The night had passed, sleep having taken us swiftly and easily.

However, when my alarm rang and I woke up, I was alone in my bed. Waking up with my arms empty was jarring to say the least, but it took me a moment to understand why I felt a strange lack of something, or someone. Then, the sleep-induced amnesia wore off, and the images of Lucario falling asleep on top of me came back to me. My best guess as to his absence was that he had had to leave for his workday, but I felt a little stung by the complete lack of any kind of good-byes, unless I had been too sleepy to remember them.

However, as soon as I took my first step out of my room, adorned with nothing but briefs and a large shirt that went down to my knees, a sweet aroma reached my nose, the scent of some really good cooking. So, unless I had become a sleepwalking cook, he was here! My mood restored, I walked into the kitchen, and blushed at the mere sight of him again. He was shirtless and wearing some of my largest sweatpants (did I ever mention how much I love large comfy clothes?), which fit him pretty well. Every time I saw him for the first time of the day, it was like falling in love with him all over again, and it didn't help my flustered emotions that he was shirtless, showing off his muscles and perfect Luu body. He was in front of the stove and turned to me with a bright smile.

“Morning. I borrowed some of the groceries you bought yesterday to make some crepes, if that's okay.”

“That's more than okay,” I replied, walking up to him and embracing him from behind, my cheek against his back. “Skipping workday today huh?”

“...Sweetheart, today is Saturday,” he said with a low chuckle.

“Ohhh, right... God, I forget what day it is when I'm around you. Is it normal for a Luu to have such an effect? Aura poisoning or something?”

He rolled his eyes and shook his head before returning to his crepe, expertly flipping it over by throwing it with a controlled flick of the wrist and catching it in the buttered pan. I giggled at his reaction and nibbled on the fur of his back, squeezing his body tightly and petting his chiseled chest. We stayed like this for a good bit, rocking our bodies left and right at a slow pace while breakfast cooked on the high-heat stove. It was still hard to believe that we were like this together, but I could have gotten used to everyday life with him... Imagining waking up every morning next to him, and welcoming him after his day of work, it was the stuff of dreams. But if that did happen, it wouldn't happen anytime soon. In the meantime, I was going to enjoy every precious minute spent with him. While trying to make it as hard to tell for Andrew and his family as possible, which was going to be quite a task.

I eventually let go of his yellow-furred torso and sat down at the table. “You decided to go bare chested just to make me flustered, didn't you? 'Cuz it's working.”

“Would you rather I put a shirt back on?”

“Okay now hold on, I didn't say that...”

He gave me a knowing “mh-mhh”, keeping his attention on his cooking, and finally finishing up the nice pile of crepes, before bringing the plate to the table and sitting down next to me. With a pat on his thighs, he invited me to sit on his lap, which I happily – albeit a little shyly – accepted, and we ate together. In the middle of it, I leaned back against him and paused for a moment, thinking about how to ask a question I had had since the previous day. Remembering how events had unfolded, I couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if I hadn't asked him to come back to my place. Would he have simply let me go back, or would he have asked? I was grateful to be in the right universe where I had worked up the courage to invite him, but I could still wonder at the other possibilities.

“Say, Luu,” I began. “What would you have done yesterday if I hadn't asked you to come over?”

“Mmh? Oh, well...” he said, finishing his mouthful of crepe and embracing me tenderly. “To be completely honest with you, I'm not so sure.”

“You were banking on the hope that I'd invite you?”

“I... suppose so,” he replied after a moment of thought. “At the very least, I would've walked back to your place with you. I don't suppose you would've just left me at your doorstep. You seem too polite for that.”

“Aww, please. Now I'm picturing you as a sad puppy on my doorstep. I never would've done that.”

Lucario scoffed at my utterly outrageous comment and pinched my sides, making me squeak loudly and squirm on his lap, almost dropping my crepe on the ground.

“Beg your pardon, who are you calling a puppy?”

“Hey! No pinching! And definitely you. You should've seen your face last night when you were lying down on me.”

“That's it. No more crepes for you.”

“I'd like to see you try and pry them away from me, ya oversized doggo.”

I growled at him and grabbed his arm, giving it a small bite. I mostly just got a mouthful of fur and I'm willing to bet he didn't feel much with how weak I had made my bite and how lean his muscles were, but he still retaliated full force. Without much time to think, he threw his half-eaten breakfast onto the plate, grabbed me and pushed his muzzle into my exposed neck. I squealed, and all I heard was : “big mistake, little human,” before I was savagely bitten and mauled... Alright, maybe not mauled, but Lucario made sure I had felt his fangs before he was done, and I was left with a bite mark or two despite my fits of laughter and my constant squealing and apologizing. Honestly, it's a wonder we didn't just fall off the chair. When he was satisfied, I was tearing up from laughing, and I could hear him chuckling the slightest bit as well, his “feral” act not holding up very well.

“Oh my... Oh my god Luu, if you left any bite marks...”

He moved back a little. I heard him hold back laughter, and then silence. I turned my head to him with an expression of utmost shock.

“No you didn't,” I simply said.

“It's just a few, I promise.”

“A few?!”

“Alright, well, you decided to date a Lucario. You signed up for this, dear.”

For some reason, hearing these words, hearing him say out loud that I was dating him, made my heart jump and I couldn't help but giggle. A dumb, joyful giggle that wasn't at all appropriate for the situation. I had mellowed out in a moment at hearing him say this magical thing out loud... I snuggled up to him and pushed my head into his chest and neck just to make sure I was nice and close, suddenly feeling all sorts of intense love and affection for him. He seemed puzzled, but charmed, and simply wrapped his arms around me again. “It's so nice hearing you say we're dating,” I explained, which made him smile and kiss my cheek softly. “It makes me so happy, knowing I'm yours. Despite the bite marks.”

“Mh-mh. Mine, now and forever. Now if you agree to behave, we can finish breakfast.”

“Yessir,” I replied, my mellow mood making me far more docile.

The rest of the morning went smoothly. When I was around him, the whole world felt soft as cotton, and it was like everything was going to be alright. He both soothed me and gave me the energy to face anything, any problem that could've come up. And I know that feeling was reciprocal, as he let me know often, showering me with affection, and loving words, when we weren't play-fighting. To be fair, I never really won these play-fights, what with his fangs and his size... But “losing” to him was always wonderful.

However, he eventually had to leave to bring the groceries back to Andrew's place, despite it being his day off. Obviously, he couldn't keep those to himself. We set up another date for the day after, he put his own clothes back on, and he left with one last kiss, which I made sure to drag out for as long as possible. Standing on my doorstep, his groceries bag on one hand, he had to drop it to embrace me while I pulled him to me, making out with him for as long as possible... Desperate not to break the spell, not to leave him, taking in his scent, his warmth, his touch to last for another night without him. We kissed for a good minute with small, loving noises, sharing the intensity of our emotions, before we had to break off, unable to delay any longer, and I returned to my empty house while he went on with his day.

This is where this story ends, but where our story, Lucario's and mine, begins, in all its splendor and magic. As I'm headed for my second date with him, a more formal date in an ice-cream shop, I can't help but think about all the possibilities. About everything that awaits us. About the long story that will unfold for our couple. As I see his tall silhouette, and as I get closer, seeing his smile again, hearing his entrancing voice, as I take his hand, I wonder... I wonder how beautifully this love will bloom.