A/N: So this idea has been floating around in my head since I started writing my (current) main fanfic, New Beginnings. Rather than pass it up, I decided to turn it into a one-shot! Because I enjoy writing pairings that will probably happen way too much.
Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail. You can tell because LoLu is nowhere close to being canon.
Lucy stared out her bedroom window at the night sky. It was clear tonight, all of the stars shining brilliantly. She sighed happily as she went through the constellations in her head as her eyes roamed over them.
"They're beautiful tonight, aren't they?" asked a voice behind her.
Lucy jumped. She was used to people invading her house as if it was their own, but not him. "Hey. Who invited you here?"
Her ginger haired celestial spirit smiled at her. "Why, you did, of course."
Lucy rolled her eyes. "I'm quite certain I didn't. I was just trying to enjoy the scenery before going to bed."
Loke shrugged. "When you think of me, I make sure to appear. After all, you might have been in danger."
Every time Loke appeared, Lucy felt her heart start racing. She could usually attribute it to the adrenaline of whatever battle she was currently faced with, but then he had to show up at times like these and prove that theory wrong. When she thought of the advice Cana might offer about this situation, Lucy shuddered. She couldn't think that way about someone she fought alongside! Just the other day, she'd been trying to disperse a group of bank robbers along with Gray and Natsu, until two of them cornered her with magical guns. What name had slipped out of her mouth as she covered her face? His, of course. And he had appeared, and helped her defeat them, as he always did. And he'd said his usual flirtatious line, as he always did, and she brushed it off, as she always did. Nothing out of the ordinary, except for the fact she had willed him out in the first place. She didn't want to think about where her subconscious was going with that.
"Are you alright?" Loke's voice interrupted her from her thoughts.
Lucy blinked. "Mm. Yeah. Fine. Everything's fine."
"You sure?" There was a sincerity in his eyes, behind his glasses. It was the same sincerity that she had seen when he fought Gajeel, in front of Karen's grave, against Bickslow, against Angel, on Tenrou Island...that sincerity was what got to her, bringing scenarios into her head that she'd never say out loud. Images flashed though her mind, and Lucy couldn't help but blush.
Do you have a fever? You look rather red." His voice was tinged with playfulness, as though he could read her thoughts.
"No. I'm..." Lucy was having a hard time putting coherent thoughts together. "I'm going to sleep. Go flirt with someone else." She regretted those words as soon as she spoke them. She hated it when he flirted with other girls.
To her surprise, Loke nodded. "Goodnight, Lucy. I'll see you soon."
He disappeared, and Lucy pulled a pillow over her face. He probably was off to flirt with other girls. Why would she think she was special? Moreover, why did she want to be special?
She slept fitfully that night. Sunlight woke her up far too early. A rustling noise made her sleepily sit up. "Natsu, I hope you used the door."
"I'm not Natsu," the source of the noise replied cheerfully.
Lucy's eyes bugged out. "Loke? What...I swear..."
"I said I'd see you soon, didn't I?" Loke set aside the newspaper he'd casually been reading aside on her kitchen table. "Good morning!"
"What's your reasoning for being here this time? I definitely didn't summon you." Lucy was working through a lot of emotions: confusion, excitement, vague annoyance at being awake.
"Mm, well. You did say my name six times in your sleep. Or maybe it was seven." Loke rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"I...did?" Lucy had meant to add 'not', but she couldn't bring herself to do it.
Loke grinned. "I must confess, I'm curious what you were dreaming about."
Lucy pulled the covers up to her chin. "Be quiet." Fragments of her dreams drifted through her mind. "Oh dear..." She mumbled.
Loke raised his eyebrows and smirked.
Lucy swung her legs over the side of her bed and sighed. "You're persistent, you know that?"
"It happens, since I've come to think I might have a chance."
Lucy started walking across the room without looking at him. "Sorry. I don't want to be another one of your conquests." Her voice trembled. "Just give up already."
"Lucy..." Loke frowned. Lucy would like to think she could read him well by now, and he appeared troubled. "What do I have to do to prove I really love you?"
Lucy's hand was shaking as she reached for a cup. She still couldn't look at him. "I wish I knew," she found herself saying.
"It'd help if you actually gave me a chance," he offered. He was watching her carefully.
In a moment, Lucy was hit by a realization, like the final piece of a puzzle snapping into place. "No," she said firmly.
"No?" Loke echoed, the hurt apparent in his tone.
Lucy finally turned towards him. "That's not how it should be. I don't want you trying to prove yourself to me."
In all his years, Loke had, at least, learned how to handle rejection. "I'm sorry. I'll just..."
Lucy took a step towards him. "If we're going to be together, I want us to be equals. Like a clean slate. I don't want grand gestures or dramatics. I don't want attempts us trying to prove ourselves. I just want you." The certainty in her voice surprised them both.
They were only inches apart now, unable to look away from the other's gaze. "No dramatics, then," Loke said, "Just you and me. Together." Lucy nodded, and his hands reached out, pulling her closer and closing the distance in between them. She leaned into him instinctively.
When their lips met, any doubts Lucy had evaporated. He was eager yet gentle, his hands wandering from her back to her neck.
"Better than my dreams," Lucy admitted when they broke apart.
They both laughed-an excited, hopeful, nervous sound, and then they leaned back into each other again. In that moment, they were together as one, and nothing could tear them apart.