The Engagement Game

One Rule

That night, Lucy had trouble falling asleep. She closed her eyes, but kept picturing herself and Loke as a married couple; falling asleep by his side, wrapped safely in his firm arms. Without realizing, a smile crept onto her face at the thought.

Her imagination progressively gained a mind of its own, causing the blonde's face to heat up, bright red. She closed her eyes tighter, trying to shake the idea out of her head, but it was something else that woke her up from her thoughts.

"Everything okay, babe?"

Lucy's eyes shot open faster than a bullet. She immediately sat up in her bed and looked down to find Loke, who's toned upper-body was exposed.

She wasn't picturing the two of them cuddling together, it was actually happening.

"Loke?!" She shrieked, wondering just how long he'd been there. "Why the hell are you-"

A soft chuckle escaped his lips as he interrupted her. "You never told me I couldn't sleep next to you." He smiled, surprisingly not in a perverted manner.

"But I never said you could!" Lucy crinkled her nose in anger, yet she didn't try pushing him away, or kicking him out. This seemed like progress.

"Aww, come on, Lucy..." his voice pleaded disappointedly, as did his face. "You were smiling in my arms just a second ago, what happened?"

"I realized it was real and I wasn't just thinking about it." She answered in attempt to turn him down, but put herself in the opposite situation.

He blushed, followed by a smirk. "You were thinking about me?"

"Shut up!" She immediately yelled. The redness returned to her cheeks once more as she sighed sharply. "You're not allowed to sleep with me, get out of my bed!"

Loke's smug look increased. "Oh no you don't, Lucy. You can't add more rules now that we've already made the deal."

She looked offended, raising an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"You said there was one catch; one rule, that I had thirty days. Since there's only one rule and it's already been made, you can't go back and add another."

Lucy blinked in surprise. "T-that's not fair!"

"It most certainly isn't if you try to bend the rules now." He implied cleverly. "I pay close attention to the things you do and the things you say, Lucy. Remember that."

"Stalker much?" She gave him a weird look before lying down again, her back facing him this time. "Whatever, I don't care if you sleep here, but keep your hands to yourself, you hear me?"

"If you insist." He agreed calmly, lying on his side, the same direction as Lucy so he could continue to at least stare at her beautiful, blonde locks. He resisted the urge to stroke her hair and its softness, keeping in mind that Lucy had asked him not to touch her.

"And..." she suddenly spoke up. Her head sunk into her shoulders as she groaned, "put a shirt on."

Damn, she's cute when she's nervous. Loke grinned, snickering quietly at the girl. "Am I too much for you?" He joked, nudging her teasingly.

"Shut up." She smiled.

He knew whether she loved him or not, Lucy was attracted to him. It made him blush to find that it agitated her so much when he didn't wear a shirt.

Lucy laid silently, trying sleep. Occasionally Loke would try snaking his arm around her, but he received a smack to the hand every time, without fail. Eventually though, they both fell asleep.

The next morning, Lucy woke first, opening her eyes to find herself right back where she started.

She was being embraced by the sleeping spirit, held closely with her hand and head against his chest. He actually put a shirt on. Her eyes shifted to his face, instantly noticing his lips had formed a small, content smile in his sleep. It was cute seeing him happy like this, even if he was sleeping. This was a sight she didn't mind waking up to. The girl smiled and curled back into Loke's warm chest.

Shortly after the celestial wizard, her spirit followed; waking up without realizing. He thought he was in a dream— like Lucy had thought last night. He didn't move from his cuddly position. In fact, he held Lucy closer, gently brushing his lips against her forehead.

"Loke?" The blushing girl looked up at him tiredly, making it clear to him that this wasn't any kind of dream— it was real.

His cheeks were colored pink as well, blinking down at Lucy. "Good morning, my princess." He smiled sheepishly, releasing her from his embrace.

"Did you just kiss me?"

"Erm... maybe." He turned pale, assuming he'd made her mad.

Instead, she seemed charmed. Even though he knew she didn't love him, he was making an attempt to show that he did love her. It was kind of sweet, it even caused Lucy to blush.

She sat up and rubbed her eyes, opening the curtain slightly. "Do you happen to know what time it is?"

Loke looked at his watch. He sat up along with Lucy and leaned into her shoulder, "it's almost noon."

"Dang it... I wanted to get an early start today." She sighed, turning to look at the boy's face. "Hey, shouldn't you have gone back to the spirit world by now?"

"I wanted to spend the night with you, beautiful." He reached his head up, lightly nuzzling her. "And don't worry about me, I can last here for a while."

Lucy turned back and went quiet for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah. I guess so."

"Unfortunately though, I have a busy day ahead of me and I won't be with you again until tonight." Loke's words confused Lucy.

"What do you mean? Where are you going?" She nearly frowned, but instead looked curious and concerned.

"Like I said, don't worry about me." He patted her head before sliding off the mattress and standing in front of her, taking her left hand. "But, keep this. It doesn't have to mean anything unless I win the game, but I still want you to have it. It's beautiful, like you."

He gently slid a ring on her finger, then kissed her hand. After flashing a charming smile, he made his way out the door, leaving Lucy speechless.