Mistletoe

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN FAIRY TAIL AND THE COVER IMAGE!

When Leo had been in the human world, he had experienced the joy of Christmas. He had absolutely loved it and wanted to celebrate it in the Celestial World as well. Leo had always liked the idea of celebrating Christmas with his fellow spirits and the time had finally come. The Celestial King had agreed and the spirits were now decorating every area they could reach. They also had a gigantic Christmas tree that was currently being decorated by Aries, Virgo and Gemini. They seemed to be having just as much fun as everyone else. Leo had a feeling that this year would be the best Christmas ever!

The lion spirit watched Aries climbing a ladder to place the golden star on the tip of the tree. Gemini wanted to tell the ram spirit how well she had done and got right in her face to tell her. Aries, as a reflex, took a step backwards, forgetting she was on a ladder. Realisation struck her when she felt herself fall backwards. She let out a startled scream and closed her eyes, waiting for the impact that never came. She felt two muscular arms around her body, holding her tightly against a firm chest. She slowly opened her eyes to be met with the smile of a lion.

"L-leo. I'm s-sorry." The lion spirit chuckled and Aries could feel the fumble of his chest.

"There's nothing to apologise for." He slowly placed the the spirit with pink hair back on the ground and then left to check on the other decorations. He hadn't noticed the light blush on Aries' face. Aries told herself that it had meant nothing when he had caught her; he would've done it for any of the spirits (and Lucy). Besides, he had shown how much he was in love with their owner. Aries knew that Leo only thought of her as a sister; not a possible lover.

The night was beautiful and all the celestial spirits congratulated themselves on their efforts. There was a huge banquet, mistletoes (courtesy of Aquarius), decorations and a Christmas tree with presents underneath it. The Zodiac leader watched gifts being unwrapped, Aquarius and Scorpio kissing under the mistletoe, Gemini dancing together; but his eyes kept wandering back to the shy ram spirit.

He watched her talk with Virgo and Aquarius, wondering why she was suddenly blushing. He started walking over to them and as he got closer, he could hear Aquarius talking. "If you don't get yourself a boyfriend soon, you'll be just as pathetic as Lucy." Aries only blushed deeper and kept apologising. Leo decided to help his friend and grasped her hand, leading her to the dance floor.

He softly placed his hands on her waist, and she hesitantly put hers on his shoulders. They slowly swayed to the beat and kept their eyes locked on each other. Having discarded his glasses earlier, she gazed into his green-blue eyes. Leo stared at her chocolate orbs and saw the shyness and uncertainty flash through them. He brought her a little closer and felt her chest make contact with his.

That's when the Zodiac leader started to become aware of how beautiful the ram spirit actually was. Soft pink hair, porcelain skin, deep chocolate orbs that were framed by long eyelashes, two developed breasts, slender arms and legs, beautiful curves and the horns on her head that made her the ram spirit. Leo had noticed her beauty before, but never studied it this closely. He then realised that she was (in his opinion) the most beautiful woman he had ever laid his eyes on; even more beautiful than Lucy.

The music stopped and so did their movement. Leo heard other spirits whisper and point above them. He looked at where they were pointing and saw a mistletoe. Realising the situation, he looked at Aries, only to see a blush that matched Erza's hair colour.

"Are you alright with this?" he asked. He knew that she didn't have much experience with dating and kissing like he had. He didn't care if he was breaking tradition, as long as Aries didn't feel uncomfortable or upset with him. She nodded, but dropped her head out of shyness and nervousness. He gently grasped her chin between his fingers and lifted it up so he could see her face.

He slowly leaned in, giving her enough time to push him away if she had changed her mind, but she didn't. Their lips connected and it felt like no kiss he had ever had before. The previous kisses he had shared with women were heated and lustful. This kiss, however, was soft, calm and innocent. He pulled away first and stared at the blushing ram spirit.

"L-leo, I'm s-sorry," she softly stuttered, bending her head to avoid his gaze.

"It's not your fault. To be honest, that was an amazing kiss." His words only caused the ram spirit's blush to turn a deeper shade of red.

"I should go. I'm s-sorry," Aries whispered softly. She quickly ran away from him, not realising in her haste that she was a ram trying to run away from a lion. He caught up with her quickly, wrapping his arm around her waist to stop her from running again. Her back hit his chest as she gasped in surprise. Instead of feeling scared or worried, she felt secure, warm, protected and important. She realised that only the male holding her right now was capable of making her feel this way.

"Aries, what's wrong? Did I do something to upset you?" He turned the ram spirit around to face him and saw guilt and disbelief in her eyes.

"N-no, you did nothing wrong. I'm s-sorry." Usually he would've chuckled, hearing her apologise again, but this situation was different.

"If I did nothing wrong, then why were you trying to run away from me?" She saw the worry and concern displayed across his face. She wanted to tell him (she hated keeping secrets from him), but she knew he loved Lucy; there was no way that he could love shy, insecure, weak Aries.

"I just need to be alone right now. I'm s-sorry." She turned to run again, but the lion caught her wrist before she could try and get away from him. Leo was getting impatient and frustrated. Why couldn't she just tell him what was bothering her?!

"I'm s-sor-"

"That's enough! Stop apologising and tell me what's wrong! Why are you trying to get away from me?" He shouted at her. When he saw the tears that escaped the ram's eyes, he immediately regretted yelling at her. In his rage and impatience, he had forgotten how sensitive and fragile Aries could be.

"Aries, I'm sorry. Please stop crying; you know I can't stand it when you cry." He softly wiped away her tears with his thumb and caressed her cheeks. Her crying had stopped and she looked into Leo's eyes. She saw sincerity, kindness, guilt and...was that love? No, it couldn't be! He loved Lucy and he only saw Aries as a little, defenceless sister that he always had to protect. However, curiosity got the better of her and she decided to ask him.

"Leo, what am I to you?" He could see that she was being serious and the lack of her stuttering only enhanced his previous statement. The shyness and sadness had disappeared and had been replaced by determination and hope.

"You're..." he hesitated and wondered if he should tell her. She was his best friend, but at the same time, she was so much more to him. Leo didn't want to lose the bond they had over something like this. At the same time, he knew that he shouldn't lie to her. It was important to him to have everyone's trust (especially hers) and its easier to lose someone's trust than to gain it.

"You're my best friend, but you're so much more. I think...no...I know that I love you." His face showed sincerity, hopefulness and love. The Zodiac leader was waiting for her reaction, hoping she would feel the same way as he did. He closed his eyes, not wanting to see hers. If he looked at her, he knew he would be heartbroken if she didn't love him.

His eyes opened again when he felt soft pressure on his lips. He saw a head and pink hair, which was enough for him to figure out that it was Aries who had kissed him. He closed his eyes again and let the sensation take over. His arms were around her waist and hers were around his neck, holding each other as close as they could.

When the two needed to breathe, they pulled away, but stayed in each other's embrace. Aries had a light blush on her face when she whispered, "I love you, Leo." He smiled (one of those rare, sincere smiles that he only showed to her) and hugged her tightly.

He knew that mistletoes brought people together, but he hadn't expected it to be him to have a mistletoe miracle.

MERRY CHIRSTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR! :)