It was surprisingly warm that day, with the spring finally taking over the winter. Sunflowers had begun to bloom and were quickly sending the bees in a frenzy. Birds were singing all throughout the day, only stopping to rest for a few hours at night, as they snuggled down into their nests. And all around, couples were strolling together, holding hands and laughing at the inside jokes that knew meaning only to each other. It was beautiful, Lucy thought while looking up into the sky. she retreated from the bench she had been occupying and put a skip in her steps, heading towards the park's garden. Pushing open the wooden gate, an array of colors brightened her vision, and her smile grew larger as a butterfly flitted up from a lavender and landed on her sleeve, clearly drawn to the bright yellow fabric. It closed it's wings and patted almost curiously around the cloth, seemingly comfortable with this new specimen of floral before a dark shadow was cast overhead and sent the creature fluttering along its way.

"I see you're like visiting gardens and floral place."

Her heart skipped. It was a voice she had heard countless times; though by now more times in her head than spoken aloud. She'd heard it speak flourishes of word at theoments, relieved and almost giddy. Something that drew up such a response in her, had been such a huge part of her life. it had constantly left her breathless. But those times were nothing, she knew, to compare to how it made her feel now.

In the midst of turning around, she managed to catch her foot on her own ankle, and was sent crashing to the ground, landing in a rather uncompromising position. He hadn't caught her, and didn't seem to be in a hurry to help her up; rather he simply stared, covered his mouth with his hand and shook almost violently on the spot, his deep blue eyes filled with mirth. Lucy, on the other hand, sat dumbfounded in the dirt, gazing up at the boy she'd been catching only glances of for the past three years, and absently taking note of the soil catching under her fingernails, as if to recognize that yes, this was real.

It was a whole minute and a half before he broke his chain of laughter, tears beginning to glisten in his eyes. There was a pause and he crouched down, taking in her now disheveled appearance and smirking good-natured

Your the most stubborn and fierce girl I've ever met."

"L-Loke" Her voice quaked.

" Lucy" The sound of him saying her name sent a shiver down her spine, and she had to take in a quick breath. It had been so long. He seemed unaffected, and the sudden thought that he perhaps often spoke it aloud to himself sent a warmth spreading quickly all the way from her head to her toes. "But for now, I think I've gotten a good view of you and the flowers here."

Lucy didn't know what to say. It was so sudden.There were so many things she wanted to say like "I missed you," and "I love you," and "I'm so so glad you're here, because without you it's so much harder to be strong, and I'm actually doing fine but not nearly as good as I would be if you were here with me," and "Why couldn't you at least stop by for your birthday, huh? I know we both agreed on this, but is fighting evil really better than sharing some cake? Huh? For one night?" So she opened her mouth, and...

"Your hair is as big as Rapunzel."

Yes, perfect.

She would have slapped herself if her hadn't given her another smirk, and lowered himself down to his hands and knees, uncaring of the dirt staining his pants.

"Ah. I haven't really checked, but I suppose I have.

"Hmm," came his reply, and she noticed him crawling slightly closer. "Perhaps you should invest in some plastic ones, then."

Their closure was beginning to make Lucy feel a bit light-headed .she let out a heartfelt laugh, followed by the assumption that her friend would probably still try to give them to her since there were always unsold ones at the nursery, and his house was too full to take many more.

The man in front of her slowed his pace, and looked straight at her, holding steady eye contact as she swallowed nervously, before blinking and casting his gaze toward a nearby bush. In a sudden moment of clarity, the girl noticed that no one else around was to be seen, and silently pondered if the clouds darkening overhead had anything to do with their now private park.

"You know," Loke said.

"I could've sworn that I saw your friend blush when you smiled at him the other day."

Just how close an eye was he keeping on her?

"Ah, yes, Gray has the habits that make me get all red-"

"And he's been impressing you ,"

"It's not like he's a romantic one"

"And so I wonder," Loke said as he gazed at her causing her to take a sharp inhale of breath. "If Lucy has other interests besides me?"

The blush exploded across her face, her eyes widening with shock and fingers clenching as he gives a grin.

"Wait what… No… I…

And Lucy found her lips on his.

Loke's kissing her. It wasn't like the first time . Kiss returned by her as a desperate, competitive act in hopes of making him feel , surprisingly, by his kiss made her feel overwhelmed, but it was soft and warm, and something that Lucy had been missing for far too long. Just as always, it was only after she had fallen for his teasing that she would understand the true intentions behind his words and actions. And for the second time, she came to realize that this poor, broken, then beautifully repaired glow of hers could so easily express himself in these bodily terms. Crimson-colored blush in her face . The blondes eyes would see through his of what he was feeling; the things that he meant; how much he missed her and her voice, it vaguely crossed her mind .

Their lips broke apart, and she found herself staring up into her lover's eyes, with his golden orbs half lidded and gazing back, though seemingly out of focus, as if he was still mesmerized by the contact. It wasn't until she felt a shift by her ear that Lucy had noticed that at some point during the kiss, his left hand had come up and tangled itself in her hair. Now he slid his fingers down through her long blonde hair and lightly thumped her cheek before bringing his hand back to himself.

began lightly dusting his hands on Lucy smiled, watching him flick the bangs out of his eyes as a light drizzle began to fall. But the dream-like state was abruptly ended as a flash of lightning shot across the sky.

The blonde squealed as the arms wrapped gently around her head were more than enough of a distraction as they pulled her in and pressed her ear against their owner's chest; his nearly steady heartbeats soothing away any fear brought on by the noise. Lucy's own arms wrapped tightly around his torso, and she gripped at the fabric of tuxedo covering his back, letting out a soft laugh with his familiar scent.

"Stay Loke."

" Sure Lucy."

Lucy felt his heartbeat as she listened through his chest . Loke felt home with Lucy in his own arms.