Lucy expertly dodged Loke, doing a full body turn to avoid bumping into him as they weaved through the kitchen together, preparing Elle's breakfast.
It was a Thursday, so the family looked forward to the weekend. Lucy's targets had become more numerous as of late, Shopkeeper had insisted she dealt with the assassination of multiple politicians for the past month and a half.
She hadn't really understood it, after all, she knew that some other fairytail members hadn't had their hands full with targets to deal with, so why Shopkeeper decided to call in heartfelia Princess for them baffled her.
Not that she had disobeyed orders, it had just been a thought she had entertained.
Moving her left shoulder so Loke could reach for a mug from the cupboard, Lucy leaned upwards on her tiptoes to grab a plate.
It was when she turned around, with Loke still towering over her to reach for Elle's favorite mug, which had somehow gotten pushed a little farther into the back of the cupboard for Loke to comfortably reach, that Lucy noticed something amiss.
It wasn't often that her husband had something out of place on him, the only time she could remember that being the case was whenever Loke went out for a run with Bond and returned with disheveled hair from the wind.
Now, the offense on her husband's person was too great to ignore and too important to await inaction.
Lucy's eyes zeroed in on the culprit, an eyelash laying ever so innocently on Loke's cheek, near the corner of his right eye.
With instinct guiding her actions, having done it ever so often for Yuri when they were little, Lucy slowly reached her hand up to gingerly touch Loke's face.
The man froze at the touch, shoulders visibly pulling taut, eyes snapping down to stare at Lucy. She was too focused on the eyelash to register Loke's reaction or the implications of the situation, just how tender and intimate it was. How close they were to each other.
Loke jumped when Lucy slowly dragged her finger across his skin, towards the offending eyelash.
Her touch was feather light, almost ticklish, yet her eyes shone with purpose.
Loke swallowed thickly, the lump in his throat staying lodged at one point and not budging. He didn't even have any saliva anymore to force it down, his mouth felt like the driest desert in the world.
Was this another one of the symptoms of his mysteriously developing disease?
Extensive, late-night searches had come up with not much solid information to truly consider as evidence, though Loke surmised he must have a heart condition judging by the often-irregular pattern his heart would jump to.
It did not occur to him to carefully analyze the exact situations these mysterious heart palpitations occurred in, nor to document his bodily reactions to said situations aside from the concerning heart palpitations.
The doctor at WISE had sent Loke home with a prescription, a piece of paper with the doctor's scribbly handwriting which read; "Increased exposure to endorphins, spend more time with your family."
Loke deduced the writings were in code, the "family" obviously stood for Lucy and Elle, but what could the doctor mean with endorphins? Was it a biochemical weapon? It couldn't be the happiness-inducing hormones produced in the brain? No, Loke was certain there was a coded message he wasn't seeing. On further inquiries at the doctor's office, the man very literally slammed the door in Loke's face with a "CLOSED" sign messily glued to the door.
Loke snapped out of his musings when he felt his cheek tingling not unpleasantly at Lucy's touch.
The pad of her finger traced the edge of his right eye, the organ twitched in response, and Lucy softened her touch to the feather-light one from before. Loke sucked in a breath, his hand gripping Elle's mug tightly in his hand. His other hand gripped the kitchen counter behind Lucy for dear life.
"Lucy?" finally, he gasped out breathlessly. A mere whisper of his confusion at the whole situation.
Lucy stuck her tongue out in thought, Loke's eyes unwittingly hyper focused on the bronze appendage.
Had Lucy's lips always looked so bronze?
"Blow!"
Loke bluescreened. "W-what?" had he heard right?
Lucy smiled, her finger in front of Loke's face. "Blow on it, Loke." When she held her finger farther away, Loke was finally able to recognize the reason for today's heart palpitations.
An eyelash.
"…What…" Loke said dumbly, blinking owlishly at his own eyelash on Lucy's finger.
She laughed. "I used to do this to Yuri all the time, when someone has an eyelash on their cheek, you carefully place it on your finger and wait for the person to blow it away. It's said to bring good luck!"
Good luck? Loke needed all spiritual help he could get for his waning health.
His heart jumping to his throat, Loke gently blew on Lucy's finger, causing his eyelash to begin its journey down to the floor in rapid twirls.
"Today's our lucky day, Loke!" Lucy cheered, beaming up at him with a smile able to power a large city.
Loke mused it was better for other people not to see Lucy's smiles so often, least they try to use them for evil.
He cleared his parched throat, finally lowering his arm holding Elle's mug and freeing Lucy from the unintentional position he caged her in with his body.
"yes, thank you Lucy ,my Luck ." Loke quickly downed a glass of water, shakily calling for Elle to come and eat breakfast before school.
Meanwhile, Lucy went about finishing a bento box for Elle to snack on in school, an assortment of cut fruits and a small chocolate bar as a treat. Oblivious to Loke's inner turmoil and increasing panic.
"My eyelashes are falling, is this another sign of the illness? Will my hair fall out as well? Could this illness be cancer that's affecting the heart? I need to visit a doctor tomorrow."
"Loke."
"Yes, Lucy?"
He didn't know why, but the spot on his cheek Lucy had touched earlier began to tingle and feel hot. "I hoped you wished for something nice when you blew the eyelash away."
They had met by chance at the traffic lights, Lucy emerging from the market and Loke walking off a different route he had taken after a mission.
"Oh!" Lucy exclaimed, smiling from ear to ear. "What a surprise to see you here, Loke."
The blond offered a smile. "You went shopping after work, Lucy? Do you need any help with the bags?" the grocery bags in Lucy's hands looked heavy, but Lucy only shook her head.
"It's alright, I can manage. I remembered we didn't have any meat or vegetables at home, so I went to buy some."
Loke nodded, glancing at the traffic lights to confirm they were still on red.
The setting sun cast a faint orange glow on the city, even Lucy's hair reflected a subtle red sheen against her black hair.
Loke's eyes traveled down, skimming over her eyes only to stop at her cheeks.
"Excuse me, Lucy." without much ado, Loke stepped close, startling Lucy enough to freeze on the spot.
"Huh?" she blinked, Loke leaning down closer toward her face.
Her eyes gazed at his, a striking blue color, looking so intensely at her that Lucy felt hot underneath her clothes, despite the cool November air.
She squeaked when Loke's hand tenderly cradled her face, his fingers grazing her cheek like the stroke of a painter's brush on canvas.
"Lo-Lo-Loke-!" Lucy's lips stammered, quivering as her heart was everywhere except her ribcage, pooling in her stomach before jumping back up to her throat.
"You have a little something there…" his soft whisper did inexplainable things to her heart.
Lucy closed her eyes when she felt Loke's finger brush her cheek again. She couldn't remember when someone had touched her so tenderly before, as if she were made from glass.
"Now then," opening her eyes tentatively at Loke's voice, Lucy spotted what he had removed from her cheek earlier. "Blow."
Time seemed to stand still, the people are them bustling with life but the moment between them locked in a plane of nothingness.
Her heart gradually stopped beating erratically, returning to its former steady beat.
Lucy broke the silence with her laughter, brushing her hair behind her ear to blow her eyelash away from Loke's finger. He chuckled at the action, smiling at her. "Did you make a wish?"
Lucy's blush colored her cheeks rosy, the setting sun adding to the vibrant color filling her face, almost as if she glowed. "I did, I hope it comes true."
Loke's smile softened, the traffic lights ahead of them turning green. "I hope so too."
As the couple crossed the street, Lucy remembered the events of this morning and asked, "Did your wish come true Loke?"
He glanced back at her, the same smile from before adorning his face and a mysterious twinkle filled his eyes. "It did, Lucy."
"I'm glad." Lucy giggled, not noticing the faint blush dusting Loke's own cheeks at his quiet admission.
Perhaps his illness could be cured, he couldn't explain it, but at the sight of Lucy's smile, his heart seemed to settle and his chest felt…
lighter.