A cold breeze wrapped around the hurried boots of a buxom blonde beauty, stomping ungracefully across damp cobbled streets on her way home. Her mind pictured her warm, dry apartment and a hot soothing bath before the storm set in, timed just right so she could sink into the water as the rain poured down outside. A bright happy feeling settled in her chest as the rain drops started to fall, slow and cold, raising goosebumps on her skin. She picked up the pace, a giggle bubbling up and spilling out as she enjoyed her little game. It was a race now.

Lucy Heartfilia burst into a run, speeding precariously along the edge of a canal in her hurry to reach home. She understood the risk, that any foul step could send her plummeting into the freezing water but it made her race more fun, knowing that at any second she could lose just pushed her faster and faster. 'Home stretch!' she cheered in her mind, extending her stride as she prepared to leap from the canal edge and onto the street, but she never quite made it that far. A sharp shock of panic climbed her skin as the heel of her boot caught the textured crack separating one block from the next. Her momentum from her intended leap worked against her as she pin wheeled her arms to correct her mistake, pitching her body out towards the freezing water. Just as she started to scream, doomed to fall, what she took to be a flash of lightning blinded her and all at once she felt the strong secure grip of a man. She clung to her savior desperately, still at risk of falling, and her hero pulled her tightly against him and with one heave pulled the both of them back onto the street.

Lucy was still fighting the urge to continue her scream when she felt the deep attractive chuckle spread through the chest she was currently pressed against, and a sense of ease enveloped her. She knew who this was.

She lifted her head from the man's chest and stared into azure tinted shades protecting bright green eyes, thoroughly entertained. "Loke," she breathed out, smiling up at him, "thank you."

"I couldn't let you fall could I? Unless it's for me of course," his handsome face broke into a flirtatious grin, only the ever so slightly to sharp canines and the pair of cat ears jutting out from long ginger locks giving him away as inhuman. He was more than tempted to keep his beautiful master pressed against him, but with one glance up at the sky he decided to take her health into account over his own desires, as a good gentleman would. "Shall we continue your race princess? I think you can still win if we hurry."

Lucy gasped sharply, pushing away from her loyal spirit and exclaimed, "You're right!" but despite her rush she hesitated, looking at her friend for half a moment before beaming up at him and grabbing his hand. "Let's go!" she shouted, and set off in a sprint, tugging Loke along behind.

The shocked lion spirit was suddenly apart of a mad dash to beat the storm and he couldn't help but laugh joyously at Lucy's childish game. Her mood was infectious, her happiness easily crossing the connection formed between spirit and master and affecting him as well. He could stop it of course but why would he, the opportunity to be a part of his lovely owner's fun was too good to resist. As they closed in on the spirit mage's home Loke wondered in awe at how such a happy organic moment had landed right in his lap, and even his playboy mind set was at a loss for any smooth gestures or pick-up lines to try on his source of infatuation. 'Just a friend today,' he decided, not wanting to risk ruining his master's mood with his flirting. On this rainy day he was just her friend, and if moments like this was what it meant to be her friend he would accept it gladly.

Lucy crashed into the door that connected the street to the stairwell up to her apartment, fumbling for her keys as the drops became more and more frequent. Too caught up in the game now to wait for Lucy, Loke bent his legs and leaped up to the ledge outside Lucy's window, clambering inside with a call of, "I'll get the top door!" hoping to shave off as many seconds as possible. When he got inside he was greeted with a wave of warmth and scent that could only be described as 'Lucy'. He launched over her bed completely, mindful of his wet shoes, and landed on the hardwood floor, making it to the door just in time to open it for Lucy, who had just begun to search for her next key. "Nice one!" she shouted, rushing past him to get to her bathroom and start the tub filling with water. She pulled her hand back from the tap and steadied her haggard breathing from the run, then skipped happily out to the common room where Loke waited.

"I think we were just in time," her voice colored with her little victory, "thanks for catching me. I owe you one!" she giggled, her smile still wreaking havoc on her spirit, unbeknownst to her.

"I'll take seeing you so happy as a reward any day princess," and he meant it with every fiber of his being.

There was a space of silence where Lucy stretched her arms, pulling her tight fitting cream colored sweater over damp hair and discarding it, along with her shocks and shoes. She sighed out happily, placing her gatekeys gently onto her desk and patting them absentmindedly, her eyes trailing from the open bathroom door to the man still stood by the door just in time to catch the sad look on his face before he hid it with a grin.

"I'm glad you're having a good day beautiful and even happier that I could join in for a little while, but I should probably get going. Unless you wanted to invite me in," gesturing to the bathroom with a suggestive smirk, unable to help himself.

Lucy's face heated at his playful remark but it was overshadowed by her sudden desire for company. A rainy day was fun and all and she had looked forward to a quiet bath listening to the rain, but there were other ways to enjoy the storm.

"Actually," she spoke up, cutting off his exit, "yes."

Loke froze, choking on his goodbye as he stared at her with wide eyes and a red face while she just stood there, staring at him with half lidded eyes and a small smile. Her hair was clinging to her neck from the dampness and her sleeveless turtleneck top hugged her body as she closed the distance, before her expression completely shifted into a playful smile and she said "Gotcha!"

He breathed out with a huff and glared at her half-heartedly. "That's cruel love, pretending to want me to stay. I'm hurt how could you."

She laughed and gave him that earnest expression that told him she meant every word when she said "I wasn't lying about wanting you to stay, I really do want your company, I was just teasing you is all."

He was surprised. 'And I thought I was the one who needed to watch the flirtations. She really does want me to stay?'

"Did you want an audience? I would be more than happy to-"

"No perv!" she scolded but she was still smiling. "Maybe we can just stick our feet in? It might seem weird but I always love listening to the rain, and having a friend to enjoy it with sounds even better," and she gave him that happy closed-eye Lucy smile that sold him on it instantly.

"I'll go change!" he exclaimed, and vanished in a flash of light. 'At least he's enthusiastic,' she thought, turning on her heel and running to her room, stripping on the way. She really was giddy today but who could blame her. The weather was soothing, she was warm and happy, her mission had gone well and her lion spirit was keeping her company through the storm.

She stood there in her bra and underwear, glaring at her closet like she was expecting something to jump out at her, but nothing seemed to grasp her interest. She knew EXACTLY what she WOULD wear if it wasn't covered in blue cat hair from Happy's cat nap in her laundry pile, so she just settled for a flattering pair of white cotton shorts and a green tank top. She pulled the dark green cloth over her head not a moment too soon when the shift in the shadows and the playful shout of "Princess!" announced Loke's return.

"I'm coming!" she called back, brushing quickly through her hair to tame it, "Can you get the water? I'm going to do something really quick.

She crossed quickly to the closest window and cracked it open, laying down a towel to catch the rain drops and repeating the process for every other window near the bathroom. It would really cool down the house but she wanted to hear the rain. The sound of pouring water had stopped and was replaced by the quiet, contented humming of her spirit. She walked slowly towards the bathroom, trying to give herself the extra time to recognize the tune but nothing came to mind. 'Must be a spirit world tune.'

His voice was nice, even if it was just humming, it was soothing to listen to. Unfortunately he stopped once she entered.

He was seated on the left side of the tub from the entrance, already sinking his feet into the steaming water with a smile on his face. She was pleased to see he had maintained the longer version of his ginger hair despite his preference of short hair with casual clothes, wearing an outfit she recognized from the S-Class trials on Tenrou Island. "I like that look on you, casual suits you just as well as fancy," she offered, hoping her tone came off as friendly as she intended it. You never knew with Loke. "Thank you, saying the same to you seems unnecessary since it obvious how you shine in every outfit you wear. You'd think white shorts and a tank top were fit for a red carpet with you in them."

"Loke!" she blurted out, as if his flattery was offensive somehow, but he knew her well enough to recognize when he had just succeeded in flustering her. She settled into place opposite him quickly, forgetting her embarrassment in her rush for the warmth the bath water promised, sighing in relief when she lowered her feet. There was a time of silence but both were smiling peacefully through it, listening closely as the drumming of the rain built and built into a dull and distant roar. There was a clap of thunder that rolled through the air, and both Lucy and Loke turned slightly towards the door on instinct. However Lucy did not miss the adorable sight that was watching the cat ear on the right side of Loke's head swivel to catch the sound.

"That thunder must be nearby, that was pretty loud." He turned his gaze back to his master, only to see her with her hands to her mouth trying to cover a smile far too big for such a small lady. "What's up?" he inquired, becoming slightly uneasy by the intensity of her gaze, focused just above him. He fought the urge to check if something was behind him knowing there wasn't, when Lucy whispered, "They're so cute."

"What is?" he asked, only to receive Lucy raising her hands to her head to mimic cat ears in response, with a quiet "Meow" for emphasis.

"Ah," he replied, purposely swinging both ears to either side of his head in a manner he knew she would enjoy, "these guys."

She squealed in delight, her ecstatic bouncing disrupting the bath water and making her lion spirit laugh. "You can move them and everything! I mean I knew they were real but they really are real!" Suddenly an idea occurred to her, and her cheeks tinged an attractive shade of pink. "Um… Loke?"

"Yes love?" he managed between chuckles, intrigued by her sudden shyness.

"I was wondering… um… could I maybe…". She didn't seem to have the courage to finish, peering up at him with large pleading brown eyes, hoping she was understood without having to say it out loud.

'This is unreal, she's acting like a little girl, and it's so cute.' Loke's thoughts were stuck in a loop for a moment before he stuttered out a, "Y-yeah sure."

As she stood and sat close to him, scooting right up against him he was faced with the most intense curiosity in her eyes, coupled with irresistibly cute shyness. After taking a second to soak in her expression, he grinned at her and titled his head down expectantly, knowing she was curious what they felt like. She stretched slightly to extend her arm out, bringing his face right near her generous bust and testing the true extent of his willpower, when he felt the softest sensation on one of his ears.

The ginger furred ear twitched at the contact, drawing from her the tiniest gasp before she reached out more confidently and gave it a gentle scratch.

The sound that came next formed in a place deep within Loke's body, spreading through his chest and spilling out in a low rolling wave that could only be described, to his horror, as a purr.

He pulled away instantly, ignoring the deep-seated urge to let her continue with a look of pure devastation, faced with an expression from his master that was complete and utter joy.

"You PURRED!" she cried out, overjoyed by what she had discovered but her companion dropped his head in his hands, pushing his glasses up and off and into the water while he moaned out a defeated, "No way, no way did that just happen."

He was humiliated, what the hell was that!? A PURR, REALLY!? But the mourning of his image was interrupted by the return of that gentle but persistent scratching at the base of his ear.

He couldn't stop it, the purr was an instinctual and instant reaction that accompanied the bliss that coursed through him. Any will he had left to fight it vanished and he gave in, leaning into her hand and encouraging her to continue.

"Does that feel good?" Lucy's voice betrayed her fascination, amazed how quickly her powerful and fearsome Zodiac spirit was transformed into a lion, purring wildly and deep to a simple touch. It was the cutest thing she could possibly imagine. She sighed heavily though, knowing she was probably doing irreparable damage to the poor man's ego, and withdrew her hand with a final scratch.

Despite how much of a fuss he made the spirit still had the nerve to pout when she stopped, only to come to his senses and trade it for a humiliated grimace in the blink of an eye.

'I'm sorry," she suddenly apologized, tilting his sulking face towards her, "I couldn't help myself it was just too adorable. I didn't mean to embarrass you, I think it's cute honest. On my word as your wizard."

He let her hold his face in place, using the proximity to evaluate her expression, searching her eyes as if to determine if she was lying and was really making fun of him, even though her promise had already convinced him.

"Still…," he muttered, "I'm supposed to be the ideal man, what kind of man… PURRS" he said it like the word was dirty. Lucy raised an eyebrow at his self-proclamation as the 'ideal man' but let it slide. His ego wasn't in a place to be questioned.

"You're Leo the Lion, and Leo the Lion can do whatever the hell he wants and still get ladies. Are you seriously suggesting the infamous playboy Loke can't use this to his advantage?" She scoffed like it was the most ridiculous thing she had ever heard, "Yeah right." Lucy clasped her hands together and posed with an obviously staged dreamy look in her eyes, using a high pitched voice to squeal, "Oh Loke! Please let me hold you! Just a little longer Loke~ I want to make you purr oh my handsome prince!"

Impersonating some of the fanatics in his persistent group of admirers was enough to make him chuckle, just the visual of Lucy praising him like a god being pretty hilarious. She wouldn't be caught dead doing it, not that that was what he wanted from her in the end. He just wanted her to be herself.

"Okay okay you made your point," laughing more earnestly now as she rose to return to her side of the tub, twirling and cooing the whole way. "Still," he pressed as she sat down, "if you ever tell the guys I will never forgive you."

"I would never!"

"Oh yeah?"

"You have my word."

"Alright fine."

The storm was in full swing, becoming a lot more powerful then Lucy had anticipated. It shook and pounded at the windows, threatening to break them if they remained partially open. The bathwater had cooled significantly and it was about time to drain the tub regardless, the two friends rising to handle the windows and continuing a game of rapid fire questions they had started almost an hour ago.

"Okay so you said Italian as your favorite TYPE of food but what's your favorite DISH?" Loke called from the living room while Lucy handled her bedroom, collecting the now soaked towel.

"Carbonara!" she replied after a moments consideration. "What's your favorite holiday?"

"Lion's day!" he responded immediately, meeting Lucy in the main room.

"What's Lion's day? I've never heard of it."

"It's a celestial thing," he clarified, sprawling out on Lucy's couch since he was already feeling pretty at home. "It's the closest thing to a birthday I have and it celebrates the first night of the month of Leo in the human world." He was smiling and getting excited as he discussed it. "It's great! There's a ball and everything although the spirits use a lot of holidays as an excuse for a ball. Okay my turn. Who's your favorite spirit?"

His question earned him a pillow to the face and a severely irritated "I Told you the first two times you asked I don't have one!"

He laughed and got up to dodge the next pillow, running into the kitchen for cover. "Okay fine what's your favorite flower?"

Lucy halted in her pursuit, holding a third pillow while she considered it. "Orange poppies," she decided, pleased with her answer and allowing Leo to exit the kitchen unharmed for the time being. "Yours?"

"Star roses probably, there's a lot near my home." When she looked at him in confusion he explained, "They are dark navy blue roses with gold streaks through the petals. I'll bring you some sometime."

"Oh please do those sound so pretty! Okay it's your turn."

"Hmm… Can I ask you something personal? Or would you rather not?" Loke shoved his hands in his pockets, regretting his curiosity as he saw her think it over. 'I shouldn't pry,' his brain scolded itself, but to his surprise she nodded with a small smile.

"Well uh… I was wondering what your mother was like."

The sadness that flashed through his eyes dug at him and he felt like a menace.

"Why? I'm just curious, it's okay that you asked," quickly comforting him, knowing his habit of guilt.

"I've heard her name before from Capricorn and Cancer and a bunch of others back before I was banished. It was at another silly ball, and all the zodiacs were asked to be present even if we had different masters. She was fairly well known, because she was kind, but Cancer isn't the best at sharing and neither is the old goat."

Lucy's smile soothed his worries a bit, the sadness still lingering in her eyes. "It makes me happy that the spirits knew of her. She was always kind to them. It was her who taught me to respect the celestial world as equals and friends." Lucy's eyes drifted towards an oak wood box sitting on a shelf collecting dust. It had been some time since she last wrote her mother, waiting for something important to share. He waited patiently for her to collect her thoughts, staring at her with his full attention.

"She was beautiful and kind, and her voice was… soft. It was proper and manicured but you could tell she wasn't born into money, always the perfect Lady. At least when others were looking. When it was just us, she was so much more relaxed and fun. I remember her saying once, 'in public I'm a lady and in private I'm a friend, but always am I your mother.'" The memory made her feel at peace, not feeling like her past was under scrutiny at all while she relived her happy memories of her mother.

Loke smiled sadly, doing his best to show he cared about how she felt and was being as respectful as he good given the intimate line of questioning.

"She was an amazing cook," Lucy forged on, "not that she ever needed to. She would just do it for fun, letting me help in whatever way was safe. I ruined quite a few of her dishes but she never complained. That's how she was, she would look at her child and smile like nothing was wrong while eating some horrid mistake." Lucy's laugh sounded off then, not ringing like it normally would.

Lucy's voice was quieter now. "That's how she was. Wouldn't say a word if she knew it would upset me. I wish she had though." Lucy looked at her hands, moving to sit down on one side of the couch which Loke quickly copied.

There was a long stretch of silence, where she just looked at her hands as if to dissect them.

"I never even knew she was sick. She never told me… because she knew I was too young to understand. So all at once, just one morning when I left my room I met two servants, asking me to follow them to my father."

She could say no more, fighting to keep from crying. It was an old and numb pain, one she had learned to live with, but she knew it would hurt Loke to see her cry because of something he had asked.

"I'm sorry," she finally offered, looking up at the concerned eyes of her friend, looking at them unobstructed for the first time in a long while, "I guess that was a bit much to share."

"No no!" he blurted out, stunned how she could come to that conclusion. "I was just worried I had upset you, if it's something you want to talk about we can. I'll always listen princess."

She was still for a time before giving him a subdued smile. "It was all a long time ago, but it was hard to lose her."

Loke thought 'hard' was an unfair description for a child losing their mother and their only companion, not that he would dare correct her on how she chose to share it with him.

"So it was just you and your father?" he asked, his voice mimicking hers in a respectful hush.

"It was mostly just me," she amended, surprising him with a seemingly unconscious edge of long forgotten bitterness. "He lost the mother of his child… it changed him, but I guess I've never really blamed him for that. I understood it."

"But that doesn't excuse it."

Lucy nodded slowly in agreement. "Yeah… He shut me out, and turned me away any time I wasn't of use. He had it all planned out after she died, treating me like an asset that needed assigning rather than a daughter. I would grow into a proper and presentable woman who could be married off to make a profit, then sire an heir to his fortune and business. He was more the man he was before her death just before his own… It was good to meet that man again."

"So you were alone…" Loke looked away, at anything at all, hating to imagine a little girl abandoned by her father, growing up with no one. He could hear it like a phantom… a little girl crying because she was afraid of a storm with no one to comfort her.

"Not always…" she spoke suddenly, and when he looked at her he saw happiness in her eyes.

"Sometimes," she whispered, "when I was able… my spirits would come to me. And I loved them more deeply then I had loved anyone in the years of living there since my mother's death. They gave me hope that one day… if I was strong enough…" her left hand ghosted over the Fairy Tail emblem on her right, "I wouldn't be alone anymore." Her new smile wiped the last traces of sadness from her face and left him breathless. "And I was right. One day I was brave enough to run, and I wasn't alone anymore. I found Natsu and Happy, and met Erza and Gray and" she hesitated, her cheeks tinted pink "and you."

He laughed quietly, touched to be included though it didn't seem fair. "Not that we ever had much of a conversation at first, what with me running like my life depended on it every time I saw you."

Lucy laughed too, grinning at him, "You're still Fairy Tail family, and now you're my spirit and I'm your wizard. I know you always have my back."

They each looked at the other, both thinking of how grateful they were to have each other, to not be alone.

Loke glanced down, wanting to share something with her too, wanting her to know him more deeply in the same way she had given him.

"I felt alone too, even when I was in the guild," Loke finally said, running a hand through the hair between his ears. "I felt burdened with guilt and anger over… what happened. I could never forgive myself, or so I thought, because I held myself responsible and so did the spirit king. Even so, I felt betrayed by him, for never protecting the spirits of abusive masters and casting me out when I finally did." He didn't realize his hands were shaking until he felt her take them in her own, providing a reassuring pressure, silently telling him to keep going. He took a deep breath. "I was apart from everyone I had ever known and thrown into a world which I knew almost nothing about. The only thing I thought I had figured out was to hide my identity as a Celestial Spirit… because I would only be mistreated. I had the advantage of a humanoid appearance so I lied, and took a new name. Even when I had a home and friends in Fairy Tail I felt separate and alone because I knew I was lying to the people who had been so kind to me. I couldn't tell them of what I had done… I was selfish I guess. I wanted to die with friends."

"Loke…" Lucy whispered, feeling his pain and sadness more potently then she had expected. But she let the feelings pour through their connection, wanting to help lift that old burden by taking some of it on. They were quiet, the storm their only commentary, and Loke looked at their linked hands. Without even stopping to consider what she might think he softly stroked the length of her fingers with his thumb, marveling in the softness. He wondered to himself how he could show such weakness, and still know he would never be judged or abused.

"I guess I just mean I know what it feels like to all at once find home again when you thought you never would."

When he looked at his master he found her staring out at the wild darkness of the storm, her eyes aged, but happy.

"Welcome home Loke… I'm really grateful that we have the chance to have our home together."

He smiled, suddenly glad she was looking away so he could reach up and wipe his eyes without her seeing.

"Me too Princess."

End of Chapter 1