing but the couch's fabric. Crap… Mard got all of the sheets. Looking over, she spotted several of said cloth pieces, lying around the former demon's body. It won't hurt to take a few…

Pushing herself off the couch, Lucy made her way cautiously to Mard Geer's side. The man still seemed fast asleep. Reaching over him, her pale fingers grazed over the soft material. Just a little farther…! Her hand finally grasped the soft material, when something underneath her nearly made her shriek.

"What the hell are you doing?" A deep voice sounded from under her, although somewhat muffled. Quickly pushing up, she scrambled away from the man. He sat up and scratched the back of his head. "I realized you had a difficult time deciding my fate, however, I hadn't expected you to try and suffocate me," Mard said, sighing. "Not only that, but to have the gall to try it with a weapon as flimsy as a pillow. Honestly, I feel offended."

P-pillow? Lucy stared at him in confusion, trying to comprehend the words that he had said. Something churned in her mind, bringing up embarrassment and violation. She screamed.

"Y-you… you pervert!" The flustered mage yelled, throwing a nearby pillow at him. Mard's baffled look reminded her of his own assumptions, but did not quell the sinking feeling in her stomach. Object after object flew in his direction, each one missing narrowly. Finally, a hand grasped an arm poised to throw. Lucy looked up, small tears pricking the corners of her eyes.

"I'm finding it hard to see how this is my fault, but all the same, it would be greatly appreciated if you calmed down," he muttered, looking down at her. Anger surged through the girl. "Well, maybe if you weren't so dense you'd realize that 'pillow' was my freaking chest!" Mard Geer paused, allowing several moments of suffocating silence. "You tried to suffocate me… with your breasts?" Rather than the flustered reaction she had been expecting, Lucy only received complete perplexity from the man. "Just forget it," she snapped, ripping her hand from his grasp. Snatching the blanket, she bundled herself on the sofa, annoyance leaving a foul taste in her mind. She closed her eyes.

"Hey, I didn't say you could sleep." Mard's voice sounded uncomfortably close to her ear. Cracking her eyes open, Lucy saw one muscular arm gripping the couch frame, the other next to her head. His face was inches from her own, his warm breath tickling her cheek. "Why are you acting so peculiarly? As interesting as I find it, your attitude is rather tedious. It is making me feel… annoyed," Mard muttered, his lips next to her ear. Heat rushed to the blonde's cheeks. T-to-too c-close…

"I-I don't need to j-justify myself to y-you," Lucy stuttered, facing away from his menacing leer. "Oh really," the demon drawled, a smirk gracing his lips. "Well, if you won't listen, maybe I shou-". Something collided with his forehead, the blinding pain cutting him short. Recoiling, Lucy took her chance and pushed him off of her, holding her own head in pain.

The former Demon King pushed himself to his feet, obsidian eyes narrowing as he regained his footing. Lucy stumbled slightly before facing him again, her brown eyes filled with defiance. "I'm not as weak as you expected, Mard Geer." Those were her only words before another sharp pain forced her stop.

"Hmhm… Haha… HAAHAHAA!" The laughter crescendoed to the point of pain for the demon. "My, my! You're right, I really didn't give you much credit, did I? You humans are so…" He paused, laughter overtaking him once again. "Amusing!" Lucy stared at the man in partial bewilderment and terror, ears throbbing from the loundly expressed amusement of the man before her. Another shot of pain forced her to lean against the sofa, a hiss leaving her mouth from behind gritted teeth. That was a bad idea…

"Oh? Regretting that stunt you pulled?" The former demon said, his cocky smirk reappearing. Silence ensued, Lucy neither willing nor able to speak in retort. Stumbling over to the kitchen, seh made a clear path to the freezer. I… really overdid it… All she could remember after was her her head colliding with cold tile and a distant shout of surprise.

"Are you okay?"

A look of concern appeared on the face of the man she loved. His black eyes looked down into her's with thinly veiled panic.

"I'm fine. What about you? You're in worse shape than me."

A deep chuckle made her heart flutter. "Don't worry, I'm stronger than y-"

"Don't even start."

"Haha, still as touchy as ever."

"... I missed you."

"I missed you too."

"Hey… Hey… Hey!" A deep vice resonated through her groggy mind, calloused hands gripping her skin. Long eyelashes fluttered open. Lucy's hazy vision focused on the blurry outline of a man. "Mard… Geer?" The whisper she had intended, sounded like a weak gurgle to her strained ears.

"Oh you're awake," he sighed. Whether it was in exasperation or relief, Lucy could not tell. "You humans are too arrogant. You lot act like kittens who think they can take on a pride of lions." A sneer followed the remark. "Shouldn't you be… resting?" Lucy found it difficult to manage more than a croak.

"I may be human now, but I'm still stronger than an average male," Mard paused, an almost prideful smirk appearing. "You, on the other hand, bit off more than you could chew. Honestly, pride is such a useless thing…" His rambling trailed off when he looked back at her face. A small smile on her lips appeared for the first time in days. The first time in front of him.

"Thank you. You know," Lucy said, a smile still on her lips. "You aren't that bad. For a former demon at least." A faint pink appeared on the man's cheeks. "Anyway, I'm fine now, so…" She stopped, pushing herself up from the pillow she lay on. "How about I get you some real clothes, hm?"

Ah, this one took a while. I realized that a lot of people are still favoriting Tainting Innocence (if you haven't read it, go check it out). Off topic, but oh well. If you guys want to see the deadlines for these fanfictions, I post them on my website, the link is on my profile. Anyway, reviews!

Fate Archer: You're grammar isn't bad! And thank you!

icecreamnova: He just has a short haircut. Sorry for the confusion!

Adelene900: THANK YOU!

artistofthemind: Uh… I'm not sure