Author's Note: It's been three months. I'm long overdue. Also, because I couldn't deal with disappointing onceuponatime2011 anymore, here's a new chapter! Usual disclaimer. This story is a series of one-shots of Lucas and Riley's life. The stories are not in its timeline order. I do not own the characters, the show, or anything really. Enjoy!

Eyes Open

Lucas Friar was tired. Dead tired. So tired that he thought he saw a bed floating by when he was waiting for the crosswalk light to turn green to signal him to walk. As he walked across the street, he smelled hot dogs from a nearby cart and it made his stomach growl. The past couple of weeks consisted of him eating whatever he could find in his apartment, which mainly consisted of Rice Krispies and energy bars. He never bothered to cook because that would require actual effort, something he did not have the energy for after a busy day, which was a non-stop marathon between school and internship. But as his last shift at the clinic was completed the night before and he took his last final this morning, he was officially on break.

He ran into his building with excitement and didn't wait long for the elevator. He was hungry but sleep was more important and right now, his bed was the destination spot. As he exited the elevator and walked to his door, he thought about his head hitting the pillow in his bed. He chuckled and thought that there may be something wrong with him if he's this excited about sleeping. Opening the door to his apartment, he noticed something was different. He couldn't figure it out. Was it brighter in here or has he just be so zoned lately that he didn't notice? And it smelled...flowery. Like someone sprayed potpourri everywhere. And cleaned. Lucas thought his mind was playing tricks with him, probably due to the lack of sleep. He dropped his bag on the floor, walked to the kitchen, and opened the fridge to get water. But as he grabbed the bottle, he noticed that there was food. Lots of food. His mind had been occupied but he knew that this was definitely not there before. He moved the food around in the fridge to examine it. Nope, Lucas shook his head; this food definitely wasn't there before. He closed the fridge and looked around his apartment and started to wonder if someone was here with him. He grabbed a baseball bat that was leaning against the corner of the room and walked to his bedroom. He slowly opened the door and saw the figure on his bed, silently snoring. His body immediately relaxed and a small smile crept on his face.

Riley slowly opened her eyes and saw that it was nearly four in the afternoon. She was shocked that she slept the day away but noted the lack of sleep must've finally caught up with her. She hadn't realized she was so tired but when she fell onto Lucas' bed, it was too comfy to resist. As she started to stretch and yawn, she felt that she wasn't alone anymore. Looking down at the arm that's currently draped around her waist, Riley turned her neck slightly to see the blond boy sleeping behind her. She didn't really know how to describe what she was feeling. There was a sense of queasiness every time she saw his face. It wasn't a queasiness that made her want to throw up or anything, but that feeling in the pit of her stomach was always there. She slowly turned her whole body to face him, careful to not wake him. The way his face looked so peaceful while he was sleeping was something Riley always enjoyed. She remembered back to when their group of friends used to nap in her room. Everyone would find a comfortable position, whether it would be at the bay window, on the floor, or her bed. Sometimes she slept alone or next to Maya or Farkle. She slept next to Zay once but he just kept kicking. He was forced to sleep by himself from then on. But when she was lucky, she would sleep next to Lucas. And it didn't matter what position they started off the nap with, when she woke up, his arm would always have a tight hold around her waist. And she never minded. In fact, she cherished the moment when it was only her who was awake. It gave her time to examine his face. She often caught herself outlining the features of his face with her finger, gently gliding around his mouth, eyes, and nose. Lucky for her, Lucas never knew. She chuckled at the memory as she found herself tracing his face with her fingers again.

Lucas didn't dare open his eyes but he knew what she was doing. He could feel her finger gliding and her touch lingered on his face. He had missed this. He remembered when she used to do this in high school while he was pretending to sleeping. He always just kept his eyes closed, savoring every touch she gave him, wanting to cherish the moment of holding her in his arms and regretting the moment he would have to let her go. It was odd but as he laid next to her with his arm around her waist, he felt the same sensation he did in high school: a tingly in his body. A tingly that he only ever felt with her. He didn't want to let this feeling go. So, he kept his eyes closed and unconsciously hugged her tighter, afraid that if he didn't, she would disappear. But then he felt her lips on his. And before he could stop himself, he kissed her back. He felt her hesitation and just held her tighter, hoping she would feel his reassurance and not pull away. Seconds later, her resistance seemed to slip as he felt her crawl on top of him, holding his face firmly in her hands. He opened his eyes and saw her beautiful brown eyes staring back at him. Before he had a chance to say anything, she crashed her lips to his. If this was what heaven felt like, Lucas was never letting go.

Riley opened her eyes and saw that it was nighttime. She couldn't believe she fell asleep again. But as she looked at the naked man sleeping next to her, a little smile appeared on her face. She was happy. So happy. But so terrified. Were they together now? Or did they just make a horrible mistake? Panic started to set in her mind. What if they're not good together? Did she just ruin the relationship they had? Riley started panicking and tried to sit up but was held down.

"Stop thinking," she heard a low grumble from the man whose mouth is currently smashed against the pillow.

Riley sighed, "How did you know?"

Lucas turned over so he was lying on his back but his eyes remain closed, "You think I need to look at you to know when you're panicking?"

"Oh." She stayed still for a second as she looked at the ceiling. Tapping her fingers against the bed, she grew impatient and turned to face him.

"Shouldn't we talk about what happened?"

Lucas chuckled, "We had great sex, what's there to talk about?"

That earned him a smack and before she had a chance to pull away her hand, he held onto it and cradled it against his chest. "Lucas, I'm being serious."

"So was I."

Riley raised his eyebrow and gave him a look, "Can you be any more of a guy?"

Lucas finally opened his eyes and turned his face to look at her, "That was my first time since our last time."

Riley gasped, "You didn't with Lili?"

He shook his head, brought her hand to his lips and gently kissed it, "No, I didn't."

With this newfound information, she stayed quiet. She didn't want to show it but she was excited. Their last time was her last time. And the time before that and the time before that.

"You haven't, have you?"

His question brought her out of her thoughts. She shook her head and saw a smile form on him. He palmed her face with his hands and kissed her on the lips.

When they separated to take a breath, Riley whispered, "What are we?"

"What do you want us to be?"

She looked at his eyes staring back at her and she lost her breath. They've tried this before but never made it past the first date. By now, they've had seven first dates and all of them ended with them saying the timing wasn't right. But she didn't want that to happen again.

"I think...we should hang out."

Lucas raised his left eyebrow and a smirk appeared, "Hang out?"

"Our track record of dates hasn't been so great. So maybe we shouldn't call it dates. We can just call it a hang. And see where it goes?"

He kissed her shoulder and looked back at her face again, "And while we're 'hanging out,' are we seeing anyone else?"

"No," Riley blurted quickly and loud. Realizing what she just did, she turned to look away from his face. She felt her cheeks turn warm and knew she was blushing.

He chuckled. He pulled her closer to him and started kissing the spot of her neck that always solicited a sensual moan, "Can we also do this if we're 'hanging out'?"

He only heard a small 'yes' being uttered but he felt satisfied with the arrangement. He knew Riley Matthews loved him. And he loved her. He knew he had to let her get to that realization herself, let her figure things out at her own pace. He waited twelve years, through middle school, high school, bachelors, and now whilst he studied at vet school and she studied for her masters and credentials, he knew he could wait a bit longer.

"Okay."

"Riley Matthews, I will forever be your slave as long as you keep cooking like this," Lucas shouted as he had a mouth full of chicken Parmesan.

She chuckled at his outburst as she started loading some of the dishes into his dishwasher. "I'll hold you to that Friar."

"That's fine with me." And silence fell between them till Lucas spoke up again, "How's school?"

"It's great. I had a meeting with my guidance counselor and she suggested that I try to find some student teacher opportunities so I can get more experience than just our credit requirements. I think I'll ask Uncle John about it." She turned to face Lucas as she spoke with excitement.

"That sounds great. Any plans for semester break?" He asked as he finished the last bite of his food and pushed the plate and fork forward for Riley to take.

"Just going home to spend Christmas with the family. They're going down to Philadelphia during the New Years for a few days to spend time with the grandparents. I got an interview with the department head about my thesis when class starts up again so I'll be coming back here," Riley explained. "You? Excited for Texas?"

"Actually, my parents just told me last week that they decided to take Pappy Joe on a cruise. So... I'll be here all through break." Lucas said he walked to stand next to Riley in the kitchen.

She immediately spun around to face him, scrunched her face at his statement and shook her head, "You're going to be alone on Christmas? No, you're coming back home with me."

He smirked and wrapped his arms around her waist, "I was hoping you would say that."